Ceremony at Old State Capitol Recognizes the Top Students from Each College and University in Illinois
SPRINGFIELD –-(ENEWSPF)–November 6, 2015. Governor Bruce Rauner yesterday announced this year’s outstanding college students who will be honored by the Lincoln Academy of Illinois. The Academy will recognize the following students during the annual Student Laureate Convocation at 11 a.m. Saturday, November 7 at the Old State Capitol in Springfield.
“Civic engagement, as exemplified by President Lincoln, is crucial to our democracy and the process of our government,” said Governor Rauner. “The young men and women receiving this recognition today embody the spirit of President Lincoln through their hard work and dedication to their schools and communities.”
The Lincoln Academy’s Abraham Lincoln Civic Engagement Awards are presented for excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities to seniors from each of the state’s four-year, degree-granting colleges and universities, and one student from the community colleges in Illinois. At the Student Laureate Convocation, each student will receive a Student Laureate Medallion, along with a $1,000 educational grant and a certificate of achievement. This is the 41st year Lincoln Academy has celebrated students’ excellence in Illinois.
Student Laureate Cynthia J. Avila of the University of Chicago will speak on behalf of all the Laureates. The invocation will be delivered by Dr. Stanley R. Liberty, Interim President of Bradley University, and the benediction will be delivered by Eureka College President J. David Arnold. The Sangamon Woodwind Consort will provide music, and a luncheon at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel will follow the Student Laureate Convocation.
The Lincoln Academy, unique among the 50 states, was established more than 50 years ago to honor distinguished citizens with the state’s highest award, the Order of Lincoln. The 52nd Annual Convocation and Investiture of Laureates of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois will take place Saturday, May 7, 2016 at the historic Marriott Pere Marquette Hotel in Peoria.
STUDENT LAUREATES
School | Student | Home Town |
Augustana College | Aubrey Waddick | Algonquin, IL |
Aurora University | Sherry A. Maschmeyer | Frankfort, IL |
Benedictine University | Dana V. Cairns | Lombard, IL |
Blackburn College | Sarah Collman | New Douglas, IL |
Bradley University | Kristin Kreher | Smithton, IL |
Columbia College Chicago | Lance T. Cox | Rockford, IL |
Concordia University Chicago | Kayla E. Lohman | Kirkwood, MO |
DePaul University | Nicole May | Lemont, IL |
Dominican University | Cutberto Aguayo | Chicago, IL |
Eastern Illinois University | Shirmeen Ahmad | Romeoville. IL |
East-West University | Ghada M. Morrar | Chicago, IL |
Elmhurst College | Angil J. Tate | Atlanta, GA |
Eureka College | Michael A. Sain* II | Reynoldsburg, OH |
Governors State University | Jerry Davis el | Richton Park, IL |
Greenville College | Nathan Kriebel | Brookston, IN |
Illinois College | Kavita K. Patel | Princeton, IL |
Illinois Institute of Technology | Pooja Agarwal | Chicago, IL |
Illinois State University | Maureen R. Christensen | Normal, IL |
Illinois Wesleyan University | Nicole M. Jovicevice | Des Plaines, IL |
Judson University | Ethan R. Adams | Springfield, IL |
Knox College | Sophia D. Croll | Cambridge, MA |
Lake Forest College | Benjamin Labaschin | Northbrook, IL |
Lewis University | Jessica L. Tennant | Burr Ridge, IL |
Lincoln College | Cody R. Garretson | New Holland, IL |
Loyola University Chicago | Ashley Rogers | Evergreen Park, IL |
MacMurray College | Shannon M. Young | Carmel, IN |
McKendree University | Kenneth O’Dell Jr. | Carlyle, IL |
Millikin University | Alexander H. Koulos | Naperville, IL |
Monmouth College | Drake A. Decker | Davenport, IA |
National Louis University | Jeanette Kyle | Chicago, IL |
North Central College | Jack A. Ryan | Oswego, IL |
North Park University | Carmen Velazquez-Alvarez | Hanford, CA |
Northeastern Illinois University | Emily Fioramonti | Chicago, IL |
Northern Illinois University | Kiranjit Gill | Palatine, IL |
Olivet Nazarene University | Chelsea Risinger | Tremont, IL |
Principia College | Shontee M. Pant | Coppell, TX |
Quincy University | Catherine Richards | Quincy, IL |
Rock Valley College | Matilyn N. Bindl | Belvidere, IL |
Rockford University | Angela Martinez | Rockford, IL |
Roosevelt University | Lacy N. Reyna | Winterest, IA |
St. Xavier University | Anna E. Goldman | Eagan, MN |
School of the Art Institute of Chicago | Florian Palluci | Berwyn, IL |
Southern Illinois Univ. Carbondale | Savannah L. McCord | St. Louis, MO |
Southern Illinois Univ. Edwardsville | Joshua G. Pritsolas | Glen Carbon, IL |
The University of Chicago | Cynthia J. Avila | Chicago, IL |
Trinity Christian College | Halie A. Wisse | Oostburg, WI |
Trinity International University | Richard J. Davis | Arlington Heights, IL |
University of Illinois Chicago | Taylor R. Casino | Champaign, IL |
University of Illinois Springfield | Hannah Cave | Esmond, IL |
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | Monica S. Chen | Buffalo Grove, IL |
University of St. Francis | Laura Munoz Lopez | Simpsonville, SC |
VanderCook College of Music | Kendall C. Jones | Lake Villa, IL |
Western Illinois University | Hannah F. Drake | Charleston, IL |
Wheaton College | Kyle L. Mellinger | Ladera Ranch, CA |
Source: www.illinois.gov