Alumni Spotlight

Legacy Family Reflects on Shared High School Experience

Saint Viator High School’s 60th anniversary celebration has provided the opportunity for many great stories and memories to be shared. Some are very much of the “Do you remember the time…?” variety while there has also been more than a few “When I was there…” conversations. With a 60year history and a growing number of multi-generational legacy families, many of those conversations can even take place around the family dinner table.

That might be the case for the Ziebka family if only the kids in the family could stop moving long enough to sit down for dinner. The main constant in the family seems to be constant motion, but parents Jason and Bridget ’91, and kids Jack ’21, Ryan and Emma ’22, and Kyli ’25 recently took a few minutes to provide an insight to a family that has embraced the Mission, Vision, and Values of Saint Viator High School. Only Kate, a prospective Class of 2027 member, was spared the interview process, but one can only imagine all she will have to share a few years from now.

One of six children of Wally (pictured above) and Jane Liszka to attend Saint Viator, Bridget was influenced by faculty members like Jerrol Leitner and Fr. Charles Bolser, C.S.V., (who taught her freshmen Latin!) but also her parents who contributed time and energy to a number of school organizations. With some of her siblings still in the area, the total count of Liszka grandchildren to attend Saint Viator will soon be 11.

“I have stayed in touch with some classmates and reconnected with others who also have kids at Saint Viator now,” Bridget said. “The school has always been about community and still is.”

She points to excellent teachers as a thread that has been woven through the generations at Saint Viator but also acknowledges that many changes have taken place from uniforms to the new schedule and evolution of technology and the physical plant.

So, what is it like to enter a high school that a parent, aunts, uncles, and cousins have attended?

“It exceeded my expectations,” said Jack, currently a freshman considering a major in Finance at Indiana University. “I was very excited to be there,” but due to participation in multiple sports, learned quickly that “time management was an issue.”

That learning process has paid dividends for Ryan, Emma, and Kyli as each learned from the others how to be successful.

Current seniors Ryan and Emma have endured the impact of the COVID pandemic and the many changes it presented, including canceled or shortened athletic seasons and a new daily schedule format. Their memories will be different than Bridget’s but no less impactful.

“I’m going to miss being with kids I’ve been with for up to 15 years going back to St. James,” Emma said, acknowledging that she is currently experiencing frequent instances of “this will be the last time I…” And for students like Emma and Ryan, there are a lot of various experiences to encounter as each has been involved in numerous teams, organizations, and activities, many in leadership roles. They have served on various levels of student council, been captains of teams, and made appearances on honor rolls – obviously having learned the time management lessons that Jack imparted.

Despite their individual successes, when asked about memories, each turned to more personal experiences. Ryan recalled fondly how the lacrosse team welcomed a new member who transferred from another school and how he has enjoyed watching his new teammate flourish and improve in the Viator community.

He speaks at length about lacrosse, never mentioning records or achievements, but instead discusses how the coaches “want us to be good young men and spread the Viator Way.”

For her part, Emma, a captain of the soccer team, is quick to share that her favorite place in the building is the Campus Ministry office. “It’s a place I can go and talk and be comfortable.” Her spirit and commitment to service recently brought Emma recognition as a Village of Arlington Heights Heart of Gold recipient.

Being comfortable with the financial commitment of providing a Catholic education for five children was something Bridget and Jason had to come to terms with early on. As the one outsider to the Viator community, Jason, who grew up in Hoffman Estates, adapted quickly.

“We’ve paid for 54 years of Catholic grammar school so far and have had three kids at Saint Viator for four years so we could have saved a lot of money by sending them to public school,” Jason said, but quickly added, “We’re thrilled to write the tuition checks to put our kids in that environment. The financial commitment is big but you won’t regret it because of the values, opportunities, and education they receive.”

He and Bridget pointed out the sense of community that Saint Viator has provided for them and their kids.

“We know the other families. There is a great support system where all the parents look out for each other’s kids. Everyone is looking out for one another.”

As the experiences, both similar and unique are shared, they add to the family legacy. But it all happens in a hurry.

“I enjoy high school but I feel like it will go by in a hurry,” said Kyli. One can imagine that her siblings will have her well prepared for whatever comes next, as will the entire Saint Viator community.

“I feel like I was better prepared than a lot of other kids when I started college,” Jack said. “The curriculum was different, but I was prepared.”

As Ryan and Emma close in on making their college decisions, the siblings are already breaking tradition – Bridget and each of her siblings attended St. Norbert College. Wherever they end up, one imagines they will be successful and will, in some way, stay involved in the Saint Viator community.

For now, the opportunities for dinner time conversations may be limited in the Ziebka household, but when they occur, the stories will likely be impressive and inspirational, perhaps someday to another generation of Lions. n