Introduction
Each fall one high achieving community college student in Illinois is awarded the Abraham Lincoln Civic Engagement Award and thereby becomes a Student Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois. In the spirit of Lincoln, Student Laureates are honored for their leadership and service in the pursuit of the betterment of humanity and overall excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities. Student Laureates are nominated based on leadership, service and contributions on campus and beyond, academic success, and extracurricular achievements. The Lincoln Academy recognize deserving students who are honoring the principals of democracy and humanity in the spirit of Abraham Lincoln. Parkland College has nominated Olivia Knoedler to be Parkland’s candidate for the Lincoln Laureate Award.
Biography
CURRENT INFORMATION
She currently lives in a small town called Leroy, IL and love it there! She loves the support of a small knit community. Olivia is also a student at Parkland College who is working towards receiving an Associates in Arts and is graduating in the Fall of 2022. Her education path does not stop there, as she plans on transferring, in the Spring, to SIUE to pursue a BA in Mass Communications and an MA in Media Studies.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
Spring 2021: Volunteered to tutor students through Zoom for the local Garden Hills Elementary.
Summer 2021: Took part of a focus themed vbs, despite Covid-19 challenges.
Currently: Helping out with Homework Club at Garden Hills (in-person this time!)
PERSONAL GROWTH
She was adopted from Ukraine at the age of 4, so learning English as a second age was difficult. She recalls being tutored outside of school hours and feeling frustrated at my own abilities; all the struggles experienced made her feel like a cloud of internal doubt. Over time, she began to reach out to extra curriculars and was able to excel in my academics. This is one of the reasons why she likes tutoring kids because it reminds her of all the teachers who helped her get to where she is now.
Essay
Topic: the essence of how Lincoln’s Leadership Legacy will be a guide in directing a civic-minded life of service and commitment to a greater good
Photographs document him as the six-foot giant with a scratchy beard, followed by the notorious black top hat, a mole on his lower cheek and the left eye drifting from the camera’s view. Lincoln’s appearance, no doubt, was recognizable in the 1800’s but his appearance only scratches the surface of his true legacy. Lincoln believed in coloring outside the lines and being present for his soldiers, his generals and for United States citizens.
President Lincoln acknowledged that our words and actions have been the persistent spinning vinyl records of history, for too long, as they have been the fuels of war. Lincoln’s legacy mirrored this principle as he led with the notion that service is different from superiority. In fact, Lincoln had to come to the realization that his orders for generals were too timid and he had to bring more assertiveness, not as a propaganda tactic, but for the common good of his soldiers, his generals, and United States citizens.
Lincoln’s leadership realization paid off, as his army proclaimed victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg. Lincoln was a benevolent leader who realized that he could still be direct while also showing empathy, honesty, and integrity. Lincoln passes the baton to us, as United States citizens, and tells us that it is our chance to preserve and run our best race, such as he did. Lincoln’s race would have been finished if he let lingering doubts and fears engulf his inner strengths. For civic engagement is not about us, but it is about restoring humanity and reaching global compassion.
