The Waubonsee Community College Foundation held its fifth annual Scholarship Fest on Wednesday, Oct. 5, at the college’s Sugar Grove Campus.

More than 300 people attended the event, which is designed to recognize and celebrate both scholarship donors and recipients.
For the 2011-12 academic year, 142 Waubonsee students received a total of 166 scholarship awards valued at $117,050.
The evening’s donor and recipient remarks centered around scholarships established in the past year. Waubonsee Professor of Interpreter Training Dr. Lynn Clark spoke about her mother, for whom she established the Lucille M. Clark Scholarship for nontraditional students seeking a career education credential.
Waubonsee student Kaitlin Buckley, of Aurora, spoke of the benefits of receiving the new Dreyer Community Health Fund Scholarship.
“Without all of the donors’ selfless contributions, students in similar circumstances to mine may not be able to meet their educational goals or continue on to complete their career aspirations,” Buckley said.
“I know that in the future I will always remember the time I attended Waubonsee, not only for the direction and focus for my career path … but as a place where I was nurtured and supported by those who believed in me. That is priceless.”
Eleven other scholarships were awarded for the first time this year, including: Fox Valley Green Construction Scholarship; Henning Endowed Scholarships; Lydia O’Connell, Fern Kuhn and Steve Moore Memorial Scholarship; Provena Mercy Medical Center Scholarship; Royce-DeBaun Scholarships; Rush-Copley President’s Scholarship;
Also, Jennifer Shook Student Athlete Scholarship; Steiner Electric Company/Kerman Assistance Foundation Scholarship; Dona O’Keefe Tucholski Endowed Scholarships; Valley West Community Hospital Auxiliary Scholarships; and Douglas Arthur Vest Scholarship.
The Waubonsee Community College Foundation is a nonprofit organization that seeks to obtain funding for scholarships and provide educational opportunities and services to students and citizens of Waubonsee’s district.
For information, contact Kathy Richards, director of Fund Development, at (630) 466-7900, ext. 2316.

Giannoulias visits—Making his first official college visit as Chair of the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB), Alexi Giannoulias spent time at Waubonsee Community College’s Sugar Grove Campus on Sept. 26. The former State Treasurer, Giannoulias was named ICCB Chair last month.
During his visit, Giannoulias talked to Waubonsee students, administrators, faculty and staff, and toured the newest buildings on campus, including the Student Center, Science Building, and Academic and Professional Center.