In 1964, DHS students were still reeling from the tragic assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. The senior class of ‘64 wanted to commemorate Kennedy, in a way that was a testament both to his character and to his impact on the country’s citizens. They decided to create the JFK award to honor a graduating senior who, according to the History of Deerfield High School website, “has demonstrated a strong courage of conviction and a capacity to stand alone, if necessary, to promote a just cause”, among other characteristics. Since then, the DHS alumni who have been chosen by the faculty to receive this award have gone on to find success in a number of fields and are learning a lot along the way. We reached out to the most recent winners of this honor to see where they are now and what they’ve been doing since graduating from DHS.

Heath Ogawa ‘15

Heath Ogawa had a high school experience very different from that of a typical DHS student. Ogawa was born and raised in Japan, and lived there until the age of 14, when the 2011 earthquake and tsunami made it unsafe for him to continue to be there. His parents made the difficult decision to send him to the U.S., even though he spoke little English and knew almost no one here.

“My freshman year was at Highland Park High School and I was living with one of my mom’s friends who was taking care of me at the time, but my sophomore year, she couldn’t take care of me anymore so I had to move out of her house. So, my mother decided to buy a condominium in Deerfield, so that I could continue my education in the U.S. … I transferred to Deerfield High School, but I had to live by myself for most of my sophomore year, because there wasn’t anyone to take care of me.” Ogawa said.

Living alone as a minor presented a unique set of challenges that most high school students never have to consider. On top of the normal tasks of going to school and completing homework, Ogawa had to keep his house clean, make sure he got up early enough to catch the bus, or else he would have to ride his skateboard to school, and perform all of the other chores necessary to keep up a house. Additionally, as a diver and gymnast, Ogawa had to negotiate all of the added challenges of being a student-athlete. Despite navigating through so many difficulties as a sophomore, Ogawa was still surprised to learn he was being honored with the JFK Award.

“It was very unexpected, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as the JFK Award, but it was pretty nice to receive it  …  I had to care of a lot of things by myself as a sophomore, but I still did pretty well in my academics, so I think that’s why they decided to give me the award.” Ogawa said.

After winning the award and graduating from DHS, Ogawa had the opportunity to go back to Japan and visit his family. He is a student at Lake Forest College, where he continues to dive. He recently qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships, where he went on to place eighth and be named an All-American diver. While his goals demonstrate his hopes for the future, Ogawa’s advice for DHS students clearly reflects the story of his past.

“It’s important to be grateful for the things that you have, even when they’re things that you have all the time, because when you’re in a situation where you lose that, you realize how many important things you took for granted. For me, that was parents. After I left Japan, I’ve lived without parents for five years and I realized that they sacrifice a lot for us. They make sure we go to school, they make sure we get our work done, but sometimes you forget how much they’re there for us. So, I guess my advice is to be grateful for the things that you have and always be grateful for your parents.” said Ogawa.

Joe Gerber ‘14

Joe Gerber has always been focused on giving back to the community. As a DHS student, Gerber was heavily involved with both the Warrior Buddies program and the DHS LGBTQ-Straight Alliance, then called SAGA. In addition to putting his time and energy into student organizations, Gerber also strove to educate people.

“My mom’s a teacher, my brother is a teacher, my other brother is going to grad school to be a professor, so teaching is in my blood, and I always felt like that was what I was going to do, but I guess that wasn’t really where the passion was. I think I loved using my story and my journey to teach other people, but [I didn’t necessarily] want to be a teacher, which was a distinction I didn’t realize at the time.” Gerber said.

Gerber’s passion for education originally brought him to Illinois State University, where he planned to become an Education major. However, he began to have a change of heart, which led to Gerber shifting his focus away from becoming a teacher and towards a different field entirely, resulting in a change of school and major. He transferred to Northeastern University in Chicago, where he is currently a Communication and Media Studies major.

Gerber now plans to pursue a full-time career in real estate, which he has already made strides towards by working for a real estate broker for a large Chicago-based firm. His change in location also allowed him to put more time into other fields of interest.

“I am involved in political activism at Northeastern. I’ve been really involved in getting the word out about the budget crisis that’s going on in our state, and about equality in academia … I was part of a LGBT youth group in high school called Pride Youth Group, which is run by a not-for-profit called ANGLES. I am now an adult ally for that program, so I do a lot of outreach with getting students to come to support groups and I am heavily involved with not only the Pride Youth Group, but also the organization as whole.” Gerber said.

While Joe Gerber may have ended up with a different life than the one he would have pictured for himself as a highschooler, his passion for sharing his story has hardly changed. Gerber’s story, which encompasses everything from his experience as a gay man to his changing goals and career aspirations, can provide inspiration for just about everyone, including DHS students.

“I think our community, as amazing as it was, is very academically oriented and says that you’re going to college and you have this typical experience. But life is not typical, life is not uniform, it’s not cookie-cutter, so if you decide there’s a different college you want to go to or a trade school or a vocational school, I truly think that we all make a difference in our own way in whatever we decide to do. We don’t have to conform to what we think we have to do, because it’s really just socially constructed.” Gerber said.

Donna Boguslavsky ‘13

For Donna Boguslavsky, winning the JFK award came as a bit of a shock. Although Boguslavsky enjoyed her years at DHS, and fondly remembers the faculty members who enriched her experience, she didn’t expect them to recognize her as a student who embodied the characteristics President Kennedy was known for.

“I was utterly surprised when I received the award, but truly I think it is a testament to the teachers that I had at DHS who were able to see something in me that I hadn’t seen in myself yet and I am very honored that they chose to give that love to me … It really could’ve been anyone! The fact that it was me made it even more shocking and beautiful.” Boguslavsky said.

Boguslavsky is now a junior at Knox College, where she is majoring in Anthropology and Sociology, and minoring in Spanish. She almost didn’t attend Knox because she didn’t like the idea of going to a college with Greek societies. Now, Boguslavsky is the Vice President of her sorority, Tri Delta.

“The old Donna would’ve never believed that I’d be in a sorority! At Tri Delta, I have found that I am constantly being pushed to be a better person, whether that be through leading unselfishly, community engagement, or loving unconditionally. Really when you think about it, sororities were really progressive when they were founded … The original intention was very much so to be a feminist organization and I am proud to say that I am part of that history of pushing boundaries and questioning authority.” Boguslavsky said.

Boguslavsky has definitely shifted her views on who she wants to be as college student, but she still doesn’t know where she will be after graduating. Instead of worrying about this uncertainty, Boguslavsky focuses on living her life the way she wants to in the present, and hopes that others can do the same.

“Your life doesn’t start when you graduate high school! You can start being the person you want to be right now … I still don’t know what I’m going to be when I grow up. The truth is that I’ve never known! And you know what? That’s okay. Plans, people, and times change. So for anybody else out there who still hasn’t figured it out just know that I’m with you. It’s gonna be alright,” Boguslavsky said.

Boyi Zhang ‘12

When Boyi Zhang looks back on her high school experience, she first and foremost feels lucky. She describes her DHS teachers as inspiring and caring, and loved the camaraderie she found as a member of the cross-country team. Winning the JFK Award as a senior was, for Zhang, further proof of the positivity of the community that surrounded her.

“I’m not really sure why I received the JFK Award. I think I was just very fortunate in having wonderful friends and teachers who believed in me and nominated me for it … I didn’t feel like I deserved to be recognized in that way, but it did make me feel so blessed to have found wonderful people who supported me and encouraged me.” Zhang said.

Since graduating DHS, Zhang has been attending the University of Richmond, where she is now a senior. She is majoring in Chemistry and Biochemistry, and minoring in Math and Physics. Afterwards, she hopes to attend UC Berkeley to earn a PhD in Computational and Theoretical Chemistry and go on to become an educator.

“My primary reason for this is because of Mr. Berger-White. I had Mr. Berger-White for English my sophomore and senior years, and the total conviction and passion with which he teaches the subject helped me see the power of education. The profound impact that Mr. Berger-White had on me made me realize that as an educator, I can introduce topics that will become pivotal in someone’s life. I would have the ability to inspire and challenge, the potential to push students in a direction that they would not have otherwise considered.” Zhang said.

Zhang’s quest to educate people has already begun, as she drew on her own experiences to offer advice to DHS students. Zhang stressed the importance of being open to new opportunities and not being afraid to step outside of your comfort zone. She also emphasized the importance of recognizing when you have something of value, be it an education or a friendship, and cherishing it.

“…Be grateful for your teachers. I did not realize how fortunate I was to be at Deerfield until I got to college, when I realized that I was better prepared than a lot of my classmates at writing and critical thinking. And finally, and most importantly, be kind. Habits that you develop now stick. No matter where you end up or what you end up doing, your legacy will lie in how you treated others more so than the feats you’ve accomplished.” Zhang said.