College Credits: Scholarship Celebration, Dean's List, Graduation

NEW LENOX, IL — We're sharing the news of all the major higher education accomplishments of area students. Send your submissions to andrea.earnest@patch.com. Students from area towns like Frankfort, Lemont, New Lenox, Homer Glen, Lockport and Mokena have accomplished some amazing things, including Dean's List recognitions, scholarship celebrations, honor society inductions, athletic achievements and of course, graduation.

Submitted by John Bisbikis

Madison Smith, of Mokena, will be graduating from the University of Illinois on May 15, with a degree in Industrial Engineering. She will be honored by the university as one of 100 graduates who are "Senior 100 Honorary," for academics, service and campus involvement.

The following information was provided by Merit Pages News:

Riley Murphy named to Dean's List at Palmer College of Chiropractic

Riley Murphy of Frankfort, has been named to the winter 2021 quarter Dean's List at Palmer College of Chiropractic's Florida campus in Port Orange, Florida.

Student recognized during The University of Alabama Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Conference

Josh Perch of Mokena, was recently recognized during the University of Alabama Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Conference.

Perch received 1st place work in progress for a presentation entitled Synthesis and Characterization of Metal Catalysts for Selective Oxidation Reactions in the Engineering, Transportation & Energy category.

Frankfort's Mitchell Part of Conference Championship for UW-Whitewater Men's Tennis

Ryan Mitchell, of Frankfort, and graduate of Lincoln-Way East High School, is a member of the 2021 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's tennis team, which earned the first-ever New Jersey Athletic Conference West Division championship with a 9-0 victory over UW-La Crosse in a dual at Wangerin Courts.

The Warhawks (9-1 overall, 2-0 NJAC), who have now won eight straight duals, edged UW-Eau Claire 5-4 on Saturday to set up the opportunity to clinch the title on Sunday afternoon. UW-W joined the NJAC as an affiliate member in April 2019.

Mitchell, a junior at UW-Whitewater, is majoring in marketing.

Student Named to Knox College Dean's List

To be named to the Dean's List, a student must have earned at least 2.5 credits in the term, with a grade point average of 3.6 or better (on a 4.0 scale).

Area students who made the Dean's List include:

Jason White of Mokena, who is an undecided major, Michael Cepolski of New Lenox, who is majoring in Ed Studies - Secondary and Physics; Samantha Weithers of Frankfort, who is majoring in creative writing; Dwight Bejlovec of Homer Glen, who is majoring in Creative Writing; Salma Sandoval of Romeoville, who is majoring in Environmental Science; and John Downey of Lockport, who is majoring in English Literature and Ed Studies - Secondary.

Scholarship Celebration Honors Central Students

Central's annual Scholarship Celebration was scheduled for April 22, but was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The event gives student scholarship recipients the opportunity to personally thank and share dinner with donors who help make their Central education possible.

More than 800 students would have been recognized this year in P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium, including:

Connor Blair of New Lenox, who received the John & Marilynn Poole Scholarship; Andrew Smith of New Lenox, who received the John & Marilynn Poole Scholarship and Journey Scholarship; and Connor Miklos of Lockport, who received the Journey Scholarship.

Rebekkah Schimick is Inducted into Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society

Congratulations to Rebekkah Schimick, of New Lenox, who is among the new members inducted into Chapter 378 of Phi Eta Sigma national honor society for academic excellence at McKendree University.

Phi Eta Sigma is the nation's oldest and largest multi-disciplinary honor society for first-year college and university students. Students may qualify in the first or second semester of their first year.

Students Receives School of Business Award of Excellence

The McKendree University School of Business has presented Joshua Carlson, of New Lenox, and Lucas Galifos, of Mokena, with its Award of Excellence in 2021. The award recognizes students' academic achievement in the study of accounting, business administration, economics and finance, entrepreneurship, human resource management, management, marketing, or sport management.

Carlson is pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management degree. Galifos is pursing a Master of Business Administration degree.

Emma Drew of Lockport Inducted Into Mortar Board at UA

Emma Drew of Lockport, was inducted into the Mortar Board honor society at The University of Alabama's virtual Tapping on the Mound ceremony April 9 inside Foster Auditorium.

Mortar Board is the premier national honor society recognizing college seniors for superior achievement in scholarship, leadership and service. The University of Alabama's Hypatia Chapter is one of the oldest chapters in the nation. Only a select few students on each campus are invited to join this esteemed Society. Mortar Board members are presented with the opportunity to join a diverse group of students from vastly different disciplines and interests.

Lemont Student Wins 2021 Come Clean Go Green Competition at Lewis University

Sebastian Mietus of Lemont was on the winning team for the 2021 Come Clean Go Green Competition at Lewis University.

The Environmental Science student's team submitted the project idea of "Food to Fuel: Biodiesel Processing for Campus and Community Use." Team members included students Kristen Knych '21, Sol llanes '23, Sebastian Mietus '21, and Caitlin Shanahan '21.

A record number of sustainability projects were submitted to the Sustainability Council competition, funded for the first time by the recently adopted Sustainability Fee on student accounts. All participants are encouraged to resubmit their projects for students to vote on during next year's competition.