Northwestern College Announces 2017 Commencement Speaker: Emery Moorehead, Former Chicago Bear – 1985 Super Bowl Champion Team
[Bridgeview-Chicago-Rosemont, IL] Northwestern College President Lawrence Schumacher announced that the 2017 Commencement Speaker for Northwestern
College’s June 9th Ceremony will be Emery Moorehead of the famed Chicago Bears 1985 Super Bowl Championship team. Moorehead, an Evanston native who has remained a local resident here in Illinois, continues to give back to the community via numerous philanthropic endeavors; he also remains active with several professional football associations and charitable entities that provide assistance to retired professional football players and their families. Though Moorehead recently retired from real estate sales as well as various real estate industry leadership positions, he continues to serve as a versatile public speaker on topics such as motivation, teamwork, and of course, football.
Moorehead is widely known in the Chicagoland area for his distinguished career as tight end with the Chicago Bears, including his role in securing the Chicago Bear’s World Championship in Super Bowl XX. But Moorehead made his initial mark on football at Evanston Township High School where he received All State honors as a running back. He then headed to the University of Colorado where he played both running back and receiver and captained the Big 8 Championship team. Moorehead graduated from the University of Colorado with a B.A. in Communications.
In 1977 Moorehead was drafted by the New York Giants where he played both wide receiver and fullback. Then he spent a year in Denver with the Broncos before heading back to Illinois as a Chicago Bear. Moorhead played 8 consecutive years as starting tight end for the Bears which included winning the World Championship in Super Bowl XX. His long and highly successful athletic career included a total of 12 years in the NFL; in 1999 he was inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame.
Moorehead transitioned from his football career into real estate when in 1986 he entered the firm of Koenig & Strey Realtors where he excelled in the sale of real estate and was inducted into Koenig & Strey’s elite Presidents Club. Simultaneously, Moorhead climbed the ladder of various professional real estate associations, serving two separate terms as a Director on the North Shore Barrington Board of Realtors, including one term as its President. He also served as a Director for the Illinois Association of Realtors. Moorehead was named Realtor Associate of the year in 2006 and eventually retired from real estate sales in 2014.
Moorehead’s philanthropic efforts touch numerous charitable organizations where he has not only made donations but has chaired countless committees and events that yielded significant monetary benefit as well as generated attention to worthy causes he supported. Boy Scouts, the National Football League Players Association Retired Chicago Chapter, and the Gene Upshaw Player Assistance Trust Fund have all benefitted from his time and attention.
“Emery Moorhead is forever a son of Illinois who continues to use his talents and success to benefit the people of this State,” commented Northwestern College President Lawrence Schumacher. “His prowess on the football field was but a sliver of his talents. Instead, it is what he learned on the field and converted to everyday life that helped to make him the successful man that he is today!”
This year’s Northwestern College Commencement Ceremony will take place on Friday, June 9 at The Copernicus Center on Chicago’s Northwest Side, located at 5216 W. Lawrence Avenue. The Ceremony will begin at 5:00 p.m. and include approximately 230-240 graduates. According to past ceremonies, it is anticipated that approximately 2,500 will attend in support of the Class.
June 9 will be the College’s 113th Commencement Ceremony. Northwestern College has well over a century of history in the Chicagoland area serving primarily Chicagoans and suburban students seeking to fulfill their career-focused higher education dreams. A family-owned institution from its inception, the College was purchased by the Schumacher Family in 1958 and has grown from one campus in Chicago serving a handful of students in accounting and stenography, to two campuses (Bridgeview and Chicago-Jefferson Park) in addition to NC Online. Today the college serves approximately 1,500 students yearly and maintains several dozen areas of study. In 2010 Northwestern College opened its Violet L. Schumacher School of Nursing, named for President Lawrence Schumacher’s mother who purchased the College in 1958.
“We are excited to have Bears Great Emery Moorehead as this year’s Commencement Keynote Speaker!” commented President Schumacher. “Emery’s personal success story and deep Chicago roots are sure to provide an inspirational message to the College’s 2017 graduates.”
About Northwestern College:
Northwestern College (NC) is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, 230 S. LaSalle St., Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 263-0456, www.ncahlc.org. The college offers focused career-oriented associate degree and certificate programs with flexible schedules and a supportive faculty. Day, evening, weekend, online classes and online programs are available. More information can be found at www.NC.edu or by calling toll-free (888) 205-2283.
Media Contact: Laura Pollastrini
847-233-7700, Ext. 2116
lmpollastrini@nc.edu