MENDOTA - Mendota High School held a Virtual Awards Assembly on May 16 to recognize and honor MHS students who have excelled in academics and in extra-curricular activities. Due to the COVID-19 statewide school closure, MHS Principal Denise Aughenbaugh said this was the first time the awards were announced virtually. Additional scholarships will be announced during the summer graduation ceremony for the Class of 2020.  

Awards

Rotary Club Scholarship - Hannah Ambler, daughter of Carl and Susan Ambler; Aaron Brandner, son of Dave and Dorothy Brandner; Ashleigh Collins, daughter of Ross and Rickette Collins; and Alli Stielow, daughter of Shawn and Angie Stielow.

BPW Scholarship - Victoria Arteaga, Shayna Kerchner, and Maren Wise.

Lion’s Club Scholarship - Aaron Brandner.

Ginny Pohl Bowling Scholarship - Taylor Joyce and Luke Ross

IL Valley Hispanic Outreach Program Scholarship - Victoria Arteaga and Esmeralda Perez.

MEA Scholarship - Noah Delong

LeRette Scholarship - Anna Bokus

Financial Plus Credit Union - Anna Bokus, Aaron Brandner, Victoria Arteaga

Greg Frey Memorial Scholarship - Cole Stremlau

Gerald Wood Award - Anna Bokus

Kilmartin 3 Sport/4 Year Awards - Emiliano Arteaga, Anna Bokus and Cole Stremlau

Mendota Quarterback Club Awards: Joe Rollins Award - Gustavo Salinas; George “Ted” Lewis Award - Jae’Shaun Hughes; Ray Jauch Award - Chris Sandoval; Dean Lubbs Award - Jayger Thorne; Paul Kimrey Award - Cole Stremlau

Social Studies Award - Noah DeLong 

Student Council Scholarship - Alli Stielow

American Red Cross Scholarship - Alli Stielow

Spanish Awards - Esmeralda Perez, for accepting every challenge while continuing to develop her native language; Jonathan Schmidt, for embracing the language and culture from the start.

Music Awards presented on behalf of Mr. Amati and Mrs. Schrock.

John Philip Sousa Award - Hannah Ambler

The Arion Award - Noah DeLong

John Becker Memorial Award - Olivia Ross

Illinois Music Education - Rachel Brandner, Honors Chorus Soprano I; Maya Martin, All-State Chorus, Soprano I; Noah DeLong, All-State Chorus, Bass II; Lily Linden, All-State Chorus, Alto I; Emilio Raya, Honors Chorus, Bass I; and Matthew Grenter, All-State Chorus, Tenor I

George Diehl Scholarship - Ashleigh Collins and Alison Schlesinger

DeKalb Agricultural Accomplishment Award - Alison Schlesinger

Sublette Toy Show Scholarships: Alison Schlesinger of Mendota - Mendota FFA scholarship; Ashleigh Collins of Earlville - Max Armstrong scholarship

James Noakes - Ashleigh Collins

Jim O’Neil Award - Gavin Glazebrook.

OSF HealthCare Saint Paul Medical Center Medical Staff Scholarship - Anna Bokus

Pulley Awards - Class of 2020 Pulley Award recipients are Hannah Ambler, Mikayla Bryson, Logan Garcia and Jonathan Schmidt. Honorable mention recipients are Rachel Brandner, Colleen Fitzgerald, Angelica Godina, Cortnee Jones and Daisy Valdez.

VFW Scholarship - Sean Dullard

Bohn-Nielsen Scholarship - Anna Bokus

Western Illinois University Principal’s Scholarship - Devin Wade

Karen Fischer Scholarship - Noah DeLong

Dr. Roland Musick Scholarship - Alison Schlesinger

Ashley Award - Cole Stremlau

August Holland Art Scholarship - Joanna Vasquez

Donald White Scholarship - Asheligh Collins

Don Whitmore Award - Emiliano Arteaga

Susan Kay Munson Gilmore Scholarship - Esmeralda Perez

927 Scholarship - Kassidy Barkman

LaSalle County Bar Association - Ashleigh Collins

The Booster Club Scholarship - Anna Bokus

Jim O’Neil Award - Gavin Glazebrook

President’s Education Awards - Presented to students who have a GPA of 3.5 or higher - Hannah Ambler, Victoria Arteaga, Angelique-Ashli Baker, Tuli Bakr, Anna Bokus, Aaron Brandner, Rachel Brandner, Ashleigh Collins, Noah DeLong, Sean Dullard, Gavin Glazebrook, Shayna Kerchner, Kevin Lewis, Esmeralda Perez, Cole Stremlau, Christina Vansickle, Haleigh Wendel, Joshua Wiley and Maren Wise.

News Tribune All-Academic Team - Students who rank in the top five of their graduating class and participate in a variety of extra-curricular activities and community involvement - Hannah Ambler and Sean Dullard; Honorable Mention - Maren Wise.

Also honored during the ceremony was David Ross, who was selected by the senior class as Teacher of the Year at MHS.

The MHS Class of 2020 graduation ceremony is currently scheduled for Saturday, July 18.