NEWS INDEX 2001 October

Senior honored with 2001 Lincoln Academy Student Laureate Award

Kesha Green, News Bureau
(217) 333-1085; k-green3@uiuc.edu

10/30/01

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A University of Illinois student has been named a recipient of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois’ 2001 Student Laureate Award for maintaining an excellent academic record while contributing extensively to campus agricultural organizations.

Breanne Nelson, a senior in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) from Manteno, Ill., received the honor in a ceremony
Oct. 27 at the Capitol in Springfield. Gov. George Ryan presented Nelson with a Lincoln Academy Medallion and $150 for her academic and extracurricular achievements.

The Lincoln Academy’s Student Laureate Award is given annually to an outstanding senior from each of the state’s four-year institutions of higher learning.

As a Jonathan Baldwin Turner Scholar in the College of ACES and a Chancellor’s Scholar in the Campus Honors program, Nelson has made a significant impact on UI’s agricultural community. She played a major role in establishing the Sigma Alpha professional agricultural sorority on campus. Nelson also held multiple offices on the ACES Council and served on the search committee for the head of the agricultural and consumer economics department. During the last three semesters, Nelson has volunteered regularly as a peer tutor, soccer coach and nursing home helper, while maintaining a nearly perfect grade-point average.