Through the generous support of this important mission by sponsors and local families, the foundation’s funding has distributed $83,000 in scholarships and begun hosting programs to develop community commitment in which students volunteer to help the foundation.  Please consider making an online donation now!

Dedicated to continuing the values Jim Bonfield lived as dean, coach and teacher at Downers Grove South High School for 32 years, is well as a father of a son who graduated from Downers Grove North High School, the foundation offers a memorial scholarship eligible to all students

Cameron Barnish
(South)

Youth does not insulate anyone from difficulty, but the manner in which a person emerges from trials reveals character.  In his short life, Cameron Barnish has watched his parent s cope with major illness and employment issues.  Cameron has turned those experiences into positive motivation and appreciation for the good things in his life.  At DGS, his counselor says that other people want to be around him for this very reason.  She adds that Cameron is an outgoing leader, but he is not afraid to take direction from others as well.  Those qualities served him well as a competitive soccer player and swimmer, and as a Rush Corp leader helping younger students acclimate to high school.  Cameron is contemplating a career in either sports management or business.

Tom Callahan
 

At the age of 16, most teenagers look forward to taking a driver’s license test.  But disciplined athlete and honor student Tom Callahan was facing a more difficult challenge, learning to overcome the effect of a stroke that impacted his speech and sensations in one hand.  While he recovered from the experience, this test left him with more appreciation for the normal things in life.  His coaches and teachers second that opinion, but are more impressed with the positive attitude Tom has toward new challenges.  One calls him “tenacious” in his pursuits and another says he motivates his peers as well as himself with a balance of good humor and boundless effort.  Tom is enrolled at DePaul University.

John Caldwell
(North)

Most adults run from jury duty, but DGN graduate John Caldwell runs toward it.  As a member of the Downers Grove Township peer jury, John has played an important role in steering other teenagers away from the Criminal Justice system by levying alternate sentences for youthful offenders.  It is an awesome responsibility, but one that he embraced.  That is not a surprise to the teachers who have encountered him in one of the many activities John was involved in as a student.  Respectful, optimistic, and dedicated are a few of the adjectives they used to describe this Eagle Scout, honor student, actor and musician, but perseverant is the most common denominator.   John attends Illinois State University to study Business.

Lucas Durham
(South)

Some of us doodle in the margins of our notebooks and papers to distract ourselves from assigned tasks, but for Lucas Durham, that sketching has become a passion.  While a student at DGS, he was already receiving accolades for his artwork, winning awards in state and regional contests while holding down part-time jobs.  Reading is something this honor student had to work diligently to master, but drawing is a natural talent.  He has used it to promote non-profit groups, his church community, and even a toy swapping website.  While he has had to cope with difficult issues in his young life, others say that those things have not impacted his character and good nature.  Lucas himself says that those issues have made him stronger.  He hopes for a career in graphic arts.

Kaswanna Murphy
(South)

When most kids talk about challenges in their lives, the conversation probably involves the next level of a video game or a difficult test the next day.  For Kaswanna, the issues were much more dramatic.  Her mother’s drug addiction took a toll on her family life and for a time, separated her from her sisters.  With the help of her father and stepmother, she found new purpose at DGS, where she has become a gifted athlete and a student who puts her best effort into classroom endeavors.  Her physics teacher calls Kaswanna a person with “integrity, perseverance, respect and concern for others and responsibility.”  On the basketball court and in school, she pushes herself to succeed and she works to continue that success at Southern Illinois University.

Kimberly Musil
(North)

It is hard work to succeed in academics, and it is even harder when balancing a rigorous athletic schedule, a full plate of fine arts activities, and a part time job.  Kimberly Musil does it all with a smile, according to the DGS teachers and coaches who worked with her through four years of high school.  But it was in a church group activity that Kimberly had the experience that led her to pursue a career in the medical field.   It was there that she encountered people who struggled with personal issues that made Kimberly value her own supportive family all the more.  She hopes to use her abilities to make a positive impact on the lives of others.  Kimberly is studying biology at the University of Illinois.

Patrick Kasper
(North)

The Homecoming Olympics are a big event during a weeklong celebration at DGN, and Patrick Kasper was one of the participants in 2006, leading a team with a majority of special needs students.  The mother of a young man with Down syndrome observed that Patrick, a two sport athlete, could have been on a lot of other teams, but chooses to be a friend and role model for her son and other children who swim outside of the mainstream.  Patrick jokes about following in the footsteps of an older brother, but stands out according to the teachers who know him well on his own as a person who “makes a difference” in the lives of others.  It is Patrick’s goal to become an accountant and give his brother a loan, a goal he pursues at Illinois State University.

Lori Rhoades
(North)

Most kids change a lot in High School.  Lori Rhoades hasn’t changed much at all, and that is a good thing.  As a freshman student, Lori plunged into many of the activities DGN had to offer including Speech Team, Choir, and Direct Action, while maintaining volunteer responsibilities in her church and community.  All of these things demanded a great deal of time and effort, which adults around her say Lori handled with grace.  They add that she seeks opportunities to help other people and in a conversation can be counted on to dwell, not on her own interests, but on the concerns of her peers.  With experiences in traveling overseas to work with other youth leaders and to other parts of the United States for mission trips, it is not surprising that Lori is seeking a career in Social Work at Beloit College.

Daniel Runyo
(South)

Daniel Runyon has tried to follow a crowd during his years at DGS, a crowd of role models that set this young man up for success on the basketball and football fields and in the classroom.  With a family actively involved in sports, he started watching older players at a young age and adopted them as older brothers.  The teachers who worked with Daniel say that he learned good habits of diligence and hard work from them and in turn, demonstrates those traits for younger students. He has had opportunities to share his abilities by volunteering to help freshman navigate high school and by becoming a peer leader.  Daniel is attending Purdue University to major in mathematics.

Erik Schultz
(North)

A hurricane scattered lives in many directions, but its aftermath focused Erik Schultz toward a life goal.  Traveling with a youth group to build homes for Katrina victims in Mississippi, he encountered a family named Hill, whose gratitude for his simple carpentry convinced Erik that service to others should be his calling.  He hopes to put down the hammer for a scalpel someday and to that end is enrolled at Indiana University with hopes of becoming a doctor.  One of Erik’s counselors describes him as “unstoppable” when blessed with purpose, and a teacher admires the rigor he applies to every task.  That was not easy to maintain at DGN, because he was constantly active, balancing academics, sports, choir, church activities and part time jobs.