Augustana College

Augustana College senior, Lucas simon (Notre Dame, Chicago, Ill.), was named an inaugural recipient of the James A. Sikich Scholarship. Simon, a three year letter winner on the Vikings basketball team, was one of just two students to receive the award, which was established earlier this year with the Illinois CPA Society. Simon majors in accounting and business management information systems and serves on campus as a career mentor, peer mentor for incoming freshmen, and community advisor. He also was the winner of the ICPA's Mary T. Washington Wylie Scholarship earlier in his career. "It's definitely an honor to receive this scholarship," Simon said. "It really feels nice to have hard work pay off and this is just a testement to that. I'm truly grateful for it." The Sikich Scholarship supports students who apply to the Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS) Accounting Scholarship Program. Students are selected annually based upon key criteria as established in cooperation with the ICPAS. This includes accounting students who have demonstrated leadership on campus, as well as students who are minoring in computer science or technology. This scholarship is named after James A. Sikich and its stated goal is to support deserving students who apply to the ICPAS Accounting Scholarship Program. These scholarships help make an accounting education accessible and attainable to bright, promising college students.

Alexander Tosetti, a senior accounting and business administration major, plans to become a certified public accountant.

Katie Syer has been selected to receive the Society of Physics Students Future Teacher Scholarship. SPS Scholarships recognize outstanding academic and personal achievements made by members of the SPS community. Katie was chosen not only due to her academic rigor but for her pursuit in a career in physics education. The SPS Future Teacher Scholarship values students who are well-rounded and passionate about teaching. The awards committee felt Katie embodied this sentiment.

Sophomore history major Julia Meyer received the Yoseloff Scholarship (funded by the Anthony A. Yoseloff Foundation, Inc.) to attend the 2016 Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Analytics conference in Phoenix, Arizona on March 10-12.

Prospective students auditioned for and received an Augustana music scholarship. Auditions are open to students regardless of their chosen area of study and scholarships are awarded to students who demonstrate exceptional musical ability.

A first-year student at Augustana College - Addison Morgan - is a recipient of the Gates Millennium Scholarship, a program established in 1999 by a $1.5 billion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to provide highly motivated minority students an opportunity to complete an undergraduate college education in any discipline area of interest.

Augustana College, in Rock Island, Ill., announced the 2012 recipients of business administration awards, scholarships and honors. Thirty-three business majors were honored for their academic achievements. From your area:

In conjunction with Augustana's 34th annual Business Day, the Augustana Business Department is proud to recognize more than 40 business administration and economics majors as recipients of endowed departmental scholarships this year. Students from the local area who were awarded scholarships include:

Twelve outstanding psychology graduates were given a financial boost towards graduate school as recipients of the 2008-09 Geraldine Wallin Sickler Award. This annual monetary award is given to outstanding senior psychology majors at Augustana College who are enrolled in a graduate psychology program. Dr. Jayne Rose, professor and chair of the psychology department, estimates that over 50% of Augustana psychology majors go on to grad school within two years."We provide students with multiple opportunities to gain experience in clinical and research settings," said Dr. Rose. "This research gives students the opportunity to explore different areas and strengthen their graduate school application." To prepare students for the application process, the psychology department holds informational sessions for students each fall, ranging in topics from finding the right grad program to writing personal statements. Sarah Downie, one of the award-winners from Rock Falls, Illinois, started her first graduate class at the University of Iowa in June. "Like many of the students, I was nervous about the intensity of the school counseling program," she said. "However, after the first few days, I knew I was prepared because of my four years at Augustana. Augustana taught me to think outside of the box to reach original answers. I am able to apply a lot of the material I learned at Augustana to a wide range of subjects because I was taught how to think instead of what to think." The Geraldine Wallin Sickler fund was established by the father of Geraldine Wallin Sickler, who died in a car accident in 1959. The award-winners are chosen each year by the Augustana psychology faculty. To qualify, students must enroll in a graduate program within 19 months of graduation. From your area, scholarship winners included:

Julie Gass received the 2009 J.E. Wallace Wallin award for her engagement in psychology research activities at Augustana College. This annual scholarship is awarded to one senior who has been accepted into a doctoral or specialist degree psychology program. Next year, Gass will pursue her PhD in clinical psychology at the University at Buffalo in New York. "Even though Augustana's psych department is relatively small compared to large universities, it provided me with ample opportunities for diverse research," she said. "As someone moving on to graduate school, I appreciate the experience in independent and faculty-based research study." Gass's research experience included working with Augustana professor Dr. Erin Stoffel, who studies the relation between impulsive behavior and drug abuse. Gass represents a majority of psychology students who will enroll into a graduate school after leaving Augustana. Dr. Jayne Rose, professor and chair of the psychology department, is proud of how Augustana prepares its students for demanding graduate programs. "We provide students with multiple opportunities to gain experience in clinical and research settings," said Dr. Rose. "This research gives students the opportunity to explore different areas and strengthen their graduate school application." Gass graduated Cum Laude with a psychology major and Spanish and Latin American studies minor. She is the daughter of Reed and Theresa Gass from Algonquin, Illinois, and attended Harry D. Jacobs High School. At Augustana, she played in the symphony orchestra, was a member of the Chi Omega Gamma sorority and volunteered at the Quad City Animal Welfare Center and the Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Center. She was also a member of the Mortar Board national honor society and Psi Chi National Honors Society in Psychology. John Edward Wallace Wallin graduated from Augustana in 1897 and became one of the primary contributors to the development of school psychology and special education services in the early twentieth century. He wrote numerous ground-breaking books and established psychoeducational clinics and special education departments at several colleges and public school districts. The endowment established in his honor funds the Wallin lecture and the annual J.E. Wallace Wallin award.

Psychology major Spencer Campbell is the 2009 recipient of the Ralph Hansen Scholarship because of his extensive research on language and cognitive science. The award is granted to an Augustana junior each year who demonstrates exceptional interest and achievement in psychology. Augustana psychology professor Dr. Daniel Corts says Campbell was a clear choice for the Ralph Hansen Scholarship. "Spencer gets good grades in tough courses, participates in psychology department activities, and has distinguished himself through his research activities." Campbell is interested in cognitive science, a field that primarily focuses on memory, language, perception, and reasoning. He began working with Dr. Corts in the fall of 2008 to understand how people can effortlessly understand non-literal language without getting literal and figurative meanings confused. For instance, they might investigate why people can easily understand the phrase "rumors are a plague in this office" without thinking that rumors are a literal disease. Campbell and two other students designed and conducted three experiments with Dr. Corts. In May 2009, Campbell presented their research at an international association of psychological science in San Francisco. At the end of July, he will travel with Dr. Corts to a research workshop at the University of Liverpool in England. Campbell serves as the Augustana Chapter President of the Psi Chi National Honors Society in Psychology and recently received the Midwestern Psychological Association Research Award. As a senior, Campbell will have the chance to further explore his research interests by designing and conducting an independent study for his senior inquiry project. After graduation, he plans to pursue his doctorate degree in cognitive psychology. Campbell is grateful for the research opportunities he has received at Augustana. "Extensive research like this is exactly the sort of thing needed when going into a Ph.D. program. Thanks to the help and guidance I've received from the staff here in the psych department, I feel very prepared in facing the fast-paced world of professional psychology." Campbell also appreciates the family-like support of the psychology faculty. "When I walk into a psych professor's office, I know I will receive the same amount of interest and care whether I come to talk about a paper or my weekend. The psych department at Augustana is a fantastic environment to learn about an important discipline and yourself." Campbell is the son of James and Deborah Campbell from Glen Ellyn, Illinois and a graduate of Glenbard West High School. He enjoys playing ultimate Frisbee and is the co-captain of an intramural Frisbee team at Augustana. The Ralph Hansen scholarship was established in 1986 in honor of Dr. Ralph Hansen's 25th year of teaching. Dr. Hansen was a psychology professor at Augustana from 1961-1993 and the department chair from 1964-1976. He also organized and directed the Student Counseling Service at Augustana. Hansen passed away in 2004 and is remembered at Augustana for his love of teaching and counseling.