Glenbard West alum who ran across U.S. returns home

Katie Visco's message to junior high and high school students is certainly not a new one. If you have a passion or a dream, go for it.

But she hopes her background and experience will give the message a little more weight.

The 2003 Glenbard West alumna, who in December completed a 3,132-mile run across the country, told students Thursday she owed much of her success to the lessons she learned at the Glen Ellyn high school.

"It's a place that totally shaped me," Visco said in one of her presentations to physical education classes. "It gave me the gifts to be able to do what I did."

What Visco did was something any long-distance runner can appreciate. A nine-month journey that began in Boston March 29 and ended at the Pacific Ocean Dec. 29 - and included a midsummer stop in Glen Ellyn - raised money for one of her favorite charities, Girls on the Run, which promotes the health and overall well-being of young girls.

During the presentations, Visco repeatedly drove home her belief that the trek was nothing more than her desire to inspire younger people.

"It's really about finding your passion and going for it," she said. "I took a passion I had and followed it."

Students seemed to respond to Visco's message. Junior Sara McBride spoke to her at length following one of the presentations.

She said the talk opened her eyes.

"It was amazing," McBride said. "It was really inspiring. She went to our school, so, obviously, dreams can come true."