Dundee students named Golden Apple scholars
There are some very smart high school students in the Dundee area.
Last month, two members of the Boys and Girls Club of Dundee Township were named Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois.
Dundee-Crown High School seniors Courtnee Gonzalez and Sonalia Ramirez were among the 125 high school and college students given the distinction.
Courtnee, who was the club's 2007 Youth of the Year, will attend Illinois State University in the fall.
"Being a Golden Apple Scholar will be a life long experience, and something that I look forward to," Courtnee said in a Boys and Girls Club release.
She has been a member of the club for more than 10 years.
Meanwhile, Sonalia, who is the club's current Youth of the Year, will attend Northern Illinois University.
"I feel blessed to be part of the Golden Apple Scholar program, and I am very excited to move on to the next phase of my life," Sonalia said in the release.
The Golden Apple Foundation is the largest pre-service teacher-support program in the nation.
According to the foundation's Web site, through a rigorous application and interview process, the Scholars program annually identifies, recruits and prepares bright and talented students, who represent a rich ethnic diversity, for successful teaching careers in schools of need throughout Illinois.
Boys and Girls Club Director Mike Berger said the young women represent the mission of the club: "To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens."
In other student-related news, the Dundee-Crown High School student Ashley Herzovi of East Dundee was awarded a $1,500 scholarship from the Dundee Township Visitor's Center, in conjunction with the Dundee Township Rotary Foundation.
Ashley, who will attend Michigan State University to study international relations and economics, received the award last week at the Dundee Township Rotary's annual awards banquet.
"I'm very grateful for the opportunity," she said in a visitor's center release.
The release also says Ashley is an Illinois State Scholar for academic excellence and is a member of the National Honor Society. She is also a member of Beta Club, student council and is president of her class.
Ashley volunteers for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, participates in orchestra, is captain of her debate team and was homecoming parade chair.
The Visitor's Center scholarship was established last fall by the Dundee Township Visitor's Center, a nonprofit organization located at 319 N. River St. in East Dundee.
Board President Stephen Pickett said funds for the scholarship came from Visitor's Center donations and booth fees from the Dundee Township Farmer's Market.