Award Recipients
2019 Award Recipients
Five Northern Illinois University students who excel in their academic and humanitarian pursuits have been chosen to receive the 2019 Forward, Together Forward Scholarships. The recipients – Ainsley Galvez, Kristen Koehler, Emily Schaumberg, Pablo Valencia-Garcia and Keelan Wright – once again highlight the diversity, strength and integrity of the NIU student body.
2018 Award Recipients
2018 Forward, Together Forward scholars continue traditions of service, excellence
The recipients – Lianne Abellar, Megan Gardner, Margaret Hitchcock, Edgar Lopez and Christine Wang – once again embody the diversity, strength and compassion of the five students lost on Feb. 14, 2008. Their excellence inside and outside of the classroom demonstrate why NIU will forever be defined by the success of its students, and not by the events of one dark day.
2017 Award Recipients
Five Northern Illinois University students who excel in their academic and humanitarian pursuits have been chosen to receive the 2017 Forward, Together Forward Scholarships.
The recipients – Juan Cibrian, Luis Flores, Mitchell Huftalin, Zahra Mushin and Tariana Sandkam – each will receive a one-time scholarship of $4,000 for the 2017-18 academic year.
2016 Award Recipients
Five Northern Illinois University students who excel in their academic and humanitarian pursuits have been chosen to receive the 2016 Forward, Together Forward Scholarships.
The recipients – Peyton Gunnison, Bethlehem Hailu, Erin Hernandez, Laura Lorenzen and Rachel Shapland – each will receive a one-time scholarship of $4,000 for the 2016-17 academic year.
2015 Award Recipients
Five Northern Illinois University students who excel in their academic and humanitarian pursuits were honored at a luncheon for 2015 Forward, Together Forward Scholarship winners the afternoon of Sunday, March 1.
This year’s recipients are: Courtney Crutchfield, Samantha Garbacz, Elizabeth Garcia, Tara Lenardi and Anthony Roberts – each will receive a one-time scholarship of $4,000 for the 2015-16 academic year.
Funding for the scholarships was provided by an unsolicited outpouring of generosity by friends of the university who wanted to memorialize the fallen students. About 1,800 donors helped build the scholarship fund to more than $700,000. Since 2009, 35 scholarship winners have been recognized with scholarships worth $140,000.
2014 Award Recipients
Northern Illinois University has announced the five 2014 winners of the Forward, Together Forward Scholarships.
This year’s recipients are: Kaitlyn King, Juan Molina Hernandez, Lauren Noonan, Joseph Palmer and Christian Villalobos – each will receive a one-time scholarship of $4,000 for the 2014-15 academic year.
“These scholarships are awarded on the basis of not only strong academic performance but also selflessness and service to others,” Freeman adds. “These students strive not only to improve themselves, but also to improve their peers and the world around them. As they work toward these goals, they honor the memory of five of their predecessors whose lives continue to make a difference through these awards.”
2013 Award Recipients
Five Northern Illinois University students who excel in their academic and humanitarian pursuits have been chosen to receive the 2013 Forward, Together Forward Scholarships.
The recipients – Taylor Bogan, Caitlin Cavannaugh, Guadalupe Lopez, Sarah Pollack and Evan Wittke – each will receive a one-time scholarship of $4,000 for the 2013-14 academic year.
“As educators, we are accustomed to seeing and experiencing the enormous generosity of spirit among this generation. Our positions here afford us a front row seat to view their ambitions, their selflessness and their drive to make their world a better place for everyone through what they achieve in and out of the NIU classroom,” Provost Ray Alden says.
2012 Award Recipients
Five Northern Illinois University students who excel in and out of the classroom have been selected as recipients of the 2012 Forward, Together Forward Scholarships. The recipients – Rachael Bardell, Jenifer Camery, Daihee Cho, Eric Solomon and Faith Stauersboll – each will receive a one-time scholarship of $4,000 for the 2012-13 academic year.
“The Forward Together Forward Scholarships, which honor the memory of the students we lost on Feb. 14, 2008, is among the highest honors NIU can award to current students,” said Provost Raymond Alden.
“This year’s recipients were selected on the basis of character, service, leadership, academic achievements, intellectual curiosity, work ethic and regard for others. Each of these outstanding individuals is a living example of the true meaning of ‘Huskie pride.’ ”
An initial field of 30 applicants applied for the scholarships. Each wrote short essays on what it means to be an NIU Huskie; on how tragedy shapes character; and about their dreams for the future.
2011 Award Recipients
Five Northern Illinois University students who excel in and out of the classroom have been selected as recipients of the 2011 Forward, Together Forward Scholarships.
The recipients – Kelsey Borg, Mayra Diaz,Jasmine Land, Justin Larsen and Reneka Turner – will each receive a one-time scholarship of $4,000 for the 2011-12 academic year.
“Honoring the memory of the students we lost on Feb. 14, 2008, this scholarship is one of the most prestigious honors NIU can award to current students,” Provost Raymond Alden says.
“This year’s recipients are stellar members of our community, each selected on the basis of character, service, leadership, academic achievements, intellectual curiosity, work ethic and regard for others,” Alden adds. “In various ways, each demonstrates the true meaning of ‘Huskie pride.’ ”
2010 Award Recipients
The compassion, devotion to service and thirst for knowledge displayed by the five students lost at Northern Illinois University two years ago will live on through the recipients of this year’s Forward Together Forward scholarships.
The recipients – Deidre Cwian, Michele Johnson, Yesenia Juarez, Caley Lanahan and Brittany Sheldon – will each receive a one-time scholarship of $4,000 for the 2010-11 academic year.
The total of all Feb. 14-related gifts to the university is more than $983,000. That includes nearly $130,000 to individually named scholarship funds established in the colleges and more than $161,000 for the Forward Together Forward Memorial Garden project. Nearly 2,500 individual donors have supported the various funds and projects.
2009 Award Recipients
Five Northern Illinois University students with strong character, grand ambitions and intellectual curiosity are recipients of the first-ever Forward, Together Forward scholarships.
Deanna Bach, Jacqueline Do, Scott Hudek, Justin Kuryliw and Grace Weidner, who share those qualities with the five students lost Feb. 14, 2008, each receive a one-time scholarship of $4,000.
“This is NIU’s most prestigious honor for students,” Provost Raymond Alden said. “These five are all highly involved, goal-oriented and motivated. They’re devoted to making NIU, and the world around them, a better place. They will carry on the memories and the good works of the five students to whom this scholarship is dedicated.”
