D203 Teacher Union Awards Scholarships
Students honored for their Community Contributions
Five students from the Naperville area received scholarships from the Naperville Unit Education Association (NUEA) in the amount of $2000 each in April. The NUEA annually gives four scholarships to high school seniors who are children of NUEA members, and one scholarship to a college student entering an education-related field. Scholarships are awarded based on extracurricular participation and contributions to the community.
The 2025 High School Scholarship recipients are Marc Townsend from Oswego East High School, Lydia Park from Naperville Central High School, Owen Driscoll from Oswego High School, and Santino Dill from Addison Trail High School. This year’s Future in Education collegiate winner is Maddie Sniadecki from the University of Iowa, originally from Naperville.
Please join the NUEA in celebrating the achievements of these five students and their future success as leaders and innovators.
Owen Driscoll
Owen Driscoll will be attending Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee to major in Music Education and Performance. His academic accomplishments are many, including serving as President of the National Honors Society while also joining the BIONIC Club, the Science National Honor Society, the Spanish Honor Society, and the Tri-M Music Honor Society.
Owen is an accomplished musician on organ, bassoon, and percussion, having received many of the highest honors available in the state. He plays in the Oswego Wind Symphony, the Oswego Marching Band, and the Oswego Jazz Ensemble. He plays in the DuPage Symphony Orchestra and the Naperville Youth Symphony Orchestra, where he is the principal bassoon. He auditioned into the IMEA All-District Honors Orchestra, and subsequently made the All-State Honors Orchestra, establishing Owen as one of the best bassoon players in the state. He was also awarded outstanding woodwind student at the Birch Creek Music Summer Symphony Session.
Outside of school, Owen has volunteered at the Kendall County Community Food Pantry, as well as worked with the Kendall County Community Pantry Garden and the SNHS Environmental Action Club. Despite his busy schedule, Owen still finds time to teach private piano lessons to younger students, which helped inspire his passion for teaching music as a career.
Marc Townsend
Marc Townsend will be spending his next 4 years at Purdue University studying Mechanical Engineering. Throughout Marc’s high school career, he has established himself as a leader and innovator in STEM projects, including CAD, robotics, and coding. His robotics team won several local and national awards for design, inspiration, and impact. His team also built special adaptive equipment for children with special needs.
Marc was the lead CAD designer and builder for the First Tech Challenge Team 18183. He mentored younger STEM students and launched several STEM videos in both English and Spanish. He was a state finalist in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition by designing, building, and patenting the Algae Air system, which is an algae-based bioplastic fertilizer.
Marc was also active in several different honorary clubs and activities in high school. He was a member of Mu Alpha Theta (math honors society), and he was a member of his school’s Wind Symphony, Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Combo (piano), and Marching Band. His senior year, he was selected to play in the prestigious IMEA District Jazz Combo on piano. These experiences help explain Marc’s statement, “The world is full of nuance. Especially now, with all the world’s knowledge at our digital fingertips, yet buried between misleading advertisements and agendas, it is more important than ever to understand the details of the issues we face today.”
Santino Dill
This fall, Santino will be attending the University of Kentucky and majoring in finance with a minor in marketing. Santino’s high school career was rich in academic, athletic, and volunteer opportunities. As an academic leader, Santino was a member of the National Honors Society (serving as President senior year), an Illinois State Scholar, and the Principal’s Advisory Team. He also served on the Student Council every year while taking several AP and honors courses.
Athletically, Santino was the captain of his football team, having played every year at Addison Trail High School. He was also a member of Blazer Ambassadors, the school Baseball Team, the Basketball Team, and the Letterman’s Club. Additionally, he played travel baseball for three years.
As a volunteer, Santino helped nursing home residents learn and utilize various forms of technology. He also dressed as Santa for the children of his teachers, and he volunteered for two years at Feed My Starving Children. He shoveled snow for elderly neighbors and worked as a volunteer assistant football coach for the youth football team in his community.
Santino believes that his generation needs to push for better access and acceptance of mental health issues. He believes that reducing the stigma surrounding mental health challenges is necessary for everyone to lead happier and healthier lives.
Lydia Park
Lydia Park will attend St. Louis University, where she will study Occupational Therapy. Lydia was very active at Naperville North High School as an athlete and as a volunteer. A passionate runner, Lydia participated on both the Cross Country and Track and Field Teams for all four years of her high school career. She was a state qualifier for three years, and as a leader, she helped establish team events, trips, and various group activities.
Lydia also worked as a Sunday School Teacher at Redemption Church. She was a nanny, caring for three children, and she was a volunteer at the Hesed House, where she helped prepare meals for over 100 homeless people. She also organized daily sports activities for a class of 20 athletes with disabilities.
She stated that time management was one of the most crucial skills she learned in District 203, having to juggle coursework, projects, and jobs. She also cited communication and self-advocacy as being equally important for continued success, especially as an occupational therapist.
Future in Education Award Winner Maddie Sniadecki
Maddie Sniadecki is currently enrolled at the University of Iowa studying Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. As a straight A student, Maddie is a regular on the Dean’s List and the President’s List in her school. She is enrolled in the Clinical Linguistics and Disparities Lab in the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County (NCJC) Project, which is where she found her calling while working with underprivileged groups of multilingual preschool children. The scope of her work includes providing multi-tiered systems of support, dynamic assessments, and the integration of resources fit for a variety of languages.
Maddie stated that she loves the process of learning by seeking out every opportunity to make the most of her educational experience. As a researcher, Maddie understands that critical thinking skills are necessary to interpret the data she is given. When she is not sure, she takes advantage of the resources available to her, such as relying on colleagues and teachers to help her. These skills are only a few that she learned as a student in District 203.
Maddie also takes advantage of other networking groups on campus. She is a member of the Optimist Chapter, the CSD research club, and the Dance Marathon, where she surrounds herself with other like-minded students interested in service and professional growth. She is proud of her growth as an academic risk-taker, and is planning on eventually continuing her education in graduate school.
About the NUEA
The NUEA is the association of 1500 certified staff members who work in Naperville School District 203. They are a unified voice advocating for students and the teaching profession. Led by President Ross Berkley, they work with the community, administration, students, and parents in District 203 to help provide the best educational experience possible to residents of Naperville, Bolingbrook, and Lisle with District 203.
For More Information
Please contact David Carroll
dcarroll@nuea203.org
High School Senior Scholarship Winners
Future in Education Scholarship Winner