Mariah Dicksen (Lockport, IL) Mariah was the first female WIU student to win the renowned Barry Goldwater Scholarship, and the first WIU student to be nominated for the prestigious Rhodes, Truman and Goldwater scholarships. Ms. Dicksen was also the recipient of the 2019-2020 Lincoln Academy of Illinois' Student Laureate Award. The prestigious award, presented annually to an outstanding senior of each of Illinois' four-year degree-granting institutions, honors a student's overall academic excellence and participation in extracurricular activities. She was a student vice-president of the WIU Phi Kappa Phi Chapter and a member of the Centennial Honors College. She was awarded a $500 fellowship by the WIU Chappter of Phi Kappa Phi, and went on to receive the distinguished $8,500 fellowship from the Phi Kappa Phi National Organization to pursue a Ph.D. in microbiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in fall 2020.

Karissa Kouchis Karissa was selected to receive a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, becoming the eighth Western Illinois student athlete to earn the award. A May 2016 graduate, Kouchis is one of four finalist from the Summit League and 516 nationally for the NCAA Woman of the Year award. Kouchis graduated Magna Cum Laude with a cumulative 3.90 GPA and double-major in Communication and Journalism.

Jillian Ross (Cedar Falls, IA) As a junior in the Western Illinois University Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration (RPTA) was selected as one of only 197 college juniors named as a finalist for the competitive national Truman Scholarship. Ross is only the second student in WIU’s history to be selected as a finalist for the prestigious scholarship opportunity.

Nicholas Breslin (Galesburg, IL) As a junior physics major, Nick was named an honorable mention award winner in the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program. Breslin is also a student in WIU’s Centennial Honors College. Breslin is one of only nine college students in Illinois named honorable mention award winners.

Ashley Luke Luke was named as the Capital One Academic All-America of the Year for Division I women’s basketball. Luke was selected out of five Division I players who earned First Team Academic All-America honors. Of the 15 selected on the three academic teams, Luke is one of two repeat honorees from the previous year. She received many other academic and athletic awards, which are too numerous to list here.

Michael Quigley (Camp Point, IL) Quigley was a Rhodes (2013) and Truman (2012) nominee from Western Illinois University. He was awarded the 108th Sustainment Brigade NCO of the year in 2013 and in 2012 he came in second for the Illinois Soldier of the Year award. He has served two terms as the Western Illinois University Board of Trustees student member. He was elected as an SGA senator and served as Speaker of the Senate twice.

Victoria Kappel (Orland Park, IL) joins elite company in Western Illinois Athletics’ history by becoming just the seventh student-athlete in WIU history to receive an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. She is the first Western Illinois female to receive the prestigious national academic award. Kappel is a double major in communication science and disorders and Spanish. She plans on pursing a master’s degree in speech language pathology.

Juliana Goodman An English major, Goodman was Western Illinois University’s first student to make it to the final round of the 2014 Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Arts Scholarship competition.

Elizabeth Etta Etta WIU’s first ever Truman Scholar finalist. She graduated from WIU in 2013 with a BA in African American Studies. She is currently attending the Seattle University School of Law.

Devin Johnson In spring of 2015, Devin Johnson was one of only 20 undergraduate students in the U.S. to be awarded the annual Lagrant Scholarship.

Hannah Drake In spring of 2015 Hannah Drake received an honorable mention in the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program.

Joshua Wood Joshua Wood was selected for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program in 2013 to teach English in South Korea for 12 months during the 2013-2014 academic year. He graduated from WIU in 2012 with a BA in Economics and went on to receive his MA in Economics at Western in 2013.

Jenna (Verity) DeRango In 2011, WIU graduate Jenna (Verity) DeRango, from Schaumburg, IL, was selected as the school’s first Rhodes Scholarship finalist, the highest academic achievement college students can accomplish. Jenna graduated from WIU in 2012 with a BA in Political Science. She was a member of WIU’s track and field team during her time at Western. She received ninth place at the 2011 Summit League Indoor Track and Field Championships in weight throw. Jenna is currently attending Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

Ryan Gordon Ryan Gordon, Ph.D, is the second WIU student to receive the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. He was among 310 students selected from 1,113 undergraduate sophomores and juniors from across the United States to earn a 2004-2005 Goldwater scholarship. Dr. Gordon graduated from WIU as a physics and mathematics major and went on to receive his doctorate degree in Condensed Matter Physics from Iowa State University in 2011. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at WIU.

Michael C. Baxa Michael C. Baxa, Ph.D, was WIU’s very first Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship recipient in 2001. Dr. Baza graduated from WIU with a BS in Physics and Mathematics in 2002. In addition to receiving the Goldwater Scholarship, he also received the award of a national Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship.
After graduating from WIU, he entered the graduate physics program at The University of Chicago, where he conducted research in the area of protein folding and dynamics, receiving his Ph.D. in bio-physics in the fall of 2009. Dr. Baxa is currently a Post-doctoral Researcher at the Sosnick Lab at the University of Chicago.