College Credits: Students Graduate With Honors, Earn Dean's List

LEMONT, IL — We're sharing the news of all the major higher education accomplishments of area students. Send your submissions to andrea.earnest@patch.com. Students from area towns like Homer Glen, Lemont, Lockport and Romeoville are celebrating accomplishments throughout the semester, including making spring Dean's Lists and graduation.

Ashley Mussallem of Lemont graduates from RIT during 2020-2021 academic year

Ashley Mussallem of Lemont graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a BS in biomedical sciences.

Some 4,000 degrees were conferred in the 2020-2021 academic year at all of RIT's campuses. Due to New York state COVID-19 occupancy restrictions, commencement was celebrated May 14-15 in smaller ceremonies by college and were live-streamed for graduates' family and friends.

Romeoville student named to the Iowa State University Spring 2021 Dean's List

Bailey Kavaliunas of Romeoville, has been named to the spring 2021 dean's list in the College of Human Sciences at Iowa State University.

The dean's list honors students who have earned a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

Area Students Named to Spring 2021 Knox College Dean's List

High-achieving students were named to the Knox College Dean's List for the 2021 spring term. To be named to the Dean's List, a student must have earned at least 2.5 credits in the term, with a grade point average of 3.6 or better (on a 4.0 scale).

Students named to the Dean's List were: Dwight Bejlovec of Homer Glen, who is majoring in creative writing; and Salma Sandoval of Romeoville, who is majoring in environmental science.

Illinois Wesleyan Announces Candidates for Graduation 2021

Illinois Wesleyan University honored more than 360 candidates for graduation during Commencement on May 2. Geisha Jimenez Williams, a business leader with more than three decades of experience in the energy industry who became the first and, so far, only Latina CEO of a Fortune 200 company, delivered the Commencement address.

Area graduates included: Payton Koranda of Romeoville, majored in nursing; Marissa Irelan of Romeoville, Summa Cum Laude / Phi Kappa Phi, majored in psychology; Nia Lee of Romeoville, majored in Psychology; Nicole LaPapa of Lockport, majored in nursing; and Sarah Rollins of Lockport, Magna Cum Laude, majored in sociology.

Students Awarded Degree from Miami University

Rachel Martin of Homer Glen, McKenna Harbison of Lemont and Madison Filippini of Lemont, were among more than 4,000 students from Miami University who received degrees during the in-person spring commencement May 14-16.

Martin graduated Summa Cum Laude, University Honors with a business degree, majoring in marketing, entrepreneurship.

Harbison graduated Cum Laude with a degree in diplomacy and global politics, strategic communication.

Filippini graduated University Honors with distinction with a degree in kinesiology and health in kinesiology, premedical studies.

Miami University is a public university located in Oxford, Ohio.