Streak Alumni Profile- Bonny (Apsey) Stites 1995

Today’s Streaks Alumni Profile features Bonny Apsey from the GHS Class of 1995. 

I had the pleasure of coaching Bonny in basketball. Bonny’s work ethic, commitment to self-improvement, leadership, and sense of humor impacted our team culture and her teammates. 

Galesburg girls basketball has won 7 Regional championships in a row going into the 1994-5 season, but had never won a Sectional. The ‘95 Streaks were the first to win a Sectional Championship. That team established a “championship culture” that extended beyond that season. The Streaks then won a State Record 9 straight Sectional titles. It was a credit to that team and to Bonny’s leadership. 

Sports/Activities at GHS

I played volleyball and basketball. I was in NHS and participated in FCA. 

Volleyball

Favorite Teachers/Classes

Mr. Peachey who was also our assistant coach. He made things easy to understand and you could tell that he cared

Miss Kilpatrick (Ruebner) was my 4th grade teacher and still a friend today. Her class was where I gained confidence in my education and in myself. 

Best Memories from Growing Up in Galesburg/GHS

I had many great memories riding my bike around with Tracy Anderson and working at a barn together. We always had an adventure to be on. 

I also had many pleasant memories of my team. Whether we went out “cruising” in my minivan (Rafro) or getting dressed up in crazy clothes to walk around the mall. Stef and I had some blue and red checked pants that we would always wear the day of the game. They were ridiculous but since we kept winning, we kept wearing them. 

Stef and I also came up with our “B.A.D.” name. It means Black Angels of Death which is a fungus. We learned about it in our Advanced Biology class. Don’t ask me why we thought that was a cool name. Haha!

Education After GHS

I went to University of Illinois and played basketball. I graduated with a degree in Elementary Education. I eventually got my Masters in Math Education at Ball State in 2012. 

National Honor Society

Career

After college, I worked for FCA for 2 years in Macomb, Illinois. After FCA, I have been a teacher since. I taught 2 years in Macomb and taught 4th grade. I moved to Indiana in 2003 and have taught many different things, but most of my career has been in junior high math. I am starting my 26th year this year and absolutely love what I do. 

Today

I am married to Rockford and we have two girls, Vivian (12) and Virginia (9). We just moved to Cicero, Indiana, which is where I currently teach. 

I had both of my knees replaced this past year. I also went through breast cancer 6 years ago and am a survivor. 

I coached the first 9 years of teaching and gave that up so I could have a life. I was getting frustrated that my players would not put in any additional time to get better, so I knew it was time to give that up. 

Advice for players and students

Be present. Enjoy the time that you are in. I did not appreciate how rare my team was until I graduated. Little did I know, not all teams are like that. 

To quote Andy Bernard from The Office, "I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them." We all have moments like this. Take some time to appreciate where you are.