Released - November 17, 2009

Elizabeth Hoff named Eureka College Lincoln Laureate

2009 Recipient

Elizabeth Hoff of Hendrum, Minn., was selected as Eureka College’s recipient of the 2009 Lincoln Academy of Illinois Student Laureate Award. The award recognizes outstanding academic achievement and extracurricular activities among college seniors.

Hoff attended a Nov. 7 awards ceremony in the Old State Capitol in Springfield and a luncheon hosted by Gov. Pat Quinn in the Executive Mansion. She received a certificate, medallion and financial stipend from the Lincoln Academy.

Eureka College Lincoln Laureate Elizabeth Hoff receives her award from, left, Lincoln Academy Chancellor John B. Simon and the Honorable Richard Mills, Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois.

“Liz is a dynamic student leader who, like our most famous graduate Ronald Reagan, is well-liked by her peers and is a great communicator,” said Eureka College President J. David Arnold.  “Her dedication to service and her academic pursuits are exemplary.”

Hoff is a biology major enrolled in the college’s pre-medicine program. She is a Ronald W. Reagan Fellow, attending Eureka College on a four-year full-tuition fellowship, which includes opportunities to perform mentorships anywhere in the world. Last year she performed a semester-long internship at Macquarie University’s Anxiety Research Unit, Sydney, Australia, where she studied childhood anxiety. She also performed a five-week internship in a neonatology practice in Appleton, Wis., where she studied the treatment of premature infants.

On campus, Hoff is president of the Student Senate, and she directs the college’s Up ‘til Dawn project that raises money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.  She volunteers in the pediatric intensive care unit at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Peoria. She is a member of Sigma Zeta national science and mathematics honor society and Alpha Chi national honor society. As a freshman she helped organize a mission trip for Eureka College students to St. Monica’s Hospital in Kisumu, Kenya, through the college’s International Health Care Development Program. As a sophomore Hoff was class president and a resident advisor, and she was named sophomore of the year at the college’s annual honors ceremony. She was a peer educator, promoting student health and safety awareness through the college’s Students Promoting Responsibility, Understanding, and Care Everyday program.

Hoff is a 2006 graduate of Norman County West High School. She is a daughter of Mark and Laura Hoff of Hendrum.   

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Contact:

Michele Lehman

Media Relations Coordinator

mlehman@eureka.edu

(309) 467-6318