Mr. Daniel Panfil has been a counselor at LFHS for nearly 20 years and is known for being a positive face in the school. Panfil began his career as a therapist in a local hospital but, after working with teenagers and college students, he decided to go back to school to get his degree.
“I had always enjoyed the school environment, and I had a great experience in college, so I knew after enjoying working with teenagers that working at a school was the right fit for me,” said Panfil.
Panfil’s mom was also a lifelong Special Education teacher for the Chicago Public Schools and had encouraged him to work in a school setting. Following his role model’s advice, Panfil became a counselor and has been happy with the decision ever since.
After working as a counselor for several years, Panfil wanted something more to fill his time with. Ten years ago, Kathy-O’hara, who was the previous sponsor of Big 2 Little, asked Panfil to come along to each meeting. Big 2 Little is a club where volunteers tutor and mentor elementary school children in North Chicago. After a few meetings, Panfil knew immediately that he wanted to get involved.
“I thought the meetings were really cool and I always wanted to come back each week,” said Panfil. “Mrs. O’hara retired that same year and asked me if I wanted to keep the club going and it was a no-brainer for me to say yes.”
Panfil has been running the club every week since then. But even after ten years of sponsoring Big 2 Little, Panfil still gives credit to the LFHS students who have become members.
“Our ‘Bigs’ are really the ones that make it happen. They do such a good job of mentoring the kids and are really awesome volunteers to have in the classroom,” said Panfil.
Through his role as a counselor during school and a sponsor for Big 2 Little, it’s clear that Mr. Panfil puts others before himself. He’s a person that has made a noticeable impact at LFHS.
