December 1, 2005

Student named Lincoln Laureate

William Yan An Cheung, a senior majoring in mathematics, has received the Student Laureate Award for 2005 from the Lincoln Academy of Illinois.

The award recognizes outstanding seniors from each of the four-year degree-granting i nstitutions of higher learning in Illinois for excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities.

Cheung was one of 48 students honored in a ceremony in the Old State Capitol State Historic Site in Springfield. Each winner received a Student Laureate Medallion, a $150 honorarium and a certificate of achievement. The event marked the 31st year that students have been honored by the academy.

During Cheung’s freshman year, he was a laboratory aide for the molecular biology laboratory, where he purchased and stocked laboratory supplies, sterilized laboratory equipment and glassware through auto-clave processes, and maintained efficient laboratory conditions for maximum security.

During the two years he was the student rental coordinator at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Cheung oversaw 60 rentals per month, prepared rental contracts and estimates to venue-renters, and was in charge of all invoicing and expenses for each rental.

He is an active member of Kaibigan, a Northwestern Filipino Student Association. Although not Filipino himself, he dances for and choreographs Filipino traditional dances for the group. He also is a member and site leader for the Alternative Student Break, a group that is dedicated to education through community service and experiential learning by placing teams of Northwestern students in volunteer sites across the country, and the Northwestern Community Development Corps, a student-run organization that seeks to engage students in community development at Northwestern, in Evanston, and throughout Chicago.

As a community assistant at Northwestern, Cheung has developed programs and activities for more than 170 students; helped to create a safe, supportive and enriching environment for personal growth of residents; and mentored new students through their collegiate experience. During summer 2004, he participated in the Global Health Program where he studied public health and Chinese traditional medicine at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.