Degrees

• Larisa Bezak and Brian Power of Addison and Scott Bartolo and Maureen O’Malley of Wood Dale received degrees from the University of Iowa during its commencement ceremony last month. In addition, Bartolo was named to the college’s spring 2007 dean’s list.

• Dustin Anderson of Wood Dale recently received a degree from Augustana College in Rock Island.

88’s Best Award

• Emanuel Ion, a senior at Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, received 88’s Best Award for April.

COD honors

• Four art students from Glenbard East High School in Lombard were honored during the College of DuPage’s portfolio night May 9. The were Tabitha Glaser, Best Illustration; Kristen Kernats, honorable mention, Graphic Design; August Settecase, honorable mention, Illustration; and Brenda Horne, honorable mention, Illustration.

• Diane Kirk-Taylor of Lombard and Sean Proctor of Elmhurst have both been selected as COD’s 2007 Outstanding Student Graduates. Both were recently honored at the college’s Celebration of Academic Excellence ceremony. Kirk-Taylor and Proctor served as guest speakers at the college’s 40th annual Commencement ceremony May 18.

Scholarships

• Montini Catholic High School senior Kristen Gorogianis of Lombard received the Lombard Lions Club Scholarship. She was also awarded the IDTA Top Scholarship.

• On May 7, York Community High School seniors Anne Wilson and Alexander Wilcszewski received scholarships from the local Order of the Eastern Star Chapter, Elmhurst.

College award

• Joseph Kosmach of Wheaton, a graduate from University of Dayton, was awarded the University of Dayton 2006-07 Male Leader of the Year Award. He also was recognized by the university’s department of public safety for his dedicated service to the Student Volunteer Rescue Squad from August 2004 to May 2007. Kosmach is a graduate of Wheaton Warrenville South High School.

Alumna news

• Hilary Gray, a 2004 graduate of York Community High School in Elmhurst, is about to finish a year of international studies from Reed College in Dublin, Ireland. After Trinity College she will go on to Corinth for a month-long archaelogical dig with the Reed College Greek Classics students.

Commencement speaker

• Karen L. Falduto of Elmhurst delivered a commencement speech May 20 at the DePaul University College of Law in Chicago as president of the Student Bar Association. She earned her law degree at the ceremony.
State competitions

• On April 28 the 2006-07 Regional and Conference Champion Montini Math Team took its sixth trip in six years to the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics state competition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Overall the team finished fourth in a field.

• Glenbard East High School’s Mock Trial team finished 18th at the National Mock Trial championship, held May 10 through 12. Team members are Lena Brandis, Holly Brennan, Kaitlyn Drew, Ann Hasenfang, Liz Haydu, Chelsea James, Mike Jaroski, Christian Maldonado, Jake Miller, Jordan Reece, Rachel Renteria, Melissa Solis, Sergio Simental and Brittany Varzino. Junior Mike Jaroski was selected as one of 12 “outstanding attorneys” for the tournament. Senior Melissa Solis was selected as one of 12 “outstanding witnesses” for the tournament. Faculty adviser Pete McGivern shaved his beard to celebrate the Top 20 finish. The team won the Illinois State Bar Association High School Mock Trial Invitational in March.
Lambda Sigma

• Chris Villa, the son of Dario and Deborah Villa of Elmhurst, has been elected to Lawrence University's chapter of Lambda Sigma, a national honor society that fosters leadership, scholarship, fellowship and the spirit of service. Students are initiated at the end of their freshman year. Villa is a 2006 graduate of York Community High School.

Dean’s list

• Brian Weil, son of Wendy S. Weil of Elmhurst, was named to the dean’s list for the spring 2007 semester at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind. He is one of 274 dean’s list students who maintained a 3.5 grade-point average or better on a 4.0 point scale.

Music contest

• The seventh- and eighth-grade orchestra from Edison Middle School in Wheaton earned a Division I rating April 28 at the State Organizational Contest held at Jackson Middle School in Villa Park. The group, under the direction of Joanne Wegscheid, secured its spot in the State Organizational Contest by receiving a Division I rating at the District Organizational Contest in March, where it was given a perfect score from one of the judges.

Science Olympiad

• The Science Olympiad teams at Glenbard South and Glenbard West competed at the state level in April. Glenbard West students took home several medals. Glenbard West placed third in its division (22nd out of 37 overall).