Always remembering Amundsen High School fondly, Katherine Konopasek, an active and involved student there, joined the Future Teachers of America as a freshman. She always knew that education would be her career. After graduation, she attended Northeastern Illinois University as an Illinois State Scholar. She moved to the University of Illinois in Urbana, under teaching assistant scholarships, receiving two Masters Degrees there. Ms. Konopasek became a principal with the Chicago Public Schools at De la Cruz Academy. The Academy has received an ISBE Spotlight Honor Roll School Award. Ms. Konopasek is a fourth generation Chicagoan and studies the city’s history as a hobby.