DPCF awards five $1,500 scholarships to 2024 college bound students

The Des Plaines Community Foundation (DPCF) awarded five $1,500 scholarships to 2024 Des Plaines college bound students. This is the 12th year the foundation has offered scholarships.

The Sadie Rose Argus College Scholarship Awards were named after a 2014, Maine West graduate — Sadie Rose Argus — who volunteered hundreds of hours to the Des Plaines Community Foundation.

According to Rosemary Argus, executive director of the foundation, the annual scholarships are available for both two-year and four-year college students starting school in the fall of 2023.

“The foundation is celebrating a 12-year effort helping young adults obtain a college education and we view it as a sincere investment, not only in the future of our youth, but also in the future of Des Plaines,” said Rich Holke, president of the DPCF. “The scholarships will help bring a college degree within reach for students who need it most, especially those who have given back to the community.”

The DPCF scholarship committee trustees, that judged the student applications based on those strict guidelines and required paperwork, included Rich Holke, Mark Lucaccioni, Chris Hassett, Sandra Hansen, Sherry Gardner, and Kathy Puetz.

The scholarship committee reads all 25 applications. The board members scored the applications one through five on the compositions and grades. Scores are tabulated and the top four scores win scholarships.

The five 2024 Sadie Rose Argus College Scholarship Award winners are: Rana D. Aarchi from Maine East High School; Asher Carmichael and Cali Santos from Maine West High School; and Timothy George and Lucas Deaton from Elk Grove High School. Each will receive $1,500 toward their college tuition this fall.

Here are the details on the five award recipients:

• Rana D. Aarchi graduated from Maine East High School and plans to attend Tulane University in New Orleans because of its emphasis on community service. She wants to earn a degree in biomedical engineering and later earn a doctoral degree. Her love for giving back to the community prompted her to join her club, Maine East Cares, where she learned to execute fundraisers and raise money for notable causes. She helped at a car wash where the entire proceeds went to aid victims of the Highland Park shooting and run a “walk-and roll” for families affected by the Grin2B disease.

“I look forward to giving back to the New Orleans community through my university’s days of service and curriculum-based projects just as I did with the Des Plaines community,” said Aarchi.

• Asher Carmichael will be attending Columbia College in Chicago and intends to pursue a double major within the areas of graphic design and film. Carmichael recently graduated from Maine West High School.

“I wish to create for the rest of my life and spread joy through my work — giving every facet of life just a little more color,” said Carmichael. “I would be fulfilled if people could see my work throughout the world as film and design transcends the boundaries of language and culture.”

Carmichael was an officer in his school’s chapter of the National Honor Society. In cooperation with his fellow officers, he helped plan a multitude of community service projects such as communitywide food drives, schoolwide voter registration drives, and events that establish a connection with many younger kids at elementary and middle schools all around Des Plaines.

“My involvement in community service has been essential in building character and preparing me for a future that is full of purpose, compassion and empathy,” said Carmichael.

• Cali Santos plans to attend Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, majoring in exercise science/kinesiology, with an emphasis in athletic training. She recently graduated from Maine West High School.

“Post college my hope is to be an athletic trainer,” Santos said. “I spent a lot of time in the trainer’s office in high school for both dance and cheerleading, so I was always fascinated by the treatment and rehabilitation process. I want to help other athletes/performers in the future as I understand the physical and emotional strength it takes to come back from an injury,”

Santos was asked to be part of the Science National Honor Society. She also is part of the Tri-M National Music Honor Society and the International Thespian Society and was a four-year varsity cheerleader and choir member. She also was a member of the a cappella singing group, the Choraliers.

This past summer she had the opportunity to volunteer at the physical therapy office at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge and will be volunteering again this summer.

Other volunteer opportunities she was involved in were working at the Des Plaines Self Help Closet and Food Pantry, cleaning up our local forest preserves with her church, volunteering to help fundraising for Lutheran General Hospital and coaching the Des Plaines Junior Warriors of Cheer Team.

• Timothy George will be attending University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He graduated from Elk Grove High School.

“Throughout high school, I have grown to love mathematics and the very concepts and topics within the subject,” said George. “Math is a tough topic — at first, it is hard for most people to understand, but with the right encouragement, many people can come to love mathematics.”

He hopes to inspire a new generation to have the same curiosity for mathematics that he has always had when he becomes a math teacher. George also became a lifeguard and swim instructor for the Mount Prospect Park District at the end of his sophomore year. He also volunteered for the MRI division at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital. These experiences have impacted his life and prepared him for his future as a math teacher.

• Lucas Deaton plans to attend the Apprenticeship Program at Harper College in Palatine for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC). Luke recently graduated from Elk Grove High School.

“My biggest goal is to attain a good career in HVAC so I can have the ability to make a living and still be able to afford my hobbies,” said Deaton. “I have chosen HVAC because it is a hands-on job and a vocation that is always needed both in a residential or a commercial setting.”

The foundation raises funds to identify, link and mobilize assets to support the service programs of the Des Plaines Healthy Community Partnership Programs whose activities improve the lives of those that live and work in Des Plaines.

Some of the programs include Neighbors Helping Neighbors Program committee; Healthy Community/Healthy Youth Program committee; Intergenerational Program committee, and Seasons of Service program committee.

The foundation has no paid employees and is 100-percent volunteer. Foundation is a 501(c) 3 organization and funds are obtained from individuals, businesses, and corporate tax-deductible contributions as well as from other foundations.

For information, visit desplainescommunityfoundation.org or call Rosemary Argus at (847) 525-5566.