Benet Academy (often shortened to "Benet") is a co-educational, college-preparatory Benedictine high school in Lisle, Illinois, United States, overseen by the Diocese of Joliet. Since its founding in 1888, notable alumni have included Olympic athletes, professional American football players, winners of Grammy and Academy Awards, singer David Bickler from Survivor, and a former Illinois Attorney General.
An alumni directory compiled in 1937 reveals that older alumni have included members of the clergy, businessmen, physicians, educators, attorneys, musicians, and journalists.[1] For the 2010–11 school year, 1,333 students were enrolled at Benet.[2]
Most students come from Lisle, Downers Grove, and Naperville,[3] but students expected to graduate in 2013 came from 65 different schools and 34 different municipalities in DuPage and surrounding counties.[4]
Admission is competitive and primarily based on the High School Placement Test, a standardized test by Scholastic Testing Service, taken in January of applicants' eighth grade year (around age 13).[5] The Chicago Sun-Times ranked Benet one of the top ten high schools in the Chicago area in 2003,[3] and in 1999 Benet was one of two high schools in DuPage County, and 100 high schools nationwide, featured as an "Outstanding American High School" by U.S. News & World Report.[6]
Formerly known as the all-boys St. Procopius College and Academy, the school began to offer a remedial course, or a course designed to bring underprepared students to competency, to only two students on March 2, 1887. Enrollment grew to 30 high school students by 1947.[7] The academy began to operate independently from the college in 1957.[8] The all-girls Sacred Heart Academy, founded in 1926, operated nearby.[9] Due to dwindling enrollment and funding, St. Procopius Academy and Sacred Heart Academy merged in 1967 to form Benet Academy.[10]
Alumni
Former students with a — in the "Graduated" column did not graduate from Benet Academy.
| Name | Graduated | Known for | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Barron | 1978 | Priest of the Roman Catholic Church, author, scholar, and professor of theology at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles | [11] |
| Steve Baumgartner | 1969 | Former professional American football player who played defensive end for the New Orleans Saints and the Houston Oilers | [12] |
| Dave Bickler | 1971 | Grammy winning rock singer and former lead singer of the group Survivor, who also sang the rock star role in Bud Light's award-winning ad campaign Real Men of Genius | [11][13] |
| Joan Biskupic | 1974 | USA Today journalist who covers the US Supreme Court and wrote biographies of Sandra Day O'Connor and Antonin Scalia | [14] |
| Steven M. Biskupic | 1979 | Former US Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin | [15] |
| Diablo Cody | 1996 | Author of Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper and Oscar-winning screenwriter of Juno | [16] |
| Robert J. Conrad | 1976 | Chief Judge of the US District Court for the Western District of North Carolina | [15] |
| Mark DeCarlo | 1980 | Actor in The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and Sex Sells: The Making of Touché also hosted the game show Studs | [14][17][18] |
| Kathleen Doyle | 2016 | Basketball player at the University of Iowa (2016–2020); Big Ten Player of the Year in 2020. Also a silver medalist with the US national team at the 2019 Pan American Games. WNBA draftee as 14th overall pick by Indiana Fever. | [19][20] |
| Cameron Esposito | 2000 | Stand-up comic, and actor known for Take My Wife on Seeso | [21] |
| Meagen Fay | 1975 | Actress and former Second City comedian who has appeared in various television programs, including The Drew Carey Show | [22] |
| Marita Geraghty | 1980 | Television and film actress; appearances include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Seinfeld, and The Luck of the Irish, Groundhog Day, Don Juan DeMarco and Heidi Chronicles | [23][24] |
| Nancy Johnson | 1992 | Won the gold medal in the women's 10 metre air rifle at the 2000 Summer Olympics | [15][25] |
| Frank Kaminsky | 2011 | Current center for KK Partizan and consensus national player of the year in NCAA Division I men's basketball in 2014–15 | [26][27] |
| Mike Lee | 2005 | Professional boxer 2010–present; record 21–0 (2018) | [28][29] |
| Dan LeFevour | 2005 | Quarterback for Central Michigan University; he later played for his hometown Chicago Bears and in the Canadian Football League | [30][31] |
| John Lynch | 1960 | President and CEO of the Broadcast Company of the Americas and a former linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers | [15][32] |
| Justin McCareins | — | Studied at Benet as a freshman only during the 1993–1994 school year and later played as a wide receiver for the Tennessee Titans and New York Jets; graduated from Naperville North High School | [12][33] |
| James McManus | 1969 | Professional poker player and author of Positively Fifth Street | [14][34] |
| Porter Moser | 1986 | Head coach of men's basketball at Loyola University Chicago; former head coach at Illinois State University and University of Arkansas at Little Rock | [35] |
| Ben Murphy | 1960 | Actor best known for his work on the television series Alias Smith & Jones | [11] |
| Dan Proft | 1990 | Political commentator and candidate in the 2010 Illinois gubernatorial election | [36] |
| Jim Ryan | 1964 | Former Illinois Attorney General and candidate in the 2010 Illinois gubernatorial election | [11] |
| Greta Salpeter | 2006 | Lead singer and pianist for the band The Hush Sound | [37] |
| Kerry Abello | 2017 | Professional soccer player for Orlando Pride | [38] |
| Molly Schaus | — | Studied at Benet as a freshman only during the 2002–2003 school year and later went on to compete in the US women's ice hockey team in the 2010 Winter Olympics; graduated from Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts | [39][40] |