The Distinguished Alumni Award honors graduates who have achieved outstanding distinction in their field, community, or life. 

Nomination and Selection Process

The selection process involves a few key steps:

• Who can nominate? Anyone with an interest in supporting a candidate can submit a nomination. 

• How to nominate? You can submit a nomination using a specific online form available on each high school’s website. 

• What are the criteria? Nominees are evaluated based on their achievements in their professional field AND how they conducted themselves in alignment with the D214 values outlined in our portrait of a graduate (Empower Self, Remain Curious, Show Resilience, Think Critically, Own My Future, Communicate Effectively, Demonstrate Kindness, & Support My Community)

  • To be eligible for consideration, alumni must be

    • A graduate of a District 214 high school. 

    • Have graduated a minimum of 10 years prior to consideration for a distinguished alumni honor. 

    • In the unfortunate event that a nominee is posthumously nominated, a minimum of 5 years must have passed since death. 

• Who selects the honorees? A selection committee composed of the Principal, Associate Principal of Activities & Operations, and Director of Community Engagement & Outreach.

• Nomination Longevity: A submitted nomination remains active and is considered for 5 years after its initial submission. Candidates can be renominated as many times as desired. 

• A school is not required to select a Distinguished Alumni annually. Selection is solely driven by the nomination process and nominees alignment to selection criteria. 

• The District reserves the right to remove any individual from the Distinguished Alumni list for personal conduct that dishonors the school or District.