Oakton honors outstanding students at Leadership Banquet
Oakton Community College announced four winners of the board of trustees Outstanding Student Award at its annual Student Leadership Banquet. Honorees Andrew Kostiv (Park Ridge, Maine South), Aishat Mohammed (Evanston, Mather High School), Joshua Rodriguez (Skokie, Niles North High School) and Luz Trejo Camarillo (Des Plaines, Maine West High School) were presented their awards by board Chairwoman Joan DiLeonardi April 18 in Niles.
Each year, the Oakton board of trustees recognizes student recipients who have completed the college's Emerging Leaders program with a $300 scholarship for outstanding leadership.
Kostiv, an integral member of Sustainability Club since its inception in spring 2018, has single-handedly been responsible for the success of "Grounds for Growing." The project collects used coffee grounds from employees in a designated bin for weekly collection. The grounds are weighed, data is recorded and the grounds are emptied in the compost pile in the Community Garden. The project has kept more than 400 pounds of coffee grounds out of the landfill, providing nutrients to the garden, which in turn will generate organic produce donated to local food pantries.
He has served as Student Government Association secretary and was vice president of scholarship for Phi Theta Kappa, in addition to working for the Office of Student Life.
Mohammed is a passionate leader who encourages her fellow students to be active and engaged. She serves as a co-president for Skokie Events Team, is a member of the Oakton Helping Others student club, and served as a student representative for the Skokie Student Center and Student Center Remodel.
In addition to her service to the college in these capacities, Mohammed works in the Office of Student Life as a student employee at the Skokie campus.
Rodriguez is a four-time President's Scholar with a 3.95 GPA and was vice president of Fellowship for Oakton's chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, where he co-led a project that earned an international Distinguished College Project Hallmark Award. As a Student Government Association senator, he spearheaded an initiative to raise student wages, co-led the elections committee, and was part of the conventions committee. He also is a member of the Hispanic Club, serves as a student member of the Student Success Team, and sits on the Study Breakfast Committee.
Student Government Association President Luz Trejo Camarillo has served as a student member on the Oakton Diversity Council, supporting its efforts to engage the college community in becoming a more inclusive, diverse and anti-bias institution. She has been a student member of the Hispanic Heritage Month committee and also the American Association of Women in Community Colleges. She has been actively involved in campus and student organizations.
• Jerry Doetsch, a residential real estate broker with the Glenview office of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices KoenigRubloff Realty Group, was named the 2018 Glenview Citizen of the Year.
Doetsch was presented with the award in honor of his outstanding involvement, selfless dedication and continuing commitment when providing assistance and care to members of the Glenview community. He received the award during a celebration Friday, April 26, at the Delta Hotel in Glenview.
Michael Mazzei, senior vice president and regional managing broker of the Glenview office, who nominated Doetsch, said, "I'm pleased to congratulate Jerry on this most prestigious of awards. He lives, eats and breathes Glenview. Our village is a much better place to live and raise a family due to Jerry's community-specific contributions and his long list of volunteer accomplishments."
Doetsch is a third generation Realtor, whose family has been selling real estate in Glenview since the 1940s. Outside of real estate, he is active in the Glenview Chamber of Commerce; has run the Holiday in the Park Parade for the last 10 years; serves on the advisory board for Wesley Child Care; and is a member of the Glenview Optimist Club.
• Barrington resident Elizabeth Platou Ahlgren has joined the board of trustees of Vesterheim, the national Norwegian-American museum and heritage center, in Decorah, Iowa. Vesterheim has a national board with 25 members from 10 states and the District of Columbia.
Ahlgren is recently retired from British Airways as a corporate sales manager. Her parents were immigrants from Norway, whose ancestors include an early Norwegian prime minister, one of the first female parliamentary representatives, and a seamstress who made bunads (traditional Norwegian clothing) for the Norwegian royal family.
She has volunteered as a board member of the Arthritis Foundation, the Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce, and Astrup Fearnley Museet U.S.
• Club Guadalupano celebrated 42 years of awarding scholarships to U-46 high school seniors at the annual Latino Awards Banquet Saturday, April 20, at Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin.
Twenty-one high school students from the district's five high schools received a Zoilo Santiago Memorial Award for Academic Achievement, named in honor of the late U-46 bilingual teacher whose commitment to the community went beyond the classroom.
Students who were presented with the Club Guadalupano scholarship include: German Acevedo, Denise Valdez, Jasmine Méndez, Rey Gordino and Jacqueline Zarate from Bartlett High School and Karina Adán, Diego Castillo, Christian González, Kiara Kerkoofs and Edgar Gasca from Streamwood High School.
Elgin Community College also awarded two ECC Foundation Scholarships to Bartlett High School student Jacqueline Zarate and Streamwood High School student Diego Castillo, and an ECC Trustee Scholarships to Streamwood High School student Edgar Gasca.
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