SIU awards 26 Chancellor's scholarships

CARBONDALE -- Exceptional efforts in the classroom and in their communities are among the qualities of this year's Chancellor's Scholars at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

The Chancellor's Scholarship, SIU's most prestigious award, is a significant achievement for the students as it covers tuition, fees, room and board for four years. Twenty-six students were selected to receive this year's awards.

Nearly 400 students participated in the Chancellor's and University Excellence Scholarship Interview Weekend. Recipients are selected each year based on the students' ACT or SAT scores, their academic credentials submitted at the time of admission, and personal interviews. The applicants also have a record of leadership in their communities and participation in numerous extracurricular activities.

The award is renewable for three years, contingent upon the students maintaining a 3.0 or higher GPA. A list of current and previous winners is available at scholarships.siu.edu/current-scholars/scholars-list.php.

Some of the local awardees include:

Carbondale

Kate Forer, Carbondale Community High School, is the daughter of Jo and Patrick Forer. An Illinois State Scholar, she earned a gold medal for her art portfolio in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. She earned all-state French horn and all-district bands and orchestra honors from the Illinois Music Educator Association and was a member of the school's marching, concert and pep bands. She was in the SIU Civic Orchestra, vice president of the high school's art club and visual editor and illustrator for the Quill literary magazine. She is majoring in art and sociology.

Carterville

Bailey Morgan, Carterville High School, is the daughter of Renee and Michael Morgan. A National Honor Society member, she participated in marching band, theater and youth and government. She was the Hope David Band Award recipient. She is majoring in biological science.

Herrin

Matthew Cagle, Herrin High School, is the son of Pamela and Bradley Cagle. An Illinois State Scholar and National Honor Society president, Cagle graduated No. 1 in his class and was selected "Mr. Herrin High School." He played basketball, tennis and soccer, and was a member of the math team, scholar bowl and student government. He also participated in Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) and Rotary Interact. He also received the high school's Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award. He is majoring in accounting.

Marion

Lucas Boles, Agape Christian High School, is the son of Marilyn and Michael Boles. His school's valedictorian, Boles was student body vice president and involved in music projects both in and outside of school. He is majoring in finance.</group><group id="7D8321BD-74E5-49E9-A790-07EC7A6A4227" type="seoLabels"><seoLabels></seoLabels></group></idf></inlineXML></contentSet></ne