Minooka Seniors Chosen for Prestigious Academy

MINOOKA, IL — Minooka Community High School seniors Allison and Bailey Lyman, daughters of Michelle and Richard Lyman of Channahon, were selected for inclusion in the 2016 Commonwealth Honors Academy, a prestigious three-week academic, personal and social development program during the month of June at
Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky.

Allison and Bailey were just two of the 120 students accepted this year into the Commonwealth Honors Academy. Students applying for the program must be high school juniors, have a 3.5 GPA and a 25 Composite ACT score.

According to Dr. Randall Black, Academic Dean of CHA, “CHA brings together students not just from Kentucky, but as far north as northern Illinois, as far east as Virginia and Florida and as far south as Alabama.”

“They come together for a three-week experience where we really build a living, learning community,” Black said. “Students work with secondary and college teachers to become the very best they can be. Classes are different than normal high school classes. Teachers place special emphasis on active learning and students, many of them for the first time, are confronted with time management challenges that they will face when they actually go to college full-time.”

120 students are accepted into the program each year. They each take six hours of tuition-free, transferable university credit during the three weeks and can take six additional credits during their senior year. Should the students decide to attend Murray State University after they graduate, they are guaranteed a $2,000 per year housing scholarship.

CHA strives to build a living, learning community for the students during their time on campus. For more information about the program or how to apply, visit www.murraystate.edu/cha.

Photo 1: From left, Dr. Randall Black, Academic Dean of the Commonwealth Honors Academy, Alison Lyman and Dr. Robert O. Davies, President of Murray State University. Photo 2: From left, Dr. Randall Black, Academic Dean of the Commonwealth Honors Academy, Bailey Lyman and Dr. Robert O. Davies, President of Murray State University.

Submitted by Minooka Community School District