Congratulations

Class of 2020 Award Recipients


Charleston American Legion Senior Boy & Girl of the Year

Benjamin Tresslar

Abigail Geisler

Charleston Firefighters Local 3200 Scholarship

Cameron Fisher

Lane Harrell

Joshua Hoh

Shelter Insurance Scholarship

Abigail Geisler


Charleston Rotary Scholarship

Abbie Bonnstetter


Charleston Kiwanis Scholarship*

Abbie Bonnstetter

Rachel Thomas

First Neighbor Bank Scholarship

Lane Harrell


First Federal Savings and Loan Scholarship

Chase Bosler Ainsley Goddard

Jacob Crews Rachel Thomas


Coles County Farm Bureau Foundation Scholarships*

Lexie Madlem

Lydia Madlem


The Lori Oakley Memorial Scholarship *

Noah Oakley

The Jim Shrader Memorial Scholarship*

Ty Nolte

American Red Cross Scholarship

Abbie Bonnstetter

Senior French Award*

Shayla Taylor

Senior Spanish Award*

Anna Sipes

Charleston Education Association Diane Schmitz Memorial

Chase Bosler

Jordan Holly Memorial Scholarship*

Abbie Bonnstetter

Merv Baker Athletic Achievement Award - Trojan Booster Club

Coach Baker Memorial Award

Tim Ratliff

Anna Sipes

Nell Wiseman Memorial Scholarship

Sarah Baron

Abigail Geisler

Donald J. Lindley & Belle H. Lindley Scholarship

Olivia Hiltebeitel

PEO Star Scholarship

Abbie Bonnstetter

Mediacom’s World Class Scholarship

Anna Sipes

Charleston Country Club Ladies Evening League Scholarship

Taylor Drake

Tri-M Music Honor Society Awards*

Chase BoslerTaylor FlemingCameron FisherEmily Gawel
Gretchen Klepzig
Ella Lugar
Rachel Mellott
Aidan Petersen


Scholastic Awards

Top Ten

Jacob Crews
Amanda DavisAbigail Geisler
Caleb HurstCade Lawless
Noah Oakley
Anna SipesRachel ThomasBenjamin TresslarZachary Wood

Illinois State Scholars

Abigail BonnstetterRiley Carey- TilghmanWilliam CarrilloJacob CrewsAmanda DavisCameron Fisher
Taylor FlemingAbigail GeislerCaleb HurstCade LawlessElla LugarLydia Madlem
Noah OakleyAnna SipesSterling StowellShayla TaylorRachel ThomasBenjamin Tresslar

National Merit Commended

Anna Sipes

Sterling Stowell

Rachel Thomas

Athletic Awards

Apollo Conference All-Academic Team

Anna Sipes – Cross Country, Track Lydia Madlem – Cross Country, Track

Abby Geisler – Tennis, Soccer William Carrillo – Soccer

Noah Oakley – Cross Country, Track Lexie Madlem – Tennis

Caleb Hurst – Baseball, Basketball Meleah Hackett – Tennis

Amanda Davis – Cross Country, Track Lane Harrell – Baseball, Basketball

Rachel Thomas – Soccer, Tennis Willem Cope – Tennis

Cade Lawless – Tennis Blaine Drake – Soccer

Ben Tresslar – Soccer Rainer Fullermoore - Soccer

Male & Female Athletic Scholastic Award

Noah Oakley

Anna Sipes

Male & Female Senior Athlete of the Year

Joshua Hoh

Abby Geisler

Lake Land College Scholarships*

Foundation Scholarships*

Meleah Hackett – Leona Stanford Vollintine Scholarship Fund

Lane Harrell – Luttrell Fund Scholarship

Cade Lawless – Gary Craig Memorial Endowment

Lexie Madlem – Lerna Lions Club Scholarship

Lydia Madlem – Joseph N. Hendrix Scholarship

Kendall Winnett – Joe & Alleen Stephen Nursing Endowment

Timothy Ratliff – Gary Craig Memorial Endowment

Erica Swango – Gary Craig Memorial Endowment

Presidential Scholarship*

Faith Beever Cade Lawless

Blaine Drake Lexie Madlem

Meleah Hackett Lydia Madlem

Lane Harrell Gavin Zuniga

Athletic Scholarship*

Abby Kallis

Caleb Hurst

Eastern Illinois University Scholarships *

Pemberton Presidential Scholars Award*

Anna Sipes

Presidential Scholars Award*

Willem Cope

Sandra and Jack Pine Honors College

Abbie Bonnstetter

Distinguished Merit Scholarships*

Rachel Ashley
Jenna BennettAbbie Bonnstetter
Chase Bosler
Nicholas Cheney
Natalie Coartney
Amanda Davis
Ethan HadleyCheyenne Hunter
Benjamin Linker
Ella Lugar
Wyatt Madlem
Caleb Meador
Noah Oakley
Lindsey Ulrey

Business Advisory Board Scholarship

Anna Lawless

Isaac Miller

Wyatt Madlem

Jordan Socarras

Caleb Meador

Legacy Scholarship

Anna Sipes

Lula Craig Collier Scholarship*

Abigail Bonnstetter

Chase Bosler

Willem Cope

Anna Sipes

Community Ambassador Scholarship*

Abigail Bonnstetter

Ethan Hadley

Isaac Miller

Academic Merit Scholarship*

Kamden Flynn

EIU Promise Scholarship*

Ethan Hadley

Jason Overstreet

High Achieving Merit Scholarship*

Joshua Hoh

Isaac Miller

Jordan Socarras

Majorie Baker Schnorf Teaching Scholarship

Kamden Flynn


Adam Agronomoff…………………………………………United States Marines Reconnaissance Contract

Gage Akins………………………………………United States Army National Guard

A.I.T. Training for Military Police

Rachel Ashely………………………………………………Eastern Illinois University

Elementary Education

Distinguished Merit Award

Abbie Bonnstetter…………………………………………..Eastern Illinois University

Pre-Medicine/Biological Sciences

Distinguished Merit Award

Sandra and Jack Pine Honors College

Community Ambassador Scholarship

Lulu Craig Collier Scholarship

P.E.O. STAR Scholarship

American Red Cross Blood Drive Scholarship

Coleton Crowder………………………………………….….Arkansas Tech University

Academic Incentive Scholarship

$3,000 with a 100% match for out of state students

Amanda Davis………………………………………......….Eastern Illinois University

Nutrition and Dietetics

Distinguished Merit Award

Cameron Fisher…………………………...University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

Pre-Nursing

Charleston Firefighters Scholarship

Taylor Fleming………………………………………..…………….DePauw University

Media Fellows Program

University Merit Award

Carson Groff…………………………………………………..Eastern Illinois University

Criminal Justice

Illinois Army National Guard

Academic Merit Scholarship

Ethan Kilgore Hadley……………………………………Eastern Illinois University

Electrical Engineering

Community Ambassador Scholarship

Distinguished Merit Award

Lane Harrell…………………………………………………..………. Lake Land College

Pre-Engineering

Presidential Scholarship

Baseball Scholarship

Joshua Hoh……………………………………………………Eastern Illinois University

Criminal Justice

Army ROTC Scholarship

Walk on Men’s Swim Team

Charleston Firefighters Local 3200

Caleb Hurst………………………………………………………………Lake Land College

Chemistry

Baseball Scholarship

Benjamin S Linker…………………...……………………..Eastern Illinois University

Criminology & Criminal Justice

Distinguished Merit Award

Army ROTC Scholarship

Lexie Madlem……………………………..……………………………Lake Land College Cyber Security

Lerna Lions Club Scholars

Presidential Scholarship

Coles County Farm Bureau Foundation Scholarship

Lydia Madlem…………………………………………………………..Lake Land College

Court Reporting

Joseph N. Hendrix Scholarship

Presidential Scholarship

Coles County Farm Bureau Foundation Scholarship

Rachel Mellott……………………………..…………University of Illinois- Springfield

Public Policy

Camerata Scholarship

Merit Scholarship

Quinn Meyer……………………………………………………..University of Tennessee

Biology

Volunteer Scholarship

Isaac Miller…………………………………...………………Eastern Illinois University

Marketing

EIU Men’s Basketball Team

High Achieving Merit Scholarship

Business Advisory Board Scholarship

Community Ambassador Scholarship

Emily Price……………………………..………………University of Missouri St. Louis

Softball Scholarship

Academic Merit Scholarship

Anna Sipes…………………………………………….………Eastern Illinois University

Biological Sciences and World Languages and Cultures

EIU Pemberton Presidential Scholarship

EIU Legacy Scholarship

EIU Lulu Craig Collier Scholarship

Mediacom World Class Scholars Scholarship

Rachel Thomas………………………………………………….Illinois State University

Presidential Scholarship

Kaden Whitley…………………………………………..…………..United States Army

Kendall Winnett……………………………………………..………..Lake Land College

Joe & Alleen Stephen Nursing Endowment

Blake Wolfe……………………………………………………………….……Lincoln Trail

Accounting

Golf Scholarship

Gavin Zuniga……………………………………………………………Lake Land College

Physics

Presidential Scholarship


Charleston Kiwanis Scholarship*

The CharlestonKiwanis Club is a non-profit organization that works very hard with different projects to collect money from the Charleston residents in order to give back to the community. Our pledge is "As our country's flag signifies purity, valor and justice, may we as true Kiwanians exemplify these virtues, as we serve the children of theworld." Some examples of our fund raisers are Charleston Kiwanis Car Washes, Peanut Days along with our Charleston Chamber Business After Hours. The Charleston Kiwanis Clubis very excited to award Rachel Thomas and Abigail Bonnstetter each a $500.00 scholarshipto help with their college education for the 2020/2021 school year.

Once again, thank you so much for this opportunity to give back.

Coles County Farm Bureau Foundation Scholarships*

The Lori Oakley Memorial Scholarship*

The Lori Oakley Memorial Scholarship of $1500 is awarded to a Coles County Farm Bureau member or a child of Coles county Farm Bureau member. This scholarship is awarded to those who are pursuing a degree in Agriculture, Veterinarian or a Medical Field. Lori was passionate about agriculture, loved animals and was a Veterinarian Tech. She worked over 15 years in the medical field. When considering howto best honor her memory, a memorial scholarship in her name just made sense. The Coles County Farm Bureau Foundation, through theirscholarships, helped Lori's son Ben graduate from the University of Illinois Ag program which opened the door to him returning home to teach Ag and be the FFA advisor at Charleston High School. Giving back to that program and awarding scholarships in Lori's name is an honor for her family. This year is extra special. This year, the Lori Oakley Memorial Scholarship can be unofficiallyre-named as the Aunt Lori Memorial Scholarship and is awarded to her nephew, Noah Oakley.

The Jim Shrader Memorial Scholarship*

The Jim Shrader Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a Coles County Farm Bureau member or a child of Coles County Farm Bureau member. Jim Shrader was a Coles County resident who spent his entire life living for agriculture. The family of Jim Shrader is proud to carry on his love of agriculture by awarding a scholarship in his memory to a Coles County resident continuing their education in the Ag field. Congratulations to this years recipient, Ty Nolte.

Senior French Award*

The recipient of the award is the French 4 student who has the highest overall grade average for semester 1 and semester 2.

Senior Spanish Award*

Anna Sipes is an exceptional Spanish student and always went above and beyond in every assignment or task that was assigned to her. She is very deserving of this award.

Jordan Holly Memorial Scholarship*

The Jordan Holly Memorial Scholarship honors the memory of Jordan Holly, who was a rising junior at Charleston High School when she was killed in a car accident on May 23rd, 2017.

Jordan was inspired by a hearing-impaired classmate to learn sign language and aspired to be a pediatric nurse for children with cancer. This is not the kind of job that most people could do, but Jordan would have been perfect for it: she was kind, cheerful, and optimistic. Kids loved her for that. And we all did too. Jordan’s sunny smile and infectious optimism would be especially welcome today.

The Jordan Holly memorial scholarship is awarded to a Charleston High School senior who will be attending college in the fall and pursuing a career that will help children. Applicants were asked to submit an academic transcript, a copy of their acceptance letter, and an essay detailing their experience and career aspirations by April 14th, Jordan’s birthday.

As in years’ past, three subcommittees (the Holly’s, the CHS counselors, and the Jordan scholarship women, chaired by Maureen Smith) blindly and independently reviewed the applications. All of the applications we received were strong, but the choice of this year’s scholarship winner was unanimous across the three subcommittees.

We are proud to announce that this year’s winner is Abbie Bonnstetter. From a childhood that included many life-threatening medical conditions and many more surgeries, Abbie developed an interest in medicine. She aspires to be a pediatric cardiologist. That road will not be easy, but Abbie has already cleared greater obstacles in her young life, and she is an excellent student. Abbie is a member of the National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society, an Illinois State scholar, and she will graduate in the top 8% of her class. She serves as an executive on Student Council, is active in the Science and Interact clubs, and through her health occupations class at Sarah Bush, earned a Certified Nursing Assistant license. Abbie has also given much to our community through her volunteerism for Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross, the Charleston Food Pantry, and her church and youth group. As a doctor, she will someday serve us all.

Thanks to the continuing support from our friends and the community, especially Dirty’s—which held a wildly successful fundraiser this year—we will be able to offer Abbie 2524.00 dollars this year to support her dream. If you see Abbie, please congratulate her—from a safe distance—and wish her well on her journey, which begins this fall at Eastern Illinois University.

Tri-M Music Honor Society Awards*

The Tri-M Music Honor Society, formerly known as Modern Music Masters, is an international high school music honor society and a program of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). It is organization dedicated to recognizing exceptional music students for their academic achievements both inside and outside of the music classroom provides leadership and service opportunities to our young musicians.

We would like to recognize those seniors who have been inducted as members of the Charleston High School Chapter #1544 of the Tri-M Music Honor Society. These music students were carefully selected on the basis of musicianship, academic qualification, character, demonstrated leadership, and service.

Lake Land College Scholarships*

Foundation Scholarships*

Each year, the Lake Land College Foundation awards students more than $400,000 worth of scholarships in a range of amounts based on various criteria. The Foundation Scholarships are established by individuals or corporations who have been positively impacted by Lake Land College and may honor a loved one, provide an opportunity for alumni to give back, or allow businesses to invest in the future of our community. I would like to recognize the following students who are receiving a Lake Land College Foundation Scholarship.

Presidential Scholarships*

The Lake Land College Presidential Scholarship is a full tuition scholarship awarded for up to two consecutive academic years. All seniors residing in the Lake Land College district or graduating from an in-district high school who meet the eligibility requirements will be guaranteed the scholarship if they choose to attend Lake Land College the fall semester immediately following high school graduation. To be eligible for the award, the graduate must be within the top 15% of their senior class, have an ACT composite score of 26 or higher or an SAT total score of 1230 or higher. I would like to recognize the following students who have expressed interest in the Lake Land College Presidential Scholarship and are eligible to take advantage of this prestigious award.

Athletic Scholarships*

The Lake Land College Athletic Scholarship is a full tuition and fees scholarship awarded for up to two consecutive academic years. Lake Land College athletic coaches award scholarships to talented athletes who in their judgment have the outstanding ability to compete on their respective NJCAA team. I would like to recognize the following students who are receiving a Lake Land College Athletic Scholarship.

Eastern Illinois University

This year, Eastern Illinois University has offered 32 scholarships for a total 4-year commitment amount of $451,380.

The Merit Scholarship is offered to academically talented students who are graduating seniors and entering Eastern their freshman year of school. This scholarship is automatically renewable for four consecutive years. The students were selected to receive this scholarship based on hard work completed in school as noted by their ACT or SAT scores and GPA.

The EIU Promise Scholarship is also awarded to our high achieving students based on their ACT and GPA scores. These scholarships vary in amount with the promise that tuition and fees are covered.

This year Eastern Illinois University also has the ability to award students The Community Ambassador Scholarship. This award is made possible by businesses in the local area.

Our next scholarship is the Marjorie Baker Schnorf Teaching Scholarship. The recipient must be a Charleston High School graduate with an intent to major in Education.

Lulu Craig Scholarship recognizes students from Coles County who plan to attend EIU. Students must be in good academic standing and be in the top 25% of their class. This year, we are able to award four outstanding students the Lulu Craig Scholarship.

I would also like to recognize one of your outstanding seniors, who has earned the Presidential Scholars Award. This award covers tuition and fees for four years- an estimated $48,000 scholarship. These high achieving students are selected based on GPA, SAT or ACT scores, and commitment to leadership.

The last award for tonight is one of our most prestigious awards. The Pemberton Presidential Scholarship covers a students tuition and fees as well as their room and board for 4 years at EIU, covering approximately $85,168. Students are selected based on GPA, SAT or ACT scores, leadership ability and are selected after an on-campus interview.