Enrollment and Student Affairs Office

2008 All-USA Academic Team Nominees
Please join Student Affairs in congratulating our 2008 All-USA Academic Team Nominees: Sandy Kim and Nahiris Bahamon. To be nominated for this prestigious national award, students must complete a lengthy application demonstrating academic excellence; intellectual rigor, growth and potential; show how they have used their two-year college education to benefit themselves, their schools and their communities; and present three letters of recommendation from faculty and mentors. The application’s centerpiece is a 500-word essay detailing the student’s most significant academic endeavor attempted while attending community college. Three teams of 20 students each are selected from among the nationwide nominees.

National First Team Winners receive $2500, recognition in USA Today and a trip to the annual American Association of Community Colleges convention. Over the years, COD has had two First Team winners and several Second Team winners. COD’s two nominees receive a monetary award of $100 each and will be recognized by the Board of Trustees at their meeting tonight.

Sandy Kim carries a GPA of 4.0 while serving as the very active President of the Student Leadership Council. She is co-founder of the new Veterans Association at COD as well as the newly formed Collegiate Council, and serves as Administrative Manager of Phi Beta Chapter of PTK. Sandy, who is double-majoring in Biology and Religious Studies, plans to earn a Ph.D. in Religion. She is the recipient of one of only six statewide $1000 scholarships awarded by the Illinois Community College Faculty Association Teaching and Learning Excellence Committee.
[Sandy's essay]

Nahiris Bahamon came to this country only a few years ago from Columbia, South America. She completed the Honors Scholar Program in her first year of study at COD and plans to become a physician. Based on research she carried out this past summer, Nahiris was chosen as a presenter in Biochemistry representing COD in the Eighteenth Annual Argonne Laboratory Symposium for Undergraduates in Science, Engineering and Mathematics. Very active on campus, Nahiris is the Vice President of PTK, an active member of the Student Leadership Council and Treasurer of the International Students Organization, all while carrying a GPA of 3.73.
[Nahiris' essay]

Again, congratulations to two outstanding young women.