On Oct. 26, Senior Lazlow Ziebel was honored at this year’s 50th annual Lincoln Academy of Illinois Student Laureate ceremony at the University of Illinois in Springfield. The academy has been recognizing seniors from four-year universities since 1974.
Lazlow was one of 49 student laureates. According to the Lincoln Academy of Illinois’ website, over 40 Augustana seniors have received the award since 1975.
Special Assistant to the President, Kai Swanson, said seniors are nominated through their achievements both academically and within the surrounding community. The program’s website states its mission is to honor students who have bettered the state of Illinois.
“It’s important to find ways to recognize our exemplars, people we can take inspiration from,” Swanson said.
Since 2005, Swanson said students are first chosen based on their GPA. After that, he said students’ names are shared to the President’s Cabinet, along with the Director of Student Activities, Campus Ministries and Athletics.
Ziebel is a double major in Environmental Studies and Geography with a minor in Geographic Information Systems.
“I had no idea what [the award] was before that,” Ziebel said. “Essentially, it’s all out of your control, you’re just kind of selected. It’s really an honor to receive it.”
According to the Lincoln Academy of Illinois’ website, students selected do not have to be from Illinois, but they must reside within the state. Student laureates received the Abraham Lincoln Civic Engagement Award and the Lincoln Medallion for their contributions to the state of Illinois.
“I think anything that calls out attention to Abraham Lincoln is a good thing,” Swanson said. “It’s been selfless leaders that have guided us through challenges.”
On campus, Ziebel works as a community advisor (CA) and is a part of the Sierra Club.
Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Sarah Lashley said she was “not surprised” to learn of Ziebel’s achievement. Lashley said she has known Ziebel since his first year at Augustana when he worked with her on a research project.
“Throughout all of his activities, he is constantly thinking about how to best serve others,” Lashley said. “He has served as [a] community advisor for three years, interned with local environmental organizations and conducted research with faculty.”
Ziebel said he has worked as an intern at multiple environmental organizations, such as River Action in Davenport, Iowa during his sophomore year and served as a GIS intern for the city of Crystal Lake, Illinois last summer. He said he credits his professors and faculty advisors for helping him secure these positions.
“I’ve kind of fallen in love with working to benefit others, like just community work,” Ziebel said. “I feel [that it’s] vocationally what I want to do and just how I want to hold myself.”
After graduation, Ziebel said he plans to work towards a master’s degree in either GIS or urban planning. He said he could also see himself going back to school to become a professor after obtaining his master’s.
“The biggest benefit for me now is that I can help [to] try to inspire and push the message of this life of helping others and just showing compassion,” Ziebel said. “I’ve always been kind of doing this, not for the benefit of others looking at me, but for the benefit of the overall community.”
