Tinley Park’s Celia Lindokken was named valedictorian for the Class of 2025 at Marist High School. It’s a family tradition.
She joins her mother, Margy (maiden name Ortigara) who was a valedictorian in 1984 at Providence Catholic in New Lenox, and her grandmother, Cecilia (Tribbia) Ortigara, who was a valedictorian in 1945 at St. Louis Academy at 117th and South State streets in Chicago.
Three generations. Three valedictorians. What are the odds?
But there is another numerical wrinkle to this story.
“It’s a funny coincidence because my mom was the youngest of five children and her mom was 38 years old when she had my mom,” Margy said.
“Celia is the youngest of five and I was actually 41 when I had her. It sounds kind of funny. It’s kind of sweet. You just do your best and see how it all plays out.”
There is one more chapter to the family history that would have math majors scratching their heads.
All four of Celia’s grandparents — Herbert and Edith Lindokken and Mario and Cecilia Ortigara — were born in the same year: 1927.
And, yes, Celia was named for her late grandmother.
“They are both so much alike,” Margy said.
Celia does have an impressive math background at Marist, in Chicago’s Mount Greenwood neighborhood.
She received the school’s Michael Sullivan Family Foundation Senior Year Scholarship for Excellence in Mathematics covering full tuition and fees for her senior year at Marist.
She was involved in a variety of academic and extracurricular activities, including Marist’s band, jazz band, math team, National Honor Society, and the Italian National Honor Society.
Mokena’s Nathen Toth, who has made a name for himself in the sports pages as a volleyball star for the defending Illinois High School Association state champion RedHawks, was named salutatorian. He is a graduate of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin in Orland Hills and he will be heading to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for academics and volleyball.
Both were pulled out of classes recently and summoned to principal Meg Dunnebak’s office, where they received the good news.
“I knew I was in the running, but that’s something you never assume,” Lindokken said of achieving the honor.
Lindokken, who earned a perfect ACT score of 36, is a graduate of Central Middle School in Tinley Park and is heading to the University of Wisconsin.
Despite the success her mom and grandmother enjoyed being at the top of their class, Lindokken said she did not feel pressure or put pressure on herself to achieve that lofty status at Marist.
“I never felt like I needed to do it,” she said. “I didn’t have to do it for my parents. I didn’t need to do it for myself.
“I’m obviously very happy that it happened, but it wasn’t something I was losing sleep over. I wasn’t counting every little point just to try to get my As to be A-plusses.”
She added that no matter what happened with the naming of a valedictorian, her mission was accomplished.
“I went to Marist to be academically challenged, and I feel like I definitely got that experience in my four years here,” she said.
Lindokken also has attracted the attention of Village Hall in Tinley Park where she was recognized for her ACT accomplishment by Mayor Michael Glotz last June and earned one of the village’s Reta Brudd Scholarships earlier this month.
She is a third-generation valedictorian and in the next four years plans to be a fourth-generation graduate of Wisconsin, joining her father, Carl, his mother and grandfather.
Carl added that he had two brothers, two sisters and several cousins attend the Madison school.
Celia has a good idea of her future plans. She hopes to get a degree in food science. Then she wants to move back to the Chicago area and work in product development in the food industry.
Her interest in that field was piqued at a young age.
“I really love cooking and baking,” Celia said. “When I went to school, I realized I was good with this math and science thing, so I wanted to do something where those two skill sets could come together.
“Food science is the perfect marriage of the two.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
