College of DuPage names 2021 Fall Scholars Award recipients

Posted July 25, 2021 11:00 pm

By Angela Mennecke COD News Bureau

The College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn announced 178 incoming students as Scholars Award recipients for fall 2021.

The awards fall into three categories: Presidential, a 64-semester hour full tuition scholarship; Board of Trustees, which is $2,500 per year; and Deans, which is $1,000 per year.

"The pandemic has caused many challenges and lost opportunities for our in-district high school students," said COD President Dr. Brian Caputo. "We are grateful we were able to honor these remarkable students through a drive-by event and look forward to welcoming them to the COD community in this fall."

View photos from the Scholars Award drive-by celebration on the COD Newsroom Flickr.com page.

<h3 class="briefHead">Presidential Scholars</h3>

• Addison: Zain Ahmed, Charles Bekielewski, Tiffany Cuevas, Hamza Kittaneh, Sameer Majeed, Nancy Obrzut, Addison Trail, and Syed Quadri, all from Addison Trail High School;

• Aurora: Gianna Dicristofano, Waubonsie Valley; Caitlin Monagan, Metea Valley; and Bethany Vang, Valeo Academy;

• Bensenville: Maryam Ghanimah and Christopher Kovich, both from Fenton High School;

• Brookfield: Luis Villasenor, Lyons Township;

• Carol Stream: Ashley Avelar, Madison Breck, Anna Carrera, Nicholas Dejesus, Samantha Elrod, John Nguyen, Alexandra Pablo, and Kathryn Sievers, all from Glenbard North High School; and Morgan Fenney and Christian Volle, both from Wheaton North High School;

• Clarendon Hills: Christian Schloegel, Hinsdale Central;

• Darien: Jennifer Cleghorn and Eryk Klimsazewski, both from Hinsdale South; and Austin Davis, Downers Grove South;

• Downers Grove: Bridget Mclain, Chesterton Academy; Rachel Rios, Downers Grove North; and Keagan Doyle, Ian Fielding, Martin Harmon, Katherine Novotny, and Luke Schwab, all from Downers Grove South;

• Elmhurst: Catherine Marzano, IC Catholic Prep;

• Glen Ellyn: Nathan Blaim, Jason Jeffers, and Mariam Sudhir, all from Glenbard South; and Isabelle Adduci, Morgan Clifford, Jordan Mozockie, and David Billings, all from Glenbard West;

• Glendale Heights: Eveleen Guemez, Dina Jovanovic, and Kimberly Sanchez, all of Glenbard East; Nicholas Exconde, Glenbard North; Aleena Khan and Victoria Nguyen, all from Glenbard West; and Mariyam Syed, Islamic Foundation;

• Hanover Park: Helly Patel, Glenbard North; La Grange: Jovana Del Carmen De La Torre and Monica Rosales, both from Lyons Township;

• Lombard: Sarah Ahmad, Benjamin Burr, Ian Pascual, Isabella Piscitelli, and Alida Swat, all from Glenbard East; Zainab Imam, Glenbard South; Bisma Khan, Willowbrook; Sean Nilles, Willowbrook; and Simah Riaz, home school;

• Naperville: Rachael Coppe and Neela Ward, both from Naperville Central; and Megan Kairies and Jessie Shiau, both from Naperville North;

• Northwoods: Elijah Wilkinson, home school;

• Roselle: Timothy Buranicz, Carolynn Sagi, and Jan Louis Ornillo, all from Lake Park;

• Warrenville: Jesus Arriaga Sanchez and Alyson Meyers, both from Wheaton Warrenville South;

• West Chicago: Maxwell Harris and Autumn Hosticka, both from West Chicago; Giovanni Zavalza;

• Westmont: Sophia Ricciardi and Isabella Serritella, both from Westmont; and Qasim Simba, Downers Grove South;

• Wheaton: Jaden Tran, Glenbard South; Johanna Gemkow, Tori Goins, and Kitty Nelson, all from Wheaton North; and Brianna Borger, Makayla Buchholz, Jessica Michalowski, Hannah Miller, Gabriel Pekarek, and Gabriella Zima, all from Wheaton Warrenville South;

• Willowbrook: Brian Ngeunjuntr, Hinsdale South;

• Winfield: Aurora Hone and Monserrat Lopez, both from Wheaton North;

• Wood Dale: Karolina Pasek and Sophia Saldana, both from Fenton;

• Woodridge: Jonathon Michael, Downers Grove South;

• Villa Park: Ryan Howard, Willowbrook; and Safiya Khatoon, Islamic Foundation.

<h3 class="briefHead">Trustee Scholars</h3>

• Addison: Natalya Trejo and Konrad Nowak, both from Addison Trail;

• Aurora: Dana Lopez Garay, Metea Valley; and Razhel Buquis, Waubonsie Valley;

• Bolingbrook: Tyler Clark, Neuqua Valley;

• Brookfield: Arely Gutierrez, Lyons Township;

• Carol Stream: Samantha Mandujano, Amanda Pabes, Ricardo Pascual Cortes, and Akira Lebron, Glenbard North;

• Darien: Ryan Deno, Hinsdale South;

• Downers Grove: Jarrett Brogan and Mikayla Cichy, both from Downers Grove North; and Mary Cimbalista, Home School;

• Elmhurst: Katherine McDonald, York;

• Glendale Heights: Adnaan Chida, Glenbard West; and Kobe Uriostegui and Giselle Hernandez, both from Glenbard East;

• Itasca: Kylie Little, Lake Park

• Lisle: Abeer Arif, Lisle

• Lombard: Janee Ruffin and John Sbarboro, both from Glenbard East Francesca Dukala, Glenbard South; and Michael Elvery, Willowbrook;

• Naperville: Cristian Bugaian, Metea Valley; Samantha Schultz, Naperville Central; and Toria Pickett, Naperville North;

• Oak Brook: Sam Benitez, Hinsdale Central;

• Roselle: Denisse Andrade and Michal Szczepaniak, both from Lake Park;

• Villa Park: Elizabeth Berberich, home school; and Nila Bashqawi, Willowbrook;

• Warrenville: Itzel Gonzalez and Jakub Hajduczenia, both from Wheaton Warrenville South

• West Chicago: Aidan Incrocci and Ulysses Resendiz, both from West Chicago Community High School;

• Wheaton: Dylan Estes, Wheaton North; Amber Hood, Glenbard South; and Isabella Boyas and Mary Kania, both from Wheaton Warrenville South;

• Willowbrook: Noor Jabi, Hinsdale Central;

• Winfield: Carissa Jin and Emily Lonks, both from Wheaton North;

• Wood Dale: Erik Braswell, Fenton.

<h3 class="briefHead">Deans Scholars</h3>

• Aurora: Maria Aldana, Waubonsie Valley;

• Bensenville: Noah Grunenwald, Fenton;

• Bloomingdale: Dylan Elmore, Glenbard North;

• Carol Stream: Jessie Gregg, Julian Sanchez, and Alexander Sitman, all from Glenbard North;

• Countryside: Kevin Hannigan, Lyons Township;

• Downers Grove: Tina Ebel and Ryan Trausch, both from Downers Grove North; and Tyler Krapez, Oswego East;

• Glen Ellyn: Kinga Niemiec, Glenbard East; Litzy Reyes, Riley Godshall, and Dario Stojakovic, all from Glenbard South; Jameson Engstrom and Maya Ponze, both from Glenbard West;

• Glendale Heights: Alexis Coytl Grande, Glenbard North;

• Hanover Park: Esteban Mayorga, Lake Park;

• Hinsdale: Salsabeel Saleh and Danielisse Santiago, both from Hinsdale Central;

• Hodgkins: Everardo Garcia, Lyons Township;

• Lemont: Kamil Krzemien, Lemont;

• Lisle: Madison Barma, Ryan Connolly, Madysen Hutchison, and Jenna Johnston, all from Lisle High School;

• Lombard: Heather Cox, Marcus Frega, Tasmia Kalota, Hadiqa Kalota, and Hamna Khan, all from Glenbard East;

• Naperville: Jessica John, Neuqua Valley; and Isabella Myers, Metea Valley;

• Westmont: Cullum Keough, home school;

• Wheaton: Olivija Vasiliauskas, Wheaton North; and Julia Kennedy, Wheaton Warrenville South;

• Willow Springs: James Daly, Lyons Township.

To maintain the scholarship, all scholars must be enrolled full-time (minimum 12 credit hours) pursuing a degree or certificate at COD, maintain a 3.5 cumulative GPA, and complete a minimum of 15 Honors credit hours, including an Honors seminar. In addition, Presidential Scholars Award recipients must complete 20 hours of approved volunteer work during their first year at COD.

For more information about the Scholars Awards or attending COD, contact the Admissions and Outreach office at (630) 942-2626 or email admissions@cod.edu.

Giovanni Zavalza of West Chicago is one of the Presidential Scholar Award winners, earning a 64-semester hour full tuition scholarship at College of DuPage. Courtesy of College of DuPage

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