Bonnie Bailey and Samuel Wilson Named College of DuPage 2022 Outstanding Graduates

Bonnie Bailey and Samuel Wilson, both of Wheaton, are the 2022 Outstanding Graduates at College of DuPage.

After earning her Associate in Applied Science degree in Hospitality Management, Bailey plans to study business administration and entrepreneurship at Johnson & Wales University. Her goal is to open a bed and breakfast. Wilson is graduating with an Associate in Arts degree and has been accepted into the prestigious Gies School of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he will pursue a bachelor’s degree in accountancy.

The Outstanding Graduate finalists are Vidhi Desai (Lisle), Hisham Elseweifi (Lombard), Amy Frese (Glen Ellyn), Leah Gormaz (Bloomingdale), Jacqueline King-Tran (Wheaton) and Angelina Kregg (Western Springs).

When Bailey first went away to college, she found out her father’s kidneys were failing and returned home to donate one of hers. It saved his life. However, it also pulled her away from school, and she instead married and had four children.

“I put my education on the shelf,” she said. “When the ‘being a mom and raising children’ chapter of my life was coming to an end, I began to ask myself who I wanted to be, how I would show up in the world and what impact I could make.”

In 2016, Bailey was backpacking the Appalachian Trail and was working her way toward St. Johns Ledges in Connecticut when she decided to dust off her dream of college.

“I was in my 40s and reached a difficult part of the trail. I told myself, ‘If you can do this, if you can survive this walk, you can go back to school.’ I was scared, and it took me nine months to get the courage to do it. But I did finally register at COD for two classes.”

While she earned A’s in those first two classes, English and Speech, Bailey struggled with the technical aspect of her coursework.

“The academic landscape had changed since I had been in school, and I was unprepared for the digital shift,” she said. “I got a C on my first English paper and my professor, Franz Burnier, said I had to flip the academic switch inside me. For my next paper, I worked hard and spent so much time at the library, and I got an A. The academic switch had been flicked, but I didn’t know how to flip the technical switch.”

The next several semesters were difficult, and when she walked into Instructor Erik Skov’s Humanities 1130 class, Bailey knew she needed help.

“I held my phone above my head and announced, ‘I’m a mom, and I’m old enough to be a mom to all of you. I want to earn my degree, but I need help with the technology. Would anyone like to help me?’ Those kids dispersed and gave me a seat in the middle of the room. All semester they called me ‘mama” and met me at Starbucks and the Library. With their guidance, I learned how to become a student in the digital age.”

Bailey passed that class with an A. However, she also dropped another class and failed a third. Due to her record, she was placed on academic probation.

“I looked at my GPA and got mad. With all my new knowledge and all my fury and grit and determination, I registered for a summer class and poured everything into it. I passed with a 98.6, and from that point forward, I got all A’s.”

By the end of the fall 2019 semester, Bailey had raised her GPA to a 4.0 and became a member of Phi Theta Kappa. She also received multiple scholarships from the COD Foundation.

Bailey cannot praise COD enough for helping her reach her dream.

“I became fully integrated into the world of COD, and it anchored me. I was able to focus and work hard. I provided guidance and mentorship to other nontraditional-age students who were intimidated by the digital landscape. I also had a tribe of supporters who cheered me on along my journey, including my children. Being a COD student alongside three of my four children is an experience I will always treasure.”

It was difficult for Wilson to question his choice of COD, which was like a second home to him. His parents—who both work at the College—brought him to the former early child care center on campus when he was 3. He later participated in classes offered through Continuing Education’s Kids on Campus and Teens on Campus programs, the latter helping him get a head start on his high school coursework.

After being inspired by his high school accounting teacher, Wilson reached out to Maureen McBeth, COD Accounting professor and program chair, to learn more about his career options.

“Problem solving and reasoning are two skills that have always engaged my interest. Working to determine solutions that applied these skills is an appealing career target, and she explained how these core skills aligned with accountancy,” he said. “She told me why accountants do what they do and explained the many career options.”

Buoyed by this conversation yet still unsure whether accounting was the right career path, Wilson applied to COD and was named a Presidential Scholar, which covered two years of tuition as well as enrollment in the Honors Program and Phi Theta Kappa. He initially signed up for two accounting classes—both taught by Associate Professor of Accounting Chris Ferro—and loved them. His only wish was that the classes had been in person, as all students were learning remotely due to COVID-19.

Still, the pandemic did not keep Wilson from taking full advantage of his time at COD. He joined the Accounting Club, serving as a board member his first year and as president his second. Wilson was also an Honors Scholar and the lead organizer of the College’s Chess Club, through which he showed many students how playing chess can develop career-ready abilities.

“By helping people to plan and strategize, manage risk and execute a cohesive plan, I hope that playing chess encouraged our members to apply these concepts to their future career paths.”

Wilson said his best experience at COD was spending two years with the Accounting program’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA), which provides free tax preparation for members of the community during tax season.

“Being a VITA assistant was challenging as I managed our clients who wanted to book tax appointments and selected which tax preparer worked with each client,” he said. “As the tax preparers are students who are learning tax law, it was necessary that I lead with confidence and give the students a great sense of direction so they could succeed in preparing taxes.

“Working with VITA allowed me to apply my knowledge to help real people. When I did people’s taxes, it didn’t feel like I was working, and if you do what you love, you won’t regret it.”

Another key experience was his participation in the pilot cohort for the year-long Career Ready Scholar Program, which provides a series of career preparation activities with the guidance and support of the Career Services Center. One of the program’s highlights was participating in a job shadow experience, and Wilson met with the partner of a mid-sized accounting firm to learn more about his chosen career.

Wilson recently received a scholarship from the Illinois Community College Faculty Association (ICCFA), awarded to only seven community college students in Illinois annually.

Considering all that he has accomplished, Wilson attributes his ability to be proactive to his mother, a first-generation immigrant from Thailand who also attended COD.

“It’s not the struggle of her story that pushes me, it’s the opportunities she took advantage of,” he said. “I don’t want to waste any opportunities. I view everything as maximizing my options.”

Contact Details

Jennifer Duda

+1 773-490-4077

dudajen@cod.edu