O’Fallon, Shiloh students among SIUE fall graduates

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville completed 2017 fall commencement exercises for the 1,257 eligible graduates Saturday, Dec. 16 in the Vadalabene Center on campus.

SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook bestowed degrees upon Graduate School, and the Schools of Business, Nursing, Education, Health and Human Behavior students during the 9 a.m. ceremony.

A second ceremony was held at 1 p.m. for the Graduate School, College of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Engineering.

Honors for undergraduate students are indicated as follows:

▪ cum laude, GPA 3.50-3.74;

▪ magna cum laude, GPA 3.75-3.89;

▪ summa cum laude, GPA 3.9 or higher.

Local graduates were:

O’Fallon: Jameel Acosta, art B.A.; Lisa Altland, nursing practice DNP; Almaze Austin, accountancy BSA; Anthony Ballard, business administration MBA; Youngbin Bandy, accountancy BSA (summa cum laude); Taylor Barnouski, nursing B.S. (cum laude); Elise Brown, business administration B.S.; Justin Cameron, mathematical studies B.S.; Erica Card, family nurse practitioner M.S.; Beste Cooksey, public administration MPA; Adam Courtial, nursing (R.N.) B.S.; Shannon Cronin, anthropology B.S. (magna cum laude); Kaci Durbin, business administration MBA; Steven Green, mathematical studies B.S.; Joshua Haupt, computer science B.S.; Connor Hazlett, computer management and information systems B.S.; Darrah Hill, business administration B.S.; Samuel Hopkins, business administration MBA; Hannah Jones, biological sciences B.S.; Quentin Kieser, business economics and finance B.S.; Alexander Knoch, criminal justice studies B.S. (cum laude); Samantha Larson, accountancy BSA; Dylan Madden, English B.A.; Brandon Maggi, business economics and finance B.S.; Caitlin McFalls, psychology B.S.; Aaron Schmidt, computer engineering B.S.; Kaylie Schur, business administration B.S.; Neal Schwarz, geography B.A.; Mikaela Suggs, nursing B.S.; Alexander Taylor, computer science B.S.; Kaylee Templeman, computer management and information systems B.S.; Nicholas Witherell, construction management B.S.; Richard Wosylus, geography B.S. (cum laude); Kourtney Young, public health B.S.

Scott Air Force Base: Samantha Bley, computer management and information systems B.S.; Melanie Grant, nursing (R.N.) B.S.; Josiah Joyce, music B.M.

Shiloh: Gary Sims, computer management and information systems B.S.

Local students make dean’s list

Melanie DeMonge and Madison Hays, both of O Fallon, achieved the dean’s list at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., for the fall 2017 semester. Eligibility is based on a minimum course load of 12 hours and a quality grade point average of 3.5 with no grade below a C.

Approximately 35 percent of Belmont’s 8,080 students qualified for the fall 2017 dean’s list. Belmont Provost Dr. Thomas Burns said: “This achievement for the fall semester indicates that these students have placed a high priority on their work at Belmont and have invested time and energy in their studies. It is our strong belief that consistent application in this manner will reap great benefits, which will equip them for a lifetime of learning and growing.”

Local student awarded scholarship

Joshua Mark of O’Fallon has received the Midwest Achievement Award and Residence Life Leadership Award to attend Southeast Missouri State University for the 2018-2019 academic year. Mark is the son of Fontez and Melinda Mark of O’Fallon and will be a 2018 graduate of Althoff Catholic High School.

Local student inducted into honor society

Dianna Koesterer of Shiloh was recently initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society. Koesterer is pursuing a degree in speech pathology at The University of Kansas.

Koesterer is among approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1897 under the leadership of Marcus L. Urann who had a desire to create a different kind of honor society: one that recognized excellence in all academic disciplines. Today, the Society has chapters on more than 300 campuses in the United States and the Philippines. Its mission is “To recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others.”

O’Fallon students earn scholarships

Iva Shepherd of O Fallon has received the Dr. Richard & Susan Nitsch Scholarship, the Marjorie Stone Scholarship and Russell Burke Perkins Memorial Scholarship at Emporia State University.

Richard Shepherd of O’Fallon was also named the recipient of the Virgil and Winifred Basgall Scholarship.

Emporia State University in Emporia, Kan., offers over 200 academic programs in the School of Business, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Library and Information Management and The Teachers College. ESU is the only public university in Kansas to have earned national recognition as a College of Distinction, an honor for universities that demonstrate innovative application of high-impact education.

This story was originally published December 29, 2017 at 8:24 AM with the headline "O’Fallon, Shiloh students among SIUE fall graduates."