There may be no more apt name for a Naperville Central athlete than Sunni Steck, who lit up gyms and fields with her uncommon energy, heart and drive. As comfortable, aggressive and graceful on the soccer field as she was on the gymnastics floor, Steck never backed down from a challenge.Her stubborn, unwavering resolve to give her best in every endeavor led Steck to an accomplished four years on the gymnastics and soccer teams, as well as an impressive two year stint on the volleyball team. Determined to achieve at the highest level possible for her teammates, coaches and herself, Steck often juggled multiple sport practices in a single season and powered through injuries that would have deterred others.Steck credits the example of her parents and coaches as the inspiration for her perseverance. She shared with gratitude, “The only reason I became the athlete that I was is due to the coaches and my family who pushed me and put up with me. Thank you to all of my coaches and my family for believing in and supporting me.”Steck’s indelible spirit to some remarkable achievements as a Redskin athlete. Her dogged determination, innate confidence and competitive edge led Steck, who holds one of Central’s top 10 season assist records of all-time, to be named to the 1st Team All-Conference Soccer Team in 1991. While a fierce defensive force on the soccer field, Steck’s most notable moment achievements came in her gymnastics career, which featured four trips to the state gymnastics meet. As a freshman, Steck placed 3rd in the All-Around, 2nd on the balance beam and 4th in floor exercise. Steck took home a 2nd place on vault in her sophomore year and then placed 6th on vault as a junior. As a senior, Steck triumphed, placing 4th on vault and 2nd on the uneven parallel bars, all while taking home State Champion honors in floor exercise. Her floor exercise score of 9.8 still stands as the 7th best score in Illinois history. Steck’s final floor exercise was especially poetic, Linda Young notes in her 1991 Chicago Tribune article “A Sunny Weekend for Steck,” as she “pulled off a dazzling double back flip in the state finals […] to seal the gold medal,” a feat made more special by the crowd’s standing ovation. A thrilled Steck shared at the time, “It feels like a dream still. I knew I could do it, but in the back of my mind it was still iffy […] I was practicing it for so long and it was my best event and my coach just said, ‘Whatever you do, we’ll be proud of you’ because I had worked so hard that year coming back from surgery. And once I hit my double back, I didn’t feel the rest of the routine. I just kept going, I was numb.”After high school, Steck graduated from Illinois State University and Heartland Community College with a degree in nursing. She has been a RN for 15 years, primarily in hospital settings, and has been nominated for Nurse of the Year. A proud mom of four, she and her husband live in Bloomington, Illinois, where they work to instill within their children the importance of hard work, commitment and a positive life outlook. Her advice to current Naperville Central students is reminiscent of the values she also held as a high school student-athlete: “Do your best in school, as it opens up so many opportunities for your future. Get involved in extracurricular activities. Most of all, be present. Enjoy the moments high school brings you. Before you’ll know it, you’ll be at your 20 year reunion!”Steck’s presence and energy, inarguably, made a lasting impression on her teammates, coaches and competitors alike. Her light, bright then, continues to shine even now, a strong example to all of the athletes who have followed her example on to fields and into gyms of their own.