Endowed Undergraduate Scholarships
Vincent A. and Janet O'Brien Scholarships
Established 1996
Vince and Janet O'Brien were both born in 1907 in Iroquois County, Illinois, into families of little means. Vince was raised on a farm near Stockland, Illinois and Janet was raised in Milford, Illinois. Even though her parents were immigrants from Germany, Janet attended the University of Illinois at Urbana and graduated in 1932. Upon the birth of her first child, Janet became a full-time homemaker. Vince's career plans were interrupted by the Great Depression and World War II. He eventually became a successful businessman and community leader in Watseka, Illinois.
Although he never attended college, he strongly supported education and served on the local school board for 25 years. He had an active and inquisitive mind and along with Janet, encouraged his two children to advance their understanding by attending college. This they both did with Katherine (O'Brien) Martin graduating from the U of I as valedictorian in 1962 and Vincent E. O'Brien graduating with High Honors in Electrical Engineering in 1967. Since then two grandchildren have also graduated from the U of I: Susan Trillet, 1986, and John Martin, 1993. Thus, Vince and Janet have established a tradition of interest and support for the U of I.
Description:
These scholarshiips were established by Vincent E. O'Brien to honor his parents for their continued devotion to educating future generations.
Requirements:
- You must be a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, enrolled in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
- The recipients must have demonstrated academic merit.
- The recipients should be in the sophomore, junior, or senior class in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
- First preference shall be given to the students from Iroquois County that meet Department academic standards. If no students from Iroquois County who meet the appropriate Department academic standards are available, the sholarships can be given to other qualified Electrical and Computer Engineering students.
Selection Process:
In September, the Department requests a list of ECE students from Iroquois County from the College of Engineering. The scholarship committee looks at the academic files of the students on the list to determine if any of the students meet Department academic qualifications. The students deemed most outstanding will be awarded the scholarships. In the event that there is not a qualified student, the recipients will be selected from the Scholarship Data Forms collected from the top 10% of the junior and the top 10% of the senior class. The committee can make the decision to continue the scholarship for a second year.
Award:
The scholarships carry a stipend of $5,000. The recipients are recognized at the annual ECE Award Banquet in April.
PAST RECIPIENTS OF THE AWARD:
Year Recipients 2007-2008 Jacob Tolar 2005-2006 Paras Baxi, Erica Lynn, Kevin Reifsteck, Tyler Rossi 2004-2005 Jonathan Krauss, Gary J. Yen, Matthew A. Young 2003-2004 Jesse Gerdes, Craig Kietzman 2002-2003 Troy Becicka, Aaron C. Piggush 2001-2002 Troy Becicka, Cole E. Zemke 2000-2001 Cole E. Zemke 1999-2000 Timothy D. Smith 1998-1999 Jeffrey W. Young 1997-1998 Michael D. Horn 1996-1997 Thad A. Heinold
For More Information Contact:
Kara MacGregor
kmacgreg@uiuc.edu
153 Everitt Laboratory, MC-702
(217) 333-9706