I once looked on a young green tree.
I have forgotten where it stood.
I only know the leaves of it scattered light in shadow wood.
Light, like that moving through the opening words of the unpublished poem “Shadow Wood,” by the late playwright Tennessee Williams, recently found its way into the lives of 15 seniors from Downers Grove North High School, but it is unlikely they will ever forget where it came from.
As recipients of scholarships from the Downers Grove North Parents’ Club, the seniors listened Wednesday as Dakin Williams read the poem by his older brother at a tea to benefit for next year’s scholarship fund. Williams recently discovered the poem in a box from his late mother’s basement.
Classical music interlaced with conversations as more than 150 people attending the tea, including parents and community leaders, enjoyed gourmet appetizers and punch in the Oak Brook estate of Lisa and Duane Gengler. Lisa Gengler has been host of the tea for the last five years.
“I just wanted to help kids who might need a little support, kids who usually don’t get a break,” said Gengler. Although she does not have children at the school, she offered her home to the club, she said, to help boost the fund so that more students could benefit from its scholarships.
Scholarship applicants must meet several criteria, including current financial need, educational achievement and involvement in their school and community. The $400 and $750 scholarships are targeted for those who might be struggling more financially and academically than their peers, said Kathy Carter, club vice president.
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“It’s a privilege,” said recipient Tim Lee, who plans to take premedicine courses when he heads this fall to University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. “It’s one of those awards that it’s not so much the money, it’s the honor, and the tradition and the respect that you get.”
Anna King, who will major in journalism at the University of Missouri, said “I think this is a great honor to be chosen, and this is really going to help a lot. My scholarship is going right for books and expenses.”