Starved Rock Country Community Foundation awards 13 scholarships

The Starved Rock Country Community Foundation awarded 13 scholarships in 2022.

Madison Cumberland received the Rising Star Scholarship. Cumberland will attend Illinois State University in the fall for a degree in elementary education. The Rising Star Scholarship was established Ethel McConnell, who cherished her career as an elementary education teacher for many years in La Salle County.

McConnell also established the MAC-AERO Scholarship for Aeronautics and Aviation in honor of her husband Ed, a pilot and owner of Mac-Aero, a business in Seneca where he rebuilt and repaired light airplanes. This year the scholarship was awarded to Sebastian Serratos of Oglesby. Serratos will attend the University of Illinois for a degree in aerospace engineering.

The Carol and Dick Janko Scholarship for Promising Entrepreneurs was created specifically for high school graduates who can demonstrate recent studies or work-related activities focused on entrepreneurship. The SRCCF is planning an awards reception to honor Dick Janko and award a total of $7,500 in Promising Entrepreneur scholarships. Scholarships were presented to Brandon Applebee, Hannah Larsen, Kaitlyn Magoonaugh, Cody J. Marko and Kiersten Shevokas. Applebee, of Seneca, attends Illinois State University to pursue a degree in special education. Larsen, of Ottawa, will attend Northern Illinois University to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering. Magoonaugh, of Ottawa, is a Marquette Academy graduate and will attend St. Mary’s Notre Dame for a degree in special education. Marko, of Marseilles, is an Ottawa High School graduate and plans to attend Northern Illinois University for a degree in mechanical engineering. Shevokas, of Spring Valley, plans to attend Iowa State University and pursue a degree in pre-veterinary animal science.

The Internet of Things scholarship presented by B+B Advantech presented two awards to Andrew Stamberger of LaMoille, who will attend the University of Wisconsin-Platteville to study mechanical engineering, and Aliza Salinas-Cervantes of Mendota, who will attend Augustana College to pursue a degree in biomedical sciences. The scholarship is available to students interested in pursuing careers in the fields of science, engineering and technology.

Tangled Roots Brewing Company’s Pie It Forward scholarship was established to assist students pursuing careers in the hospitality or culinary arts fields. Kaitlyn Magoonaugh of Ottawa will be presented with this award. Magoonaugh graduated from Marquette Academy with an accompanying Associate of Arts degree from Illinois Valley Community College. In addition to her teaching career, she plans to provide a unique traveling food truck experience, specializing in dessert catering to different festivals in the summer months.

Magoonaugh also received the annual Women Inspired Network Scholarship, established through the SRCCF to assist young women in pursuing their dreams and goals through leadership and higher education.

Marquette Academy awarded a Tom Tillman Trophy to Beau Ewers and Brady Ewers, who will receive the Thomas “Tucker” Tillman Scholarship from the SRCCF. The scholarship, established by Tillman’s niece, Shalanda Rabadan, is bestowed upon the Marquette Academy award recipients who best demonstrate charisma, leadership and both academic and athletic excellence. The twins plan to attend Olivet Nazarene University to continue their studies; both will play baseball for the university team.

More information about SRCCF scholarship opportunities is available at www.srccf.org or by calling the foundation office at 815-252-2906.