2018 Inductees

Grant Community High School is pleased to announce the selection of Mr. David Spencer and Ms. Jennifer Barrett-Zitkus to the Alumni Hall of Fame.

 

David Spencer graduated from GCHS in the Class of 1965.  During his years at Grant, he was a three-sport athlete, Class President in his sophomore and junior years, a member of the Student Council and the National Honor Society, and Salutatorian.  He was the first GCHS graduate to attend the United State Air Force Academy where he made the Dean’s, Commandant’s, and Superintendent’s lists; earned three letters in baseball; and graduated in the top quarter of the Class of 1969 with a B.S. in Engineering Sciences & Astronautics.  Following graduation, Dave completed USAF Pilot Training, became an F-4 Phantom aircraft commander, and flew 181 combat missions in the F-4 during a one-year tour in the Vietnam War.  He served as an F-4 test pilot at Eglin AFB, FL, before attending and earning an M.S. in Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering from Stanford University in 1976.  He graduated from the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, CA, in 1977.  Following a second tour at Eglin AFB, Dave was reassigned to Edwards AFB and served as an Instructor Pilot and the Deputy Chief of Academics at the USAF TPS, then as an experimental test pilot in the F-15 Eagle, the USAF’s premier fighter aircraft.  During this time, he was twice nominated to be a Space Shuttle pilot-astronaut.  Dave completed his USAF career with several assignments in the Washington, D.C. area and retired from the Pentagon as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1991.  During his 22-year USAF career, Dave flew more than 3,000 hours in more than 50 different types of military aircraft and significantly contributed to many highly classified programs.  He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and numerous other citations and awards, and is a proud member of The Society of Experimental Test Pilots.  Dave then had a successful second career as an engineer with Lockheed Martin in GA where he helped design the cockpit for the USAF F-22 Raptor among other things before retiring in 2012. 

Jennifer Barrett-Zitkus graduated from GCHS in the Class of 1983.  During her years at Grant, she played softball and volleyball and was a G-Club member.  She went on to attend Winona State University on a volleyball scholarship.  She transferred to Illinois State University where she completed her undergraduate degree and began her career as a special education teacher at Fox Lake Grade School District 114 before relocating to Tennessee.  Jennifer was the lead interventionist for an Office of Special Education research and demonstration project at East Tennessee University and completed her Master’s degree there in Special Education in 1989.  She established an Inclusive Early Childhood Special Education Center and served as an adjunct faculty member at ETSU until 1998.  She returned to Illinois where she established a private practice, Early Intervention Direction.  In 2001, Jennifer joined Advocate Children’s Hospital as a Pediatric Consultant.  She was nominated in 2010 to serve as the Co-Chair of the Governor’s Taskforce charged with reviewing Illinois’ Early Intervention program.  Jennifer was an instructor at the Erikson Institute in Chicago and a Regional Training Consultant for the Illinois Early Intervention Training Program at the University of Illinois.  Almost 10 years ago, she established an Early Intervention Direction Scholarship to support Grant students and raise awareness of the field of early intervention.  She has organized a number of community fundraisers to support students, student-athletes, and the local Grant community.  In 2015, Jennifer moved out of state to accept a position with the U.S. Department of Education as an Education Program Specialist, Office of Special Education Division Monitoring and State Improvement. Jennifer is an avid Bulldog fan and continues to cheer on the Bulldogs from Washington D.C.

Our inductees will take part in several homecoming activities, including a reception in their honor on September 13, 2018, an all-school pep assembly, and the homecoming parade.

Please join us for the following homecoming activities to recognize our Alumni Hall of Fame recipients:

September 13, 2018    A reception at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium lobby followed by a Board of Education meeting at 7:00 p.m. to formally recognize the inductions.

September 14, 2018    Recognition at an all-school pep assembly in the afternoon and the varsity football game at approximately 6:45 p.m.

September 15, 2018    Homecoming parade on Grand Avenue at 9:00 a.m.