Niles resident recognized as Oakton’s Honors Student of the Year

Niles resident Gustav Showley was recognized as Oakton Community College’s Honors Student of the Year at the end of the spring 2017 semester.

The awards ceremony, held at Maggiano’s Little Italy in Skokie, recognized students from across the college as part of a dinner event. In addition to the Honors Student of the Year, the Honors Program presented the following awards:

• Engineering: Tyler Melnick (Chicago)
• Environmental Studies: Christopher Hummel (Evanston)
• Mathematics: Summer Naqvi (Skokie)
• Peace and Social Justice: Gustav Showley (Niles)
• Philosophy: Christopher Hummel (Evanston)
• Science: Frank Lato (Chicago)
• Social Science: Dominique Tuszynski (Elmwood Park)
• Women’s and Gender Studies: Jirah Capungan (Arlington Heights), Sophia Marchionne (Northbrook), Brigid Martinez (Des Plaines) and Sunayna Punjabi (Des Plaines)

“It is always a thrill to recognize the achievements of so many of our honors students as their academic careers at Oakton come to an end,” says Honors Program Co-Coordinator Thomas Bowen, professor of philosophy. “Oakton honors students leave here with the ability to see multiple points of view, express their thoughts and prove their work, conduct research and explore their passions in making a difference in their own lives and the world around them.”

The program also awarded the Public Intellectual Award to the Standing Rock Group, which made a trip to the Sioux reservation to study firsthand the protests to save the tribe’s water supply, the political and legal arguments of both sides of the debate, the environmental issues involved with the Dakota Access Pipeline and the impact of the pipeline on those who live in the area.

“Oakton honors students have memorable experiences that shape their lives, provide strong transfer credentials and help them earn scholarships,” Bowen notes. “The trip to Standing Rock to learn the issues involved with the Dakota Access Pipeline and the effects on the native population is a perfect example of the kind of experience Oakton Honors students receive when they join the program.”

The spring 2017 graduating class included 198 petitioners from the Honors Program at Oakton. For the second straight year, an Oakton graduate received the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship when Tuszynski earned the $40,000-a-year award. Roxana Berinde of Niles got the scholarship in 2016.

Admission to the Honors Program is available to new students with an ACT score of 25 or higher, new SAT equivalent of 1200 or greater or a GED score of 300 or better. Students who have already earned college credits may qualify for admission to the program with a 3.5 grade-point-average or higher with 12 college credits or a GPA of 3.25 with a recommendation from at least one instructor.

The college is now enrolling for summer and fall classes. For more information, visit www.oakton.edu/honors or contact honors@oakton.edu.