Laker Nation News

The Lake Land College Board of Trustees awarded the 2021 ICCTA Pacesetter Award to alumna Megan McQueen at the March board of trustees meeting.

McQueen, Laker Nation Class of 2013, is a school counselor in the Eastern Illinois Area of Special Education at the Kansas Treatment and Learning Center. She said she was humbly appreciative of the award, and she now has it proudly displayed in her living room.

“I‘m happy, and I’m grateful,” McQueen said. “It makes me feel really good about myself to know I have made a difference. I don’t do my job for glory, I do it because I know in my heart it’s what I am meant to be doing. They say if you love your job you’ll never have to work a day in your life, and that is very true for me.”

Having now earned a master’s degree in school counseling, McQueen said she began her college journey at Lake Land College with no major in mind and no clear path to accomplishing her goals.

With hard work and determination as well as assistance from TRIO Student Support Services, McQueen worked her way through college, graduating with an associate degree in art and a 3.371 GPA.

As a nontraditional student, McQueen said her path was not always easy, but that attending Lake Land helped guide her toward her goals.

“Community college has so many options for people to explore,” McQueen said. “The level of attention the instructors give to their students and the different ways the college helps people are unmatched. Now I always recommend community college first.”

McQueen continued her education by earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology as well as a master’s degree in school counseling. She even completed an internship at Lake Land College while working toward earning a master’s degree. McQueen said it was during her time at Lake Land that she realized she wanted to pursue her dream of working with troubled children.

“I felt somewhat excluded as a kid,” McQueen said. “I knew I wanted to help others and children in particular.”

McQueen is now doing just that in her position at the Kansas Treatment and Learning Center. Often counseling children during difficult times, McQueen said she is glad she pursued her goal and is able to be in a position to help.

“I love my job,” McQueen said. “Sometimes I get hugs from students I have struggled to connect with all year or get asked to eat lunch with students who had never spoken to me before. It is those moments that make me so happy I can make a difference doing what I love.”

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Lake Land College will begin offering a new special admission Fire Science program in Fall 2021 designed exclusively for current firefighters and volunteers seeking career advancement. Those interested in applying must first receive a recommendation from their fire chief.

The program is approved by the state fire marshal and will assist these professionals in earning Fire Officer 1 and 2 certifications, allowing them to increase their knowledge and skills as well as advance their careers. One key advantage of Lake Land College’s new program is the flexible format.

“They do have programs like this across the state, but most of them are Monday through Friday,” Fire Science Management Adjunct Faculty Member Rob Plummer said. “For volunteers and folks who work during the week it can be hard to do that. They often have to take vacation time or make other schedule changes.”

Plummer, Laker Nation Class of 2000, completed an Officer 2 Certification three years ago, taking traditional Monday through Friday classes. During his time in the class, Plummer said he listened to his classmates’ concerns about the difficulty surrounding the availability of the classes, and that is what inspired him to get involved with the program.

The in-person classes in the program will take place only on the weekend, including Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with a schedule spanning several months to better accommodate the participants’ time frames. The schedule will also have a blended format, with elements of both in-person learning and online work.

“This is an effort to get training to volunteer fire departments and such for the officers’ side of things,” Plummer said. “During the hands-on portion, the program will have members of several different local departments working side by side, and I think it will be really beneficial to the community having so many local departments working together.”

Plummer said the course will cover the Illinois state objectives, as well as “experience and real-world scenarios” targeted toward local settings. Students will even be given the opportunity to train on the equipment in their respective stations, allowing them to gain knowledge and skills specific to their situations.

“This program is a great opportunity to further your education,” Plummer said. “As officers one of our goals should always be to stay up to par with new techniques and ways of doing things. This is another tool in that tool box. It may seem hard to give up those weekends, but this program really has a great value compared to some of the others throughout the state.”

For more information on the Fire Science program, visit lakelandcollege.edu/high-demand-programs/paramedical-services/ or contact Jasmine Ballard at jballard9365@lakelandcollege.edu or 217-234-5370.

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Several staff members of the Navigator News, the student-led Lake Land College newspaper, earned awards from the Illinois Community College Journalism Association (ICCJA) in a contest judged by professional journalists across Illinois.

“I’ve only had the pleasure to work with the Navigator team for a short time, but it was exhilarating to see how the students continuously created high-quality and engaging content during a challenging time,” Student Life Specialist Dustyn Fatheree said. “With multiple prestigious awards received by the Navigator staff, it has never been more clear as to the importance student publications have in building marketable skills and networking possibilities for students. I look forward to this upcoming academic year where the Navigator will continue to develop content for the Lake Land community.”

The students who earned awards were recognized at the annual ICCJA Spring Conference. While participating in the event, the Navigator News staff members were able to connect with other student journalists from many different areas of Illinois as well as learn from informative speakers.

In the first place category, Madelyn Kidd was awarded for Sports Feature, Jess Oakley for Arts Review and the collective Navigator News staff for Mike Foster General Excellence.

Taking second place in their respective categories were Breanna Moore for Page Design and Austin Wendling for Sports Photo.

Brett Sawyer earned third place for Editorial Cartoon, and the Navigator News staff placed third for Website.

Also receiving honorable mentions, Jess Oakely was awarded for Headline and Michael Grovier for News Photo.

“Congratulations to the students who received awards,” Interim Vice President for Student Services Valerie Lynch said. “The Navigator will continue to strive to create innovative and high-quality content for the Lake Land community.”

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The Lake Land College Nursing associate degree graduates were honored at a pinning ceremony in front of the Luther Student Center May 12. Each of the 70 graduates received a nursing pin and a keepsake card.

Julie Long, Altamont, earned the Marilyn Fuqua-Thompson Award, and two students earned the Clinical Excellence Awards: Darian Hays, Lovington, and Heather Henderson, Charleston.

“The vote for Julie was unanimous,” Director of Nursing Programs/Nursing Instructor Cheryl Beam said. “We are very proud of all of our graduates, and we look forward to seeing where they go in the future.”

Another nursing faculty member commented on Long’s ability to make connections to activities and skills in class and lab and then apply the information in the clinical setting.

“She says she’s nervous, but it never shows in the patient’s room,” the faculty member said. “She communicates easily with patients, students and staff.”

Each student and faculty member also wore “in memory of” pins in honor of former student Ryan Hess, Sullivan, who passed away suddenly a few months prior to graduation. The students also nominated Hess for the Peer Award, presenting the plaque to Hess’s family at the ceremony.

Near the end of the ceremony, many of the students and faculty present released butterflies in memory of Hess.

The students who received pins at the event were Zachary Allie, Effingham; Julie Ambrose, Shelbyville; Ciara Anderson, Sullivan; Sarah Arend, Altamont; Paige Arthur, Mattoon; Blayne Bayles, Charleston; Karen Blomberg-Baylis, Kinmundy; Lauren Brandt, Effingham; Macy Brown, Mattoon; Marissa Caraway, St. Elmo; Tiffany Case, Effingham; Sheila Cline, Neoga; Katie Collinsworth, Mattoon; Denise Craddock, Newman; Daniele Daily, Sullivan; Dayna Delaney, Altamont; Diana Diener, Arcola; Timothy Donnell, Mattoon; Kendall Fonner, Effingham; Bailey Frese, Effingham; Emily Garriott, Charleston; Gretchen Gough, Charleston; Darian Hays, Lovington; Madison Healy, Louisville; Clayton Helmink, Effingham; Elise Hemmen, Montrose; Heather Henderson, Charleston; Christopher Heuerman, Effingham; Vy Hewitt, Effingham; Taylor Hilt, Effingham; Brooke Hodge, Odin; Hannah Holsapple, Greenup; Liberty Jamison, Paxton; Mandy Kasey, Mattoon; Robyn Larsen, Effingham; Julie Long, Altamont; Caitlyn Marlow, Shelbyville; Sarah Matusas, Neoga; Elizabeth McMahan, Strasburg; Regina Miller, Arthur; Sarah Mills, Bethany; Kaylee Morris, Mattoon; Taylor Oldham, Cowden; Sarah Parkison, Brownstown; Jaden Patterson, Mattoon; Amber Pedigo, Charleston; Gracie Plank, Arthur; Matthew Prosser, Macon; Kiera Ptomey, Mattoon; Tracy Raggio, Charleston; Emma Ross, Casey; Kacy Ross, Windsor; Maddison Rothrock, Mt. Zion; Colton Shoot, Mattoon; Shelby Sims, Edgewood; Ashtyn Siverly, Martinsville; Kelsey Smitley Charleston; Amanda Solan, Effingham; Hailey Theriault, Gays; Lakrisha Vanscyoc, Neoga; LesLee Watkins, Arcola; Rachel Weger, Casey; Jacob White, Sullivan; Cailin Wilson, Shelbyville; Whitney Wolff, Beecher City; Ashley Young, Effingham; Haylee Young, Mattoon; Courtney Zasada, Brownstown and Claire Zumbahlen, Effingham.

For more information on the Lake Land College Nursing program, visit lakelandcollege.edu/guided-pathways and explore the Health and Public Services area of study.

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The Lake Land College EMS graduates were honored at a pinning ceremony in Alumni Park May 12. Each student received a pin and a keepsake card.

“These students have worked very hard to get here,” Emergency Services Program Coordinator Jasmine Ballard said. “We are all very proud of their accomplishments.”

Lake Land College President Josh Bullock presented Distinguished Service Award to Dr. Sheri Barnett, thanking Barnett for her service to the community.

Several students also received awards at the event. Derek Chancy, Altamont, earned both the Top Student Award for GPA and the Shirley Sherwood Award for Excellence in EMS Education. Allison Tinnon, Arthur, earned the Professional Development for Most Improved Award. Amanda Landrus, Marshall, earned the Perseverance Award, and Seth Largent, Pana, earned the Bumble Bee Award for Untapped Potential.

Largent was recently inducted into the National Honor Society of Leadership and Success. The graduates each had a guest of their choosing attach the pin to their uniform, and Largent was pinned by his significant other Andrea Estay.

Logan Ratliff, Lerna, was also recently inducted into the National Honor Society of Leadership and Success. Ratliff is a second-generation provider, and was pinned by his father, retired firefighter and EMT Rob Ratliff.

Kyndal Chapman, Charleston, was pinned by her aunt Rachel Thoele. Chapman is a third-generation provider. Her grandmother Gail Brown and her Mother Becky Stewart both had careers as providers as well.

Trevor Blackwell, Shelbyville, was pinned by his Fiancé Rachel Lathem; Chancy was pinned by his wife Katelyn Chancy; Brandon Jolly, Wallingford, Kentucky, was pinned by his wife Cayla Jolly; Landrus was pinned today by her friend Paramedic Kevin Morecraft; Chauncey Love, Decatur, was pinned by his significant other Krystal Garett and Tinnon was pinned by her older brother Elliott Tinnon.

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