Alumni Achievement Awards
District 128 Foundation for Learning Alumni Achievement Awards, established in 2014, are presented annually to individuals who graduated from a District 128 high school at least five years prior to nomination, and who have made significant contributions, and demonstrated leadership and character in their field and to their community. Nominations are accepted on an ongoing basis and remain active for three years. The Foundation for Learning Board of Trustees comprise the selection committee.
2022 Honorees
Foundation names Bob Chikos and Danny Park 9th Annual Alumni Achievement Award Recipients.
The District 128 Foundation for Learning is proud to announce the recipients of its 9th Annual Alumni Achievement Awards: Bob Chikos, Libertyville High School Class of 1992, and Danny Park, Vernon Hills High School Class of 2011. Chikos and Park received their awards at the Foundation’s annual fundraiser, THE BIG EVENT, on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022 at White Deer Run in Vernon Hills.
Bob Chikos (LHS '92) currently serves as a special education teacher and head speech team coach at Crystal Lake Central High School, where he has worked since 2008. After earning an associates degree from the College of Lake County and a bachelor’s degree from East Tennessee State University, he joined Lambs Farm, where he coached Special Olympians and developed and administered the QUEST life enrichment program. This helped Lambs Farm earn the highest rating from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. Bob went on to earn three master’s degrees: special education and school leadership, both from Northeastern Illinois University, and literacy education from Northern Illinois University, as he transitioned to a teaching career.
During his leadership program, he attended his 20th reunion tour and learned that LHS no longer ranks students. This led him to advocate for ending the practice in his own district, which occurred in 2015. Bob continues to advocate for change at local and state levels. He is a member of the District Equity Leadership Team in District 155, where he and his colleagues examine existing practices and implement newer ones to affirm all students. Since 2017, he has guest lectured at the university level to future school administrators on how to build affirming schools for LGBTQ+ students. As a member of Equality Illinois’ Community Advisory Group, he has helped to pass several items of legislation to support LGBTQ+ Illinoisans, including the LGBTQ+ Inclusive Curriculum Law and the Keeping Youth Healthy and Safe Act. He has testified to the Illinois State Board of Education in support of Evidence-Based Funding and is currently working to advance the Racism-Free Schools Act in the Illinois Legislature.
In 2020, Bob completed a one-year fellowship with Teach Plus, where he researched social and emotional learning and became involved with the educational legislative process. He currently partners with Advance Illinois, where he serves on a team that is developing strategies to address teacher shortages. He has recently been named to the Teach Plus committee with the Illinois Education Association.
Outside of his profession, Bob is an accomplished artist. He produced the cable access sketch comedy TV show Far Out. As a public speaker, he won the 2009 Chicagoland Toastmasters Humorous Speaking Championship, was a 2016 finalist in the International Speech Contest and helped coach one of the top 10 speakers in the world. As a writer, he has had over 30 short stories published in literary journals.
Danny Park (VHHS '11) is the CEO and founder of RoboThink, a children’s education franchise specializing in delivering robotics, coding and engineering programs to curious young minds. Danny is the recipient of the International Franchise Association’s NextGen Franchise Award and is the youngest person in Illinois state history to receive the Governor’s Export Award.
After graduating from college, Danny started RoboThink in 2015 and has grown the concept from a single location in Lake County, Illinois to a global brand with locations across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Central America and Africa. RoboThink develops and manufactures STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education products, software and curriculum that is in use by over 50,000 students every day.
In addition to the day-to-day management of RoboThink, Danny is also involved in facilitating trade and investment opportunities between South Korea and the United States as a partner of the Korean Trade Investment Promotion Agency in the pharmaceutical, chemical and electronic manufacturing markets.
Danny’s passion lies in building businesses and music and is grateful to have had the opportunity to have been a pupil with D128’s many passionate and encouraging teachers