CLC student leader named Coca-Cola Gold Scholar

College of Lake County student Ryan Stivers, 23, of Mundelein was named a Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team Gold Scholar — one of 50 winning students selected from 3,000 applicants in the United States.

He will receive a $1,500 scholarship from the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, which sponsors the Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team program.

Stivers’ name was also included in a list of Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team Scholars in the April 23 issue of USA Today. The honor was announced at a recent CLC board of trustees meeting by CLC President Jerry Weber.

Stivers, who dropped out of high school and later earned a GED diploma at CLC, is vice president of CLC’s Student Government Association and is a member of the Honors Program and Phi Theta Kappa, the academic honor society for community colleges. He credits CLC with turning his life around.

“Ryan is a very high energy person who is already a CLC success story,” said Art and Humanities Professor Bob Lossmann, adviser to the CLCs chapter of Phi Theta Kappa.

“He is very active in student government and started our world politics student club.”

The Gold Scholar award recognizes students’ academic abilities as well as leadership skills and volunteer service. Stivers has been active in a variety of community service projects, including campus beautification, “Paint the Town” in Waukegan and various charity walks.

He is interviewed in the CLC Foundation Changing Lives scholarship campaign video, viewable at clcillinois.edu/foundationgiving/scholarships.asp.

“I have been very blessed and very lucky to have so many opportunities at CLC. I wouldn’t be here without the Pell Grant and CLC Foundation Scholarships. I really love this school. CLC has been great to me. My most memorable experiences have actually been working with administrators at the college.

“CLC is blessed with a president, vice presidents and staff members who really care about the students. They want students to be successful, and that environment makes all the difference,” Stivers said.

Stivers plans to transfer to a four-year college in the fall. His top picks are Northwestern University, Cornell University and Lake Forest College.