2025 Irish Princess
A kind-hearted princess
To those who know her, Addison Zilvitis is the epitome of kindness - the sort of person who puts the welfare of those around her ahead of her own, every time.
”I have never met a young person who thinks of others before herself as much as Addie does,” said Erin Zilvitis, who nominated her daughter to serve as the Plainfield Hometown Irish Parade’s princess when the procession rolls down Lockport Street on March 16.
An eighth-grader and honors student at Trinity Christian School, just over Plainfield’s southern border, 13-year-old Addison is involved in her school’s musical productions, cheer squad, and robotics team. For a recent regional competition, her team built a robot for which Addison took care of the coding for movement of the device’s extremities. That made sense for someone who envisions a profession in X-ray technology one day.
”I’ve always thought that the bones of the body are pretty interesting,” said Addison, whose curiosity also has taken her to Argonne National Laboratory, the Department of Energy research colossus in Darien, which annually hosts Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day.
Addison has been distinguished with her school’s Christian character award, does service projects during summer break, and takes part in mission trips as a member of her church youth group.
”It’s all about pushing yourself” to help make the world better, Erin noted.
When her school late in February celebrated Spiritual Emphasis Week, Addison and classmates donated time at Feed My Starving Children in Aurora, helping package food for underserved populations. The nonprofit hunger-relief organization has provided nearly 4.5 billion meals in the 38 years since its founding.
Addison is particularly supportive of those nearest and dearest to her. Not long ago her aunt, Erin’s sister, learned she had a brain tumor at age 41. Since becoming a cancer patient, she has had frequent visits from her niece.
”Addison maintains a kind heart, even when dealing with family illness,” Erin said.
She also is a kind sibling, supporting brothers Burke, 11, and Cooper, 9, at their sports events and at home.
There isn’t a lot of Irish blood flowing through the ancestry of her dad, Adam Zilvitis, but Erin grew up with the last name Burke - thanks to her fully Irish dad and half-Irish mom, so her daughter can claim a connection to the Emerald Isle.
Addison was born with a heart condition that demanded curtailing her activity when she was little, and she still has to be careful. When she goes to Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, she usually volunteers to stay on the ground and watch her friends ride the steepest-drop rides. But recently she was cleared by her medical team to join the local swim team, and she’s looking forward to that.
But first, she has a parade in which to ride.
