Patrick Lee
Barrington High School
South Barrington, IllinoisRobert St. John Schreier
 Patrick Lee honored at Heisman Ceremony |
"En Route to NYC"
2:31 PM, Parking Lot: I'm running through the senior locker bank in the
hopes of making it to my car before the mad rush. My massive load of
books, however, slows me down, and the fact that I have to drop some
college applications off at the post office doesn't improve my prospects
of catching the plane.
3:12 PM, Home: I slide into the driveway, and our taxi to the airport is already waiting. As I run inside, I think through the checklist of what I have to grab: warm hat with ear flaps, gloves, Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler's Ninth Symphony, and my journal. I lug the suitcase outside, and I'm set to go.
8:20 PM, NYC: A man with a sign that reads "Patric Lee" is waiting at the Baggage Claim terminal. I assume that he left the "K" off for humorous effect, and ask him if he's with the Wendy's High School Heisman program. "Yes," he replies, and less than an hour later, we are pulling up in a limo at the Hilton.
I take three steps inside and, after overcoming the shock of the luxurious lobby (much too fancy for a high school kid), I notice a large laminated poster with my picture on it and the label "National Finalist" in block lettering; I quickly put on my sweatshirt hood and make my way to the table as inconspicuously as possible, when all of a sudden:
"Hey, look, it's Patrick Lee!"
An unshaven college student (who I later found out was a previous winner) had blown my cover, and I dropped all pretenses of a disguise. Heisman Weekend had begun.
***