Homes Away From Home

Returning to one’s high school can be thought of as a reunion or a terrible nightmare.  To some graduates, returning to the high school has been both an enjoyable and “intimidating experience.”    

“It was actually really nerve-wracking because I student-taught with a former teacher that I had, so I felt like the expectations and the pressure was a little higher,” Laura Fonte, social studies teacher, said.  “I felt like I was being watched with more intensity than maybe I would’ve before.”

To most, receiving one’s high school diploma means off to college and putting the last four years behind.  But to others high school is the place they feel most at home.

According to Fonte and the other graduates, they all have or plan on returning to their high school Alma Mater.

Home for a Decade

Four years in high school may feel like eternity, but Fonte says she finally felt a sense of community after beginning to teach in the same district she graduated from.

Fonte, who graduated in 1998, actually “had a mixup and was not supposed to do her student teaching [here],” she said.  She actually wanted little to do with the high school following her graduation

“I didn’t redevelop my love and passion for Lake Zurich and the community until I came back here to teach.  I think that when you’re in college, you’re very much in ‘college-mode’ and that’s where you want to be kind of a thing.  It’s fun coming back home like on breaks, but then everyone gets re-excited about going back to their dorms and apartments,” Fonte said.

Although people wonder about her choice to return, Fonte doesn’t regret her decision and would do it all over again.

“I think it’s a good district.  I mean, we’re nationally ranked. I also think, kind of why I chose ISU [was because] we’re a decent-sized school.  We’re not huge like Stevenson and we’re not tiny like a little farm town.  Also, what’s great about Lake Zurich is the community,” Fonte said.  “The community rallies.  For homecoming they write and draw on the businesses.  I think that it’s really important to know that your community is behind your school too.”

Gone for a Year

Going from being center stage and looking into the PAC crowd,to living in the heart of the city, two 2015 graduates plan on visiting their homes and the stage this summer.

Conor Jordan and Daniela Crocco attend Roosevelt University in Chicago and both consider it their new home.

“My favorite part of high school would definitely have to be senior year because so many things happened.  [For example,] getting a lead in the All-State Show and just the amazing experience I had with the arts department.  It was a good year with getting Fiona in Shrek and then Anything Goes, getting Reno,” said Crocco.

Crocco may have not have felt at home in Lake Zurich as long as Jordan, but both graduates now feel equally comfortable at their new home on Michigan Avenue as they do in LZ.

“I came into a school where everyone had kind of already established their friend groups; now in college I was able to start fresh,”  Crocco said.  “Also, being able to go to school for what I love to do where everyone is just as passionate about their craft is really nice to be around.”

Although Crocco “just loves the vibe she gets when she’s there,” everyone can yearn for home no matter the distance.

“Actually, I just went home over the weekend for the first time and it was really nice being able to have a home cooked meal from by mom, because, I mean the cafeteria food is not exactly the best,” Crocco said.

However, Jordan has yet to feel this way and says only “some people get homesick.”

“Sometimes that happens way further in the school year, but I have yet to get that.  I think, for me at least, I am in ‘college mode.’  There’s so much already that I’m having to deal with, even though classes [are just starting],” Jordan said.

Being able to attend a college so close, Jordan and Crocco don’t have problems getting home, and plan on returning.

“I think grads have problems coming back home because money is definitely a key factor, and everyone will feel homesick after a while.  It may not hit you right away, like your first couple weeks of college, but after a month or two from now you might just feel [it],” Crocco said.

Jordan and Crocco plan on pursuing their careers, but not without coming back to the high school to see choir concerts,  musicals and plays.

“I definitely will come back for the shows, I would love to keep coming to see what they have to put on because I know a few people still in it.  I am lucky enough to be that close to be able to do that,” Jordan said.

Both graduates enjoy living close to home and only needing to drive or take a train back, but both plan to travel for their professions after school.  

“Obviously after college my life will basically be an audition, that’s the saying, because in order for me to get jobs I have to audition for everything,” Crocco said.  “Performing-wise, something that I’m really interested in doing when I graduate is becoming a cruise ship performer for a little bit because that’s something that’s always interested me”

For Crocco and Jordan what makes them feel at home is being on stage.  However, everyone has their own definition of home.