Alumni honored for automotive safety advocacy brings message of hope
A traumatic event led to the passing of car safety thanks to the efforts of this year’s Distinguished Alumni representative. After a harrowing experience, Jannette Fennell of the Class of 1972 made it her mission to prevent dangerous situations of entrapment from happening in vehicles. Fennell’s achievements are the latest in a long list of honorees that have been selected for the Distinguished Alumni award.
Cory Beaulieu, a former assistant principal who now works as a cross categorical teacher, appreciates the annual ceremony and its impact on the current student body.
“The big picture is to hopefully motivate students and help them understand and see all of the different things people who have sat in the same seats as them and who went to Oshkosh West have done with their lives,” he said. “The goal is to motivate students and inspire them to see what people who have come from this high school have accomplished.”
The idea for the Distinguished Alumni Ceremonies was introduced years ago by a previous principal. Prior to this, the ceremony only existed at North. Beaulieu explains why it was so important to expand this ceremony to both schools.
“He had the idea of each school after so much time had passed. North was built in the 70’s and West was Oshkosh High School before it was West,” he said. “Now you have graduates from the 70’s onward, where they would have been fully through their careers, and can be honored for each school.”
Justin Hable, a West dean and member of the committee, had further insight on the ceremony after years of experience.
“We want to give credit to the people that came from West that are doing great things,” he said. “We want to inspire the students here, who are the next alumni, like this could be you someday, going on and doing great things that we want to acknowledge.”
Fennell has made astounding accomplishments in the realm of car safety advocacy, saving the lives of thousands of people. Beaulieu acknowledges the power of Fenell’s advocacy.
“It makes you wonder what other things are going on around you that have a real impact on your safety or your family’s safety,” he said. “Someone like her had the determination to achieve that, which keeps us safe and we don’t even know it. Even the backup camera, since then there have been significantly fewer back-up related deaths to children since that law was instituted requiring vehicles to have it.”
A lot of Fennell’s contributions to safety within vehicles can easily go unnoticed, but they actually serve an important purpose. Hable respects what Fennell has accomplished.
“She helped create those things that are standard now and people probably think are just a feature of a car. They don’t know why those things were put into place,” he said.
Fennell gave a valuable speech during homeroom on the day of the ceremony. She started by disclosing that a terrible event changed the course of her life.
“In 1995, my family and I experienced something terrifying. We were kidnapped, locked in the trunk of our car, and left there to die,” she said during the speech. “I realized something shocking—there was no way for people to escape from inside a car trunk.”
Although this situation was traumatic, Fennell didn’t allow it to ruin her life. Instead, she found an opportunity and new passion, which has helped countless people.
“I started advocating,” she said. “It took time, determination, and persistence. But eventually, we changed the law. Now, every car sold in the U.S. comes with a glow in the dark trunk release. Since that change, not one person has died in the trunk of a car that is equipped with that little release.”
The safety features that have been implemented because of her include: safer power window switches, preventing children from being strangled, brake transmission shift interlock (eliminating the chance for an unexpected gear change), internal trunk release button, which allows anyone trapped inside to escape, rear view camera, significantly lowering the amount of back-up related deaths, and rear seat belt reminders. Shockingly, the idea for these reminders was previously non-existent. Much to Fennell’s relief, this feature is now being mandated in cars.
“We know seat belts are the number one safety feature in our vehicles and if we get in the front seat we get a reminder. Well, what about the kids?” she said. “That has finally become a safety feature as of December 2024.”
While Fennell has been extremely successful in her efforts and career, she wants all students to understand that change doesn’t have to come only after such life-changing experiences.
“If there’s one thing that that kidnapping experience taught me it was that you don’t need a tragic event to create change,” she said. “But you do need to care deeply about something. If it’s an idea you might have, or a problem you want to solve, or an injustice that’s just pulling at you, pay attention. That’s your starting point.”
It may be difficult for people to believe they could be responsible for something meaningful and significant, but the truth is far from that. Fennell summarized her thoughts on this issue.
“Your voice matters now,” she said. “You don’t have to be all grown up to make an impact. No job is beneath you, and no goal is beyond you. You should approach everything in your life with humility and determination. Every one of you has the potential to change the world. That might sound a little cliché, but I’ve seen it happen over and over again. This world needs your ideas, it needs your compassion, and your passion. I can confidently tell you, you are enough, you are capable, and your voice matters.”
by Samreen Chahal
Published April 28th, 2025
Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue VII