McKendree senior wants to be a ‘positive change’

A McKendree University senior who hopes to become a teacher was recently recognized for her extracurricular activities by the Lincoln Academy on Saturday.

Acadia Reynolds, a New Orleans native, was awarded the state’s highest student honor — the Abraham Lincoln Civic Engagement Award — during the Student Laureate Convocation at the Old State Capitol in Springfield.

Reynolds came to McKendree in 2013 after 10 months of teaching grade school students in Ghana, West Africa. She is passionate about teaching and helping those less fortunate.

She, in conjunction with the university’s Center for Community Service, created an after-school enrichment program at the Griffin Center in East St. Louis.

Reynolds also serves at president of McKendree’s Young Feminists.

She wants to encourage others to follow her lead and be active in their community.

“My lifelong passion, and one that has continuously been lit again and again by my experience here at McKendree, is to be an active participant in positive change — locally, globally, and personally,” Reynolds said in a news release.

SWIC program receives international accreditation

Four fire science program certificates at Southwestern Illinois College were recently approved by the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress.

The accreditation for the following programs were extended: Fire Service Instructor I, Fire Service Instructor II, Fire Officer I and Fire Officer II certificates. The other certificates — Fire Fighter I & II, Hazardous Materials Awareness, and Hazardous Materials Operations — have been accredited since October 2014.

“This accreditation means we’re meeting the highest standards for fire science education,” said SWIC Fire Science Program Coordinator Lee Smith in a news release. “Students and local fire departments know they are getting quality education and training from SWIC.”

SIUE student wins first place for hacking

Caseyville native Jacob Baird knows a thing or two about hacking. The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Engineering student was a member of the first place team of the collegiate division at GlobalHack VI held last month in St. Louis.

Competing teams had to build software solutions to help agencies deal with homelessness.

Baird and his teammates won $100,000 for their concept — a phone-based, web-based and kiosk-based application aimed at helping homeless individual find shelters.

“I’ve been to lots of Hackathons before and try to go to all I can,” Baird, a senior majoring in computer science, said in a news release. “My courses at SIUE have taught me the basics of web design, and I’ve learned many other skills through participating in Hackathons. I would like to be a back-end software developer after graduating in May.”

Boy Scouts earn merit badges at SIUE

More than 100 Boy Scouts descended on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for a day of learning on Nov. 5 for the third annual STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Merit Badge Day. The Lewis and Clark Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the SIUE Center for STEM Research, Education and Outreach co-sponsor the event.

The Scouts could earn STEM-related merit badges, which included chemistry, digital technology, energy, engineering, geology, computer programming, robotics and sustainability.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for SIUE to reach out to youth in our region, and promote science and engineering careers,” said Eric Voss, SIUE chemistry professor, in a news release. “These middle school and high school age Scouts get a chance to perform science and engineering experiments in SIUE labs, and you can see their excitement in doing STEM activities.”

Travel in 2017 with the PSOP Travel program

The Southwestern Illinois College’s Programs and Services for Older Persons recently announced four trips in 2017:

▪  Cardinals Spring Training: March 2017

▪  Portugal and its Islands: May 5-17, 2017

▪  Cardinals vs. Cubs in Chicago: summer 2017

▪  China: Oct. 9-26, 2017

For more information, contact Group Travel Specialist Nancy Bauer at 618-234-4410, ext. 7020.

This story was originally published November 15, 2016 at 11:49 AM with the headline "McKendree senior wants to be a ‘positive change’."