Lehmann ’21 Honored As Lincoln Academy Student Laureate

Oct. 23, 2020

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The Lincoln Academy of Illinois has recognized senior nursing major Meghan Lehmann ’21 of Peoria, Illinois, as Illinois Wesleyan University’s 2020 Student Laureate.

"This award is truly an honor," Lehmann said. "To have all of my hard work over the past four years at Wesleyan recognized in this way means so much. This year has been especially difficult for student leaders, and I have seen so many of them step up to the plate. It is an honor to be able to call these leaders my friends and peers. I am forever grateful for the numerous opportunities and the incredible support that I have had here at Wesleyan."

Lehmann, along with other top students representing Illinois’ colleges and universities, will be honored via a pre-recorded Zoom production by The Lincoln Academy of Illinois. The ceremony to recognize the Student Laureates of The Lincoln Academy is historically held every fall at the Old State Capitol State Historic Site in Springfield, but is going virtual this year due to COVID-19 restrictions on large in-person gatherings. 

The 46th annual Lincoln Academy Student Laureate virtual ceremony will recognize excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities by seniors from each of the state’s four-year, degree-granting colleges and universities, and one student from the community colleges in Illinois.

A certified nursing assistant since 2016, Lehmann has already worked in nursing homes around Peoria, putting the skills she learned in the classroom into practice. Although she currently works locally as a Patient Care Technician at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington, her experiences abroad in Japan from 2006-2010 and in Barcelona through the IWU Spain Program have inspired her to pursue international nursing opportunities in the future.

At Illinois Wesleyan, Lehmann has served as a laboratory assistant in the nursing interventions laboratory and as a tutor for anatomy and physiology courses. She has been inducted into the nursing honors society Sigma Theta Tau, and has been recognized by the School of Nursing for her leadership. Lehmann’s leadership expands beyond the  School of Nursing as well, from being a Titan Orientation Leader to serving as president of the Epsilon chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. 

By Rachel McCarthy ’21