Northern Illinois University
2026 spring dean’s list
Jayce Pendergrass was named to the Northern Illinois University 2026 spring dean’s list.
Students must obtain a 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale to be named to the list.
University of Dubuque
spring 2026 graduates
Locals were among the graduates at the University of Dubuque commencement ceremonies Saturday, May 2, at Chlapaty Recreation and Wellness Center.
Joshua Morris of Martell graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of business administration.
Camden Butterbaugh of Mount Vernon graduated with a master of business administration.
Loras College spring 2026 dean’s list
Hunter E. Jones of Mechanicsville and Laila Moellering of Mount Vernon were among the students named to the Loras College spring 2026 dean’s list.
Students must obtain a 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale to be named to the list.
National Merit Scholarship winner
Eva Bishop of Mount Vernon was named as a University of Iowa National Merit Scholar.
These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.
High school juniors entered the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, more than 16,000 Semifinalists were named on a state-representational basis in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors. Semifinalists were the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than one percent of the nation’s seniors.
To compete for Merit Scholarship awards, Semifinalists first had to advance to the Finalist level of the competition by fulfilling additional requirements. Each Semifinalist was asked to submit a detailed scholarship application, which included writing an essay and providing information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT® or ACT® scores that confirmed the qualifying test performance. From the Semifinalist group, over 15,000 met requirements for Finalist standing, and about half of the finalists will be Merit Scholarship winners in 2026.