LEARNING
Daily Chronicle / Daily-Chronicle.com
Wednesday, November 6, 2013 • Page C3
Kishwaukee’s annual College Night is today Kishwaukee College will host its annual College Night from 6:30 to 8 p.m. today in the college gymnasium with a special presentation at 6 p.m. in Jenkins Auditorium on financing a college education. There also is a presentation on the Engineering-Mathematics-Science Academy at 6 p.m. and a presentation on the Engineering Pathways Program at 7:30 p.m. Each year, Kishwaukee College partners with area high schools to host College Night to give prospective students a chance to comparison shop post-high school programs, colleges and universities while gathering information on academic programs, admissions requirements and financial aid for several schools at once. At this year’s event, representatives from more than 50 institutions, including colleges, universities, military programs and trade schools, will
be on hand to provide informational materials, applications, and answer questions. College shoppers will have access to representatives from Illinois schools as well as several out-of-state institutions from Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and Missouri. The event also is recommended for Kishwaukee College students who are preparing to transfer to a four-year university. One of College Night’s most popular events is the financial aid presentation and question-and-answer session with Pam Wagener, coordinator of Financial Aid at Kishwaukee College. The financial aid presentation has been widely attended at College Night in recent years, leaving standing room only in the auditorium. This year, the College’s Media Services department will once again broadcast the presentation and question-and-an-
swer session to a nearby classroom to accommodate all interested parents and students. There also will be an informational meeting on the Engineering-Mathematics-Science Academy (EMSA) for high school juniors who are currently enrolled in pre-calculus and their parents in Room A1273, the Conference Center Dining Room, from 6 to 7 p.m. The current juniors who are interested in pursuing engineering or other math/science based majors would participate in EMSA during their senior year in high school during which they would take a series of calculus and physics courses at Kishwaukee College to earn up to 28 hours of college credit while simultaneously finishing high school. In addition, there will be a presentation on the Engineering Pathways Program for high school
seniors interested in pursuing engineering at 7:30 p.m. in A1273. Engineering Pathways is a transfer agreement with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Kish students who complete a prescribed study program in engineering and satisfy other program requirements at Kishwaukee can then transfer their first two years of coursework directly to UIUC and be guaranteed admission to the UIUC College of Engineering. The Career Technologies Division will hold an open house from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the A1300 Lounge, directly across from the south side of the gym where College Night will be held. The Career Technologies event will feature representatives from the division’s programs that offer one- and two-year certificates and degrees in occupations in which student may enter the workforce immediately after program
completion. Career Technologies Programs are Automated Engineering Technology, Agriculture, Automotive Technology, Aviation, Computer-Aided Design, Computer Information Systems, Criminal Justice, Collision Repair Technology, Diesel Power Technology, Electronics, Horticulture, Office Systems, Truck Driver Training and Welding Technology. Information on Health and Education Programs will be available at tables located in the gym balcony. Health and Education Programs are Basic Nursing Assistant, Emergency Medical Services, Nursing, Radiologic Technology, Therapeutic Massage, Early Childhood Education and Education. For more information about College Night, contact Heather Ferguson at 815-825-2086, ext. 2351, or visit www.kishwaukeecollege. edu/go/collegenightpr/.
DeKalb native named NIU’s Student Lincoln Laureate Sarah Stuebing can walk from her childhood home to her college campus in a matter of minutes. The path she chose at Northern Illinois University put the world at her feet. Along the way she has accrued a collection of scholarships, awards and accolades, but none so impressive as her latest title, Student Lincoln Laureate. That honor is given annually to one senior at each university in the state for their excellence, both inside and outside of the classroom. Recipients from around the state were honored at a reception Saturday with the governor. Those who have grown to know and work with Stuebing over the past four years say she epitomizes all that the award is intended to honor. “I have been at NIU for 10 years and have yet to meet an undergraduate student who approaches Sarah’s level of engagement in curricular and co-curricular activities,” psychology professor Doug Wallace, who nominated her for the award, said in a news release. Going to college in her hometown was viewed by some as taking “the easy way,” she admits, but she brought a can-do attitude to campus from the day she arrived. “I came in with the mindset that I was going to make the most of everything NIU had to offer me.” The first opportunity she seized was to become part of the university’s first class of Research Rookies, a program that gave 17 freshmen the chance to participate in research with faculty. A competitive horseback rider since childhood, she devised original research to explore whether the specialized massage techniques she had learned actually improved the performance of her horse. As the project evolved she learned
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DeKalb High School graduate Sarah Stuebing was awarded Illinois’ highest honor, Student Lincoln Laureate, on Saturday in Springfield. how to write proposals, design experiments, analyze data and even mastered video editing software developed by television networks to analyze world-class athletes. The experience, she says, set the stage for what followed. “Research Rookies pretty much shaped my whole college career,” Stuebing said in the release. “Without that start, I believe my college experience would have been very different. It influenced many projects I have tackled since and helped me find mentors who still provide me guidance today.” While her freshman year was, in some ways, as academically rigorous as that of many graduate students, for Stuebing it was just a warm-up. During her sophomore year, she worked with an anthropology professor, devising a project to study the facial expressions of black howler monkeys, and then secured three different grants totaling $5,500 to fund a trip to Argentina so that she could spend her summer doing field work. Later that year, Stuebing, a biology major who hopes to become a veterinarian,
co-founded the NIU Pre-Veterinary Medicine Association. She has served as the organization president since its founding, organizing field trips, recruiting speakers and arranging other activities to help educate the 15 to 20 students who join each year. NIU Acting Provost Lisa Freeman, who serves as faculty adviser to the group, says that Steubing is one of the most outstanding students she has encountered in her academic career, which has included stops at schools such as Kansas State, Ohio State and Cornell. Starting sophomore year, those interests were focused on work in Wallace’s neuroscience lab, where she quickly became an important member of his research team. Her contributions include running rats through various testing protocols, assisting with surgical procedures to study the rodents’ brain tissue and analyzing data. The work became the basis for her Honors capstone project (which she wrapped up her junior year) and enabled her to present at scientific conferences at NIU, a regional conference
at Indiana University and at an international conference in New Orleans. She is listed as a co-author on several of Wallace’s publications. She continued working in the lab throughout her junior year, and was able to extend her research into the summer between junior and senior years when she once again became an academic pioneer, this time as one of NIU’s first group of 10 McKearn Summer Scholars. The program not only allowed her to extend her Alzheimer’s-related research but also enabled her to tap into a new network of alumni mentors and participate in a leadership academy. Not all of her energies were poured into the classroom and laboratories, however. Despite her rigorous academic pursuits (which included a minor in Spanish and a minor in chemistry) Stuebing also made time to serve as president of Presbyterian Campus Ministries, traveled to Louisiana on spring break with a Habitat for Humanity group, served as a speaker at
the Academic Convocation and taught horseback riding and Sunday school on the side. Her activities also included serving as a Northern Lights Ambassador, a role that allowed her to speak with potential students at open houses and to serve on panel discussions about engaged learning opportunities at NIU and to network with alumni. Typically, she used those platforms as a chance to evangelize about engaged learning. “I have seen what a huge difference engaged learning has made in my education, and everyone else I know who has been involved in it,” she said in the release. “It is the difference between just having a degree and having a degree with experience.” This semester, her pursuits have taken her out of the country, to the University of Sterling, in central Scotland, where she is studying biology. She also has taken advantage of her time in Europe to visit family in Germany (she was born there and is fluent in the language)
and to introduce fellow American classmates to life on the continent. She will be back stateside in December, but not for long. She has secured another grant to return to Argentina to continue her howler monkey research – but that trip could be in peril, depending upon her schedule of interviews at veterinary schools. After all, getting into a top veterinary program has been her aim from Day One on the NIU campus, a goal from which she has never wavered. However, all that she has learned and done while at NIU has changed her desired career track a bit. Her goal now is to enroll in a program that will allow her to jointly earn a degree as a doctor of veterinary medicine, as well as a Ph.D., so that she can continue conducting research. Ultimately, she would like to study outbreaks of diseases such as bird flu or swine flu for Centers for Disease Control. “I would love to make a difference on a grander scale,” she said.
November 29-30, 2013 • 10 am Huskie Stadium • Tickets $10 Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com or by calling 815-752-6800. The 2013 IHSA Football State Championships are coming to DeKalb County. 2 days, 8 games,16 teams, thousands of football fans from across the state, and YOU! Looking to help? Volunteer! IHSA Destination DeKalb will require community help including: • Ticket Takers • Door Guards • Ushers • Parking Attendants Volunteer now at: IHSADestinationDeKalb.com
MVP Sponsors
Unique little shop filled to the brim with our own handmade goods made right in our building; soy jar candles, wax melters, soap, diffusers, scented botanicals. Our cupboards are filled with other needful goods for the home, garden and spirit. www.1803candles.com
City of DeKalb - DeKalb County Government - Kish Health System - Monsanto - NIU Foundation
Goal Line Sponsors Castle Bank - MOI - NB&T - Shaw Media
Red Zone Sponsors City of Sycamore - DeKalb County Community Foundation - Fatty’s Pub & Grille Ideal Industries - Dave & Suzanne Juday - MorningStar Media Group - Bill Nicklas Doug & Lynn Roberts - WLBKAM/FMWSQRAM/FM
For questions contact : Tom Matya, Host Committee Chair: 815-895-5519 or tmatya@zeamays.com Debbie Armstrong, Executive Director, DeKalb County Convention & Visitors Bureau: 815-756-1336 or darmstrong@dekalbcountycvb.com
For More Information: 877-335-2521 www.ihsadestinationdekalb.com