Ashley House
Reporter
Every year, the Lincoln Academy of Illinois aims to honor outstanding seniors from every college and university in the state, as well as one overall outstanding student from a community college in the state with the Lincoln Laureate Award. Each winner of this award will be decorated with the Order of Lincoln, our state’s highest honor. This year, Parkland College had a fantastic group of 6 shining students to choose from to represent the school. These students have shown outstanding commitment to their school studies and their community, and represent what it means to be an Illinoisan.
Parkland College’s official nominee for the award, Emily Grumish, is the Central District Vice President of the Illinois Region of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, as well as the chapter president of Parkland College Alpha Psi Eta. She is studying psychology with hopes to transfer to UIUC to earn her bachelor’s, and eventually a doctorate in interdisciplinary psychology. Emily has dedicated herself being of service to her community while bettering herself. “Service to me is an opportunity to give back and make a positive impact in the community,” she said. “You don’t need years of education or expert skills to serve the community. You just need the willpower to step up and lend a hand to others who need it.” Through her commitment to Parkland’s honor societies, Emily has learned valuable leadership and team building skills as well as the importance of accountability, service, and dedication. She has been involved in many service projects, including a trip to Flint, Michigan last spring to work with other Parkland students and faculty. “The amazing individuals I was surrounded by on this trip inspired me to become more of a servant leader within my community.” Emily has certainly earned her spot as a Lincoln Laureate Award nominee, and is proud to represent Parkland College.
Savannah Burkhalter is also a Vice President for Phi Theta Kappa and is currently working towards becoming a radiology technician while she earns a medical degree and a PhD in nutrition from UIUC. Savannah is passionate about leadership and service, and has learned incredible time management skills that allow her to be a full time student, work part time, and take on a leadership role in Phi Theta Kappa, and she believes that everyone should make time to be of service to the community or to take part in extracurriculars. Savannah spent all of last summer volunteering at a local assisted living home giving ice cream to the residents, and regularly spends time educating high schoolers on her choice in major. “Helping others is extremely rewarding because not only do you feel accomplished, you’ve helped out another person who needed it,” she said.
Also a member of Phi Theta Kappa, Jadin Elliot was on the short list for Parkland’s official nomination. Jadin is studying chemical and biomolecular engineering with hopes to transfer to UIUC for pre-med, and would like to research and prevent infectious diseases. During her time at Parkland, Jadin has also become a member of the Parkland Science Club and Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity and is a volunteer with Mahomet Area Youth Club. Through the club, Jadin has taken part in her favorite service project, “Cans for Kids,” in which residents of Mahomet donate their aluminum cans to be recycled, the profits of which keep the center running.
Diane Barrios-Smith is part of the Parkland Pathway program and will be fully transferring to UIUC next year to earn her degree in sociology. Diane is the president of Club Latino, and values the leadership qualities she possesses that allow her to take charge in any situation and to be someone people can count on. She recently gave a race talk at Urbana High School, and said it was her favorite way to be of service to her community. “It was super exciting to have such a diverse group of students have such differing opinions during the discussion,” she said. “I enjoyed educating them in ways that they hadn’t thought of before with trying to teach them to be more empathetic and see things from other perspectives. My favorite part was afterwards when students came up to me asking for advice or relating to the topic. It made me feel good that I was making a difference to the youth as well as being a trusted person they could talk to.”
Israel Gomez has shown outstanding commitment to his studies and to Club Latino at Parkland. He is majoring in Latinx studies and would like to dedicate himself to student services after he graduates. “I want to mainly focus minorities and first-time college students by offering them comprehensive academic support, mentoring and retention services,” Israel said. Israel has a passion for Club Latino because of the services it can provide to local students. Mostly, he just wants to help as many people as he can, with or without recognition.
Edwin Rodriguez is a computer science major at Parkland College, a member of Club Latino, and former treasurer of the English Conversation Club. He has a passion for his church youth group, with which he regularly helps out. Edwin aims to be a bright spot in anyone’s cloudy day, only hoping that someone’s interaction with him can boost their mood or that he may have the opportunity to lend a helping hand to someone in need.
Congratulations to all 6 students recognized for their achievements at Parkland College, and to Emily Grumish for representing our community as a Lincoln Laureate Award Nominee. Our community is very lucky to have all 6 of these students, as well as many others who give back and make the world a better place each and everyday.