Note: The
following story is written by Ellen Hilgendorf
and shares with other alumni how she used
the training received at Buckley-Loda High School to build a successful
career.
I graduated from Buckley-Loda High
School in 1980 and in 1984 from the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign with a BS in Accounting. In 1989, I
graduated from DePaul University in Chicago with an MBA in
Finance. I am a certified public accountant. The
beginning of my career was spent doing accounting/finance for
three Fortune 500 companies. I ended up in the real
estate/construction industry. For the past 11 years, I
have been Vice President for McShane Construction Company.
We are one of the top 20 general contractors in the Chicago area
and rated in the top 100 general contractors nationally.
I owe much to my education at
Buckley-Loda High School. Even though it was a small high
school, I learned much which would assist me at the University
of Illinois and my career. I appreciate the individual
attention I received in high school. I was well prepared
for college and my career. Even though I went to a small
school, I was just as prepared as my friends who went to large
city/suburban high schools in Chicago and St. Louis. There
are times I even felt it motivated me to work harder to prove
that someone from a small town could do just as well as someone
from a large suburb or city.
The core classes in high school
prepared me very well. However, there were a few classes
that had nothing to do with college prep that I have learned to
appreciate over the years. The first is sewing/tailoring
in Home Economics. Because I knew how to make my clothes
for work, I saved much money in the first part of my career in
Chicago. Because of my savings, I was able to travel to
Europe. The other classes were typing and a 10-key
calculator class Mr. Stoll offered. Because I can type and
operate a number pad quickly, I save myself so much time in my
spreadsheet analysis that I have to do daily for my job.
Finally, there is one memory from
high school I think of often. Connie Ross, my Home
Economics teacher, arranged a field trip to Chicago for the
Future Homemakers of America group of which I was a member.
Part of the field trip was a tour of the First Chicago Bank.
Our tour guide at the bank mentioned that she lived in downtown
Chicago. At the time, I could never imagine working for a
bank and most of all living in downtown Chicago. I
remember being excited to see the Sears Tower, but I was
intimidated with all the tall buildings and all the people.
In my current job, I deal with downtown Chicago banks on a daily
basis. And, I have lived in the South Loop of Chicago for
16 years now. The bank we toured is a ten-minute walk from
my condo! I also see the Sears Tower every day on my way
to and from work.
The PBL Education Foundation sincerely appreciates
Ellen's support
for her alma mater and also thanks her for sharing information
for the Alumni Spotlight page. |
