Mahomet-Seymour Hall of Fame 2023: Judy Swiger

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Mahomet Daily will feature each of the four new selections for the Mahomet Education Foundation Hall of Fame in upcoming days. Today’s focus, Judy Swiger.

By FRED KRONER

fred@mahometnews.com

Picking two words and only two words to describe the Mahomet-Seymour drama and theater departments from late 1973 through the start of a new century is a harder challenge than it might first appear.

There are so many potential choices.

Elite. Outstanding.

Fun. Inclusive.

Magnificent. Memorable.

Special. Quality.

Joyous. Treasured.

Distinguished. Respected.

All of the words are accurate, but perhaps not the most appropriate.

Those two words could easily be: Judy. Swiger.

The long-time M-S English teacher and drama director was the one constant within the department for 32 years while literally impacting thousands of students.

Swiger, who died on Nov. 17, 2020, at age 73, was in charge of a program which involved as much as one-fifth of the entire student body at one time (150 of 750), resulting in plays being double-cast in order to find roles for all who were interested.

For her efforts in promoting and maintaining a high standard of excellence within the department, she is one of four upcoming inductees for the Mahomet-Seymour Schools Foundation Hall of Fame.

The ceremony, scheduled for Friday, September 22, prior to a 7 o’clock high school football game between the Bulldogs and Taylorville, will also include 1985 graduate Karl Welke as well as 1989 graduates Dirk Handlin and James Heinold.

“I was fortunate enough to have gone through M-S schools during the Judy Swiger Era,” Ben Herriott said. “When I think of Mrs. Swiger, I personally think of a kind and supportive teacher who found the best in people, even when they couldn’t find it in themselves.

“She would challenge her students, in speech and in drama, to be their all. She did this in a way that expected excellence and demanded effort and engagement with her students.

“She loved what she did, and she loved her students. Her students loved her right back and did their very best to meet the challenges that she had given them and to meet their own expectations that Mrs. Swiger had helped them believe in and aspire to reach.”

Joel Shoemaker, a member of the M-S Class of 2002, remembers Swiger undertaking the daunting task of producing five shows in a school year that lasted approximately nine months.

“We did five theatrical productions a year,” Shoemaker said. “Nobody does that. Not only that, but she also did huge shows because she knew she’d have the participation.

“And I’m so glad they were challenging, too. Dramas, comedies, all genres. She was very clever and definitely built that program into something special.

“It would not have been as vital as it was to the high school community without her. She changed my life. I often think she probably saved it.”

Sarah Henrikson, a 2005 M-S graduate, was involved with drama while in school and is still active. Henrikson is in her third year as the Drama Club sponsor.

She recently received a touching email from another former M-S student, Andrew Ramey, who was diagnosed with severe Epilepsy and has forgotten about 95 percent of his life’s memories prior to September, 2022.

“He shared this about his time in M-S HS Drama Club, something that clearly was a memory he couldn’t forget,”  said Henrikson, who then quoted from Ramey’s email. “But, despite this wretched loss of a lifetime of memories, I can still remember Drama Club.

“I still feel Mrs. Swiger in my heart. Hard to write this since high school was so terrible outside of drama, but thank you to Mahomet for letting us have this safe space for any and all people from all walks of life. Thank you.”

Henrikson said she had a chance meeting with Swiger after she accepted the position of sponsor for the M-S Drama Club.

“A few months after I decided I would become the full-time Drama sponsor, I ran into Judy at the grocery store,” Henrikson said. “I told her the news and said I was nervous about filling the shoes of those sponsors previous to me.

“Without skipping a beat, Judy said ‘I’m not nervous. You went through the program and you know what those kids need. You will do wonderfully.’ That was who she was.”

Stories such as the ones provided by Shoemaker, Ramey and Henrikson are not the exception when the conversation turns to Swiger.

Carol Allen, the music M-S director for 21 years before retiring in 2015, said Swiger was equally effective with adults as well as with the teen-aged students.

“She was good, not just with kids, but also with adults, of being an encourager,” Allen said. “Her attitude was, ‘Let’s not say we can’t do it. Let’s find a way to do it.’ That’s why our program got so strong.

“She was a welcoming place and where people wanted to be. She would find kids who didn’t fit in anywhere and say, ‘Come, be part of the theater program.’

“She never, ever turned a kid away. I learned from her. We worked as a team. Everyone was important.”

Allen said Swiger had a penchant for inspiring students who lacked self-confidence. She did it with patience and her encouraging nature.

“She would say, “they’re not just students, but people with talents and feelings and there were things they didn’t know they could do,” Allen related, recalling one of Swiger’s mantras. “We’re in the education field. We’re not just doing a production. She was an amazing person in my life.”

Sue Arbuckle taught at the high school for more than three decades while Swiger was on staff and marveled at her friend’s work ethic.

“Judy is the teacher who didn’t do anything halfway,” Arbuckle said. “She truly and wholeheartedly threw herself into every unit, every play, every friendship.”

Michael Roy, a 1983 M-S graduate, said he was fortunate to have been in Swiger’s classes. They have had an effect throughout his adult life and professional career.

“Judy was incredibly passionate about teaching and had a deep sense of commitment to her students,” Roy said. “Her interest was far more than just in the performing arts.

“She understood that lessons and skills learned through the performing arts could be applied in all aspects of a person’s life. For me, it was standing on the stage of her classroom, delivering speeches that were either from selected text or assignments to speak about something personal.”

The carryover value, Roy said, was tremendous.

“In my 33-year professional career as a residential designer, this helped me incredibly,” Roy said. “I can sit across the table from millionaires/billionaires and discuss most anything with confidence, whether specifically about their projects and design or any other non-related topic.

“My ability to carry any easy-flowing conversation and ad-lib as necessary, I attribute to the speaking skills taught by Judy.”

Whether a student was a natural on stage was irrelevant to Swiger.

“This woman easily saw something in every single person she met,” Henrikson said. “She took the time to get to know them on a deep level and then expressed how unique and special they were.”

Shoemaker said perhaps the key to her success is simple. 

“I think, maybe, she just knew how to teach and was really good at it,” Shoemaker said. “She knew how to see in us what we didn’t see in ourselves.

“She also didn’t settle for anything less than people’s best efforts. She just knew us, and it was lovely.

“Mrs. Swiger was one of the most encouraging teachers I’d ever met. She was just great at making everyone feel welcomed into her classroom and into the auditorium after school.

“It didn’t matter to her how talented someone was. Just how eager they were to learn.”

For many people, drama and acting are synonymous. Herriott, now a fifth-grade teacher at Lincoln Trail, said Swiger’s demeanor was genuine, not an act.

“She was a fan of her kids,” Herriott said. “She cheered us on, gave us some of our first standing ovations, and showed consistent support.

“She was demanding, but she was also the first to say ‘Bravo!’”

When the situation warranted, Roy said Swiger had the ability to be strict and tough. She was clearly the one in charge.

“Judy demanded hard work and excellence from all of her students, but at the same time made participation fun,” Roy said. “You were made to feel part of something bigger than yourself.

“Participation drew students from every group of students. Someone not at all into athletics could become friends with a star athlete with whom they would otherwise have had no contact or friendship with. The drama program was an equalizer and unifying space.”

Making everything work was one of Swiger’s magical traits.

“Judy had the ability to see into a student,” Roy said. “She knew what the students feared or shied away from, and she worked to help to bring them out of that and instill confidence.

“She seemed to take particular interest in helping those students.”

Prior to Swiger’s death, there was a movement to name the M-S auditorium after Swiger.

“The Drama Boosters were working on having it renamed,” M-S graduate Karen (Knight) Slezak said, “but the person who spearheaded it, the Booster President, moved and it faded.”

Nearly 500 signatures had been obtained several years back, but the petition was never presented to the M-S Board of Education.

After Slezak joined the board, she started hearing from M-S alums who wanted the project to be started anew.

“We need 750 signatures of voting members from the school district or from alumni (who live elsewhere), Slezak said. “It’s a pretty big endeavor, but we decided to get the petition rolling.

“We’re hoping to have enough (signatures) by fall.”

Though Slezak is an M-S graduate, she was never involved with any theatrical productions. However, that doesn’t diminish her enthusiasm for the signature-gathering project.

“I know how much she impacted kids in my (graduating) class,” Slezak said.

Shoemaker considers the potential honor “a no-brainer in my book,” he said, adding, “It’s a fantastic idea. Why would they name the auditorium after anyone else? Who is more deserving?”

Roy is also supportive of the naming of the M-S auditorium for Swiger.

“There is no question that the auditorium should absolutely be named in honor of Judy,” Roy said. “She literally built that program and that theater exists because of her.”

He would willingly do more than sign a petition.

“I, for one, would gladly contribute financially to the effort,” Roy said.

Former M-S vocal music teacher and Madrigal’s director Janet Watkins is also in favor of the auditorium being named in Swiger’s honor.

“The auditorium has been Judy’s ‘home,’ her workplace, the place where she made things happen,” Watkins said. “In the time

Judy directed/worked in the auditorium, many other play/musical directors came and went as the years went on, but Judy was the constant, the one who was the ‘overseer’ of all things drama.

“She built, nurtured, and maintained the program. It is just fitting that her name should be honored, given her tenure at M-S HS and her love for her art and for her ‘kids.’”

Swiger’s only child, Matt, is a special education teacher at Urbana Middle School. Though he never participated in drama while at M-S, he had an upclose look at the process, dating back to when he was in junior high and would hang around the set after school.

He said his mother never wanted people to think the program was all about her.

“Judy was a big part of building the M-S HS Drama Department from the ground up, but she would argue that it was never her alone doing all the work,” Matt Swiger said. “She was surrounded, and surrounded herself, by amazing people who shared her passion for the stage, as well as teaching.

“My mom was simply someone who loved what she did. It wasn’t ever just a job to her. She wanted to share that love of theater with her students.”

Matt Swiger said he never received any negative feedback from his mother about his decision not to join in the theatrical productions.

“Thing is, my mom was just an extremely supportive person,” Matt Swiger said. “She never really pushed me to do anything specific, just tried to lead by example through her effort and dedication.

“This is what she saw in people. Judy saw everyone as deserving of a chance to be successful. If a student came to her wanting to be part of the Drama Club, my mom would find a place for them.”

Whether or not a student received a personal invitation from Judy Swiger, they recognized the special appeal of the Drama Club. 

“I think word spread that being a part of the Drama Club was a positive experience, which is why it gained in popularity throughout the years,” Matt Swiger said. “Students knew that it was a supportive environment, and it had a lot to offer for those willing to work.

“Again, it goes back to Judy surrounding herself with others who were dedicated to something bigger than themselves. My mother would be extremely humbled to know that there are those who want the auditorium at Mahomet-Seymour High School named in her honor.” 

Matt Swiger said the traits others saw at school, he witnessed at home.

“Growing up with Judy Swiger as a mom was probably somewhat similar to what it was like being one of her students: there was plenty of learning and laughing, along with a considerable amount of yelling and crying,” he said. “I was an only child, and my parents separated when I was 4.

“She was a good mom, and definitely tried her best, although I made it very difficult for her at times. Thankfully, she had a forgiving nature. Judy never gave up on me, and for that I am eternally grateful.”

If he could have a re-do, Matt Swiger said there are things he would like to change.

“When I was young, she was just a mom, and most of the time I took her for granted,” he said. “I want to go back and tell my younger self how lucky I am to have her as my mother.

“There are many moments in my life when I wish I could just call her up and talk to her. These moments are bittersweet. I am sad that I can’t talk to her, but I am grateful for all the memories.”

Shoemaker and Roy took note of Judy Swiger remaining loyal and devoted to her former students even after they had graduated from high school.

“After she retired, she came to see most, if not all, of my (magic or theatrical) shows,” Shoemaker said. “It was always my favorite performance.

“You can hear her laugh. You know she’s there. And that really mattered.”

Added Roy: “Judy’s and my friendship only grew after I graduated. She kept in touch with me on a regular and ongoing basis as she did with so many of her former students.

“She even flew to San Diego to attend my 50th birthday ‘Arabian Nights’ themed celebration with nearly 400 guests, friends and clients from around the country.”

Their special bond started when Roy attended M-S.

“Along with having been an amazing teacher and mentor, Judy became a dear friend,” Roy said. “During my years as a student, I had a not-always easy personal life.

“Judy knew my family and knew that my mother’s ongoing illness was very hard on me and my siblings. She was always interested and made herself available to listen.

“She did this not only with me. Her love for her work and for her students was far beyond the classroom and curriculum. There were times when her encouragement was the only thing I could see as reasons to keep pushing through.” 

For years, Watkins worked closely with Swiger, both as a teaching colleague and in directing musicals. She treasured the association.

“Judy was always a great person to work with – easy to collaborate with, share ideas, brainstorm – all the things that go into putting on a production together,” Watkins said. “Judy took care of the set design/building and props, and all the tech  – sound, lighting, etc., while I dealt with the music, acting, and dancing, what happened onstage.

“I enjoyed working with Judy because her heart motivation was the same as mine – providing opportunities for students to find success and work together as a unit toward a common goal – a show.

“The journey from deciding what show to do to putting that show out there for people to see, it is a journey filled with joys and blahs, successes and failures, bloops and bloops and more bloops – and with lots and lots of wonderful memories of working together to make a lot of people feel great about the journey and remember it forever.”

Forever equals the length of time Judy Swiger will be remembered and revered around the Mahomet-Seymour High School Drama department.

A part of his mother remains with Matt Swiger in his home on a daily basis.

“The cat my mom left behind when she passed, Lulubelle, has been in my care, and is a constant reminder of Judy’s presence,” Matt Swiger added.