By Jack Walker ‘25
On Monday, Oct. 21, Brother Rice announced this year’s group of Illinois State Scholars. The award recognizes students who have had incredible academic accomplishments. The students are picked based on their ACT scores, class rank, GPA, and class size. Being named an Illinois State Scholar is an amazing feat.
For some students, it was not even on their minds. Illinois State Scholar Danny Sheehan said, “Becoming an Illinois State Scholar is not something that I have necessarily worked towards. However, it is still nice to get rewarded for my efforts in the classroom and to share that experience with many of my classmates. This just goes to show how talented these … students truly are.”
Many of the students who have been awarded are multi-sport athletes and are a part of many clubs and activities. To be able to keep such a rigorous work ethic in the classroom and manage all the extracurricular activities is outstanding work. For example, Conner Stack is one of those students.
Senior Conner Stack said, “It means a lot, being recognized in the top 10% of the state is very impressive. I am very happy that my hard work is paying off.”
Another amazing notion of being named an Illinois State Scholar is having the opportunity to be honored along with other classmates. Being able to share this honor with your peers must be an amazing experience.
Illinois State Scholar Patrick Flannery said, “It is a great honor. Is and all the other scholars have worked very hard throughout high school and it’s great to see that hard work pay off.”
Congratulations to this year’s Illinois State Scholars. Good luck with all your future endeavors.
Photo credits: Noah Scott
