RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Dr. Lukasz Adam Koscielski was born in Lodz, Poland, on November 5, 1985. At the age of two, he visited Chicago for the first time, and he lived here until he was four. However, his parents' marriage dissolved, and he would come to live in Chicago again at the age of nine, this time permanently; and,
WHEREAS, Lukasz would spend the rest of his childhood in the same house on West Melrose Street in Chicago, alternating between living with his mother and his grandmother, both of whom would travel back and forth between Chicago and Poland. He would never see his father again; and,
WHEREAS, Despite the many changes in his young life, there was one thing that was always consistent, Lukasz was an extraordinary student. Able to impress his teachers from the time he was very young, Lukasz was not motivated by grades; instead Lukasz loved learning for the sake of learning. When he was not doing homework, he took the time to teach himself more math, science and languages. At the time of his passing, Lukasz was fluent in Polish and English, proficient in Spanish, and had a working knowledge of Chinese and French; and,
WHEREAS, Lukasz's passion for learning was recognized by his teachers. At the conclusion of eighth grade at Scammon Elementary School, Lukasz was chosen as the class valedictorian. He would go on to repeat the same type of academic success at Lane Tech High School, where he graduated as salutatorian in a class of about one thousand students; and,
WHEREAS, When it came time to decide how to focus his studies at the college level, Lukasz had no doubt that chemistry, his truest passion, would become his future. He studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he continued to excel. Upon graduation, he returned to Chicago to continue his schooling at Northwestern University, where he was accepted into a Pd.D. program in chemistry where he received his doctorial in June of 2013; and,
WHEREAS, Through all ofthis, Lukasz never lost sight of what was important, which were his family and friends; and,
WHEREAS, Soon after, his job would put some distance between him and his friends and family, when he secured a professorship at the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey. During the two years that Lukasz was a professor, he had developed strong relationships with his students; and,
WHEREAS, Tragically, on May 9, 2015, while with students and a colleague on a beach in Puerto Rico, Lukasz passed away. Due to his organization skills, his colleague was able to locate the final examinations that he had already prepared. Many of his students were left in shock at his passing, and a permanent memorial has been placed at the campus; and,
WHEREAS, During his short teaching career, Lukasz helped multiple students establish a connection with his alma mater here at home, Northwestern University, and he traveled with them often between Puerto Rico and Chicago to cement those connections. There is no telling how much more could have been accomplished by this extraordinary professor, friend, son, and grandson; and now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, gathered here this 18th day of May 2016 A.D., do hereby offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Dr. Lukasz Adam Koscielski; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be prepared for presentation to the family of Dr. Lukasz Adam Koscielski.
Ariel E. Reboyras Alderman, 30th Ward
