326 Joliet Street, West Chicago IL 60185
Date:
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326 Joliet Street, West Chicago IL 60185 |
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| Contact: | Gail Eckl Daniels, Public Relations Facilitator |
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| Phone | 630/876-6556 | Direct Line at CHS | |
| 630/876-6242 | Educational Foundation Line at CHS | ||
| 630/293-9099 | Direct Line at Eckl Daniels Office | ||
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Date: |
January 30, 2007 | ||
| For Immediate Release | |||
STUDENT OF THE MONTH
January 2007
The faculty and administration of Community High School District 94, in West Chicago, would like to congratulate Matt Claude for being chosen Student of the Month for January.
When asked to describe his philosophy of life, senior Matt Claude states that he draws inspiration from one of his baseball heroes, Cal Ripken Jr., who once observed that “stubbornness is usually considered a negative, but I think that trait has been a positive for me.” Like Cal, Matt has channeled his stubbornness into a drive to continue trying at things, he might initially struggle with, until he gets them down right.
During his time at Community High School, Matt has been involved in a number of organizations and activities, garnering achievements and awards along the way. He is a four-year athlete in Baseball, Basketball, and Golf, and has participated in Future Business Leaders of America during his junior year and the National Honor Society during his senior year. During his sophomore year, Matt was called upon to become a member of the Regional Champion Varsity Basketball team. One year later, he helped lead the Varsity Baseball team to their own Regional Championship. Matt considers this second Regional Victory his favorite high school memory, saying, “It was the greatest feeling I’ve ever had.”
Perhaps more so than any other student his age, Matt is committed to volunteer work. He spends his free time assisting as a baseball trainer at skills camps for students ages 7-12, delivering Meals on Wheels, volunteering at community theatre, remodeling his home church, shoveling neighborhood driveways, and clearing highway debris.
For the time being, Matt works during the summers distributing products for a local company. His dream job would be to work as a professional athlete, “[being] paid to play… baseball, because it’s my favorite sport.”
After high school, Matt hopes to attend the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater and there continue to play baseball while pursuing a degree in Physical Therapy. His plans don’t end there, however, as Matt intends to then complete a Master of Arts degree and PhD in the same area of study, and to someday own his own Physical Therapy/Sports Medicine Center. Given the level of success he’s already enjoyed, and the stubbornness with which he commits to things, these goals should prove easily surmountable.
Congratulations, Matt, on your accomplishments at Community High School. We are extremely proud of your tremendous effort and wish you continued success and good luck in the future.