MACOMB/MOLINE - Natalie Landgraf, a graduate of Mendota High School, is among six students graduating this spring from Western Illinois University who received the highest recognition from their colleges for overall academic excellence by being named a College Scholar.

Faculty in each of the University’s four academic colleges, Global Education and Outreach, and the Centennial Honors College each select a graduating senior as the college’s outstanding student. Students graduating as College Scholars have satisfied the criteria of excellence established by their individual academic college’s faculty members. A Departmental Scholar is an outstanding degree candidate in an academic major as determined by the faculty in the major department. An Honors Scholar is a student in the Centennial Honors College who has completed a set of honors requirements and has achieved a grade point average of at least 3.4 on a 4.0 scale.

Approximately 10 percent of graduating seniors achieve academic distinction, which is designated as Summa Cum Laude, highest academic distinction, with a minimum grade point average of 3.90; Magna Cum Laude, high academic distinction, with a GPA of 3.75-3.89; and Cum Laude, academic distinction, with a GPA between 3.60-3.74.

Named as the College of Business and Technology Scholar, Landgraf will graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management and a minor in Spanish, with highest academic distinction, summa cum laude. She is also the Supply Chain Management Departmental Scholar. At WIU, she served as president, vice president and secretary of the Supply Chain Management Student Association, was a member of Women in Business, was student representative of the Grade Appeal Committee and was a language and cultural mentor for Western’s English as a Second Language program. She has also served as a team captain and assistant logistics coordinator for Relay for Life of the Upper Illinois Valley.

After graduation, Landgraf will complete her third Supply Chain Management internship and in December will complete her Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree with an emphasis in Supply Chain Management. She hopes to find a full-time position at a company that prioritizes efficiency, protection of the environment and the advancement of marginalized groups. Landgraf is the daughter of Mitch and Tammy Landgraf.