SPRINGFIELD, IL-(Effingham Radio)- The top students representing Illinois’ colleges and universities will be honored via a pre-recorded congratulatory production by The Lincoln Academy of Illinois. The ceremony to recognize the Student Laureates of The Lincoln Academy is historically held every fall at the Old State Capitol State Historic Site in Springfield, but is replaced this year with an on-line program due to construction at the Old State Capitol building.
The 48th annual Lincoln Academy Student Laureate program will recognize excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities by seniors from each of the state’s four-year, degree-granting colleges and universities, and one student from the community colleges in Illinois. It will be available November 10 at www.TheLincolnAcademyOfIllinois.org.
The online program will include a congratulatory statement by Governor JB Pritzker, the President of the Lincoln Academy. Lincoln Academy Trustee J’Tia Hart will give the invocation and Academy Chancellor, The Honorable Ron Spears, will make welcoming remarks. Four Laureates of The Lincoln Academy will speak to each of the four recognized pillars Abraham Lincoln’s leadership, and these include: Integrity, 2018 Lincoln Laureate Ed McMillan; Courage, 2021 Lincoln Laureate Major General John Borling (UASF Ret.); Honesty, 2019 Lincoln Laureate George F. Will; and empathy, 2012 Lincoln Laureate and 1990 Student Laureate Jean Driscoll.
Student Laureates will receive a letter and certificate of merit signed by Gov. Pritzker, a Lincoln medallion, a challenge coin, and a $500 check from The Lincoln Academy. Student Laureates are selected by their individual schools. Those to be honored as Class of 2022 Student Laureates include:
Student Laureate, Institution
- William “Nishal” Weems, Augustana College
- Marco Antonio Olivera, Aurora University
- Hiba Durrani, Benedictine University
- Miriam Wali-Uddin, Blackburn College
- Makayla Horn, Bradley University
- Jan Kirsten Cabatu, Chicago State University
- Jewel Baker, Columbia College Chicago
- Caleb J. Gustafson, Concordia University Chicago
- Kellen L. Brown, DePaul University
- Jenin Teleron, Dominican University
- Angelica Ballesteros, East-West University
- Maria Guadalupe Angel, Eastern Illinois University
- Hiba Anees, Elmhurst University
- Austyn Ellison, Eureka College
- James Adduci, Governors State University
- Claire Elizabeth Krober, Greenville University
- Emily Katherine Bone, Illinois College
- Ahmad Muhammad, Illinois Institute of Technology
- Matthew M. Huisman, Illinois State University
- Mishwa Bhavsar, Illinois Wesleyan University
- Rebecca Nicole (Colson) Hall, Judson University
- Kayla Marina Hope, Knox College
- Julián Cano, Lake Forest College
- Dominick D. Bartels, Lewis University
- Olivia Grace Foster Beard, Lincoln Christian University
- Farah Alaa Elhoumaidi, Loyola University Chicago
- Breanna Lynn Sampo, McKendree University
- Isabella Benning, Millikin University
- Addison Rae Cox, Monmouth College
- Edward Gomez, National Louis University
- Adrian D. Brown, North Central College
- Stephanie Joe Sorisho, North Park University
- Javonti Modican, Northeastern Illinois University
- Vilaya Sirivong, Northern Illinois University
- Aida Zeleke, Northwestern University
- Grace Marie Pécheck, Principia College
- Jordan Heeter, Quincy University
- Celia Elizabeth Rothermel, Rockford University
- Rachelle Vinson, Roosevelt University
- Angela Alexandra Sarlas, Saint Xavier University
- Hwiy Chang, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Myla Croft, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
- Carley Alexis Wilkerson, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
- Joshua “Eyshe” Daniel Beirich, University of Chicago
- Abigail Leigh Olsson, Trinity International University
- Melodie Angel Slaughter, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Nicolette J. Owens, University of Illinois Springfield
- Eric D. Hegemann, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Diana Ortega, University of St. Francis
- Nicholas Samuel Forlenza, VanderCook College of Music
- Thalia L. Mercado, Western Illinois University
- Natalie Grace Nichols, Wheaton College
- Juan Gerardo Chiu, Illinois Community College Board selection from Waubonsee Community College
In addition to honoring the state’s Student Laureates, Illinois is unique in the United States in selecting present or former citizens who have made outstanding contributions toward the progress and betterment of humanity to be honored as Laureates of the Lincoln Academy and receive the “Order of Lincoln” from the Governor, a process that has been in place since 1964.
Proceeds from the spring Laureate Convocation are used to support the Student Laureate program each fall. For more information visit www.TheLincolnAcademyOfIllinois.org or The Lincoln Academy’s social media sites.
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