Adlai E. Stevenson High School

<h3 class="breakHead">Graduates in Class of 2020: 1,043</h3>

<h3 class="breakHead">Graduation Speakers: Lauren Malenfant and Athena Kolli </h3>

<h3 class="breakHead">Class Officers: President Anjini Grover; Vice Presidents Caili Murphy and Steve Yoo; Secretary Alyssa Shack; PR Officer Jacob Chan.</h3>

<h3 class="breakHead">Academic achievements:</h3>

• 365 members of Stevenson's Class of 2020 were named Illinois State Scholars by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.

• 52 seniors were named finalists in the 65th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

• Dylan Hu, Emily Tao Kang and Anna Wang were named semifinalists in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars competition sponsored by the Department of Education.

• Senior Madeleine O'Donnell was named to the Illinois High School Association All-State Academic Team. She is one of 26 students honored for excelling in the classroom and in IHSA-sponsored activities.

<h3 class="breakHead">Athletic achievements:</h3>

• The girls golf team won the IHSA Class 2A state championship, the first title in program history. It was their third straight state finals appearance.

• The Patriettes, Stevenson's competitive dance team, won their second IHSA Class 3A competitive dance state championship in the past four years. The Patriettes posted a final-round score of 99.24, the highest in state finals history. Less than a month later, the Patriettes captured the Dance Team Union national championship in Orlando, Florida.

• Stevenson captured its ninth consecutive IHSA Class 2A girls tennis sectional championship and finished fifth in the state tournament the following weekend. Senior Athena Kolli and her sophomore sister, Alaina Kolli, finished fifth in the state doubles competition.

• The SHS girls volleyball team won the IHSA Class 4A Palatine Regional championship, its ninth title in the past 10 years.

• Senior cross country runner Corey Pacernick earned all-state honors, finishing 18th at the IHSA Class 3A State Meet. Corey won the North Suburban Conference Championship with a personal-best time of 14:45.

• The girls swimming and diving team won the IHSA Deerfield Sectional, its eighth sectional championship in program history.

• The boys swimming and diving team won its sixth straight sectional championship, and went on to win three medals at the state meet. Seniors AJ Carollo, Jack Zhang and Jake Kim (along with sophomore Josh Song) placed fifth in the 200-yard medley relay at state.

• Senior Emily Weinstein won two medals at the IHSA state meet in February. She finished fourth in the all-around competition and third in vault.

• Senior Matt Millman was one of four Patriot wrestlers who qualified for the IHSA Class 3A individual state tournament. He won the sectional championship at 195 pounds.

• Stevenson's competitive cheerleading team finished second in the Large Team Division at the IHSA state finals, its highest finish in program history. Stevenson won its seventh consecutive North Suburban Conference varsity cheerleading championship and third straight IHSA sectional title.

• The boys basketball team won its eighth consecutive North Suburban Conference championship, and its second straight regional title. Stevenson was scheduled to play for the sectional championship when the coronavirus pandemic hit and IHSA state tournament was canceled.

<h3 class="breakHead">Extracurricular achievements:</h3>

• Chess team won the IHSA state championship, the second title in program history. The roster included two seniors, Adam Wallach and Gil Banuelos.

• The Scholastic Bowl team won the Illinois Masonic Academic Bowl Class 3A state championship. The six-student roster included seniors Akash Kumar and Govind Prabhakar. This is the fourth Masonic Bowl state title for Stevenson. The Scholastic Bowl team also won the IHSA Class 2A Fremd Regional championship on March 9, its 14th consecutive regional title.

• Twenty-six students won championships during the Illinois Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) Virtual State Conference held in March and April. Senior Maansi Bhasin earned first place in Creative Problem Solving.

• The MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge team finished third and won $10,000 in the annual M3 Challenge sponsored by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. seniors Josh Tsai and Philena Liu were team members.

• Stevenson High School's Student Council was one of eight in Illinois to achieve the 2020 National Council of Excellence Awards from the National Student Council.

• Senior Caimin Xi was selected to participate in the International Science and Engineering Fair.

• Senior Joie You captured her second state title in the last three years during the Business Professionals of America State Leadership Conference.

• Senior Caitlin Goldberg won the High School Female Barebow title at the Illinois Scholastic 3D Archery Indoor State Championship.

• Senior Sunny Gandhi was one of two SHS students selected to the 10-member Illinois Congressional Debate Association all-state team.

• 82 seniors qualified for the school's Senior Service Recognition honor based on their community service experiences over four years.

<h3 class="breakHead">Theater productions: "The Transition of Doodle Pequeno," "Chicago," "Puffs, Or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic," "The Importance of Being Earnest," and a virtual series of 11 one-act plays written and performed by students</h3>

<h3 class="breakHead">Senior class gift: Monetary donation to two programs sponsored by the Stevenson Foundation: Stevenson to College (S2C) and Kids In Need (KIN).</h3>

<h3 class="breakHead">Homecoming Theme: Up</h3>

<h3 class="breakHead">What was new for the Class of 2020:</h3>

• The yearly academic calendar was changed beginning with the 2016-17 school year. Now, the first semester ends in December instead of January, and the second semester concludes before Memorial Day instead of in June.

• The start of the school day was moved to 8:30 a.m. from 8:05 a.m. beginning with the 2016-17 school year.

• An addition to the East Building opened in August 2019. The new addition included 22 classrooms, plus a green roof, two living walls and a rooftop greenhouse.

• The cafeterias in each building were renovated, and healthier breakfast and lunch food options were made available.

<h3 class="breakHead">Notable visitors: Holocaust survivors Steen Metz (2020), Israel Starck (2019 and 2018) and Fritzie Fritzshall (2017) talked to 11th-grade students. Classical violinist Rachel Barton Pine taught and performed with music students on multiple occasions.</h3>

<h3 class="breakHead">Principal's reflections on the Class of 2020: It's been a great privilege to get to know so many members of our senior class. We have so many impressive young leaders, who give me great hope for the future. Looking at the Class of 2020, I see a group that has really embraced our school's vision of personal and intellectual growth, and understanding and responding to the needs of others. I look forward to seeing them at their class reunions in the future, and hearing about all the great things they've done in their lives."</h3>

- Principal Troy Gobble