College Credits: Local Students Play Collegiate Football, Soccer

PLAINFIELD, IL — We're keeping track of all the major higher education accomplishments of students in the area. Send your submissions to emily.rosca@patch.com.

Hawkeye Marching Band returns to Kinnick Stadium

Two hundred seventy-two current University of Iowa students are members of the 2021 Hawkeye Marching Band, one of the "top ten college marching bands in the nation," according to CNN Headline News and one of the Big Ten Conference's marching bands whose halftime show is "worth the watch," according to Sports Illustrated.

The 2021 Hawkeye Marching Band - affectionately known as "Band 141" by its membership - will once again be the sound of Iowa Football and the heartbeat of historic Kinnick Stadium at each of the nationally ranked Iowa Hawkeyes' seven home games.

Plainfield students part of the university's marching band include:

Jack Kincer of Plainfield, IL [Instrument: Trumpet; Year as a member of HMB: third; Major: Finance]

Maxwell Seery of Plainfield, IL [Instrument: Clarinet; Year as a member of HMB: second; Majors: Music Performance and Computer Science/Engineering]

— Merit Page News

Plainfield student earns spot on 2021 UW-Whitewater women's soccer roster

Brittany Ellinghaus, a native of Plainfield and graduate of Plainfield North High School, will compete for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's soccer team during the 2021 season, which begins this week.

Ellinghaus, a freshman at UW-Whitewater, is majoring in human performance.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's soccer team heads into its 2021 season, which begins this Friday, with great optimism thanks to strong depth on the roster and an experienced group of veteran leaders.

After nearly 22 months out of competition, the Warhawks return to the field as the defending Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions. UW-W also earned the conference tournament title and the program's eighth NCAA Tournament appearance in a nine-year span in 2019 and finished the year with a 14-6-3 record, including a 5-1-1 mark in league play during the regular season.

— Merit Page News

Plainfield North graduate plays on UW-Whitewater's football team

Shane McGrail, a native of Plainfield, IL, and graduate of Plainfield North High School, will compete for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team during the 2021 season, which began Saturday with a 46-7 win against Carthage.

McGrail, a junior at UW-Whitewater, is majoring in general business.

In 2019, Warhawks posted a 13-2 record in 2019, including a 6-1 mark in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and won a share of their conference-record 37th league championship. UW-W also made its 10th appearance in the Stagg Bowl — the NCAA Division III national championship game — that season and finished as national runner-up.

— Merit Page News

University of Iowa Class of 2025 the most academically accomplished in UI history

This fall, the University of Iowa welcomed the most academically accomplished class in its history for the fifth year in a row. The incoming undergraduate class again topped previous records in achievement with a higher average high school grade-point average (GPA), at 3.81, than any previous class.

This fall's incoming undergraduate class at the University of Iowa has yet again topped previous records in achievement with a higher average high school grade-point average (GPA), at 3.81, than any previous class. The average high school GPA for the classes of 2024 and 2023 were 3.78 and 3.76, respectively.

"We are very happy to welcome these newest Hawkeyes," Kevin Kregel, executive vice president and provost said in a statement. "Like every incoming class, they bring fresh talents and perspectives to our campus. And like last year's class, they've already demonstrated tremendous resilience during a challenging time. We look forward to making sure they have the extraordinary opportunities they deserve, and supporting them as they pursue their goals."

The Class of 2025 is composed of 4,521 students, up slightly from last year. About 19% of the class (870) are first-generation students, and about 22% (996) identify as African American, American Indian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Asian, Latinx/a/o, or two or more ethnicities.

Students from Plainfield part of the Class of 2025 at the University of Iowa include:

• Julia Adomaitis of Plainfield, IL [Major: Communication Studies]
• Abigail Anderson of Plainfield, IL [Major: Nursing]
• Brooke Anthos of Plainfield, IL [Major: Pre-Physical Therapy]
• Charles Bischoff of Plainfield, IL [Major: Secondary Education Interest]
• Brooke Cornell of Plainfield, IL [Major: Psychology]
• Brandon Cosby of Plainfield, IL [Major: Data Science]
• Dante Davila of Plainfield, IL [Major: Computer Science and Engineering]
• Joshua De Nardo of Plainfield, IL [Major: Mechanical Engineering]
• Kaitlyn Durkin of Plainfield, IL [Major: Elementary Education Interest]
• Mackenzie Grant of Plainfield, IL [Major: Pre-Veterinary Medicine]
• Kylie Jennings of Plainfield, IL [Major: Nursing]
• Jasmin Ortiz of Plainfield, IL [Major: Psychology]
• Justin Pavalon of Plainfield, IL [Major: Enterprise Leadership]
• Rachel Reyes of Plainfield, IL [Major: Biology]
• Ryan Shaughnessy of Plainfield, IL [Major: Business Standard Admission]
• Emma Wason of Plainfield, IL [Major: Nursing]
• Alexia Whitman-Justo of Plainfield, IL [Major: Engineering Interest]
• Jacob Wilson of Plainfield, IL [Major: Business Direct Admission]
• Taylor Yurco of Plainfield, IL [Major: Pre-Business]

— Merit Page News

Plainfield student is named to SNHU Dean's List

Michael Pearce of Plainfield (60586) has been named to Southern New Hampshire University's summer 2021 Dean's List. Eligibility for the Dean's List requires that a student accumulate an academic grade point average (GPA) of 3.5-3.699 and earn 12 credits for the term.

— Merit Page News

SNHU announces summer 2021 President's List

It is with great pleasure that Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) congratulates the following students on being named to the summer 2021 President's List.

Full-time students who have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.700 and above are named to the President's List. Full-time status is achieved by earning 12 credits; undergraduate day students must earn 12 credits in fall or spring semester, and online students must earn 12 credits in either EW1 & EW2, EW3 & EW4, or EW5 & EW6.

• Michael Veale of Plainfield (60585)
• Robin Gonzalez of Plainfield (60585)
• Joshua Henderson of Plainfield (60586)

— Merit Page News

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