The “Lighthouse Lounge” on the fourteenth floor of a senior living community isn’t the typical place you’d expect to find a high school student spending his Friday nights. But for Jack Michaelson, a senior at Lyons Township High School, it became the birthplace of a profound mission. What started as helping his grandmother’s friends pair Bluetooth hearing aids and retrieve forgotten passwords blossomed into a weekly commitment to preserving the independence and dignity of local seniors.
The Kelli Joy O’Laughlin Memorial Foundation is incredibly proud to introduce Jack as a 2026 scholarship recipient, chosen unanimously for his rare combination of brilliant technical skill and deep, protective empathy.
Technology with a Soul
At the Plymouth Place Senior Help Desk, Jack noticed a common thread among the residents: a deep-seated hesitation and the embarrassed phrase, “I’m not good at this.” Rather than rushing in, taking their devices, and fixing the problem for them, Jack chose to slow down. He created high-contrast, step-by-step guides, built scam-safety toolkits, and patiently narrated his fixes to give residents their confidence back.
His compassion was tested most movingly one Saturday afternoon when a resident came to his table, hands trembling with grief, desperate to save a video recording of his late wife’s funeral. Sensing the immense weight of the moment, Jack didn’t look at his watch. He stayed, backed up the video, and gently walked the resident through the steps until he could find it on his own. It’s a moment that defines what caring truly means—ensuring a neighbor doesn’t feel the panic of losing a memory that holds their whole world.
Brilliant Minds and Humble Leaders
Beyond his remarkable volunteer work, Jack is a generational talent in the classroom and co-curricular arenas. He paired his rigorous course load at Lyons Township with an unweighted 3.98 GPA, scored a 35 on the ACT, and achieved a perfect score of 5 on every single AP exam he took. Whether he is leading the Cyber Defense Club to national ranks, competing on the LT Math Team, or working as a District Technology Services intern, Jack’s intellectual curiosity is unmatched.
Yet, what truly struck our selection committee—and his teachers—is his intellectual humility. His AP Calculus BC teacher recalls a moment during a complex review when Jack realized his own initial answer was incorrect. Rather than brushing it aside, Jack openly used his mistake as a collaborative learning tool for his entire group, normalising growth over perfection and building a culture of mutual respect among his peers.
Bending Technology Toward People
Whether he is leading warmups for the Varsity Gymnastics team or representing the student voice on the Principal’s Student Advisory Board, Jack lives out the “helper” spirit in everything he touches. He is a builder of community who notices who is struggling and builds a bridge to bring them back into the fold.
This fall, Jack will be taking his massive talents forward as he looks toward the University of Notre Dame or the University of Virginia, where he plans to study mathematics and computer science. His ultimate goal is to enter the field of financial data engineering or bioinformatics—using data models to protect people from digital scams or help clinicians diagnose patients.
As the Foundation steps alongside Jack with a commitment of $2,000 per year ($8,000 total over four years), we do so knowing that he will spend his future making sure technology always bends toward the people who need it most.
Congratulations, Jack! Welcome to the Kelli Joy Memorial Scholarship family.
