We’re lucky to meet Naperville’s Jordan Schubert
Have I ever shared my philosophy on golf and journalism? Perhaps I have, but it bears repeating: Better to be lucky than good.
Initially, I applied that theory to today’s Page 1 story about Jordan Schubert, a senior at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville who refuses to let his autism define him while leading a campaign suggesting people shouldn’t be so casual with their use of the word “retarded.”
The story was in the works when I came across a story from our Springfield bureau that the Illinois Senate had passed a bill to remove such antiquated phrases as “mental retardation” and “crippled” from state law books.
A news hook! An editor’s dream.
Turns out, the news from the General Assembly was almost a footnote in a heartwarming story about a kid brave enough to take on his peers when he hears them drop the R-bomb.
This story would have been great anytime, and here’s where the real luck comes in. I’m lucky that a former employee, Kristy Kennedy, wanted to keep her hand in the world of journalism and wanted to do it at the Daily Herald. Kristy covered beats ranging from Lake County police reporting to DuPage County government when she retired 10 years ago after her second child was born.
Today, she has four, but the youngest is in kindergarten, so, of course, Kristy felt she was ready to take on some new challenges. She’s now an independent contractor covering Indian Prairie Unit District 204, one of the largest districts in the state, spanning Aurora and Naperville.
The spot news Kristy provides for us is invaluable, but I’m really impressed that she looks hard for the home run as well.
She had a strong feeling when she heard Jordan speak at a school board meeting that his might be a special story.
“I was really impressed by how well-spoken he was,” she said. “The thing that got me was when he described a situation where kids were making fun of the ‘R word.’ Instead of getting mad, he kind of shrugged his shoulders and said that not everyone would get it right away.
“Wow, is that a mature stance to take.”
To report the story, Kristy shadowed Jordan for a day at the Special Olympics swim meet. Her first impression was validated.
“I would describe him as friendly, kind and incredibly open. He’s not self-conscious at all,” she said. “I also was impressed by how focused he is on what he wants to do with his life — teach Spanish to kids with intellectual disabilities. There aren’t many special ed teachers with a foreign language background.”
This isn’t the first time Kristy has provided us with a Page 1 centerpiece.
She witnessed discussion at a District 204 board meeting about equipping all buses with video cameras. A worthwhile local story, to be sure, but Kristy saw the big picture and pitched a story looking at the prevalence of cameras and other security devices on buses and in the schools. And, sure enough, with some calls to other school districts and national security experts, she produced a January story that said, sure enough, we’re sacrificing some personal freedoms, but that’s the world we live in today — a world that was shaped by the school shootings in Winnetka and Columbine.
Kristy isn’t the only person representing the Daily Herald at local government meetings, of course. Our full-time reporting staff attends scores of meetings each week. It’s a good thing, because there may be some debate about something not necessarily on the agenda, something that just maybe our local officials don’t want publicized.
And there might be someone like Jordan Schubert addressing the school board.
Lucky for us, indeed.
jdavis@dailyherald.com