Barrington H.S. grad earns theater alumni group award

Recent Barrington High School graduate Lauren P. Messemer was this year's recipient of the Richard C. Johnson Memorial Galfer Award. Presented by the Barrington High School Performing Arts Alumni Endowment, the $1,000 award recognizes a graduating senior for participation and leadership in the performing arts at Barrington High School. The award was presented to Messemer by Barrington High School Performing Arts Alumni Endowment President Claudette Keil along with Treasurer Ray Harris and Board Members MaryBeth Polizzi and Rob Wiltgen as part of this year's Barrington High School Thespian Banquet at the Makray Memorial Golf Club on May 19. Messemer will attend Texas Christian University this fall to work toward a BFA in theater.

• Palatine High School students Daniel Rosenburg and Emily Steinebrey, and Conant High School student NitinShankar Subramanian were honored by the District 211 board of education during its May meeting for achieving a 36, the highest possible composite score, on the ACT exam. The ACT exam is comprised of tests in English, mathematics, reading and science reasoning. Each test is scored on a scale of 1-36, and a student's score is the average of the four test scores. On average, less than one percent of all ACT test takers earn a top score.

• Lisa L. Dunn, of Massucci, Blomquist, Anderson & Dunn, in Arlington Heights, was appointed as a chairwoman of the Traffic Laws and Court Section Council of the Illinois State Bar Association, which provides professional services to Illinois lawyers, and education and services to the public.

• Glenview resident Cynthia Photos Abbott joined Chicago Public Media as vice president and general counsel. Abbott brings to the newly created position nearly 30 years of legal experience in a broad range of areas including intellectual property, contracts, dispute resolution and external and internal legal management. She joins the company from Motorola Mobility, LLC, where she worked in the position of senior legal director.

• Bartlett native Kristina Dehlin received two awards for outstanding academic achievement during recent commencement ceremonies at Illinois Wesleyan University. Dehlin, an English-writing and philosophy double major who was graduated summa cum laude, received both the Nikki Kaye Pape President's Club Award for Excellence in Writing and the Donald R. Koehn Memorial Award, which is presented for outstanding achievement in the humanities.

• Send your 'Neighbors in the News' items to Norrine Twohey at ntwohey@dailyherald.com.