Laker Nation News

The Lake Land College Community Choir invites the community to attend its annual spring concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 24 in the Lake Land College Theater.

The program for this concert will lift your spirits and take you away! Three choral works on the theme of flight include “High Flight” by David Brunner, music set to a well-known poem by Royal Canadian Air Force pilot John Magee. Magee writes about the unimaginable delight of soaring through the sky and piloting a small plane, and Brunner’s music wheels and soars as well.

A second group of songs is more “grounded,” including the Beatles’ classic “The Long and Winding Road,” and “Seven Bridges Highway,” by the Eagles, as well as Nat King Cole’s classic “Route 66.” American folk songs such as “Old Dan Tucker” and “The Crawdad Song” round out the program, along with contemporary sacred songs by Craig Courtney.

A reception will follow in Laker Point.

Under the direction of Nancy Caldwell, music instructor, the Community Choir is a choir of mixed voices including students from the college as well as members of surrounding communities including Arthur, Arcola, Effingham, Charleston, Mattoon, Neoga and Sigel. Randy Imig of St. Elmo accompanies the choir. The Community Choir was formed in January of 1998 and performs two concerts annually.

The concert is free and open to the public.

What happens when you take some of the most brilliant minds from area high schools and put them under one roof? Nothing other than an academic face off, where teams are pitted against each other in eight subject areas in order to take home the regional Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) championship title.

Lake Land College recently held the regional WYSE Academic Challenge and 23 schools came together to battle in biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering graphics, English, mathematics and physics.

Students completed written examinations in seven different areas of study. Each student participated in two tests, and the highest scores by members of each team determined the composite team score.

St. Anthony, Sullivan and Mattoon high schools were victorious in their divisions and took home the regional championship titles. Winners in team and individual competition are advancing to sectionals at Eastern Illinois University on March 7.

Teams advancing in the 300 division are:

St. Anthony High School
Casey–Westfield High School
Windsor High School
Dieterich High School

Teams advancing in the 700 division are:

Sullivan High School
Paris High School

Teams advancing in the 1500 division are:

Mattoon High School
Effingham High School

Individual Results

The following individuals will be advancing to the WYSE sectionals at Eastern Illinois University on Thursday, March 7.

In the 300 division:

In the 700 division:

In the 1500 division:

2019 Tuition Waiver Winners

In Biology:

Nick Eveland Mattoon High School
Carly Spraul St. Anthony High School

In Chemistry:

Suhyun Moon St. Anthony High School
Michael Kaldas St. Anthony High School

In Computer Science:

Keegan Rhodes Mattoon High School
Chance Kremer Mattoon High School

In Engineering Graphics:

Lucas Duduit Pana High School
Nate Fouty Casey-Westfield Jr/Sr High School

In English:

Sydni Adams Paris High School
Elizabeth Taylor Paris High School

In Mathematics:

Kate Hartke St. Anthony High School
Bryson Wall St. Anthony High School

In Physics:

Douglas Emenecker Mattoon High School
Allie Dasenbrack St. Anthony High School

The Lake Land College Center for Business & Industry is offering a Grant Writing 102 course that will focus on nonprofit and local government grant research.

The course will dive deep into the topic of grant research and will include the use and orientation of a grant research database. Participants will create a research plan based on their nonprofit’s characteristics and research grant opportunities for a project at their organization. Participants are encouraged to have a strong understanding of their organization’s service population, primary programs and future expansion plans, if applicable.

The class will be taught by Fielding Jezreel who has worked in the grants field since 2013. She is Grant Professional Certified (GPC) and has raised more than $15 million for nonprofits.

The Grant Writing 102 course will meet on Monday, April 15 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

The class will be held at the Workforce Development Center, room 101 at 305 Richmond Ave. East, Mattoon. The cost is $199 and lunch will be provided.

For more information contact Professional Development Support Jackie Wake at 217-234-5087 or jwake@lakelandcollege.edu. Register at lakelandcollege.edu/learn.

Visit Lake Land College and find out all the college offers at Laker Visit Day. The event will be held Friday, March 22 in the Field House starting at 9 a.m. and will run until noon.

The event is for potential students who are interested in learning more about Lake Land College. Prospective students are provided with the opportunity to tour campus, visit a class, meet current students and talk with faculty. Parents/guardians and spouses are welcome to attend and learn more about the college during a parent and spouse session.

The event will feature informational sessions by current Lake Land College Student Ambassadors and college staff. Representatives from Admissions & Records, Financial Aid, Counseling Services, Career Services, Student Life and other departments will provide information and be available to answer questions. Students will also meet with faculty members in their academic area of interest.

“Laker Visit Day is a great way for prospective students and parents to talk to faculty and staff about academic options and majors, to talk to current students about their experiences at the college and to learn about various services and opportunities we offer,” Michelle Zumbahlen, coordinator for strategic student communication and initiatives, said.

On Laker Visit Day, guests will tour the beautiful campus with Student Ambassadors; comfortable shoes are recommended. To get to the Field House take Entrance 1 from Route 45, proceed straight after the curve and park in Lot A. The Field House will be on west side of Parking Lot A and has a white, circular roof. Enter the lobby from the south side of the building.

Student Ambassadors will greet guests and help with directions. In case of inclement weather on the day of the event, please check the college’s homepage at lakelandcollege.edu for closures.

For more information, or to reserve a space for Laker Visit Day, register online at lakelandcollege.edu/visit or call 217-234-5377.

Deciding on what to do after high school graduation can be an overwhelming process. Lake Land College is scheduling high school visits to help students know more about transitioning from high school to a college or university. 

“Meeting with higher education professionals is a very valuable experience for students making the difficult but important decision about college and college life,” said Admissions Representative Pam Hartke. “We hope to answer the students’ questions and ease any anxiety they may have about this time in their lives.”

Hartke, along with Admissions Representative Olivia Mintun, meet with high school students throughout the college’s district in the fall and spring semesters.

The dates, times and locations of the area high school visits are as follows:

For more information, visit lakelandcollege.edu

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Lake Land College District 517, located in Mattoon, Illinois, serves the second largest community college district in the state, with a total population of 189,869. The Lake Land College district comprises all or part of 15 counties and 31 public School districts in rural east central Illinois. Counties served by Lake Land College include: Christian, Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Jasper, Macon, Montgomery, Moultrie and Shelby.

Lake Land College is offering a Grant Writing 101 course that will cover all aspects of the grant writing process.

The course will be a practical and humor-filled approach to grant writing and will explain how to begin composing grants of all sizes. Participants can expect to learn proposal design, the funder search and more. The class will work through various grant documents and will have time to ask as many questions as needed. By the end of the course, participants will have a much better idea of whether grants are a good fit for their school, nonprofit or agency.

The class will be taught by Fielding Jezreel who has worked in the grants field since 2013 and has raised more than $15 million for nonprofits.

The Grant Writing 101 course will meet on Monday, April 8, 2019 from 9 a.m. – noon.

Class will be held at the Workforce Development Center, room 105 located at 305 Richmond Ave. East, Mattoon. The cost is $99.

Register at lakelandcollege.edu/learn.

For more information, contact Professional Development Support Jackie Wake at jwake@lakelandcollege.edu or at 217-234-5087.

With spring just around the corner, it’s time to begin planning for graduation at Lake Land College. The annual commencement ceremony will take place on Friday, May 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the college’s field house. There is no cost to students to participate in the ceremony. Important information and deadlines follow.

In March, students need to:
• Complete the Intent to Graduate form for the spring 2019 semester by Friday, March 15. The form can be filed electronically through the Laker Hub.
• Fill out the form to measure for cap and gown on the Laker Hub by March 29.
• Purchase graduation announcements in the Lake Land College Bookstore.

In May, students need to:
• Pick up their cap and gown at the Bookstore between Monday, May 6 – Thursday, May 9 from 8 a.m.–7 p.m. or on Friday, May 10 from 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
• Attend graduation practice on Thursday, May from9 at 3 p.m. in the Lake Land College Field House.
• Report to their assigned buildings for line up at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 10. The ceremony begins at 7:30 p.m.

Any graduate who needs an accommodation due to a disability should call 217- 234-5259 to request arrangements prior to the practice session on Thursday, May 9.

For any questions concerning the commencement ceremony or practice, stop by Admissions & Records in the Luther Student Center or call 217-234-5028.

Lake Land College is pleased to guarantee a Presidential Scholarship to all eligible in-district high school graduates who have demonstrated outstanding academic performance. The scholarship covers the full cost of tuition for up to two consecutive academic years.

Students who meet one of the following criteria are eligible for the Presidential Scholarship: they are in the top 15 percent of students in their senior class or have an ACT composite score of 26 or higher/SAT total score of 1230 or higher.

Qualifying students must also:
• Reside in the Lake Land College district at the time of graduation.
• Graduate from a high school located in the Lake Land College district or
• Graduate from a high school serving a portion of the Lake Land College district, including Hume-Shiloh, South Central, Newton, and North Clay high schools.

Interested students should contact their high school guidance counselor to complete and submit the Presidential Scholarship Acceptance form. Home schooled and private school students in the district who meet the ACT/SAT score requirements should contact Lake Land College directly.

For additional information, visit lakelandcollege.edu/scholarship-opportunities or contact Coordinator for Strategic Student Communication & Initiative Michelle Zumbahlen at 217-234-5230.

Lake Land College is offering a series of Microsoft classes beginning the last week in March at the Workforce Development Center in Mattoon and at the Kluthe Center in Effingham. The classes offered will introduce students to varying levels of Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint. Students are welcome to take each course individually or the courses as a group.

Microsoft applications have many functions and being confident in those functions is an excellent skill set. “These classes will help students brush up on their Excel and PowerPoint skills or learn more from it,” said Professional Development Support Jackie Wake.

The classes offered are made up of one session each:

Each class is $50 and the drop date for a refund is five business days prior to the class.
To register, go to lakelandcollege.edu/learn, choose the category “Professional Development Technology, Computer Skills and Software” and enroll. For more information, contact Wake at 217-234-5087 or email jwake@lakelandcollege.edu.