DeKALB | A number of students were honored for their scholarly achievements Monday night.

At the first ever Graduate Student recognition ceremony in the Holmes Student Center’s Regency Room, the Division of Research and Graduate Studies recognized the academic achievements of 69 students.

“University-wide celebration of graduate student achievement is long overdue,” said Bradley Bond, Associate Dean of the Graduate School. “The scholarly work that graduate students accomplish and their extraordinary contribution to learning at NIU is too great to ignore. We’re elated to have the opportunity to shine the spotlight on some of our extraordinary students.”

Students were nominated by each graduate-granting department. Among those receiving awards were Linda Leitch-Alford, whose dissertation received the highest honor bestowed by the American Counseling Association; Trenton Davis, who has accepted a teaching position at Georgia Southwestern University; and Michael Hawkins, who was recognized for earning a highly-competitve Fullbright Scholarship, which will facilitate his research in the Philippines.