Suburban students win memorial scholarships

When Scott Hudek heard there was a shooting in Cole Hall, he thought it was a joke.

As the U.S. Air Force veteran's instincts guided his feet toward the red brick building, Hudek saw people staggering away from the building "like ghosts."

"As soon as I got to Cole Hall and saw people lying there who were shot, I realized it was real," Hudek said.

Hudek's military training proved useful as he helped administer first aid to injured students outside Cole Hall, a year ago Saturday.

Hudek, a Downers Grove native, was one of five Northern Illinois University students who were awarded the first "Forward, Together Forward" memorial scholarships Saturday.

The scholarships are named after a line in the Huskies' fight song that became an inspirational slogan after the Feb. 14, 2008 shootings that claimed the lives of five NIU students.

The one-time, $4,000 scholarships were awarded in memory of the five victims, during a Saturday afternoon luncheon where NIU President John Peters introduced the five winners. In addition to Hudek, they are:

• Deanna Bach, a junior from Wheaton.

• Jacqueline Do, a sophomore from DeKalb.

• Justin Kuryliw, a junior from DeKalb.

• Grace Weidner, a sophomore from Gurnee.

The five students were chosen from 71 applicants on the basis of their academic achievements, community service and essays on what it means to be a Huskie.

The "Forward, Together Forward" scholarships were created after NIU received more than $630,000 in unsolicited donations to memorialize the five students who died in a shooting rampage a year ago: Catalina Garcia, Julianna Gehant, Gayle Dubowski, Ryanne Mace and Daniel Parmenter.

Despite his heroics on Feb. 14, 2008, Hudek did not jump at the chance to apply for the scholarship.

"I didn't feel like I had done enough that warranted me being accepted," Hudek said. "I just reacted and went into military mode - and I helped the people that were wounded."

Weidner was in Cole Hall when the gunman burst in and started firing indiscriminately.

"I felt compelled to apply because I am a survivor," Weidner said. "I know some of the pain that the victims had to deal with. You want to take every bit from their lives and apply it to become a better person because of them."

Justin Kuryliw said he felt the significance of the scholarship when a relative of Dan Parmenter approached him at the scholarship luncheon.

"He just looked me straight in the eye and said, 'Thanks for carrying the torch,'" Kuryliw said. "That's an amazing honor."