Illinois State University’s Lauren Koszyk has been named one of this year’s outstanding college students by the Lincoln Academy of Illinois.
Lauren Koszyk and John Davenport at the Lincoln Academy of Illinois awards.
The Lincoln Academy’s Abraham Lincoln Civic Engagement Awards are presented for excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities to seniors from each of the state’s four-year, degree-granting colleges and universities, and one student from the community colleges in Illinois. The Academy recognized students during the annual Student Laureate Convocation in November.
Koszyk is a senior honors student from Bloomington, Illinois. A piano performance and German double major with a 3.98 cumulative grade point average, Koszyk received one of the University’s most distinguished awards earlier this year, the Bone Scholarship. She has also received several other notable honors during her time at Illinois State, including the Charles Bolen Music Faculty Endowed Scholarship, Mary Jo Brown Memorial Endowed Scholarship, Jury Recognition Piano Area Recipient, and numerous other academic scholarships.
While studying abroad in Salzburg, Austria, Koszyk took advanced classes in German and applied piano. While in Salzburg she organized a recital, communicating only in German, with other music students in the area. They produced the Salzburger Lehrerhaus Gesangs Konzert in which Koszyk performed. She has also performed collaborative piano for 12 other productions and solo piano for 17 additional productions. Beyond music performance, Lauren gave more than 10 professional presentations throughout the United States. She is a member of the National German Honor Society – Delta Alpha Phi as well as German Club. She currently serves as president of the Music Teachers National Association Illinois State University Collegiate Chapter, and volunteers with Children of the American Revolution and Daughters of the American Revolution. Koszyk also takes time from her very busy schedule to play piano at local retirement and nursing homes.
Koszyk has chosen the demanding field of opera for her life’s work. She is already employed as a pianist for the Midwest Institute of Opera.
At the Student Laureate Convocation, each student received a Student Laureate Medallion, along with a $1,000 educational grant and a certificate of achievement. This is the 42nd year Lincoln Academy has celebrated students’ excellence in Illinois.
“President Lincoln’s legacy is a reminder of the power of public service and civic engagement here in Illinois and across the country,” said Governor Bruce Rauner. “The students chosen to receive this honor have exemplified the principles and ideals of the greatest Illinoisan through their hard work and dedication to their schools and communities.”
The Lincoln Academy, unique among the 50 states, was established more than 50 years ago to honor distinguished citizens with the state’s highest award, the Order of Lincoln. The 53rd Annual Convocation and Investiture of Laureates of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois will take place Saturday, May 6, 2017 at the Chicago History Museum.
