Christian vocalist to sing at Judson prayer breakfast
Christian vocalist Tina Jenkins Crawley will be the guest artist during Judson's 2016 Community Prayer Breakfast on May 11.
The annual event will take place from 7:30 to 9 a.m. in Lindner Fitness Center, 1151 N. State St., Elgin.
Crawley, winner of Chicago Music Awards' 2015 Best Gospel Entertainer of the Year, has been a guest worship leader at multiple churches throughout the country. She also has served as vocal director for the Willow Creek Association's Global Leadership Summit and the Global Leadership Summit-International for several years.
A soprano and graduate of Eastern Illinois University, she has been featured on stage, in music videos and commercials and at various global venues. She released a debut CD, "The Longest Journey," in 2012.
Tickets for the Community Prayer Breakfast are on sale now. Prayer breakfast guest speaker is Santiago "Jimmy" Mellado, president and CEO of Compassion International.
The breakfast also celebrates the 2016 recipient of the D. Ray Wilson Volunteer Service Award for serving others' physical, emotional, intellectual or spiritual needs.
Ticket prices are $25 per person, nonprofit/individual table sponsorships are $350, and business table sponsorships are $500. To purchase tickets, visit judsonu.edu/prayerbreakfast/.
Bartlett students shine in state competition:
Bartlett High School juniors Sam Witz and Natalie Payne earned fifth place in the Dramatic Duet Acting category during last month's Illinois High School Association Speech Tournament in Peoria.
"Sam and Natalie are two unbelievably gifted performers," Bartlett High speech coach Anthony Zoubek said. "Their Dramatic Duet Acting embodied these flawed characters that compelled and challenged audiences all season long."
The duo performed a pivotal scene from Steven Fechter's play "The Woodsman" and earned several awards on their way to the state finals, including an Upstate-8 Conference Championship, an IHSA Regional Championship and placed third in the IHSA Sectional Honors Championship. It was the second time a U-46 speech and drama team won at the Upstate-8 conference.
With this latest win, the high school's speech team ranks among the top 50 school speech teams in Illinois, placing 39th.
The students were recognized with certificates Monday during Elgin Area School District U-46's school board meeting.
50 Illinois students could get full ride at NIU:
The Give Something Back Foundation is contributing $1 million to Northern Illinois University (NIU) to enable 50 Pell Grant-eligible students from Illinois high schools to attend NIU at no cost for tuition, room and board.
NIU joins a growing number of universities and colleges collaborating with the foundation to provide students with scholarships, allowing them to graduate debt-free and avoid costly student loans. The foundation has awarded more than 250 full scholarships in Illinois since 2003.
"This support will bring bright, talented first-generation students to Northern Illinois University and put them on the path to success as engaged citizens in their chosen careers," NIU President Douglas Baker said. "We are honored to receive such a generous gift that has the potential to positively affect so many young lives."
The scholarships are not limited to first-generation students, though many Pell Grant-eligible students whose grades qualify for the program will be the first in their families to attend college, officials said.
This spring, the foundation will begin the four-year process of selecting 50 Pell Grant-eligible ninth-graders and pairing them with trained adult mentors for academic and life skills support throughout high school. The scholarship program requires recipients to maintain a 3.0 grade-point average, take college prep courses, and demonstrate admirable character. Upon high school graduation in 2019, these students must meet NIU's standard admissions requirements.
For more information about the scholarships, visit givesomethingbackfoundation.org.