Best & Brightest

• Malinda Holmer, daughter of Mitch and Karen Holmer of Schaumburg, is a student at Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne University who is playing division I soccer. She led the Summit League goalkeeper average saves per game in fall conference play with a total of 103 saves in her freshman season. She was nationally ranked 34th in the NCAA Division I with 6.44 saves per game.

Holmer, a secondary art education major, made the semester honors and dean's list. She was also honored for her academic excellence by being selected to the Summit League Fall Academic All-League Team and was one of only 35 student-athletes to post a perfect 4.0 grade point average while in season. Holmer is a 2007 graduate of Conant High School.

• Kevin Kledzik of Schaumburg was chosen as a Presidential Scholar at Illinois State University, Normal. The highest award made to incoming students, a Presidential Scholarship provides $8,000 for each of four years, a total of $32,000.

Recipients study abroad one term, complete a 130-hour service learning project in a community setting, complete a special set of general education courses and fulfill Honors Program requirements. They generally develop individualized plans of study, work closely with faculty on research projects and assume campus leadership roles.

• Megan Kvistad, daughter of Al and Mardy Kvistad of Schaumburg, received the EIU Errett and Mazie Warner Secondary Education Award given to students with at least a B average and the McKinney Undergraduate Scholarship which is presented to students with a GPA of 3.2. Kvistad, a sophomore majoring in English education at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, is a 2006 graduate of James B. Conant High School.

• Hollie Logsdon of Schaumburg, a student at Millikin University in Decatur, accepted membership and was initiated into National Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society for First Year Students on April 27. Logsdon is an English-writing major and a graduate of Schaumburg High School. Membership in Alpha Lambda Delta is open to full-time freshman who earn a scholastic average of 3.5 or better and are in the top 20 percent of their class.

• Meghan O'Kelly of Hoffman Estates was recently initiated into the Phi Kappa Phi Chapter at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she is studying news-editorial journalism.