CHICAGO, IL (November 17, 2011) – Hannah A. Haugen, a North Park University senior and member of Milwaukie (Oregon) Covenant Church, is one of 51 students from Illinois colleges and universities to be named a Student Laureate.

The Lincoln Academy of Illinois, which presented the awards, is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization that also presents the state’s highest award, the Order of Lincoln, to honor Illinois’ most distinguished citizens.

Student Laureates are honored for overall excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities. Each is presented with a medallion, a certificate of achievement, and a $500 grant.

Haugen was honored during a ceremony in the Illinois House of Representatives chamber at the old state capitol in Springfield. The honorees and an academic representative of each respective school attended a luncheon at the Executive Mansion hosted by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. Alvin Kamienski, associate professor of finance, represented North Park.

“I am honored to have been selected as the Student Laureate from North Park University and to have had the opportunity to represent the university at the ceremony in Springfield,” Haugen said. “I would not have been able to be successful in my endeavors if it were not for the strong support of my family, professors, and classmates.”

Haugen has accomplished much in a short amount of time. Majoring in business and economics with a minor in French, she completed 153 semester hours in only three years of study and plans to graduate in May next year.

Since entering the university in September 2009, she has tutored other students in macroeconomics, served as a note taker for students with disabilities, and studied abroad in the Netherlands, where she took business classes and learned the Dutch language.

Haugen also has been a resident assistant in campus apartments and a student consultant with the Albany Park Chamber of Commerce. She is an intern in the accounting department at Swedish Covenant Hospital.

”Hannah has a unique mix of international aspiration and local dedication,” Kamienski said. “Her multiple study abroad experiences, foreign language fluency, and nonprofit internship have sparked her interest in pursuing a master’s degree and, possibly, a doctoral degree in economics in Europe.”