Latest / Illinois Valley - Shaw Local / Three MHS seniors selected as 2026 recipients of the Jacob Family Scholarship

Transcript

Three MHS seniors selected as 2026 recipients of the Jacob Family Scholarship · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Three MHS seniors selected as twenty twenty six recipients of
• 0:08
  the Jacob Family Scholarship. Written by Matthias Werner, this article
• 0:15
  is being read by an automated voice brought to you
• 0:17
  by Everlett. Mendota Township High School seniors Luis Nunez, Leiley Denall,
• 0:24
  and Aiden Tillman were selected to receive the twenty twenty
• 0:26
  six Jacob Family Scholarships, awarded on May sixteenth during mhs's
• 0:31
  graduation ceremonies. The scholarships were presented to the students by
• 0:35
  MHS Principal Joe Massini. This year marks the twenty eighth
• 0:39
  anniversary of the Jacob Family Scholarship Fund, providing scholarships to
• 0:43
  graduating MHS seniors. According to a news release, a second
• 0:48
  scholarship category was established this year to be awarded to
• 0:51
  MHS seniors matriculating to the University of Iowa. The scholarships
• 0:57
  carry awards of one thousand dollars each. Wording to the release,
• 1:02
  Luis Nunez will be a first generation college student and
• 1:05
  plans to attend Illinois Valley Community College to major in journalism.
• 1:10
  While at MHS, Neunez was involved in Spanish club, fellowship
• 1:14
  of Christian Athletes and Spanish Honor Society. He was on
• 1:17
  honor roll for seven semesters, received the President's Award for
• 1:22
  Educational Achievement and the American Legion School Award. At the
• 1:26
  University of Iowa, Leiley Denault plans to major in human
• 1:29
  physiology on a pre dental track with a minor in business.
• 1:34
  Her high school awards and activities include being an Illinois
• 1:37
  State Scholar, president of the National Honor Society and Spanish
• 1:41
  National Honor Society. She was involved with Spanish Club, the
• 1:45
  Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Next Generation Leaders Student Council, and
• 1:49
  the IVCC Academic Challenge. In volleyball, she was All Area
• 1:54
  First Team, All Conference First Team, and Varsity team captain,
• 1:57
  as well as club volleyball captain. Denault was the varsity
• 2:02
  basketball captain and was a member of the varsity soccer
• 2:05
  and varsity track teams. Aidan Tillman plans to major in
• 2:09
  biomedical engineering at Iowa. His awards and activities at MHS
• 2:14
  included being an Illinois State Scholar, the recipient of the
• 2:17
  d R Scholarship, and honoree at the MHS and Lions
• 2:20
  Club Honours Banquet. A participant in the IVCC Academic Challenge
• 2:24
  and a selection as the Homecoming King. His athletic career
• 2:28
  at MHS included being captain for two years of both
• 2:31
  the football and basketball teams. Tillman was selected All Conference
• 2:35
  for three years in both varsity football and basketball. He
• 2:39
  was a member of the baseball and tennis teams, as
• 2:41
  well as a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
• 2:45
  The Jacob Family Scholarship Fund was created to honor the
• 2:48
  memories of Clara Ciprians and Jacob, who taught in Mendoda
• 2:51
  Public schools for more than thirty five years, and Alfred
• 2:54
  Otto Jacob, a civic leader and lifelong resident of Mendota.
• 2:59
  Throughout their life lives, both were involved with Mendota's youth
• 3:03
  al was a founding member of the Boyscoots of Mendota
• 3:06
  and the Mendota Athletic Booster Society, as well as having
• 3:09
  served on the Mendota City Council. Clara first taught physical
• 3:13
  education at Mendota and Galsburg High Schools. After marrying Al,
• 3:18
  she returned to Mendota and taught third grade at Lincoln School.
• 3:22
  Once her children were of school age, and following her
• 3:25
  retirement from teaching. She tutored children in reading and English.
• 3:30
  Both helped design and raise funds to build the Mendota
• 3:33
  Community swimming Pool in nineteen fifty eight, and served on
• 3:37
  the board of the swimming Pool Association. According to the release,
• 3:41
  at the time of his death in nineteen eighty four,
• 3:44
  al Jacob was the longest serving alderman in Mendota's history.
• 3:48
  Clara and al Jacob would be pleased to know that,
• 3:52
  long after their deaths, they and their children are still
• 3:54
  helping the youth of Mendota achieve their educational dreams, including
• 3:58
  this year's scholarship recipient Louis nunaz Leiley Dina, and Adan Tillman.