State Senator Dan Rutherford (R-Pontiac) today announced the recipients of the Illinois General Assembly Scholarships for the 2004-2005 academic year.
"I wish to thank our selection committee for doing another fantastic job in evaluating the applications," Rutherford stated. "We had a number of very competitive applicants, and the committee had some very difficult decisions to make in selecting the eight recipients," he added.
Those awarded a scholarship are selected by an independent panel of educators on the basis of academic excellence and civic participation. There were four one-year scholarships made available to students attending one of the University of Illinois' campuses, and four one-year scholarships for students attending any other state supported, four-year university in Illinois.
"I congratulate each of the eight recipients. I am certain they will all make us very proud of their future accomplishments. I also strongly encourage those who were not selected to apply again. After looking at the results of our panel, I know we had a number of applicants who were strong competitors," Rutherford concluded.
Those receiving General Assembly Scholarships for the 2004-2005 academic year are:
Shayne Fehr - Morton - University of Illinois
Nicole Griglione - Champaign - University of Illinois
Valerie Jurgens - Towanda - Southern Illinois University
Rachel Maurer - Saybrook - University of Illinois
Katie McCann - Watseka - University of Illinois
Valerie Smith - Minonk - Illinois State University
Marc Thomas - Fairbury - Illinois State University
Jeff Werner - Bloomington - Southern Illinois University
Illinois General Assembly Scholarship applications for the 2005-2006 academic year will be available in February of 2005. Those students interested in applying must personally write Senator Rutherford's office (320 N. Plum Pontiac, IL 61764) or e-mail anne@danrutherford.com after February 1, 2005 to request an application form. Anyone who has already received a scholarship from Senator Rutherford is not eligible to apply. However, those who have applied before and have not received a scholarship are eligible to apply again. In addition, students must be a resident of Senator Rutherford's district. The scholarships cover tuition expenses for the fall, spring, and summer semesters.
