Press Releases

Saint Xavier University Recognizes Outstanding Students

CHICAGO (June 13, 2003) – Saint Xavier University recently recognized the achievements of students in the areas of scholarship and service. During an awards ceremony on Wednesday, April 16th, the following students were honored:

  • Andrew Rybarczyk, a junior majoring in history/secondary education from Chicago, received the Deans Fellowship Award. This award is given to students who have completed the first semester of junior coursework by showing resourcefulness of approach to ideas and questions and have maintained a high academic record.


  • Katie K. Gallagher, a graduate student majoring in education/reading, Leanne Koning, a senior majoring in English, and Brenda Metz, a graduate student majoring in elementary education, residents of Orland Park, Ill., each received the Excellence in Writing Award, awarded for a paper written during this academic year. A stipend is given by the Student Activities Board.


  • Virginia Bova, a senior majoring in religious studies from Orland Park, Ill. received the Sister Mary Josetta Butler Award. This is a monetary scholarship awarded annually to a senior student in memory of Sister Mary Josetta Butler, R.S.M., who was chief administrator of Saint Xavier College from 1956 to 1963. Bova will demonstrate progress toward the ideal of the “liberal education of the Christian person” through religion and theology integrated with other fields of intellectual inquiry.


  • Allison Fagan, a junior majoring in English from Calumet City, Ill., received the Hassan (Husni) and Safia Haddad Peace Award. The award honors the lives and contributions of Saint Xavier University professors, the late Dr. Hasan Haddad, who was an internationally recognized scholar in Middle Eastern studies, and Dr. Safia Haddad, a professor emeritus of French and Education. This monetary scholarship is awarded to a graduate or undergraduate student who prepares the best essay conveying how the humanities or sciences promote the pursuit of peace.


  • Mary Kathleen Farrell, a senior majoring in communication science and disorders from Peotone, Ill., received the State of Illinois Lincoln Academy Award for academics and extracurricular activities will attend a ceremony in the House of Representatives of the Illinois State Capital in Springfield, Illinois. She was also awarded the Outstanding Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Student Award, which is given to a graduating senior who is selected on the basis of academic achievement and service the Saint Xavier University and the community.


  • Stephanie M. Wright, a junior majoring in English from Palos Hills, Ill., received the Saint Catherine Medal, which was donated by the Kappa Gamma Pi National Organization in memory of Jean Keopke, a 1934 graduate of Saint Xavier University who served as KGP National President from 1947 – 1949. The Kappa Gamma Pi award is given to a sophomore or junior who has rendered outstanding service the University and established the best record for progressive achievement.


  • Kimberly Prohaska, a graduate student in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Chicago was the recipient of the Outstanding Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Award, which is given to a graduate from the School of Arts and Sciences who is selected on the basis of outstanding scholarship, service to the community and University, and excellent clinical performance.


  • Brenda Huskey, a graduate student in education from Lansing, Ill., was the recipient of the Sister Irenaeus Chekouras Outstanding Graduate Student Award. This award honors Sister Irenaeus Chekouras, past president of Saint Xavier College and faculty member in the School of Education, is given to a graduate student for high academic achievement, service to education, and outstanding scholarship as demonstrated through the graduate project.


  • Kathleen Crowley, a senior majoring in elementary education from Orland Hills, Ill. received the Sister Mary Dominic Merwick Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award, which is given to a graduating senior who has demonstrated high academic achievement, exemplary student teaching, and service to education on campus or in the wider educational community.


  • Yuliya Kandratsenka, a graduate student in finance from Worth, Ill., received the J.K. Hwang Outstanding Graduate Student Award. This award is given on the basis of academic excellence and service to the community and was established by the Graham School of Management in honor of faculty member Dr. J.K. Hwang.


  • Regina Kingston, a senior majoring in accounting from Orland Hills, Ill. was the recipient of the Wall Street Journal Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award, established by the Educational Service Bureau of Dow Jones and Company in 1948. This award is given to graduating seniors who have successfully demonstrated scholarship, leadership and initiation in both Graham School and community activities.


  • Lorraine Schoenstadt, a graduate who majored in nursing from Chicago was the recipient of the Outstanding School of Nursing Graduate Student Award, which is given to a graduate student in the School of Nursing who has shown academic achievement and service to Saint Xavier University and the community.


  • Melody Taboada, a senior majoring in Nursing from Berwyn, Ill. was awarded the Outstanding School of Nursing Undergraduate Student Award given to a graduating senior in the School of Nursing who was selected on the basis of academic and service to the University and the community.


Founded in 1846, Saint Xavier University is a private, coeducational institution serving more than 5,200 men and women with high quality academic programs. It offers 36 undergraduate majors and 32 graduate program options in four schools: School of Arts and Sciences, School of Education, Graham School of Management, and School of Nursing. Located in a residential neighborhood in Chicago, the University offers personalized education that emphasizes challenging undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs of study. Crain’s Chicago Business (July 1, 2002) recognized Saint Xavier University for achieving the highest percentage of enrollment growth among Chicago-area universities and colleges during the previous year, increasing 6.3 percent. And, U.S. News & World Report named Saint Xavier in its 2002 “Best Colleges” issue as a best value and for its diversity as a master’s degree-granting institution in the Midwest region.