Oswego Community Unit School District 308

A pioneer in breaking down women's professional barriers in college, law school and on the bench in Illinois, Justice Rita Garman became the second woman to sit on the Illinois Supreme Court and, as of 2011, she remains the longest-serving female judge in Illinois. The 1961 valedictorian of Oswego High School continued her scholarly pursuits by earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in economics from the University of Illinois, where she was one of a handful of women in her classes.

Neil Mottinger’s love of science was evident as a four-year member of the Oswego High School Science Club and as he assembled a small telescope on his family farm. After graduating high school in 1962 and the University of Illinois in 1966, he headed to California to work for Northrop Nortronics and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He was responsible for tracking and guiding spacecraft outside the earth’s orbit.