College performance, awards and honors.
College of Lake County, Grayslake
Performance: Six College of Lake County theater and dance students who are traveling to China later this month will present excerpts from American theater, musicals and dance at 2 p.m. May 17 in the Studio Theatre at the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts at CLC, 19351 W. Washington St. The event is free. The students will travel to China for a 13-day tour to perform as part of faculty/student presentations about American culture through dance and theater at American Culture Centers at three Chinese universities. Student performers are Alana Johnson, Bracha Klein, Colin Kovarik, Sara Schoenberger, Jazmine Tamayo and Savannah Thomas. The faculty presenters are Craig Rich (theater) and Lamaiya Lancaster (dance). Political science professor Timothy Murphy is attending as grant manager, as is Dr. Li-hua Yu, sociology professor emeritus and former director of the CLC Center for International Education. The CLC delegation will present and perform on May 26 at Shanghai University of Sciences and Technology, on May 29 at Xi’an International University, and on June 2 at Henan Normal University. The group will also visit cultural and historical landmarks in the three cities, as well as tour the Great Wall and Forbidden City in Beijing. The trip to China is being sponsored by a U.S. Department of State American Cultural Centers grant. The college has sent other grant-funded groups of faculty and staff to present at the American Culture Centers in the past, including art faculty in 2014 and a student choir in 2013. In 2012, CLC won a State department grant that established an American Culture Center at XAIU. CLC was one of 19 higher education institutions chosen to establish a cultural center, and was the only community college selected for the honor. Details, (847) 543-2000.
Performance: The 40 CLC choir members will participate in the Masterworks Festival Chorus with professional orchestra and soloists at renowned Orchestra Hall, Symphony Center, home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, at 7:30 p.m. May 24. Under conductor Edith Copley, the chorus will present works by English composer John Rutter, including the three-movement cantata “Gloria,” “Clap Your Hands” and “This is the Day.” Tickets are available at http://www.cso.org.
Augustana College, Rock Island
Web feature: Brian Jozwiak, a senior from Vernon Hills, was featured in the 2015 “More Than I Imagined” web series, where exceptional seniors from a wide variety of majors reflect on what they’ve accomplished at Augustana and discuss plans for their futures. Jozwiak’s “More Than I Imagined” profile may be viewed at http://www.augustana.edu/x62411.xml. To be included in “More than I Imagined,” seniors must be nominated by an Augustana faculty member or coach as an outstanding student.
Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine
Award: Miriam Fraga of Waukegan, received the Bowdoin Theater and Dance Department’s 2015 George H. Quinby Award recently.
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Carthage College, Kenosha
Presenters: Local students were among the presenters at the annual Celebration of Scholars event recently. The poster exhibition features original research, scholarship, and creative work completed by students. The following students exhibited their work: Megan Brancato of Lake Villa presented “Dance Integration: ‘Day After Night,” Joshua Brandt of Fox Lake, presented “Investigation of Peak Bat Activity Windows in Southeastern Wisconsin, a Field Study,” Cami Christopulos of Highland Park presented “A Career is a Journey, Not a Predetermined Destination,” Nicole Gaa of Gurnee presented “Outsided,” Michelle Pisowodzki of Lake Villa presented “Celebration of Scholars: Embodied,” and Caleb Town of Winthrop Harbor presented “Palladium-Catalyzed Ring-Opening of Cyclopropanols.” Presentations include senior theses and other exemplary works the students completed in courses, the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, or independent research with faculty mentors.
College of Lake County
Faculty awards: English professors Jenny Lee and Penny Steffen received, respectively, the 2015 College of Lake County Outstanding Full-Time and Part-Time Faculty of the Year awards. Both were chosen by a vote of CLC students, and the two were recognized at the April 23 meeting of the CLC Board of Trustees. Lee teaches English composition, literature and humanities courses. To keep students engaged, she said she uses a variety of media, group projects and field trips. Lee began teaching full time at CLC in 2012. At the 2015 commencement ceremonies on May 16, she will offer the faculty greeting to the graduating students. Steffen, who has taught at the college for five years, teaches English composition and a reading/writing success course. She said she engages students by sharing her own anecdotes and asking students questions that promote critical thinking. A published author, Steffen’s works include “Oblivion,” a psychological thriller for ages 14 and up and written under the pseudonym Sasha Dawn. The novel, published last year by Egmont USA, has received accolades in Kirkus Reviews, the American Library Association and the New York Public Library. Her other published works include women’s fiction and a textbook titled, “eFabulous: Publishing in a Paperless World,” in which Steffen wrote a section titled “Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction.” The book was published in 2011 by Headline Books. Both Lee and Steffen serve as CLC’s nominees for the statewide Illinois Community College Trustees Association’s outstanding faculty awards. The recipients of the ICCTA awards will be announced at the organization’s annual awards banquet on June 5 in Schaumburg.
Lawrence University, Appleton, Wis.
Honors: Scott Grudichak, son of Thomas and Debra Grudichak of Highland Park, was elected to LU’s chapter of Mortar Board, a national honor society that recognizes outstanding leadership, scholarship and service to the academic community. He is a 2012 graduate of Highland Park High School.
Honors: Janedelie Romero, daughter of Heriberto and Cindy Romero of Waukegan, was elected to LU’s chapter of Lambda Sigma, a national honor society that fosters leadership, scholarship, fellowship and the spirit of service. Students are initiated at the end of their freshman year. Romero is a 2014 graduate of Waukegan High School
Ripon College, Wis.
Award: Dillon Guelich from Waukegan received Ripon’s Elliott-Schaffnit Award at the spring 2015 Awards Convocation.
Wheaton College
Honors: Student Alyssa Everding of Libertyville was inducted into the WC Scholastic Honor Society. Each year, the faculty selects a limited number of students for membership in the Scholastic Honor Society. Selection is made on the basis of high scholarship, Christian maturity, and general promise. Everding, a member of the class of 2015, was recognized for excellence in the study of Mathematics and Economics.
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