Want to Subscribe?
Sign In or Sign Up now!

I was born and grew up in Berwyn, IL until the age of 13 when I was taken from my family by the Department of Children and Family Services. I was placed in different group homes around the Chicago area particularly being with an agency called Maryville Academy until the age of 21 and to this day continue in school on a scholarship from this organization that will last through graduate school.

I graduated from public primary and secondary schools. I am a graduate of John Hersey High School and have graduated from DePaul University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. I have also completed a certificate in Image Manipulation and Design at the The Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago this summer.

I spent two years in the Air Force ROTC program at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The first year I was a cadet and the second I was a special student. While a cadet I held three corps positions: publications representative, military ball representative, and supply representative. The discipline and core values I learned during training have been helpful in accomplishing other goals.( I also joined the Arnold Air Society Scobee Squadron and earned the rank of C/1Lt and was elected the Public Affairs Officer.

Being inducted into Arnold Air Society was a life changing experience because I took the oath of office induction ceremony and took it to heart.

I, Judith Marie Kratochvil, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

I was also a member of Mach 4, the Society of American Military Engineers, the Air Force Association, the Association of Air Force Missileers, and the Reserve Officer Association as a cadet.

This oath is solemn and I take it seriously in my daily life, but there was still a missing link. That missing link was found when I committed to Jesus. I converted from Catholic to Southern Baptist in January 2007 after being baptized and joining the Immanuel Baptist Church.

I take the values I learned in ROTC, oath, and church covenant seriously in my daily life.

I have a wide range of political experience. I attended the College Democrat Convention in Boston (2004).Though I have worked for Democrats I am politically conservative. In 2008, I will work for the reelection campaign of Sen. Lindsey Graham.

I will move to South Carolina after all this living in Chicago. I want to attend the University of South Carolina for my MA in Public Administration and law degree. Then I want to serve my new community, which I will begin doing as soon as I move in.