Kaskaskia College has named the attorney who represents children under the care of DCFS in Marion and Clinton Counties as its Distinguished Alumnus of the Year.
Whitney Kampwerth Luebbers of Carlyle was the first student to graduate high school at the same time she received her Kaskaskia College degree in 2007. In fact because of graduation dates, she actually received her KC diploma before graduating from Carlyle High School the following week. She commended the Kaskaskia College staff for working with her to make the dual graduation possible.
“Its saved an incredible amount of money. It reduces my student loans and allowed me to obtain my law degree in 5 years as opposed to 7 years. So having that unique dual diploma opened up a lot of scholarship opportunities because it was unique and it helped me save just a lot of money.”
Luebbers says she is a big advocate for Kaskaskia College and what it can do for young people, like the ones she represents in court.
“Really encourage people to look at the KC Now Program and Jump Start Now program. They have really taken the dual credit and the offerings for high school students to earn college credit at either a free or reduced rate. They are just doing wonderful things making college accessible to people who previously couldn’t afford to do that.”
The college also handed out a number of other awards. The Business and Industry Partnership Award was presented to Monken Automotive for their work with the automotive department at the college. The Ray Hartstein Trustee Achievement Award was presented to KC Board Chair Bill Hawley. He will receive the statewide award among all community college trustees this summer. Sandoval High School received the Educational Partnership Award for their work with the college on dual credits and vocational programs. Helen Essenpreis of Breese Mater Dei High School received the high school dual credit faculty award. The Synergy Awards were presented to the staff at the Children’s Learning Center and Education Center. The Outstanding Full Time Employee of the Year Award winners were Jenna Eldred and Franceska Windler. The Outstanding Part-Time Employee of the Year Award was presented to Trishia Kohnen. The Innovation Impact Award winner was Steven Foutch. The Horizon Faculty Award recipient was Lesley Brower. The Outstanding Full-Time Faculty Member was Julie Littrell. The Assessment Award was present to Scott Crothers.
Three student awards were also presented. Outgoing student trustee Madison Johnson received the Gigi Campbell Student Trustee Excellence Award. The Gandhi/King Peace Essay Winner was Jordynn Duensing. The Paul Simon Student Essay Award was presented to Jacquelynne Witteborg.
