Elgin gifted school builds reading corner in student's memory

What started out as a class project became an abiding passion.

As part of the sixth-grade curriculum at the Da Vinci Academy in Elgin, Aurora McQueen was tasked with completing a research project of her own choosing.

She chose red wolves, a species that once roamed a wide swath of the continental United States from the Ohio River Valley to the Gulf of Mexico. Red wolves nearly went extinct by 1980, and despite recent efforts to save the animal only about 300 exist; 200 of those are in captive breeding programs.

Aurora saw red wolves at the Lincoln Park Zoo in the summer of 2010, and after completing her class project, saving the wolves became her mission.

“She wanted to do whatever she could do to make sure they didn't become extinct,” said Aurora's grandmother Donna McQueen.

Aurora's quest was cut short in January, when she died after suffering an aneurysm. On Thursday, Aurora's classmates at Da Vinci, an independent school geared toward gifted students, gathered at the school to memorialize her.

The school announced plans to build a reading area in back of the school, near the playground, called “Aurora's Reading Corner.” The structure pays tribute to Aurora's love of reading.

Students at the school created T-shirts in Aurora's memory, and many students were wearing them — pink with a wolf logo — on Thursday. Aurora's sixth-grade classmates insisted on donating the proceeds from the sale of the shirts (about $300) toward red wolf preservation efforts.

Sixth-graders also created a collage of a red wolf and auctioned off the work at a fundraiser for Aurora's memorial.

Da Vinci Academy founder Deb Butcher bought the collage, then donated it back to the school Thursday. Through the fundraiser, students raised more than $1,400 — more than enough to cover the cost of the reading corner, school leaders said.

Aurora's friends said the reading nook was a fitting way to pay tribute to her.

“She always thought of everyone else before herself,” said Jenny Vernon, a sixth-grader from Carol Stream.

Aurora's family donated $1,000 to the school Thursday as well as Aurora's impressive collection of rubber ducks.

Da Vinci's Head of School Jeff Stroebel said it was the first time he had lost a student in his career as an educator.

“It's a tragedy,” Stroebel said. But he added: “I'm really proud of the way our community has come together to honor her.”