Valencia Lee and Boris Djulabic are among 20 Illinois finalists inWendy's High School Heisman program. The odds of winning are 12,000-to-1. But they have beaten bigger odds. By any standard, they arewinners. And even if they are awarded the top prizes, they are toobusy to pick them up.
Lee, a senior at Bogan, ranks No. 2 in a class of 450, ispresident of the senior class and volunteers to help other studentswith social problems and young mothers with child care.
Djulabic, a senior at St. Francis de Sales, ranks No. 4 in a classof 80, assisted on the girls volleyball team and finished second inthe state for the last two years in an engineering graphicscompetition.
Both of them play volleyball, have part-time jobs and are intocomputers. But that doesn't begin to explain their involvement inother activities.
"I have to stay busy," Lee said. "It seems overbearing but that'sme, the way I am. If I'm not busy, I'm bored. To live, you must dothings yourself. It is fulfilling and rewarding. I enjoy knowingthat, despite the headaches of the past four years, my work has paidoff and I am being rewarded."
"I'm involved in a lot of things and rarely have time for myself,"Djulabic said. "It makes you a more well-rounded person. You havedifferent experiences, meet different people and see what the worldis all about. I enjoy what I'm doing and have a good time doing it.I'm a happy guy."
Lee lives on the Southeast Side, near Bowen. But she chose toattend Bogan, at 79th and Pulaski, because Bogan is a computertechnical school and she wants to become involved in computerprogramming.
So she gets up at 4 a.m., catches a bus at 6 and makes an hourlongcommute to Bogan. After school activities or volleyball practice, shetakes a bus home, arrives at 7 p.m. and studies until 9. She has notime for television.
Her busy schedule also includes her duties as class president, KeyClub, mock trial, National Honor Society, peer helpers interventionand academic decathlon. She works 25 hours a week as a waitress at aBedford Park restaurant and works with young mothers for eight hoursa week at the Harris YWCA.
And she plays volleyball. She isn't a starter, but coach PatriciaSpinner-Winters said Lee is dedicated to the sport and attendedsummer camp to work on her skills.
"She is always ready and dependable," Spinner-Winters said.
Lee wants to attend a small college, probably Grand Valley Statein Allendale, Mich. She wants to study law and psychology andeventually become a defense attorney. She also collects ceramicdolphins, writes poetry and loves to sing. She said she probably willcontinue to play volleyball in college at the intramural level.
"Volleyball has taught me determination and discipline," Lee said."I never would give it up. A lot of kids don't like to sit on thebench and want to be the star. But it doesn't bother me that I don'tstart. The other kids are better than me. You have to have patienceand be a team player. Eventually you will get a chance to show whatyou can do."
Djulabic is a good volleyball player. He has captained his teamfor three years. And he plays on a club volleyball team. He wants toattend the University of Illinois to study electrical engineering buthe might opt for a smaller school where he also can play volleyball.
He is vice president of the National Honor Society and a member ofthe Worldwide Youth Science and Engineering organization. He playedbasketball as a freshman and sophomore. Football coach Jim Lickcoaxed him to play tight end this season. He also sells televisionsets at a department store, plays a guitar, reads comics, loves totake apart radios, cars and televisions and spends one hour eachnight on the Internet.
"Sports is part of the big picture," said Djulabic, who was bornin 1981, the year his parents immigrated from Croatia. "Volleyballteaches responsibility, commitment and discipline. It isn't moreimportant than academics and a college education. But it is animportant part of the big picture."
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