Each year since 1964, the Lincoln Academy of Illinois honors select students from colleges and universities throughout the state, every one of them representing as student laureates for their respective schools. This year’s recognition ceremony, the sixtieth of its kind, is on Saturday, October 26th, at 2:00 p.m. at the University of Springfield’s Performing Arts Center. Lazlow Ziebel, a senior studying geography and environmental studies, will represent nearby Augustana College.
The Lincoln Academy’s Student Laureate program recognizes excellence in students’ achievements in the classroom and their extracurricular activities, and they don’t need to be Illinois residents to be recognized. All public and private degree-granting institutions in Illinois are allowed to nominate one student as their representative. Because Augustana’s been associated with the Academy since 1975, a nominee was in need of being named.
Ziebel was working as a GIS, or Geographic Information Systems, intern for the city of Crystal Lake, a Chicagoland suburb, this past summer. One day as he was working away at an internship-related project of his, he received a message from a member of Augustana’s faculty asking for a copy of his resume. About three weeks later, the Academy reached out to him by email to inform him that he would be one of the 2024 recipients of their Abraham Lincoln Civic Engagement Award.
Ziebel believes Augustana offers its students lots of opportunities, from chances to study abroad affordably to guidance regarding different programs and internships available on campus or ones existing in the general Quad Cities area. To him engaging oneself civically is always critical, and the College and the community as a whole present that option often to students.
“I think civic engagement is needed. I hope people see this and think, ‘What can I do for my community?’ instead of ‘What can my community do for me?’” he said. “I think that we can grow from that.”
Ziebel formerly worked at River Action, a non-profit in Davenport dedicated to accentuating the importance of the Mississippi River and its surrounding environment. He currently serves as a community advisor, or CA, on Augustana’s campus.
The Academy requests that each student submit a short personal statement prior to the date of the ceremony. In Ziebel’s, he highlights his progress over these past few years of his schooling toward becoming more of a “Lincoln-hearted” person, emphasizing he’s been encouraged by his nomination to further promote and pursue the benefits of a life of public service rooted in compassion for others.
"I've always been super involved with the community and that whole mindset of volunteering and making your community a better place. I don't necessarily do it because people are watching; I just do it because it makes me feel good," he said.
Ziebel’s currently looking into attending graduate school following his graduation from Augustana next May. Down the line, he’s thinking of earning himself a Ph.D. to educate the coming generation of leaders.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker will personally present certificates verifying the award to the student laureates a part of 2024’s class this weekend. Each one will also receive a Lincoln medallion, a challenge coin, and a $1,000 check issued by the Academy.
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