Buffington and Newton win ICCTA Scholarship Awards
June 8, 2024Two Heartland Community College students received statewide recognition from the Illinois Community College Trustees Association (ICCTA).
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.
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.
Written by: Steve Fast