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Lillian Rodrigues of Mendota named 21st Century Scholar

Prior to Thursday’s 21st Century Scholars Society ceremony, finalists Noemi Gonzalez, left, Nicolas Martinez, Lillian Rodrigues and Nicholas Bollis gathered for a photo. Rodrigues was named 21st Century Scholar later in the evening. – PHOTO IVCC

PHOTO: Prior to Thursday’s 21st Century Scholars Society ceremony, finalists Noemi Gonzalez, left, Nicolas Martinez, Lillian Rodrigues and Nicholas Bollis gathered for a photo. Rodrigues was named 21st Century Scholar later in the evening.
OGLESBY – Lillian Rodrigues of Mendota was named 21st Century Scholar at the twelfth annual 21st Century Scholars Society dinner in La Salle Thursday night.
Rodrigues, who received $3,000 for the award, plans to transfer to Northern Illinois University next fall to major in microbiology, eventually become a physician’s assistant and return home to practice rural medicine. Other finalists included Nicholas Bollis and Nicolas Martinez of Peru and Noemi Gonzalez of La Salle; each received $1,500.
As president of IVCC’s Hispanic Leadership Team, Rodrigues led a fundraising campaign for victims of natural disasters in South America and provided hygiene kits and other comfort items to children going into foster care. As vice president of the college’s Red Cross chapter, she’s helped run blood drives, installed fire alarms, packed trailers for disaster relief and earned certifications in First Aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and shelter setup. She is a volunteer at OSF St. Paul Medical Center in Mendota and tutored third graders in a Hispanic classroom last year.
In his recommendation letter for Rodrigues, sociology instructor Jared Olesen lauded her “extraordinary character and ability,” adding her “outstanding work ethic was evident from the start.”
Olesen continued, “Lillian possesses the hallmark characteristics of successful people. She is goal-driven and works methodically to achieve those goals. She is charming, soft-spoken yet assertive, and very inquisitive.”
The daughter of Rosa and Dennis Watson was born in California before moving to Mendota at age 3. Bollis, the son of Don and Jill Urban-Bollis, is planning a career as a pediatric cardiologist. A top student at La Salle-Peru High School, he competed for the chess, debate, math, tennis, soccer, scholastic bowl and bass fishing teams.
Bollis organized a leadership camp for 60 Boy Scouts and for his Eagle Scout project led construction of a brick walkway in front of the one-room schoolhouse in Utica. He has participated in church missions across the country the past five summers in impoverished areas and sites damaged by floods and hurricanes.
In her recommendation letter for Bollis, biology instructor Lauri Carey said, “As he enters the medical profession, Nic will have the skills and background to be successful. In lab, he does excellent dissection and purposefully spends extra time with the material.”
Gonzalez, the daughter of Juan and Alma Gonzalez, plans to major in nursing, earn her RN, BSN and MSN and eventually become a nurse practitioner. She works as a CNA and plays for IVCC’s soccer team. In addition, she is halfway through a six-year enlistment with the Illinois National Guard where she is part of a unit responsible for responding to chemical attacks.
In her recommendation letter for Gonzalez, English instructor Nora Villarreal said, “I am grateful to have someone like her sworn to protect the United States – someone tough enough to do the job, intelligent enough to do it well, and empathetic enough to understand the potential ramifications of what she may be asked to do.”
Like Rodrigues and Bollis, Martinez plans to transfer to NIU and eventually attend medical school. The son of Jason and Olga Martinez led a fundraising drive for Puerto Rican hurricane relief last year for the Hispanic Leadership Team and is a member of the Student Government Association programming board. He has worked extensively on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Kinetics research as part of an IVCC chemistry class. At LP, he wrestled and played soccer and baseball while also participating in student council, L.E.A.D. and the Link Crew.
Carey, who also wrote Martinez’s recommendation letter, said, “It was clear to me early on that Nico was going to be one of my top students. As a tutor in the peer tutoring center, Nico gets an opportunity to hone his own skills and help other students. I have heard Nico is an excellent tutor.”

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