Benedictine honors scholarship founders and recipients at annual breakfast

Benedictine University annually awards endowed scholarships to students to help meet their financial needs and provide them with a values-based Benedictine education. Crain's Chicago Business recently reported that Benedictine students graduate with less debt than students at nearly every other public and private college or university in Illinois.

The annual Scholar's Society Breakfast gives students the opportunity to share how the awards have made an impact on their lives and hear from the founding donors about the significance of each scholarship.

This year, the Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation was recognized for the impact their generosity has had on students, other donors and the University community. Peter Wrenn, a board member at the Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation and a past trustee of Benedictine, and Joan Wrenn, the CEO of Hudson Precision Products, accepted the Scholars Society Impact Award on the foundation's behalf.

Twenty-nine students received scholarships from the Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation.

The recipients of the General Endowed Scholarship from the Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation are:

Alexander Czuczuk, a freshman Criminal Justice major from Shorewood; Yolanda Drew, a junior Political Science major from Dolton; Cristina Garza-Gaona, a senior Criminal Justice major from Darien; Jesus Izaguirre, a sophomore Spanish major from Phoenix, Ariz.; and Dwayne Jones, a freshman Health Science major from Aurora.

Also, Kevin Kreighbaum, a senior Social Science major from Michigan City, Ind.; Kyle Mitter, a freshman Business major from Northbrook; Leena Quaraini, a senior Health Science major from Oak Brook; Fatimah Totten, a sophomore Business Analytics major from Naperville; and Samara Wiley, a junior English Language and Literature major from Yorkville.

Also, Kaitlynn Wolfgram, a senior Communication Arts major from Lisle; Zakiya Hannah, a freshman Health Science major from Chicago; and Michael Traversa, a sophomore Exercise and Sports Studies major from Chicago.

The recipient of the Humanities Endowed Scholarship is Jacob Moran, a sophomore Psychology and Spanish major from Chicago.

The recipients of the Science Endowed Scholarship are: Andrew Czerak, a junior Engineering Science major from Aurora; Katharine Howard, a junior Health Science major from Warrenville; and Anna Scheidel, a senior Biology major from Westmont.

The recipients of the Future Leaders Award are: Jade Beadle, a senior Accounting and International Business major from Lemont; Ugne Dinsmonaite, a sophomore Biology major from Wheaton; Aamna Khalid, a junior Finance and Marketing major from Woodridge; Kaitlyn Marie McKay, a senior Elementary major from Joliet; and Pia Mendoza, a junior Biology major from Naperville.

Also, Jozef Martin Palasiewicz, a senior Physics major from Somonauk; Adrian Pierzchanowski, a junior Health Science major from Chicago; Samia Quadri, a junior Elementary Education major from Hoffman Estates; Samantha Triani, a senior Management and Organizational Behavior major from Romeoville; and Taylor Walthers, a senior Management and Organizational Behavior major from Crest Hill.

The recipients of the Dr. Richard C. Becker Science Award are: Mahmoud Abdel, a senior Health Science major from Oak Lawn; and Joseph Cruz, a senior Biochemistry/Molecular Biology major from Belvidere.

To learn more about scholarships available at Benedictine University or to contribute to one to help impact a student's life, contact scholarships@ben.edu or (630) 829-1805.