CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- A group of distinguished incoming freshmen and returning scholars have been awarded James Newton Matthews Scholarships for academic excellence.
Incoming freshmen are selected for consideration for the Matthews Scholars program based upon their having demonstrated academic excellence and leadership skills as well as involvement in extracurricular and community service activities.
Scholarships are renewable for up to four years if recipients maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale and progress toward a degree. This year the value of the scholarships increased from $1,500 to $2,000 per year.
The students selected for the Matthews scholarships program, their areas of study and the scholarship sponsors include: (EDITORS: See list).
The James Newton Matthews Scholarship program honors James Newton Matthews, the very first student welcomed to the university when it opened in 1868. A native of Mason, Ill., Matthews studied literature and medicine before graduating with honors in 1872.
Matthews worked as a country doctor and published multiple volumes of poetry for which he became known as the "Poet of the Prairie." In 1910, Matthews died of a heart attack after walking more than five miles through a snowstorm to treat a patient.
James Newston Mathews Scholars
ANNA - Tyler Edmonds, political science, scholarship provided by the Olmsted Estate, second-year recipient.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS - Gretchen Goers, management information systems, the Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient.
AURORA - Bryan Handell, aeronautical and astronautical engineering, the Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient.
BELVIDERE - Meredith Wicklund, industrial engineering, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, first-year recipient.
BLOOMINGDALE - Kevin Williams, double major in professional piloting and political science, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient.
BUFFALO GROVE - Adam Kim, electrical engineering, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient.
CARY - Kelly Bandur, special education, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, second-year recipient; Katherine Rosemarie Fruhauff, accountancy, James E. Phillips '41 Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient.
CHAMPAIGN - Patrick Ashbrook, computer engineering, scholarship provided by the John Nash Fund, second-year recipient; Erin Colleen Hatch, organizational administration, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient.
CHICAGO - (29) Kristen Droba, special education, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient (43) John Coughlan, chemical engineering, scholarship provided by the Helen Haberstein Estate, second-year recipient.
CHICAGO HEIGHTS - Timothy Mendenhall, art history, scholarship provided by the Olmsted Estate, second-year recipient.
CHILLICOTHE - Nicholas Hayward, urban and regional planning, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient.
CLARENDON HILLS - Jeffrey Kustusch, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, first-year recipient.
CRYSTAL LAKE - Susan Reckamp, elementary education, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, first-year recipient.
DOWNERS GROVE - Meghan Goldenstein, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, scholarship provided by the Helen Haberstein Estate, second-year recipient.
EDWARDS - Jennifer Kim, accountancy, scholarship provided by the Frank Bachmann Trust, second-year recipient
. ELGIN - Jarad Champion, chemical engineering, scholarship provided by the Helen Haberstein Estate, second-year recipient; Doug Frandsen, College of Commerce and Business Administration, scholarship provided by the Frank Bachmann Trust, second-year recipient.
ELMHURST - Mary Pacold, computer science, Frank Bachmann Trust, first-year recipient.
EVERGREEN PARK - John Michael King, aeronautical and astronautical engineering, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient; Faith McGuire, kinesiology, scholarship provided by the Frank Bachmann Trust, second-year recipient.
FREEBURG - James Enderle, animal science, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, second-year recipient.
FREEPORT - Benjamin Thomas Johnson, architecture, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, first-year recipient.
GARDEN PRAIRIE - Dana Wahl, accountancy, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, second-year recipient.
GLEN ELLYN - Matthew Ryan O'Connor, animal science, Chicago Illini Club and the University of Illinois Alumni Association Scholarship, first-year recipient; Matthew Thomas Osmundsen, , accountancy, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient.
GRAYSLAKE - Nicholas Garzonetti, , computer engineering, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, second-year recipient.
HOFFMAN ESTATES - Moon Ki Cho, computer engineering, scholarship provided by the John Nash Fund, second-year recipient.
JERSEYVILLE - Michael Collins, computer science, scholarship provided by the John Nash Fund, second-year recipient.
JOLIET - Haley Gunnink, electrical engineering, scholarship provided by the Frank Bachmann Trust, second-year recipient.
LIBERTYVILLE - Julia Riemann, biology, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, second-year recipient.
MACOMB - Katherine Gumbel, landscape architecture, scholarship provided by the Olmsted Estate, second-year recipient.
MALDEN - David Husser, mechanical engineering and music, scholarship provided by the Frank Bachmann Trust, second-year recipient.
MARYVILLE - Chelsea Ashbrook, finance, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, second-year recipient.
NAPERVILLE - Robert James Anders, chemical engineering, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient; Adam Larson, finance, scholarship provided by the Frank Bachmann Trust, second-year recipient; Angeline Stewart, chemistry, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, first-year recipient.
NAUVOO - Magen Starr, crop sciences, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, first-year recipient.
NILES - Mariya Lazebnik, electrical engineering, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient.
O'FALLON - Joel Jordan, electrical engineering, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, second-year recipient.
OAK BROOK - Peggy Helen Ho, engineering, Stephen A. and Vernice M. Lynn Jr. Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient.
OAK PARK - Jason Rice, biology, Edward, Barbara and David Rowe Scholarship, second-year recipient.
OAK FOREST - Julie Lynne McHugh, kinesiology, Edward, Barbara and David Rowe Scholarship, first-year recipient.
OSWEGO - Matthew Lewandowski, College of Commerce and Business Administration, scholarship provided by the Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient.
PALATINE - Thomas Peldiak, electrical engineering, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, first-year recipient.
PALOS PARK - Andrew Simnick, computer science, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, first-year recipient.
PARK FOREST - Rachel Williams, engineering, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, second-year recipient.
PLAINFIELD - Malinda Bergner, elementary education, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, second-year recipient.
RIVER FOREST - Sarah Duggins, elementary education, scholarship provided by the Frank Bachmann Trust, second-year recipient.
ROUND LAKE - Alejandro Arango, architecture, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, second-year recipient.
SCHAUMBURG - Jeffrey Behrens, College of Commerce and Business Administration, scholarship provided by the Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient.
SHELBYVILLE - Katherine Brix, animal science, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, second-year recipient.
SHOREWOOD - Scott Hanan, electrical engineering, scholarship provided by the Frank Bachmann Trust, second-year recipient. SKOKIE - Savva Amusin, 9026 Bronx Ave. Unit A, business administration, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, first-year recipient.
SOUTH HOLLAND - Erin Brunelle, kinesiology, scholarship provided by the Frank Bachmann Trust, first-year recipient; Maren Schuit, kinesiology, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient.
STILLMAN VALLEY - Shane Wesley Cochran, 6641 E. Weld Park Road, engineering, Stephen A. and Vernice M. Lynn Jr. Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient.
TINLEY PARK - Rachel Lannan, architecture, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, second-year recipient; Katharine Lendi, , early childhood education, scholarship provided by the Frank Bachmann Trust, second-year recipient; Angela Ruiter, biology, Julius and Elsie Saks Scholarship, first-year recipient.
TUSCOLA - Matthew Schweighart, finance, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, second-year recipient.
URBANA - Tyrus DeJarnette, electrical and computer engineering, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, second-year recipient.
WAVERLY - Tricia Anderson, finance, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, second-year recipient.
WESTERN SPRINGS - Erica Lynn Johnson, finance, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient.
WHEATON - Carole Pekny, architecture, scholarship provided by the Frank Bachmann Trust, first-year recipient; John Daniel Kos, finance, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, first-year recipient.
WINTHROP HARBOR - Amanda Evans, animal science, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, second-year recipient.
WOODLAWN - Emily Moira Costa, philosophy, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship fund, first-year recipient.
WORTH - Kathryn Finnegan, College of Commerce and Business and Administration, scholarship provided by University of Illinois alumni from Andersen Consulting LLP, second-year recipient.
Out of State
ARIZONA, Tucson - Justin Haldar, Cimarron, electrical engineering, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, first-year recipient.
COLORADO, Lakewood - Erica Kneivel, political science, scholarship provided by the Louise and Lane Osborn Memorial Trust, second-year recipient.
GEORGIA, Alpharetta - Jared Hoover, aerospace engineering, Aaron R. Kagann Scholarship, second-year recipient.
INDIANA, Granger - Glenna Meister, chemical engineering, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, first-year recipient. Indianapolis - Nishanth Aravamudan, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient.
KENTUCKY, Fort Mitchell - Lawrence Joseph Humpert II, philosophy, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship Fund, first-year recipient.
MARYLAND, Gaithersburg - Wei Zheng, aviation, Richard and Mary Shelton Scholarship, second-year recipient North Potomac - Kaushik Roy, electrical engineering, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, second-year recipient.
MINNESOTA, Woodbury - Amy Kam, civil engineering, scholarship provided by Gale and Laura Jamison, first-year recipient.
MISSOURI, Manchester - Christopher Michael, physics, scholarship provided by the Louise and Lane Osborn Memorial Trust, second-year recipient.
OREGON, Lake Oswego - Mariko Walters, education, Wellington and Elizabeth Pigall Scott Scholarship, second-year recipient.