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 Annastaja
Buffington and Parker Newton, were named recipients of ICCTA
scholarship awards at the organization’s annual awards banquet on
Friday, June 7, at the Westin Chicago Lombard Hotel in Lombard,
Illinois.
Parker Newton, (Bloomington) who recently completed his first year
at Heartland Community College, is the 2024 recipient of the Gregg
Chadwick Student Service Scholarship award, which provides a $500
scholarship to a currently enrolled Illinois community college
student for extraordinary commitment to volunteer service.
Fitting with the legacy of long-time Heartland Community College
Trustee Gregg Chadwick, the scholarship supports students who are
dedicated to the enrichment of others.
“Gregg Chadwick was a true servant leader in that he
was quiet, steady, kind, and a friend,” said Jon Looney, ICCTA
president. “In this spirit, ICCTA established the Gregg Chadwick
Student Service Scholarship to honor his longtime and heartfelt
legacy of public service.”
During the 2023-2024 academic year at Heartland Community College,
Newton exhibited his passion for public service in numerous ways
both on and off campus. This year Parker logged over 200 hours of
service volunteering at the Eastview Food Pantry, Boys and Girls
Club, and the Jule Foundation while maintain a full-time class load
as a student, a 4.0 GPA, and pursuing rigorous pre-med/biomechanical
engineering coursework.
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He also started a new student
organization, the Heartland Pre-Health Society, which partners
with local organization to bring volunteering opportunities to
more students. The organization partnered with the Boys and
Girls Club to provide tutoring and mentorship at Parkside Junior
High. Annastaja Buffington
(Hartsburg) is this year's recipient of the Gandhi/King Peace award,
which provides a $1,000 scholarship.
The scholarship is awarded to a student who best articulates the
peaceful messages of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Buffington’s proposal included a series of campus workshops focusing
on the history of nonviolent movements, followed by a week-long
event such as a “Kindness Rally” where students can share acts of
kindness they have witnessed or performed.
All currently enrolled students at ICCTA member colleges are
eligible to participate in the Gregg Chadwick Student Service
Scholarship and Gandhi/King Peace Scholarship competition. Each
college may submit one entry per academic year.
[Steve Fast
Assistant to the President, Public Information and Communication
Heartland Community College]
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