Lisle student gets $20,000 scholarship from Coke

Jeff Chan, a senior at Lisle High School and a longtime volunteer at Lisle's Eyes to the Skies Festival, has earned national recognition and a $20,000 scholarship from Coca-Cola as a result of his academic accomplishments, leadership skills and service to the community.

Chan is active in his school's student council as well as many community-based service projects and sports. Last year he helped raise more than $2,700 to help fund the junior-senior prom.

His dedication and service to the community led Eyes to the Skies Festival Co-Chairman Fred Haber to support his efforts in qualifying for the Coca-Cola National Scholarship by writing a letter of recommendation.

Chan hopes to attend the University of California-Berkeley, Northwestern University or the University of Wisconsin-Madison to study chemical engineering.

He began the process of applying for a Coca-Cola national scholarship last fall along with 100,000 students from across the United States. The company narrowed down that list of applicants to 2,500 and those applicants were asked to submit essays and recommendations about their community service efforts.

In January, Chan received confirmation he was among the top 250 regional candidates and, following an intensive interview, was awarded $20,000 from Coca-Cola in February.

This April, Chan will participate in a weekend celebration in Atlanta with the other winners and have an opportunity to win another $10,000. He'll return this summer for another stint as a volunteer at Eyes to the Skies.

Others interested in volunteering at the annual July 4 festival may visit eyestotheskies.org/volunteer/ for information.