Addison Trail hosts new, future-focused speaker series to inspire students to ‘Dream. Plan. Do. – From the Halls to the Hustle’

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On Jan. 21, Addison Trail hosted a “Dream. Plan. Do. – From the Halls to the Hustle” event.

This new, future-focused speaker series is coordinated by District 88 Director of Student Career Development Iridia Nevarez. It features presentations from professionals, who were once students walking the halls of high school – just like current Addison Trail pupils – and are now making their mark in a variety of careers.

The speakers share their personal story: from their early dreams, to the plans they made, to the hustle it took to get where they are today. The purpose of sharing these real-world journeys is to help students explore diverse career paths, learn from authentic experiences and feel empowered to chart their own course – whether that’s college, military service or entering the workforce. The goal is to have classes that are directly connected to each speaker’s profession, or students who have indicated interest in that specific field, attend that respective session.

On Jan. 21, the following presenters met with students.

• Jillian Turner: Administrative Supervisor at Aurora Central Dispatch with the Aurora Police Department
  
  
• Erica Chianelli: VP of Marketing, Events and Community Outreach at Lakeside Bank
  
  
• Addison Trail alumnus Stephen Steinhaus (class of 1991): CEO and Founder, Solihull Alternative Provision Multi Academy Trust: Music Director, Upton Blues Festival (Steinhaus joined virtually from England)

To read more about the speakers, go to www.dupage88.net/ATCareerPresentationJanuary2026.

The “Dream. Plan. Do. – From the Halls to the Hustle” series is part of District 88’s focus to foster strong community and business partnerships to provide opportunities for students. District 88 offers a comprehensive curriculum that includes more than 30 Advanced Placement (AP)/college-level courses and more than 50 dual-credit and collegiate-credit courses in 18 career pathway areas, along with award-winning fine arts programming, to help ensure students are prepared to successfully accomplish their post-high school goals.

District 88 is always looking to develop more collaborations, and those who are interested can find information at www.dupage88.net/BusinessPartnerships.