Best & Brightest

• Elizabeth Satern of Elk Grove Village, a student majoring in marketing at Taylor University, Upland, Ind., was named to the Fall 2007 Dean's List for earning a 3.6 or better grade point average. Satern is a graduate of Elk Grove High School.

• Barbara I. Rog, daughter of Krzyszlof and Lucyna Rog of Mount Prospect, was named to the 2007 Fall Honor Roll at Culver-Stockton College, Canton, Mo., for achieving a grade-point average between 3.2 and 3.49.

• Sean Prorak, son of Betty and Steven Prorak of Elk Grove Village, was named to the Dean's List for the 2007 fall quarter at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Ind., for earning at least a 3.3 grade point average. He is a senior major in chemistry.

• Millikin University in Decatur announced the following students were named to the Dean's List for the 2007 fall semester for earning a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

Elk Grove Village: Meghann E. Cherie, sophomore; Donald J. Cropper, sophomore; John Gorecki, freshman; and Christopher J. Scarpulla, junior.

Park Ridge: Amanda J. Brooks, junior; and Britt-Marie K. Sivertsen, sophomore.

• Jennifer Lazarevic of Des Plaines was named to the Dean's List for the fall 2007 semester at Winona State University in Minnesota for achieving a minimum 3.5 grade point average.

• Russell Paloian of Rosemont was named to the Dean's List for the fall 2007 semester at Winona State University in Minnesota for achieving a minimum 3.5 grade point average.

• Lisa P. Wasielewski of Prospect Heights was named to the 2007 fall Dean's List at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis/St. Paul. To qualify, students achieved a grade point average of 3.66 or higher.

• Hope College in Holland, Mich., named the following students to the Dean's List for the first semester of the 2007-08 school year for having a minimum 3.5 grade point average.

Des Plaines: Courtney G. Zych senior.

Mount Prospect: J. Cathy Chec, sophomore; Amy E. Fulton, sophomore; Katherine S. Mueller, freshman; Kathryn Munz, senior; Alicia J. Nieves, junior; Marni L. Nixon, junior; and Elizabeth C. Orlando, junior.

Park Ridge: Daryl E. Andresen, senior; and Jessica L. Kohnen, freshman.

• Nathan R. Blackwell of Mount Prospect, a senior majoring in physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y., was named to dean's list for the fall 2007 semester. To qualify, students must maintain a minimum GPA 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

• Don Trinite, a senior from Des Plaines, was among a trio of Monmouth College history students who presented their research reports to the Warren County Genealogical Society in Monmouth. The history majors had written biographies for professor William Urban's "Historiography Seminar" and benefited from the members' help in using the Genealogical Library collection. Trinite spoke on Monmouth city clerk W.M. Gregg.

• Joshua Krall of Des Plaines, a communication major at Millikin University, Decatur, is a DJ for WJMU, the student radio station for the 2007-08 school year. Krall is a graduate of Iroquois West High School.

• Zachary Pietryla of Elk Grove Village, a freshman at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., was named to the fall 2007-08 Dean's List for achieving a grade point average of 3.75 or higher.

• Kristen Sullivan of Elk Grove Village, a student in the School of Education at DePaul University, Chicago, was named to the 2007 fall quarter Dean's List for her outstanding academic performance.

• Erin Ashley Allen of Mount Prospect, a sophomore at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, was named to the fall 2007 honors list for earning at least a 3.5 grade point average.

• Benedictine University in Lisle announced the following students were named to the fall 2007 Dean's List which recognizes full-time students who achieve at least a 3.5 grade point average.

Des Plaines: Caroline E. Benjamin, Mary Shannon Duggan, Melissa Marie Nemes, Gopi Hasmukh Patel and Rupal K. Patel.

Elk Grove Village: Nicole Sandra Geier and Niki A. Patel.

Mount Prospect: Amar D. Khatri.

• Mark Richard Pytlewicz of Des Plaines, a part-time student at Benedictine University in Lisle, was named to the fall 2007 Dean's Recognition List for achieving a 3.5 grade point average or above.

• Alison Thalhammer of Park Ridge, who graduated in May with a bachelor's degree in theater from Valparaiso University in Indiana, earned first place for her poetry in the university's 2007 Wordfest Writing Contest.

• Monal Ray and Katrina Wei, both of Des Plaines, and Dorothy Chrzaszcz, Mount Prospect, were honored during the 2007 Doctor of Pharmacy White Coat Ceremony for students entering their first professional year in the Doctor of Pharmacy program at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. The students completed a minimum two years of pre-pharmacy studies before being accepted into the four-year professional pharmacy program.