Sarah Gorecki’s last name may be Polish, but for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the DePaul student is letting her Irish side shine.On Feb. 20, Gorecki, 21, was chosen from more than 100 candidates to be Chicago’s “St. Patrick’s Day Queen” for 2011.
The contest, sponsored by the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Local 130, is part of the larger St. Patrick’s Day festivities; a series of events celebrating Irish heritage in Chicago and culminating in the city’s famous St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which will be held this year on March 12.
According to the parade committee website, contestants must be unmarried women between the ages of 17 and 27 and, of course, must be of Irish descent. The women, who are only known by their first names to the judges, are judged for their “grace, sincerity, beauty, poise, personality and wit” before the final five are chosen to be the queen and court.
Gorecki, who is Irish on her mother’s side, is very familiar with Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities.
Her aunt is the executive director of the Irish Fellowship of Chicago, and the family has been involved with the parade since she was young, riding on the Mercy Home for Boys and Girls float.
So when the winner was announced, Gorecki’s family was there to share in the excitement.
“My heart was pounding so hard,” said Gorecki’s sister, Caitie. “Waiting for the final name…seemed to take forever! When they finally called Sarah’s name I jumped out of my chair and started cheering…every one of us (the family) shot up with excitement.”
“It’s an honor…I can’t believe it,” her brother, David Gorecki agreed. “St. Patrick’s Day has been a big part of our family for so long.”
Aside from taking part in the parade, Gorecki and four other young women who make up the Court will be present at St. Patrick’s Day events to speak about the history and heritage of the Irish in Chicago. For Gorecki, this is something in which she takes particular enjoyment.
“I really want to get more young people involved,” Gorecki said, noting that developing an educated conversation amongst Chicago youth was something the yearly festivities encourage. “Celebrating heritage is really important.”
Gorecki is also determined to “get the word out” about Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, one of the queen’s annual stops on parade day. The Mercy Home, a Catholic organization which works with displaced children and youth, has long had ties, and a shared religious foundation, with the Chicago Irish community.
“We are enormously grateful,” Father Scott Donahue, President of the organization and Irish-American himself, “to those who help us spread the word at this time of year about our mission of hope.
When she is not performing royal duties, she is pursuing her other passion: music.
“Singing is definitely a big part of who I am,” said Gorecki, who took time between high school and university to work on her music career in Los Angeles. She has even flown to Ireland to sing for both former ambassador James Kenny and the Irish President, Mary McAleese.
Now back in Chicago to study at DePaul, “I spend most of my time studying!” Gorecki said with a laugh.
Her professor, Laura Friddle, calls her “a bright and talented student”, and while she has not yet picked a major, she is definitely interested in the wider world, and how she can impact it. “I’ve always wanted to go to Africa, help kids there…or work for the U.N.”
Above and beyond the talks, the parades, and the soda bread, the St. Patrick’s Day Queen is a representative of Irish heritage and Irish pride in Chicago; an annual salute to a community who has had a significant presence in the city for decades.
“(The Irish) are courageous people…they are fun, outspoken,” David Gorecki said. He believes his sister is an excellent queen because she embodies those qualities. “Sarah is courageous… She’s a perfect queen for Chicago.