Erica Watson Borggren was a student at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Sept. 11, 2001 when she and her fellow cadets watched tragedy unfold only a short distance away. They could even see the smoke from the wreckage of the World Trade Center buildings hit by airplanes in the deadly terrorist attacks.
“From the shoes I was in, you knew everything about your daily life was going to change,” said the 1998 McHenry Community High School graduate. “It grew you up quite a bit.”
Borggren already knew her life after high school was taking some interesting twists and turns, but that was just the beginning. The terrorist attacks would propel her career in the U.S. Army, taking her to Korea then Iraq before continuing her service as a civilian working in state the federal government and then one of the largest power companies in the nation. And it brought her “full circle” back to connecting with her high school as she is recognized as the 2024 Distinguished Graduate by the MCHS Foundation.
Borggren, who now lives in Chicago, is looking forward to furthering her connections with her alma mater when she returns for Homecoming 2024. MCHS students will have the opportunity to learn about her own personal history and how it is inextricably woven into our country’s history.
“We’re thrilled to honor Erica’s amazing accomplishments,” said Carl Vallianatos, MCHS District 156 assistant superintendent for learning and innovation. “She has a great story to tell our students.”
Inspired in high school
Borggren didn’t necessarily see military service in her future when she was a student at the former East Campus (now Freshman Campus). But she did see herself serving others as she was inspired to do by her teachers and her education in high school.
Borggren played tennis in high school so when she got the opportunity to play at West Point, she took it. That set her on her path.
“I don’t think I could have designed the career path I had,” she said. “I left MCHS with a real desire to serve.”
It was at West Point that she met her future husband, and where she earned her Rhodes Scholarship. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in computer science, then went to the University of Oxford in England as a Rhodes Scholar. After earning a Master of Science degree in comparative social policy, she began her military service in Korea where she served as a Medical Service Corps company commander.
Then Borggren went to serve for Gen. David Petraeus, who was commanding general of the U.S. Central Command in Iraq from 2008 to 2010. When she left for Iraq, she had a 2-year-old son, and leaving him behind was “as hard as you imagine it to be.”
In Iraq, Borggren worked as a speechwriter and as a communications advisor to Petraeus. As a senior staffer, she worked on a variety of crisis communication projects, and earned several awards, including a Bronze Star.
“While it was a so-called ‘desk job,’ there’s no such thing as purely a desk job in a combat zone,” she recalled. “I’ve been in a building as a rocket-propelled grenade hit -- really just enough exposure to truly appreciate what so many of my fellow soldiers were experiencing daily ‘outside the wire’ of our base.”
She finished her service in the Army as a captain, then went to work in state agencies. In 2011, Gov. Pat Quinn appointed her as director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs. Then in 2014, Quinn appointed her as acting Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation.
She also helped launch the organization, Illinois Joining Forces, to help Illinois veterans and their families take advantage of services available to them.
Advancing clean energy
In 2015, Borggren moved from public service to the private sector by joining ComEd, but she enjoyed the fact that her work still had a public service focus. At ComEd, and now for ComEd’s parent company, Exelon, Borggren works on programs to help save energy customers money and help the environment, such as solar and electric vehicles.
She looks back at her military service and credits it with helping her develop her skills in leadership and making an impact. And she’s glad to keep doing those things. “It feels as public service as you can get,” Borggren said of her work with ComEd and Exelon.
Borggren is looking forward to coming back to McHenry for homecoming. She’ll be honored as grand marshal of the Oct. 6 parade and recognized during the Friday Oct. 11 homecoming football game. She’ll be joined by her family, husband Erik, a fellow West Point grad, son Ethan and daughter Lili.
Borggren will also visit some classes to share her story. “It does feel very full circle,” Borggren said.