Jennifer Haggerty of Chandlerville, a student at LLCC, has been named a 2021 Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholar.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation announced that Haggerty is among 72 high achieving community college students selected to receive the prestigious Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. The highly competitive scholarship will provide these students with up to $40,000 a year for up to three years to complete their bachelors’ degrees. Recipients of the scholarship were chosen from a pool of 1,300 applicants from 370 community colleges across the nation.

“We know how much exponentially harder this past year has been on students. It’s an honor to award this group of individuals as they have achieved so much both in the classroom and in their daily lives,” said Seppy Basili, executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. “We are proud to welcome this new class of Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholars to our community and are excited to support them as they transition to four-year institutions.”

Haggerty, an active member of LLCC’s Phi Theta Kappa Honor (PTK) Society chapter, is also one of two LLCC students chosen as members of the 2021 All-Illinois Academic Team and was named a 2020 Coca-Cola Leader of Promise Scholar. She returned to college after 17 years in the workforce and noted, “It has been so encouraging to be part of a group of goal-oriented individuals and supporting leadership staff. PTK has opened up opportunities in my education that I didn’t even dream possible.” After LLCC, she plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing and hopes to attend graduate school to become a pediatric nurse practitioner.

According to the Cooke Foundation, nearly half of the students pursuing college choose to attend two-year institutions, and community college students who transfer to selective institutions have equal to or higher graduation rates than students who enrolled directly from high school or transferred from four-year institutions. The Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship seeks to increase the number of community college students completing their education at top four-year institutions.

In addition to financial support, Haggerty will receive comprehensive educational advising, opportunities for internships, study abroad and graduate school funding, as well as connection to a thriving network of Cooke Scholars and Alumni.

We want our hardworking graduates to see a sea of LLCC blue when they drive into the Graduate Parade Thursday! Please wear your blue Driven to Succeed T-shirt and make some fun, handmade signs to display as graduates drive by. Please arrive on campus before 5:30 p.m.; the parade begins at 6. Line the route close to where you normally work. If you work off campus, you’ll stand in an area just past Trutter/Millennium. Graduates will remain in their vehicles, but we can all wave our signs and let them know how proud we are of them.

If you haven’t picked up your free T-shirt yet, they’re available at the Information Desk in Menard Hall 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There are also some extras for those who didn’t place an order. Contact amy.flynn@llcc.edu with any questions.

It’s commencement week, and LLCC will hold an outdoor Graduate Parade on Thursday, May 13, at 6 p.m. All LLCC employees are invited to participate and should arrive on campus no later than 5:30 p.m. Campus roads/entrances will be shut down around that time to prepare for the parade. Employees will line the parade route (outlined in image to the right). Ideally, employees will be near the area where they “live” on campus (employees who primarily work in the Workforce Careers Center will be on the sidewalk in front of that building, etc.) Employees who usually work in Cass, Menard and Sangamon, and the Outreach Centers and other off-campus locations, will be assigned to the area where the parade is preparing to exit campus (just past Trutter/Millennium). All employees should wear masks, maintain appropriate social distancing and wear the “Driven to Succeed” T-shirts ordered through PRM. Employee participants are also encouraged to make signs congratulating the graduates, but should do so at limited expense (no professional banners, etc.) We will have decorations with  “Congrats Grads” banners at the campus entrance. It is also important to note there is no stopping of parade traffic. To ensure appropriate COVID protocols and maintain safe social distancing, graduates and their guests will be instructed to remain in their vehicles for the duration of the parade.

Rain date for the Graduate Parade is Saturday, May 15 at 10 a.m. Participants would need to arrive by 9:30 a.m. if that occurs.

As a reminder, Driven to Succeed T-shirts to wear at the Graduate Parade are available for pickup at the Information Desk in A. Lincoln Commons during the following times:

• Monday, May 10, 10 a.m.-noon and 1-4:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 11, 10 a.m.-noon and 1-4:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 12, 8-11 a.m. and 2-4:30 p.m.
• Thursday, May 13, 8 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m.

For those at Outreach Centers, T-shirts will be delivered to those locations.

If you have questions about T-shirt pickup, please contact amy.flynn@llcc.edu.

As a reminder, COVID testing is now open on campus and is occurring from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Trutter Center. This is a saliva based test with results the next business day. If you have not registered in the SHIELD Illinois system yet, you can do so at portal.shieldillinois.com. The agency code for employees is bhzrx9j1-emp.

Several employees have inquired if this testing is available to family members. We are now ready to open up this testing more broadly in our community. If you have family members that want to be tested, they can register on the SHIELD IL portal account (portal.shieldillinois.com) and use the agency code df5brbrj.

Finally, if you want to participate in the COVID vaccine clinic that is being offered next Thursday, May 13, in A. Lincoln Commons from 9 a.m. to noon, please schedule a vaccination time at the following link: https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/LLCC@llcconline.onmicrosoft.com/bookings/.

The vaccination being administered is the Pfizer vaccine so it requires two rounds of vaccination. The vaccination clinic for the second dose is scheduled for Thursday, June 3. This vaccination opportunity is also available to employee family members that are 16 years or older. All appointments must be made by no later than noon on Wednesday, May 12.

Officials of Lincoln Land Community College, the LLCC Foundation and the Kreher Farm Charitable Perpetual Trust cut the ribbon yesterday to open the new Kreher Agriculture Center on the LLCC campus.

“Today we continue to honor the intent of our generous donors, Charles and Irene Kreher, to transform and grow our agriculture program and attract more students to this rewarding profession,” said LLCC Board Chair Ken Elmore.

A gift of $18 million from the Kreher Trust to the LLCC Foundation was announced in March of 2018. Since then the college has revamped its agriculture curriculum, adding more technology, simulators, research and scholarship opportunities. The new 19,750-square-foot, $7.5 million building is the latest step in the program’s transformation.

LLCC President Charlotte Warren told the group of donors, elected officials and others gathered for the ribbon cutting, “We couldn’t be more excited about opening the Kreher Agriculture Center. We see LLCC as the central hub for agriculture education and the agriculture industry, the number one industry in the state. With this new facility, we will prepare even more students to be successful leaders and innovators in agriculture careers.”

Alexis Carroll, LLCC Ag Club president, expressed the excitement of her fellow ag students. “In this building, collaboration, innovation and great moments will happen. Our students will be better prepared and equipped with the education they will be receiving in this facility.”

President Warren had a message for students, especially those who may have never considered a career in agriculture. “To any student wondering if there’s a place for them in the agriculture industry, I say, you belong here at LLCC! The career possibilities are endless.”

Read more about the Kreher Agriculture Center ribbon cutting.

LLCC faculty and staff toured the new Kreher Agriculture Center that afternoon. The Center houses state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories and student gathering spaces. It was designed to promote active learning including hands-on research, problem solving and group activities.

Faculty and staff are invited to tour the Kreher Agriculture Center this afternoon beginning at 2:30 p.m. Ag faculty, staff and students, along with members of the LLCC advancement office, will be on hand to point out the many features of the state-of-the-art facility.

A ribbon cutting for the center is set for 10:30 a.m. today, followed by tours for invited guests. Due to COVID-19 safety protocols, a limited number of invitations have been sent for the ribbon cutting ceremony.

FarmWeek, a publication of the Illinois Farm Bureau, featured this advance story on the building this week: https://www.farmweeknow.com/general/lincoln-land-s-new-kreher-agriculture-center-transformational/article_617e880c-a8eb-11eb-849d-f36c0e694c9d.html.