Claire Bonjean balances high school, college and a growing business
by Lynn Colburn
At first glance, it seems impossible that one student can fit so much into a single day. But for Claire Bonjean, busy is just normal life.
Bonjean graduated from Lincoln Land Community College on May 15 and then walked across the stage again two days later at Routt Catholic High School’s graduation ceremony on May 17.
“[Lincoln Land advisor] Keri Mason did say that I am the first one from Lincoln Land Community College in Jacksonville to get my associate’s degree before high school graduation,” Bonjean says.
Between high school classes, online college courses, cheerleading, student council, work and running her own ice cream business as part of the CEO program, she somehow finds a way to make it all work.
“I have Lincoln Land graduation first as a member of the president’s list and then Routt,” she says before both graduations. “It’s going to be a busy weekend, but it’s fun.” Not to mention, Bonjean is the commencement speaker at the Routt graduation this year.
The daughter of Cortney and Bobby Bonjean, Claire Bonjean says she has always enjoyed school — maybe more than most students.
“My friends like to joke that school’s my hobby,” she says. “They all go do whatever else, and I’m just like, ‘Sorry, I can’t. I have to write an essay or something.’ But I’m not mad about it.”
What started with a few dual credit classes during her junior year quickly turned into something much bigger. After taking an English class during the summer before senior year at Lincoln Land, she realized she enjoyed the challenge.
Soon after, she approached Mason with an ambitious plan.
“I told Keri I not only want to take college classes, but I wanted to graduate with my associate’s degree at the same time I finish high school,’” Bonjean says with a laugh. “And she just kind of looked at me like I was crazy.”
By the end of the year, she completed 13 Lincoln Land classes, most packed into accelerated eight-week modules. She takes every class online, often squeezing homework into every free minute she can find.
“At one point, I think the most I took at a time was four Lincoln Land classes,” she says.
That workload means college assignments never really stop — even during breaks.
“I was on spring break from Routt and I was doing Lincoln Land stuff,” she says. “I was in Florida and I was doing a biology lab on the kitchen table.”
Still, she says the hard work now feels worth it.
“If you would have asked me six months ago, I might have been like, ‘I’m a little overwhelmed,’” she says. “But right now I’m graduating.”
Her schedule hardly slows down outside the classroom.
Bonjean cheers during football season at Routt as cheer captain, serves on student council and was vice president, and works every day after school as a bank teller at First National Bank of Arenzville. Other activities and honors include Marilyn Merris Chapter National English, Honor Society president, member of the Routt National Honor Society, Routt Summa Cum Laude graduate, Routt DAR Good Citizen Award recipient, East Side Juniors 4-H member, Morgan-Scott CEO member and Illinois State Scholar (top 10 percent of graduating class).
Then there is her job.
“I work every day at the bank after school until 5:30,” she says.
The bank has helped make her impossible schedule possible.
“They’re super cool with it,” she says. “As long as I wait on people when they’re in there, and nothing is going on, I can do my homework at work, and that really helped!”
As if that was not enough, Bonjean also launched her own business this year through the Morgan-Scott CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities) program.
During the first semester, the entire class first created a group business called “Hometown Hustle,” a Morgan and Scott counties-themed board game inspired by Monopoly. During the second semester, each student developed an individual business idea.
“I didn’t really know what I was going to do,” she says. “But then I had a random thought, ‘You like ice cream. Why not try ice cream?’”
That idea became “A Sweet Scoop,” her homemade ice cream business.
Bonjean researched recipes online, experimenting with flavors and spending weeks perfecting batches.
“Some of them had to be tweaked a little,” she says. “For the past month and a half, it’s been constant ice cream making.”
At the CEO trade show in April, she brought 120 pints of ice cream.
“I pretty much sold out of them,” she says. “I think I only had five left.” And online orders continue to come in after the event.
Her ice cream comes in nine flavors, including chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, mint chocolate chip, cake batter, cookies and cream, cookie dough, brownie batter and lemon.
“There’s only five ingredients,” she says.
She laughs when asked if the ice cream is healthy. “Healthy might be a stretch,” she says. “But it is good.”
In August, Bonjean heads to the University of Kentucky, where she enters as a freshman — technically — but with enough credits to already take junior-level classes.
“I always wanted to go south,” she says. “I toured a bunch of different places … but Kentucky, I just fell in love with it.”
She plans to major in business while following a pre-law track.
“Many people aren’t surprised when I tell them that,” she says, since her grandfather and father practice law.
She says corporate law interests her, but family law may eventually pull her back home.
“If my dad’s still working here and no one’s replaced my grandpa for family law yet, we probably need that in town,” she says.
Bonjean expects college life to look a little different after spending high school balancing such a packed schedule. For now, she plans to enjoy the experience.
“I’m just signed up for the normal amount for the first semester,” she says.
She may even room with her cousin, Lily Hickox, who also plans to attend Kentucky.
“We’re really excited,” Bonjean says.
Even with all the accomplishments already behind her, she still talks like a typical senior excited for graduation parties, prom memories and college roommates.
“We just had our after-prom at the Y until about 4 a.m.,” she says. “It was fun.”
Bonjean admits her life sometimes feels like “organized chaos,” but she would not have it any other way.
Watch out for Claire Bonjean — she is a force to be reckoned with and has a lot of life ahead of her.
