CHAMPAIGN, Ill. The Dads Association at the University of Illinois has honored an outstanding staff member and outstanding student with its Certificate of Merit Awards.
Dennis May, a clinical counselor for the UI Counseling Center, was named the Outstanding Staff Member. May was honored for his excellent counseling skills and commitment to helping students and staff members. Nominator Abbie Broga, assistant dean of students, described May as “extremely supportive but practical and realistic at the same time.”
DeAvery V.J. Irons, a senior in political science from Illiopolis, was named Outstanding Student. The award honors academic excellence, leadership and involvement in the community. Irons, a James Scholar, has received the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, the Robert H. Bierma Scholarship and the Margaret Lewis Scholarship. She has coordinated and participated in the Vis-à-vis tutoring program and volunteered with a house-building team in Juarez, Mexico, during spring break.
According to her nominator, Penelope Soskin, assistant dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Honors Program, Irons has “set a fine example of how academic excellence can be integrated with service, employment and duty.”
The Marching Illini also received a Special Recognition Award from the Dads Association in thanks for the many contributions the organization has made to the prestige and traditions of the UI.
