Tim Szatko graduated from Central in 1999, and started on the basketball team as a varsity athlete during his sophomore year. In his senior year, he was named the Daily Herald Player of the Year, DuPage Valley Conference Player of the Year and selected as one of the top 10 players in Illinois to compete in the Wendy’s Classic. After his high school career he continued to play basketball at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. At Holy Cross, Szatko was a four-year starter and co-captain for the Crusaders.
Q: How do you feel about being inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame?
A: It’s a great honor, I’m really excited. And it’s great to be here with a lot of other all-class all-star athletes. It’s a great, great opportunity. I’m really grateful.
Q: What lessons have you learned since graduating Central that would be helpful to students today?
A: You learn a lot about work ethic. You learn a lot about going through adversity, battling through it, coming out the other side, not giving up. You know, I think you learn a lot about just the focus of what it takes to be successful. If you do want to separate yourself from the rest of the pack, you learn what it takes. Like Mr. Paulson was saying, there’s a lot of competition here, and you have to be up to the challenge. And if you’re not, it’s hard. I personally learned a lot from all the competitiveness that really surrounds you here.
Q: What was the highlight of your experience at Central or what are you most proud of?
A: I would say it’s not athletic related, I think it’d be working with other people, working with some of the special needs kids that I did while here and doing activities. The panel is where sports opens up opportunities to do other things, and I think to take advantage of those is what I’m most proud of, probably.
Q: What message or advice do you have for our current students?
A: Enjoy the moment. Enjoy each second you got. I think we try to look ahead too much and say, ‘I can’t wait to go to college’, ‘I can’t wait till school is over’, just enjoy these moments, because you take them with you the rest of your life. Live in it, embrace it and enjoy it, and enjoy the relationships too that come with it. Make sure to live in the present, that’s what I would recommend.
For more on the 2025 inductees, click here.