The Lincoln Academy of Illinois honored outstanding senior college students from across the state during its annual Student Laureate Convocation in November at the Old State Capitol in Springfield. The 2009 Northeastern Illinois Student Laureate is Sunil Mahadeshwar, College of Business and Management.

"I'm deeply honored to have been selected as NEIU's Lincoln Laureate Scholar by the NEIU Dean of Students Council," said Mahadeshwar. "I'm very grateful for this award of recognition. My curricular and extracurricular success is due to the support and inspiration from the NEIU community. NEIU's staff, faculty and my fellow students are the ones that bring out the best in me."

The Lincoln Academy's Student Laureate Awards are presented for excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities to seniors from each of the four-year, degree-granting colleges and universities in Illinois. At the Student Laureate Convocation, each award recipient received a Student Laureate Medallion along with an honorarium check and certificate of achievement.

"These students have exhibited a personal commitment to excel as seen by their remarkable academic accomplishments," said John B. Simon, chancellor of the Lincoln Academy. "They serve as role models to other Illinois students. With hard-working and dedicated young leaders such as these, Illinois and the rest of the nation can look forward to a bright future."