Illinois Jaycees name Outstanding Young Person

Benjamin Durchslag, a social worker at District 211's Academy North, was named an Outstanding Young Person of Illinois by the Illinois Jaycees. The program annually recognizes young professionals throughout Illinois who excel in their chosen fields, endeavors and show a great commitment to their respective communities. Academy North is an alternative high school that provides students the opportunity to adjust to change and recover from adversity and challenge. Durchslag, 30, is being recognized in the category of contributions to children, world peace, and/or human rights. The Illinois Jaycees will honor him May 14 at an awards banquet in Springfield.

• Schaumburg resident Muhammad Hashim, a senior in mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has been awarded a Xerox Technical Minority Scholarship. Hashim is among a nationwide group of students chosen for the honor, which recognizes academic achievement in science, engineering and technology. The scholarships, which are funded by the Xerox Foundation, provide between $1,000 and $10,000 to a select group of minority students enrolled in a technical degree program at the bachelor's degree level or above.

• Michael Rodriguez has been promoted to lieutenant by the Buffalo Grove Police Department. Lt. Rodriguez was hired in June 1996 and was in the Patrol Division prior to being made a detective in the Investigations Unit in 2000. He was a detective for nine years and a member of two multijurisdictional task forces, and in March 2011 he was promoted to sergeant and selected to manage the Traffic Unit the following year. Rodriguez is a graduate of the School of Police Staff and Command at Northwestern University and has earned various awards and recognitions and received numerous letters of appreciation from citizens.

• Medha Verma of Inverness, a senior at Barrington High School, is an Illinois Distinguished Finalist in the 2016 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and was presented with an engraved bronze medallion on March 15. Verma has raised $7,000 since 2011 by making and selling custom dresses to support her Beads of Courage program, for which pediatric patients at Children's Hospital and Research Center in Oakland receive beads for every medical procedure they endure. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

• Ashley Geraghty of Palatine was one of 13 University of Dubuque students who replaced ceiling tiles and insulation, painted walls and cleaned out Almost Home, a homeless shelter for men in Dubuque, Iowa. The students, chosen to participate based on demonstrated leadership skills, partnered with John Deere Financial sales executives from Iowa and Canada to volunteer at the shelter.

• Send your 'Neighbors in the News' items to Norrine Twohey at ntwohey@dailyherald.com.