Sarah Toney, a former student who graduated from West Chicago Community High School in 1996, was presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award winner for the year of 2024 following a brief ceremony in the Learning Resource Center at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 13.
Toney is a lawyer who owns her own law firm and had the chance to share some of her experiences with various classes at WEGO. During the school day, she was led on a tour throughout the school by students and gave presentations in Forensic Science and Criminal Law classes. Additionally, she was a part of a press conference that was organized by the Journalism and Journalism Production classes during second and ninth hours. She emphasized the impact of West Chicago’s government simulation program during her speeches.
“I can’t overstate how wonderful the government simulation was for me. I was the minority floor leader when I was here for the simulation, which I think, for the first time ever, put me in a situation to talk in front of people in high school,” Toney said.
Toney was a member of the National Honor Society during her tenure at WEGO and also was an athlete for the track and field team. While she claimed that she was not a huge part of the school community, the current WCCHS student body elected her as the winner of the award.
“We were introduced to two candidates, given all the information we could possibly need. We then met one more time after that to see which candidate fit the requirements of the Distinguished Alumni Award, and the [recipient] was Sarah Toney,” Muaz Ali, one of the students who participated in the selection process, said.
After the day ended, an open-invite ceremony was held in the LRC, where Director of Student Activities Marc Wolfe presented her with the award. Additionally, Toney’s mother and a member of the Education Foundation, Sue Junkroski, gave speeches in support of her achievements and her successful career.
“We’re always looking for people to honor. The criteria for the award are that students go above and beyond their careers, so former students, like Sarah, went above and beyond the requirements of her job,” Junkroski said.
