Dist. 300 students plan conference to honor classmate

In a thick binder, Christian Stilwell collated pages and pages of ideas for a conference to help his peers in Community Unit District 300 become stronger leaders.

The Dundee-Crown High School junior lined up motivational speakers and presenters and was searching for an affordable location to hold the first Building Bridges Leadership Conference.

But the Dundee-Crown High School junior class president did not see his plan reach fruition. Christian died in his sleep last April. A lesion on the right side of his brain was listed as the cause of death.

Though Christian’s ideas sat idle for a few months after his death, classmates and friends from outside of the district have kept their vow to see the project through. In April, Hampshire High School will host the first Christian Stilwell Building Bridges Leadership Conference. The conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 17.

Ali Sanders, an 18-year-old senior at Dundee-Crown High School, took charge and is chairing the conference. Ali said Christian’s detailed plans provided a great blueprint for the leadership conference.

“I have always wanted to put together a conference at our school,” Ali said. “But I never had the tools. Christian had been to a conference at UCLA and knew what it took to do a conference. He had basically mapped out everything we needed to know ... from speakers, budgets and grant applications.”

Teachers selected more than 200 students from Dundee-Crown, Jacobs and Hampshire high schools. A handful of students from outside of the district who were close to Christian also will take part, Ali said.

“We told teachers that we wanted students who are not necessarily leaders but have the potential to become leaders,” said Laura Saldivar, 17, a senior at Jacobs High School who is assisting in the event. “We hope that they will be inspired and motivated to take leadership roles in their schools and community. We want to enhance their skills and make them more confident.”

The one-day conference will feature national speakers whom Christian hand-picked. Jill Esplin, a motivational speaker from California, will be the keynote speaker; Kathy Armstrong, a personality trainer from California, will speak on understanding others; and Bryan Jones, a staff member at Willow Creek Community Church will talk to students about the 360-degree relationship.

While the conference is relying on fundraising efforts and grant money from the Christian Stilwell Memorial Fund, donations are appreciated. Checks can be made out to the DCHS Stilwell Leadership Conference and sent to the attention of Principal Lynn McCarthy at Dundee-Crown High School, 1500 Kings Road in Carpentersville, IL, 60110.