Barrington HS graduate receives Cragan Conservation Scholarship

Posted June 19, 2018 11:00 pm

Submitted by Citizens for Conservation

Karen Portillo, a 2018 graduate of Barrington High School, has been awarded the Joe Cragan Conservation Scholarship offered by Citizens for Conservation and funded by the Cragan family.

Portillo, a Carpentersville resident, will attend the University of Illinois at Chicago; she will major in civil engineering, specializing in environmental engineering.

In her application essay, Portillo wrote that she hopes to build "structures that make us less dependent on natural resources …. Fighting climate change is a collaborative, global initiative that we all must participate in and reverse the damage we've all collectively done."

Portillo concluded that she aims to be part of "the generation that valued the earth too much to let it deteriorate any further."

The $20,000 scholarship - $5,000 a year for four years - is in honor of Joe Cragan, former teacher and chairman of the guidance department at Barrington High School. Cragan also devoted much of his time to environmental efforts, and the scholarship is awarded to a senior who has a demonstrated interest in the environment and conservation and who will major in a related field.

Joe Cragan, who was active in environmental efforts, was a teacher and chairman of the guidance department at Barrington High School. Courtesy of Citizens for Conservation

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