Dean Butzow, professor of geography, was honored with the Illinois Geographical Society Len Hodgman Life Membership Award at the Illinois Geographical Society Conference in Dubuque, Iowa on April 27. The award is given to a member who is an advocate for and promotes the field of geography, and does excellent work in the geography field.

Lillian Camp (pictured with poster) a current student from Springfield, presented a poster at the conference on mapping charity services in Springfield. She is completing an associate in arts with a concentration in geography and plans to transfer to the University of Louisville to major in geography and art.

Camp also won the Illinois Geographical Society Outstanding Community College Student Geography Award, along with two other LLCC students, Alex Scheller of Springfield and Brenden Friesland of Irving, who are also graduating in May with a concentration in geography. They both plan to attend SIUE and major in geography, and were accepted through LLCC’s 2+2 program with SIUE.

Also, LLCC alum, Abigail Shaver, a junior geography major at ISU (and daughter of Matt Shaver, LLCC professor of digital media), presented her research paper, “Climate Change and Mental Health.” She is pictured with Professor Butzow at the conference.