St. Gregory the Great High School received a call from the USO Center at Navy Pier just moments before breaking for the Labor Day weekend. Susan Nassar, a USO coordinator, was seeking a neighborhood school placement and tuition funding for the daughter of a single mother, an Army soldier bound for duty in Iraq. The young woman had just arrived in Chicago to stay with her uncle, an Edgewater resident, for the duration of her mom's deployment.
Unfortunately, all financial aid for the 2003/04 year had already been designated but the story touched everyone's heart. The Development Office got to work.
Richard Gengler, '28, to the rescue! Two years ago, Mr. Gengler set up a scholarship in the name of his brother Vincent, who was killed in the Battle of the Bulge during WWII. When he heard of the plight of this young woman he stepped forward again to offer an additional gift of $3,000 so she could begin school on time.
A day later, Michael Joyce, '68, called from New York. Through the grapevine he had heard of this young woman and wanted to pay her tuition. Informed of Mr. Gengler's generous assistance, Mr. Joyce assured the school that a check for the $2,200 balance would be in the afternoon's mail.
Miki Battiest, 16, has moved over and over again since her mom joined the Army two years ago shortly after 9/11. Entering St. Gregory as a sophomore/junior, she's already been in six different high schools—during which time she's managed not only to maintain good grades but to work as a volunteer.
Miki spent the summer in Puerto Rico where she volunteered nearly 300 hours of service with the American Red Cross. In Chicago she will continue that spirit of service by volunteering for the USO at Navy Pier while her mom is serving in Iraq.
Richard Gengler himself also served in the military, as a radio communicator in the Philippines in WWII. He is a frequent visitor of St. Gregory and last year participated in the school's Veterans Day Observance by sharing war stories and photographs during a school assembly.
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