St. Edward sees 99 of 100 grads headed to college

Kerry O'Brien had a tough task at hand this spring.

The head of counseling services at St. Edward Central Catholic High School in Elgin was charged with looking at the list of candidates for the Rev. Robert Scheider and Claudia Warner awards - annually given to two students who have exemplified qualities of scholarship alongside a strong Catholic faith.

With 100 graduating seniors, O'Brien said, "you'd expect to have maybe 10 candidates."

This year, there were 36.

"This is a really special class," he said. "These are good kids who are smart and intelligent and have all the requisite college scholarships. They're part of the National Honor Society, have gotten into good schools. Not just individually, but as a whole, as a group. That says a lot."

O'Brien said that 99 of the 100 students will go onto college next year. Roughly 65 percent plan to attend four-year universities, the rest have enrolled at community colleges.

Those 100 seniors, clad in Kelly green and yellow robes symbolic of St. Ed's school colors, became alumni Tuesday night after a 7 p.m. commencement ceremony.

August Domel, of Sleepy Hollow, was named the school's valedictorian. Christina Stojanovic, of unincoprporated Dundee Township, was the class salutatorian. This was the school's 65th graduation, and the first for the Rev. David Peck, who took the helm of the 400-student school last summer.