Best & Brightest

• Roosevelt University announced the following students were named to its Franklin Honor Society, which honors the best and brightest students. Members are graduating undergraduates with a grade point average of 3.75 or higher.

Elk Grove Village: Nicole Almanzo, elementary education; David Kook, general studies; Kenneth Lehmann, business administration, management; Lisa Miceli, psychology; Fatima Mohammad, business administration, accounting; and Arin Sternbauer, history.

Des Plaines: Sallie Schiller, psychology.

Mount Prospect: John Potts, history.

Park Ridge: Katherine Schuman, elementary education.

• Colleen Taylor, daughter of Gary and Kathy Taylor of Park Ridge, and a junior at Quincy University, was elected treasurer of Kappa Lambda Rho chapter of Lambda Pi Eta national communication honor society for 2007-08.

• Rebecca Christopher, daughter of Robert and Barbara Christopher of Park Ridge, is participating in the Arts and Sciences Cooperative Education Program, offered through Valparaiso's College of Arts and Sciences. The program is designed to provide students opportunities to gain career-related work experience that complements classroom instruction. Christopher is a sophomore political science major and a member of Christ College, the honors college at the university.

• Jennifer Lahlum, daughter of Ross and Judith Lahlum of Mount Prospect, is singing soprano in Coe College's Concert Choir in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this year. The Concert Choir performs eight to 10 times per year, both on and off campus. A highlight of this season was a January 2008 winter tour to Costa Rica. Lahlum is a 2007 graduate of John Hersey High School.

• Larisa Greve, daughter of Jeffrey and Susan Greve of Park Ridge, was among several Wartburg College juniors and seniors who were inducted into the Alpha Chi honor society in Waverly, Iowa. The organization promotes academic excellence and exemplary character among college and university students in all disciplines and honors those who achieve such distinction.

• Ashley Evett of Elk Grove Village, a student at Illinois State University, Normal, attended the NEA Student Program's national conference in Louisville, Ky., to discuss important issues facing the teaching profession including teacher attrition and the transition from student to teacher. The conference was held so students could learn more about the issues beginning teachers traditionally find challenging when entering into the profession as well as to discuss pedagogical methods, resources for mentoring programs, tips for classroom management and coping strategies.

• Margherite Brucci, daughter of Paul and Adeline Brucci, was the recipient of a scholarship at a banquet in November from The Calabrese in America Organization, a Chicagoland Italian organization. The 2007 Prospect High School graduate is a student at Indiana University in Bloomington.

• Stefanie DeFrancesca of Mount Prospect, a student majoring in service management at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, received the Chancellor's Award for the fall 2007 semester. The award is presented to students who have a grade point average of 3.5 or above.

• The University of Iowa in Iowa City named the following students to the dean's list for the 2007 fall semester for having a minimum 3.5 grade-point average.

Des Plaines: Meghana Ghanshyambhai Patel, College of Business Administration; Nicole Marie Klein, Patryk Purta, Stacey Lynn Tinkoff and Joyce Marie Weston, all students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Elk Grove Village: Elizabeth W. Christian, Jamie Michelle Colgan, Samantha Kientzy Gehr, Ryan William Hudgins, Michael M. Moser, Mitchell Terence Moylan, Jennifer Eunjeong Oh and Gina Elizabeth Pucci, all in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; and Michael J. Raczka, College of Business Administration.

Mount Prospect: James Joseph Guarino, a student in the College of Engineering; Gregory J. Chiakulas, Colleen Elizabeth Delahanty, Kimberly Ann Lynch, Michele Kathleen Maycan, Edward William McCully, David Edward Novotny, Jennifer Kay Preinitz, and Kyle Matthew Szeliga, all students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

• Jose Shi Chun Yu of Mount Prospect was awarded his doctor of philosophy degree in chemistry in December from the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

• The University of Iowa awarded bachelor's degrees to the following students at the fall 2007 commencement ceremonies held in December in Iowa City.

Des Plaines: Gifford O. Afram, finance (business administration); Karl Kreiner, economics, finance (business administration); and Peter Pino, marketing (business administration).

Elk Grove Village: Erin Marie Feo, English; Sarah Ellen Witt, marketing (business administration); and Sarah Ellen Witt, statistics.

Mount Prospect: Elizabeth J. Westlake, industrial engineering.

• Katelin M. Plum of Des Plaines, a senior at Beloit College in Wisconsin, achieved academic distinction during the fall term and was named to the dean's list for maintaining at least a 3.4 grade point average.

• Michelle A. Casali and Nicole E. Crider, both of Elk Grove Village achieved academic distinction during the fall term at Beloit College in Wisconsin and were named to the dean's list for maintaining at least a 3.4 grade point average. Casali is a junior and Crider is a senior.