Illinois Wesleyan Names Twelve Presidential Scholars

Bloomington, Ill.—Twelve first-year students were recognized as Presidential Scholars during Illinois Wesleyan University’s President’s Convocation Sept. 25 in Westbrook Auditorium of Presser Hall.

The campus-wide event marked the start of IWU’s 2002-2003 academic school year. Acclaimed novelist Isabel Allende presented the convocation address and received an honorary degree.

• Listen to Isabel Allende's address (Requires Real Audio)

Established in 1978, the Presidential Scholars’ Program recognizes first-year students who have shown excellence both in and out of the classroom, for their past accomplishments and achievements. Selections for the academic honor are based on personal interviews and application materials.

Five first-year Presidential Scholars are also National Merit Scholars. The twelve scholars averaged 1480 as a group on the combined Scholastic Aptitude Test scores (SAT-I) scores, a major college entrance test with a perfect score of 1600. Last year’s class of Presidential Scholars averaged 1459 on the SAT.

Following is a list of the honored scholars in the class of 2006, who plan to major in fields of political science, economics, music, art, English, physics, math and computer science.

• Philip Arquette of Bensonville, Ill., a music and computer science double major
• Amy Cadwallader of Maryland Heights, Mo., a biology major
• Jodie Daquilanea of Woodridge, Ill.
• Kathleen Frawley of Oswego, N.Y., a political science and economics double major
• Sherri Haas of Sycamore, Ill.
• Stephanie Jaeckel of Mundelein, Ill., a music major
• Robin Johnson of Peoria, Ill., a chemistry major
• Jennifer LaBrenz of Kalamazoo, Mich., a physics and math double major
• Alex Mitchell of Champaign, Ill.
• Justin Myers of Des Moines, Iowa, a computer science major
• Sara Novak of Northbrook, Ill., an art and English literature double major
• Debo Olaosebikan of Lagos, Nigeria, a physics major