These 13 Belleville high school seniors will receive Young Women of Achievement Awards

Each year the Belle Clair Rotary Club presents the Young Women of Achievement Awards to graduating seniors attending the four Belleville high schools.

The schools’ teachers, coaches and counselors nominate their most outstanding students in the areas of academics, the arts, athletics and community service. These awards are a way to publicly acknowledge the contributions these individuals make to the community.

This year’s event takes place at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 3, at the Schmidt Art Center at Southwestern Illinois College. The event can be viewed via livestream on the Rotary Club’s Facebook page.

The event recording will be posted for future viewing.

This year’s keynote speaker is Belleville Mayor Patty Gregory, the city’s first-ever female mayor.

Gregory’s keynote address will be delivered live at the event.

The Belleville News-Democrat co-sponsors the awards.

Here are the recipients of the 2021 Young Women of Achievement Awards:

Academic Award Winners

Regan Moody, Althoff Catholic High School

Regan balanced the academic, athletic and extracurricular demands of high school, while also enjoying her high school experience. Regan has been captain of the Althoff Catholic Girls Soccer team during her junior and senior years. Last year, she led her team to the Class 1A State Championship. Regan set the record for most goals scored during the championship game by any female player in IHSA history. Aside from sports, Regan is a member of the Math Team, Chess Team, National Honors Society, Student Council, Ace Leaders and Student Ambassadors. Additionally, she has maintained a 4.0 unweighted GPA, a 5.2 weighted GPA, and is Valedictorian of the Senior class. Regan plans to play Division I soccer at the University of Illinois with a double major in biology and mathematics. After college, she plans to attend medical school. Her parents are Christie and Bryan Moody.

Mia Eschman, Belleville East High School

With a 5.0 GPA, Mia is ranked first in a class of 555 students. She is active in the National Honor Society, Beta Chi Phi, German and English Honor societies and Mu Alpha Theta. She received the Heisman High School Award presented by Acceptance Insurance for scholar athletes excelling in school and in their communities. Mia is a member of the Lancers softball team. As a Tourette Association of America Youth Ambassador, Mia shares her story about Tourette Syndrome with students and school personnel in an effort to create better understanding of the disorder. Since 2018, Mia has been a member of the Competitive Marching Band, Jazz Band and Wind Ensemble and was selected All-State oboe by the Illinois Music Educators Association. She is a yearbook feature writer and photographer. Mia teaches piano and guitar at 88 Keys Academy. She plans to study biological, chemical and environmental engineering in college. Mia’s parents are Michelle and Todd Eschman.

Mariella Pellman, Belleville West High School

Mariella maintains a 4.9 weighted GPA while excelling in tennis and lacrosse. She takes the most difficult courses in order to broaden her learning and prepare for college. Mariella is a student who strives to make herself better through collaboration and communication with not only her teachers, but her peers. She is a member of Maroon Madness, the Student Council, National Honor Society, German Club and the German Honor Society. She is a popular group leader in and out of the classroom. Mariella was on the tennis and lacrosse teams for four years. On the tennis team, she was #1 in the SWC singles and doubles. She was team captain of both the lacrosse and tennis teams in her senior year. Mariella will attend Lawrence Tech University on academic and lacrosse scholarships. Mariella is the daughter of Vicki and Don Pellman.

Lillian Catie Vincent, Governor French Academy

Lillian is a voracious reader and avid learner who devours information. She enrolled at Governor French after being home-schooled while her family lived in Germany. She elected to complete her independent study of Latin during her first year at Governor French rather than drop it to take the Spanish that nearly all the students take. Once she completed her Latin studies she continued on with the Spanish and excelled with that. Currently, she is studying American Sign Language. She has competed on the school’s math team but was much more interested in the English portion of the Academic Challenge competition. Lilian achieved first place at regional and sectional competitions and a fifth-place state finish in English in the 2021 competition. Lillian’s Girl Scout Gold award project was to start a gardening club at the school and introduced elementary students to both gardening and cooking — and many of them learned how to enjoy eating vegetables as a result. Lillian plans to attend Georgetown University. Her mother is Christine Vincent.

Arts Award Winners

Sierra Kay Misselhorn, Althoff Catholic High School

Sierra has spent the last four years embracing theatrical arts both backstage and onstage, running lights, audio, and the spotlight in the tech booth. Leading as the costume coordinator and crew director has allowed her to learn all aspects of running a successful show under the guidance of Coach Elaine Laws. Having a passion for singing, Sierra has enjoyed being in the Liturgical choir since her freshman year and has been the lead soprano for the last two years. This year she is the only senior and is helping the group to grow and continue to thrive after her graduation. Finding joy in the arts has always helped to balance out coursework and minimize stress. Sierra’s high school career comes to a close with a 4.6 GPA (weighted) and 2 years as the Editor in Chief of Althoff’s yearbook. Her parents are Mary and Ahsan Malik and Ben Misselhorn.

Delaney Giles, Belleville East High School

During her high school career, Delaney has been an active member of the Drama Club, Key Club, Spanish Club, National Honor Society, Thespian Honor Society, Music Honor Society and Rho Kappa Honor Society where she serves as Vice-President. She is a member of the Concert Choir, East Enders! (vocal jazz) and the Acting and Speech Team. Delaney volunteered to run the Athletic Department Instagram account, where she is solely responsible for the content. She covers sports at East and increased the Instagram follower count by 300%. Academically, Delaney maintains a 4.8 weighted GPA. Delaney has not yet committed to a college. She plans to major in Communications and Political Science or Sports Marketing. In ten years, Delaney sees herself either working in social media marketing/communications for a professional sports team or working in political communications in Washington D.C. Her parents are Keely and Michael Giles.

Elise Moore, Belleville West High School

Since Elise auditioned for her first school play in her freshman year, she had principal parts in plays for the following four years. She was named to the Illinois High school Association’s All-State Drama cast for her role in The Women of Lockerbie. Elise is a member of the Speech and Acting Team for which she is a national qualifier, a two-time state qualifier and state finalist. She is a leader in Harambee, member of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Student Board of Directors, and World Link Exchange Program where she hosted a foreign student from Kyrgyzstan. She is a member of the National English Honors Society. Elise is valedictorian and earned a 5.0 weighted GPA. In June 2021, she co-founded Beyond Noir, Inc with a mission to donate funds to deserving organizations that fight to uplift communities of color. Elise was voted Miss Maroon by the student body in September 2021. Elise is the daughter of Alicia Wiley.

Athletics Award Winners

Natalie Cohn, Althoff Catholic High School

Natalie has been a three-sport varsity athlete throughout her high school career. She has been a four-year varsity tennis player, has played number one singles sophomore, junior, and senior year and was named captain her senior year. She is a three-year singles state qualifier, Sectional Singles Champion, Sectional Team Champion, All-conference Champion, and 2021 All-Sectional player. As a member of the swim team, she competed in meets and qualified for sectionals. She has played club soccer for 10 years and currently plays for Fire and Ice Academy. While at Althoff, she has started varsity soccer since freshman year and was named captain her junior year. She is a two-time conference champion, two-time sectional champion, and the 2021 IHSA Class 1A State Champion. Natalie has been on the high honor roll all four years. She is also a member of the Rotary Interact Club, Chess Team, B.A.S.I.C, National Honor Society, Student Ambassadors, Crusader Cru, and is CFO of the Belleville CEO class. She is planning to study engineering and is considering KU or Purdue. Natalie is the daughter of Susan Brennan and Bruce Cohn of Belleville.

Lillian Mentzer, Belleville East High School

Lily was a member of the Lancers softball team for four years. She is a three-year varsity letter winner and started every game in the catcher position. Lily won all-conference academic recognition and was second team all-conference last season. In 2021, she received the Varsity Softball Golden Glove Award. Lily earned a 5.0 GPA, ranking her No. 1 in her class, and is a member of the National and English Honor societies. Lily is a well-rounded student. She is a member of the National Honor Society and member of the Spanish and Ecology clubs. As a senior, Lily was elected by her classmates as Homecoming Queen. She was a four-year member of the Belleville East concert and jazz bands and was selected as a drum major her sophomore year. She was head drum major as a senior in addition to being selected an ILMEA district jazz musician. She is described as creative, committed, disciplined and possesses excellent critical thinking skills. She is the daughter of Stacy and Paul Mentzer.

Alyssa Elliott, Belleville West High School

During her high school career, Alyssa participated in cross country, track and basketball. She has the distinction of being a four-time state qualifier in cross county. She is described as “the greatest distance runner in the history of Belleville West High School.” Alyssa was selected by her teammates as team captain in her junior and senior years. In each of the four school years, she was named Scholar Athlete, Academic All-Conference, First Team All-Conference and Most Valuable Player. Alyssa achieved High Honors for the National Honor Society after completing 50 hours of volunteer service. She volunteers weekly with youth at her church and during the summer at Vacation Bible School. She also volunteered at the Belleville Humane Society. In addition to her other honors, Alyssa is a winner of the Mighty Maroon Award and is a member of the Rho Kappa Honor Society. Her parents are Stacy and Steven Elliott.

Community Service Award Winners

Sabrina Hardy, Althoff Catholic High School

As valedictorian of her class, Ms. Hardy has maintained a 4.0 unweighted GPA and a 5.2 weighted GPA. Outside of taking mostly honors courses and working four days a week, she enjoys volunteering in her community. Since sophomore year, she has tutored in many subjects before school sharing her love of science. As a Sacristan, Sabrina is in charge of preparing Mass for the entire school every Wednesday. Furthermore, she is a Eucharistic minister and group leader at the parish Luke 18 retreat from 2019 to 2020. Outside of school, she continues her passion to help others through being a volunteer coach for four separate volleyball teams: the sixth grade, seventh grade blue, and seventh grade white team at St. Clare School, and the Blue Steel 13U club team. Sabrina hopes to continue helping others through a career in research. Her parents are Jennifer Fingerhut and Robert Hardy.

Megan Doolittle, East High School

While excelling in academics and sports, Megan also prioritizes community service. She has been a Lancers softball and volleyball team member for four years. During the summer, Megan assisted at youth volleyball and softball camps. Megan earned the Girl Scouts Bronze and Silver awards through her many hours of community service. She mentored younger Scouts at various Girl Scout camps. Her troop partnered with the Violence Prevention Center, the Belleville Humane Society, the Interfaith Food Pantry and multiple nursing homes in the area. For the past six years, Megan volunteered to play bass at Sunday Worship. She volunteers to work with youth at Vacation Bible School. Megan is a member of the National Honor Society, the English Honor Society, Spanish Club, Mu Alpha Theta, Rho Kappa and Beta Chi Phi. One of her future goals is to study Sports Management in college. She is the daughter of DeAnn and Harry Doolittle.

Elizabeth Tribout, Belleville West High School

Elizabeth is a member of the National Honor Society and earned volunteer hours toward NHS, working at Adapt 4 Autism and summer school programs at Belleville District 118. Elizabeth is a member of the German Club, Delta Epsilon Phi and the golf team. She is the Executive Student Council President, a member of the Prom committee and the Mr. Maroon committee. As a participant in the Chick-Fil-A Leader Academy, Elizabeth was Do Good December Chair where she edited a video showcasing West’s 12 Days of Giving. The video project was the nationwide first place winner in Chick-Fil-A Leader Academy video contest. Elizabeth served as chair of Miss Maroon, Homecoming, Welcome West and the Shriners Parade Float. She chaired the Spirit the City Pep Rally, collaborating with other Belleville schools to unite and celebrate the city and worked to promote local businesses. Elizabeth is a member of the Future Farmers of America. She plans to attend the University of Arkansas and major in Agricultural Business with a focus in sales and Marketing. Her parents are Mary Beth Tribout and Denny Tribout.

This story was originally published April 2, 2022 at 7:00 AM.