Photo Courtesy of NCTV17 video
Without receiving a Kid Booster Anonymous grant in 2015 to cover the costs of participating in the show choir program for all four years at Naperville North High School, Axel Hageman would have felt lost.
“Without [Kid Booster Anonymous], I probably wouldn’t be the person I am today,” Hageman said. “I probably wouldn’t have been able to decide who I am and probably wouldn’t even be in show choir anymore. Without show choir I probably would have felt lost and I would have went to seek out something else.”
Originally living in Winfield and attending West Chicago schools, Hageman’s family moved to Naperville so that he could achieve his artistic goals through the fine arts programs at Naperville North.
“Through show choir and through music and fine arts here at Naperville North, I have gotten extremely close with my directors and with my friends,” Hageman said. “They’ve really made me the person I am today and I just appreciate everything, all the opportunities that I’ve been given from my directors and my friendships.”
Nick Janssen, Instructional Coordinator for Naperville North’s Fine Arts program, met Hageman when he auditioned for show choir the summer before his freshman year.
“I remember him auditioning and right away I was pretty struck by the timbre of his voice and the energy and his ability so I then got into a conversation with him and found out that he actually was auditioning to be a part of this program because that was one of the reasons why they were looking at moving to the school,” Janssen said.
After the tragic passing of his older brother in 2015, Hageman’s family was in a tough position.
“Nick had talked to me and we talked about it and he said he put us in to see if we can qualify for [Kid Booster] and we did which was awesome and was a great opportunity because it really helped,” Anna, Hageman’s mother, said.
When Naperville 203 social workers or staff identify barriers to student learning, the Kid Booster Anonymous provides support to meet students’ unique needs to enhance educational, physical or social emotional well-being.
At the time, the show choir program cost $1,000 per year. With the support of the NEF-funded Kid Booster Anonymous grants, there was no cost to Hageman’s family for his participation in show choir.
“Thank you so much to [Kid Booster Anonymous], for your donations and for helping me find out who I am,” Hageman said.
