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Awards Reflect Commitment to Global Justice Issues
CHICAGO, IL (May 12, 2005) - Five students honored with academic achievement
awards at North Park University's graduation Saturday all have used
their academic skills to further issues of justice around the world.
Senior Par Excellence Award
The Senior Par Excellence Award was given to Hilary Marshall and Andrew
Freeman, an award given to those who "demonstrate the best in campus
life and service to the community."
Marshall majored in three areas – Spanish, English and communications.
Her involvement on campus included working with the theater productions
and the Film Forum, which brings together students and faculty to
discuss contemporary films through a Christian lens. Marshall's work off
campus included using her fluency in Spanish to help with voter
registration for the Albany Park Neighborhood Community Council and
working for a semester with an orphanage for street girls age seven to
17 in Morelia, Mexico.
Freeman majored in business finance and has been accepted to North Park
Theological Seminary. He was the president of the student body this past
year and served three years as a senator in the student association. He
was one of the pianists for College Life, chapel, and gospel choir. He
served an internship with the Community Renewal Team in Connecticut,
where he worked with people of all ages, and also participated in a
missionary trip to Guyana, South America.
Other students nominated for the award were Ryan Anderson, Aaron
Coleman, Jocelyn Griffin, Susan Kaiser, Muna Kuttab, Ty McGee, April
Pettis and Jennifer Phillips.
Ahnfeldt Medallion
The 2005 Ahnfeldt Medallion was awarded to Rachel L. Johnson. The award
is named in honor of Alfred Nelson Ahnfeldt, North Park's first college
professor, and is given to the graduating senior with the highest
overall grade point average. Johnson earned a cumulative GPA of 3.99.
She sang with the gospel choir, tutored students in microeconomics and
volunteered with the Executives Club of Chicago.
Outstanding Senior Awards
Outstanding Senior Awards were bestowed on Jennifer Phillips and Ryan
Anderson.
Phillips is an aspiring filmmaker who has combined her Spanish and media
studies majors abroad as well as in the United States. While living with
a host family in Morelia, Mexico, she took Spanish classes, volunteered
at an orphanage, completed an internship with Mexico's largest movie
theatre chain, and wrote movie reviews in Spanish for a local newspaper.
She also made three short films and contributed a screenplay at the Los
Angeles Film Studies Center. In addition, Phillips volunteered at a
homeless ministry and completed an internship at Sodium Entertainment, a
production company started by Christians. While at North Park, Phillips,
volunteered at the Cabrini Green housing project and sang in the women's
and gospel choirs.
Anderson was a finance major and a member of the National Honor Society
in Business Administration. He also has been honored as a Lincoln
Laureate, which is given to seniors at four-year higher education
institutions based on their commitment to education, service to the
community and exemplification of the principles for which Abraham
Lincoln stood.
Anderson has helped organize numerous activities focusing on justice
issues, including the campus fair-trade initiative, the Global Human
Rights Group and the newly formed Peace in Sudan group. Anderson was a
co-leader for the university's 2004 trip to Guatemala, participated in
the university's 2003 South Africa trip and the Swedish Exchange Program
in 2002. Anderson also served as summer staff at Covenant Harbor Bible
Camp and was highly regarded for his work as a research intern at the
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He says he will continue with focused
studies at the University of Leeds in England to better use skills to
promote human rights and economic justice.
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