Katie Conroy Age: 18 School: Deerfield High School (Class of 2011) Accomplishment:  The “straight-from-high-school-to-college” path, though very standard for Deerfield graduates, is definitely not for everyone. At first look, Katie Conroy might seem the very most obvious candidate for such a trajectory; an extremely bright student, Conroy took many honors and AP-level classes as well as participated in multiple sports at the varsity level. Conroy was even chosen as the commencement speaker at Deerfield’s Class of 2011 graduation ceremony. Her amazing speech included an anecdote concerning a …

Name: Danny Katz Age: 17 School: Deerfield High School As a junior, Danny Katz qualified for state in Illinois, which is one of the most competitive track states in the country, Katz told Patch. Little did he know that while at state, he would set his season-best distance and place third in the state in triple jump, another huge achievment. "I strive to be the best I can be, taking advice and instruction from all of my coaches,” the incoming DHS senior said. “I inspire myself to become better. If I know it's possible to run a certain time or jump a certain mark, I work to get that." After …

Name: Allie Boudreau School: Deerfield High School/Illinois Wesleyan University Age: 18 Whether fall, winter, or spring, athletics and academics always fought for Allie Boudreau's energy. "I had to manage my time very wisely in order to balance the two, " Boudreau said.  A three-season high school athlete, Boudreau played four years of volleyball, three years of basketball, and four years of track. After being brought onto the varsity team and named "Most Impressive Freshman" at her spring awards night, it was clear Boudreau would dominate the sport in her later years. Yet it was not until …

Name: Max Ledersnaider Age: 18 School: Deerfield High School/ University of Michigan Max Ledersnaider, a recent graduate of Deerfield High School, has fallen in love with Israel. At 18, Ledersnaider has already seen more of Israel than some Israelis; he's climbed Masada, he's floated in the Dead Sea, he's visited the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock, and so many other places that people from all over the world flock to see. Ledersnaider's most impactful experience in Israel, however, had nothing to do with landmarks or vacation spots. It's the people of Israel that truly captivated him.  "…

Name: Igor Liokumovich School: Deerfield High School Age: 18 As student athletes go, Igor Liokumovich is incredibly versatile in terms of the sports he can participate in. In fact, Liokumovich competed during all three seasons of school as a freshman, playing football, volleyball, and wrestling. Having entered high school at 6' 3", Liokumovich was tall even compared to seniors, so next to other freshman his height advantage was even more pronounced.  One might anticipate such a vertically gifted sportsman to find success in competition sports like basketball or volleyball, where height can be…

Accomplishments: DHS seniors Aaron Gundersheimer and Logan Bloom met Adam Beck at a battle of the bands in Highland Park last summer, and later at several Rx Bandits shows at the Bottom Lounge. After Beck realized the two Deerfield students shared his musical vision and creative drive, he proposed that they form a math rock band that would eventually be called Brownie Mountain. Math rock, a rhythmically complex, guitar-based subset of experimental rock, seemed the perfect backdrop for the group to pursue the instrument-oriented structure they were looking for. The group recently grew to four …

Jake Porento Age: 16 School: Deerfield High School Accomplishments: Jake Porento, known as the “Voice of Deerfield Baseball,” has a confident and resonating tone when he announces, very much like what one might hear at a Cubs or White Sox game. “He has the kind of deep, echoing voice that is shared by all good announcers,” said Jon Smirles, Deerfield’s varsity level catcher. Prior to each game, Porento meets with the other team’s manager to get a copy of its line-up. Nailing the pronunciations of each name is an important part of Porento’s job, so he reads and rereads each one to avoid making…

Matthew Williams Age: 18 School: Deerfield High School Accomplishments: While many graduating seniors are looking forward to a long, relaxing break this summer, Matthew Williams is anticipating something entirely different. June 27 marks his first day as a cadet at The United States Military Academy at West Point. He’ll attend the school’s Reception Day, punctuating the end of his civilian life and the beginning of a military career. Last year, Williams was accepted into West Point’s summer leadership program, where he got to experience life as a student at West Point, learning about the …

Danny Rosenberg Age: 18 School: Deerfield High School Accomplishments: Since his early teens, Danny Rosenberg has been making iTunes playlists for special occasions. Realizing that he loved selecting and playing music for audiences, Rosenberg wanted the opportunity to scratch on turntables, mix songs, and create the soundtracks to great parties. He made his first step towards DJing by doing small gigs with Libertyville's Music Now DJ Group. After purchasing speakers, a mixer, a controller with turntables, and amp, and DJ software, Rosenberg was finally ready to pursue his passion seriously. …

Brendan Chamberlain-Simon Age: 18 School: Deerfield High School Accomplishments: Brendan Chamberlain-Simon’s involvement in the Scouting program began when he joined the Cub Scouts. Beginning as a six-year-old Tiger Cub--  “the most adorable phase of scouting,” he says-- Chamberlain-Simon has progressed all the way to the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest possible in the Boy Scouting program. Troop 50, of which Chamberlain-Simon is a member, meets once a week to discuss rank advancements for younger Scouts as well as future events to be held. Several times a month, they hike and explore the …

Name: Claire Wood Age: 17 School: Deerfield High School Accomplishments: Claire Wood began to dance when she was 3-years-old because, as she put it, “I was terrible at basically all other sports.” But looking past her modesty, Wood is a truly gifted dancer who has spent hundreds of hours working to improve her technique. There are many different styles of dance, and Wood studies a number of them, focusing mainly on ballet, modern, and jazz. “When dancing, you have to think about the technique required for the execution of every move and also the choreography, or sequence of moves," Wood says…

Brad Babendir ▪ Age: 17 ▪  School: Deerfield High School ▪ Accomplishment: Brad Babendir remembers the summer of 2010 as being a time when he went “a little journalism crazy." In a few short months, he took a course on being an effective editor at Columbia University as well as courses in news writing, opinion writing, and feature writing at Indiana University. As editor in chief of Deerprints, Deerfield High School’s newspaper, the experiences and friendships Babendir established last summer better prepared him for the requirements his leadership role called for. There are many …

Aly Gupta ▪ Age: 18 ▪  School: Deerfield High School ▪ Accomplishment: Aly Gupta is involved in a variety of student groups that help to better the community through activism and volunteer work. DHS's Human Rights club is an important outlet for students like Gupta to raise awareness about issues and conflicts taking place in other parts of the world. "The biggest thing, I believe, that we want to accomplish is to make everyone aware of the numerous injustices that are happening around the world," Gupta said. Currently, the human rights club is helping support Invisible Children, an …

Warrior Buddies ▪  School: Deerfield High School ▪ Accomplishment: This year, Deerfield's Warrior Buddies helped support the ELS basketball team as they faced New Trier at home. The ELS program, which supports students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, participates in two such games a year. The Warrior Buddies, a school club that promotes the acceptance of people with disabilities, did everything possible to make the game great for their peers. "The game is an unbelievable experience because the excitement the ELS students have for the event is unimaginable," said Jenna …

Burton Chaikin ▪ Age: 17 ▪  School: Highland Park High School ▪ Accomplishment: Burton Chaikin co-directed two mini-series, "Six Shades of Grey" and "Stone Cold," the latter of which he created a website for, www.crackthecase.net. Along with friend and collaborator Jack Shulruff, Chaikin is organizing Highland Park's first ever "FOCUS Night At The Movies," taking place at 7:00 pm on April 8. Complete with a red carpet, spotlights, and "paparazzi" , The Academy Award-themed event will kick off Highland Park's annual Focus on the Arts program. Movie Night will feature a currently untitled short…

Corey Shayman ▪ Age: 18 ▪  School: Deerfield High School ▪ Accomplishment: Corey Shayman participated in this year's Poetry Out Loud contest and has had an incredible run of success. The senior won the DHS school semifinal as well as the final, which qualified him for the regional competition held at Northwestern University. For his excellent recitations of "Nude Descending a Staircase" by XJ Kennedy and "The True-Blue American" by Delmore Schwartz, Shayman placed second at the regional level and will move on to the state competition in Springfield on Friday. In addition, Shayman took part in…

Towering over his peers at 6’10”, many would assume Jim Letten to be the star center on Deerfield High School’s basketball team. “As a kid I dabbled in the usual roundabout of sports as well as soccer, tee ball, baseball, and football,” the senior said, “but never took any of those to a higher level.” Until he took up volleyball in 7th grade at Shepard Middle School. Since then Letten’s enjoyed unparalleled success on both school and club teams. Having just finished the winter portion of his club season with Vernon Hill’s Adversity Elite 18U team, Letten will travel to Minnesota this summer …

Wearing different hats all at once has become second nature for Highland Park student Taylor Vender. The senior is not only president of Student Senate but also is in charge of this year’s Charity Drive. The goal of Charity Drive 2011 is to raise money and awareness about congenital heart defects (CHD’s) in cooperation with the Saving tiny Hearts Society. “Charity Drive is pure evidence that kids, with the help of their community, can really make a difference,” Vender said. “It is amazing what we are able to do, and it motivates everyone to try to make a change in some way.” This year, Vender…

There is something remarkable about viewing a work of art that captures the world—or the abstract—in a spectacular new way. Laurel Silberman, a senior at Deerfield High School, is a painter who has tried to do just that throughout high school. Upon viewing her work, it is clear that Silberman has worked hard at creating incredible visual art. Most notably, she paints portraits with lifelike faces. "Obviously, the face is the most expressive part of the body. I’d rather paint a face than the side of a building,” she said. From a young age, Silberman has had a passion for painting. "I've been …

While most teenagers don’t venture outside the realm of microwaveable meals when preparing food, Aron Pobereskin goes above and beyond that norm. “I can’t remember not loving being involved with food and cooking,” said the senior at Deerfield High School. “Cooking is personal. You put all of yourself into it. It’s hands-on, fast-paced, always changing and always a form of expression.” Pobereskin is in the process of transforming his passion for cooking into a future career. Last year, he secured a two-day stint at Charlie Trotter’s, a popular upscale Chicago restaurant and since then, he’s …