A new book created by students at Lemont High School offers intriguing glimpses into local history, including stories like teachers’ homes being destroyed by the deadly tornado of 1976.
“A while ago, in 1976, a significant tornado came right through the campus and a neighborhood across from us,” said Noah Tienda, a senior and supply chain leader of Lemont Junior Achievement, the organization behind the book. “A lot of teachers in this building lost their houses. We thought it was really interesting and incorporated that.”
The book also highlights other local anecdotes, such as the old bridge that once ran through town and crossed the canal. “It stressed people out passing it and it has since been knocked down because the bridge wasn’t safe,” Tienda added.
These stories, among many others, are part of *Lemont Times*, the book students are currently assembling and expect to publish later this fall. Throughout the project, students took on various roles including marketing, research, design, and sales.
Local residents were invited to contribute information and stories. Their responses included artwork, photographs of the community, stories, and even recipes for traditional Polish and Lithuanian dishes, cookies, and cupcakes.
Lemont Junior Achievement is part of a nonprofit organization established in 1919 that aims to foster financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship among students. The program connects academics to real-world experiences and has been active at Lemont High School for several decades. Impressively, students have earned 10 Chicagoland Company of the Year awards in the past 16 years, including in 2023 and 2024.
John Aspel, the Junior Achievement faculty adviser and business teacher, has overseen the project for 20 years. He explains that student responsibilities include developing a business plan, conducting market research, working through development and design phases, and managing production and delivery, which typically happens in December.
However, Aspel emphasizes that the 35 to 40 students involved do the actual work, with him providing guidance only when necessary. “I believe in student-led organizations and try to run the organization as much as I can hands-off to let them truly develop their leadership skills and run our company,” he said.
Aspel notes that the program focuses on more than just business skills. “They all have diverse backgrounds. Not all the students are interested in business,” he said. “Many come with art backgrounds, which is helpful for designing our product graphics. Others have communication and language skills that are essential for proofreading documents and game instructions.”
He also highlighted the mentorship aspect: “They really help mentor our younger students so they become our leaders of tomorrow.”
The work is part of the school’s Entrepreneurial Club, which meets twice weekly at 7:15 a.m. Each group is led by a student board, selected by Aspel and the project’s graduating seniors, who serve as “executives.”
This year’s board includes Michael Tilly, president; Noah Tienda, supply chain leader; Mykala Kunickis, team leader of customer service and sales; juniors Kevin Collins, team leader of marketing; and Braden Vasvery, team leader of finance.
Tilly described his responsibilities as encompassing finances, revenues and profits, marketing, sending out surveys, posting notices on social media, overseeing the supply chain, designing and creating proofs, proofreading, and customer service.
He was encouraged to join by his brother, who participated in the club several years ago and enjoyed it. Tilly has been involved since his sophomore year and was part of the executive board that placed second in the state competition.
“This project has helped my leadership skills and with the different departments and areas of business, I have to be able to understand all of it,” Tilly said. “I really do just love leading everybody and being kind of a part of a real business that came from nothing.”
*By Janice Neumann, freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown*
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/26/lemont-high-school-history-book-students/
