Five St. Bede students named Illinois State Scholars

St. Bede Academy Illinois State Scholars are Isabella Hagenbuch (from left), Zachary Popurella, Logan Potthoff, Ali Bosnich and Ella Englehaupt.

PERU - The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) recognized high school seniors as 2024-25 Illinois State Scholars, including five students from St. Bede Academy. Illinois State Scholars represent the top 10 percent of high school seniors, from more than 21,000 high school students across the state.

Students receiving this honor possess strong academic potential and are chosen based on a combination of exemplary ACT or SAT test scores and sixth semester class rank.  ISAC, the state agency committed to helping make college accessible and affordable for Illinois families, first introduced the Illinois State Scholar recognition program in 1958.

"The students selected for the Illinois State Scholar program have earned this recognition due to their hard work and their dedication to their studies,” said St. Bede Principal Nick McLaughlin. “We take great pride in our students and their ability to meet the standards and the requirements set forth by the Illinois State Scholar program and the commission each year."

The honored students named include:  

Ali Bosnich (previously attended Trinity Catholic), daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Mark Bosnich of LaSalle.

Ella Englehaupt (Ladd Grade School), daughter of Ms. Heather McCutcheon and Mr. Phillip Englehaupt, both of Ladd.

Isabella Hagenbuch (Holy Cross), daughter of Mr. & Mrs. John Hagenbuch of Utica.

Zachary Popurella (Putnam County Junior High), son of Atty. & Mrs. Bradley Popurella of McNabb.

Logan Potthoff (Dalzell Grade School), son of Mr. & Mrs. Jack Potthoff of Spring Valley.

St. Bede Academy announces SAR and DAR award recipients

Seniors Logan Potthoff and Isabella Hagenbuch have been chosen as the 2023-24 SAR and DAR Good Citizenship award recipients.

The faculty and students of St. Bede Academy have selected seniors Isabella Hagenbuch and Logan Potthoff as the 2023-24 winners of the DAR (Daughters of American Revolution) and the SAR (Sons of American Revolution) Good Citizenship awards.

Hagenbuch is the daughter of John and Kati Hagenbuch of Utica and a graduate of Holy Cross Catholic School in Mendota. She was selected for the DAR award based on her ability to show courtesy to others, loyalty, truthfulness and self-control; with the ability to assume responsibility. The DAR award is sponsored by the Princeton-Illinois Chapter NSDAR and presented annually to an outstanding senior based on dependability, service, leadership and patriotism.

Hagenbuch has been involved in volleyball and golf throughout high school at the academy and is an outstanding member of competitive curling where she recently competed in the World Mixed Curling Championships in Scotland. She is a recipient of the HOBY (Hugh O’Brian Youth) Leadership Award and the Citizenship Award her sophomore year. She earned second place in the WYSE Regional Competition for English and Chemistry in 2023, is a recipient of the National Rural and Small Town Recognition Programs and is an Illinois State Scholar. Hagenbuch is a St. Bede Ambassador, Eucharistic Minister, a member of the Stage Rats, tea club and podcast club. She has spent the last four years volunteering at the Waltham Curling Club, LaSalle County Historical Society and HOBY Youth Leadership Program. Hagenbuch plans to attend a four-year university to major in Exercise Physiology, with a minor in Spanish. She plans on earning a doctoral degree in occupational therapy. Hagenbuch also hopes to represent her country as a curler on the world stage at the Olympic level.

Potthoff is the son of Jack and Lucy Potthoff of Spring Valley and a graduate of Dalzell Grade School. He was selected for the SAR award based on his ability to display a cooperative spirit, politeness, sincerity, respect for others and academic excellence. The SAR award is sponsored by the Captain Zeally Moss Chapter for Bureau County and is presented annually to an exceptional senior based on dependability, leadership, service to their school and community, evidence of personal values and patriotism.

Potthoff has been involved all four years in golf and basketball, receiving the Most Improved Player in basketball junior year. Logan played football freshman year and has received many awards including: the Geometry Award, Academic Excellence Award, the Citizenship Award, the HOBY Leadership Award, AP Chemistry Certificate of Excellence, Illinois State Scholar and National Rural and Small Town Recognition Program Award. Potthoff is also a St. Bede Ambassador, a student government representative where he serves as president and a member of Lectio and bass fishing. He has spent his time volunteering for the Hall Township Food Pantry, St. Thomas Moore Church and Ladd Moose. Potthoff plans to attend Illinois University, majoring in electrical engineering.

St. Bede Academy announces HOBY Award recipients

The 2023-24 HOBY Award recipients are sophomores Lily Bosnich (from left), Mae Hagenbuch, Emma Slingsby and Noah Buck

PERU – Sophomores Lily Bosnich, Emma Slingsby, Mae Hagenbuch and Noah Buck have been selected by the academy faculty and staff as recipients of the 2023-24 HOBY (Hugh O'Brian Youth Association) Award. Bosnich and Slingsby will attend the state leadership seminar next summer with other HOBY Award winners from around the state. 

The HOBY seminar is a national program, exclusively for high school sophomores. The mission of HOBY is to seek out, recognize and develop leadership potential commencing with high school sophomores. The expected outcomes of the seminar are for students attending to learn to think critically; to enhance their leadership skills; to learn more about democracy, free enterprise, volunteerism and to accept the risks of leadership.

Throughout a three-day seminar, Bosnich and Slingsby will interact with key leaders in media, politics and business in Illinois. They will have the chance to ask these individuals questions and hear their plans for the future. They will also have the chance to speak with various representatives from different colleges. 

Bosnich is the daughter of Mark and Cinnamon Bosnich of LaSalle. She attended Trinity Catholic Academy and is on the volleyball, basketball, softball and track teams at St. Bede. She is also involved in student government and Lectio. Bosnich was a member of the 2023 IHSA Class 1A Softball State Championship Team, where she earned Table Setter, Home Run, Mudita and Utility Player of the Year awards. She also qualified and medaled in three events at the IHSA Class 1A Track & Field State Meet. Bosnich has also been on the honor roll every semester. 

Slingsby is the daughter of John and Christine Slingsby of Ladd. She attended Ladd Grade School and is involved in volleyball, cheer, softball and tea club at St. Bede. She was a member of the 2023 IHSA Class 1A Softball State Championship Team, where she received 2nd Team All-Conference, Table Setter, Mudita and Homerun Club awards. Slingsby has been on the honor roll every semester.

Hagenbuch is the daughter of John and Kati Hagenbuch of Utica. She was at the top of her class freshman year and has been involved in volleyball, basketball and golf at St. Bede. Hagenbuch is a member of the tea club and podcast club. She is a World Champion level curler and just returned from Aberdeen Scotland where she represented our country at the World Mixed Curling Championship. Hagenbuch hopes to continue to compete as a curler for the U.S. Olympics.     

Buck is the son of Andy and Janelle Buck of Peru.  He is captain of the E-sports teams, podcast club and is a member of the scholastic bowl team at St. Bede. Buck has also been involved in theater, golf and bowling. 

The faculty at St. Bede Academy nominated Bosnich and Slingsby for this honor according to the following criteria: outstanding oral and written communication skills, critical and/or creative thinking, creative problem solving, strong decision-making skills, sensitivity to the needs of others, charismatic personality, courage to speak out for one's beliefs, courage to challenge authority and community service. 

The Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership program began in 1958 inspired by conversations with Dr. Albert Schweitzer. The program has grown with sophomores attending one of the approximately 90 seminars held throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico every year. 

St. Bede Academy announces first quarter honor roll

PERU ‑ Nick McLaughlin, principal of St. Bede Academy, has announced St. Bede’s honor roll for the first quarter period of the 2023-2024 school year. 

Seniors: Alex Ankiewicz, Yigit Arslan, Joseph Bima, Johnna Bogatitus, Bella Boggio, Ali Bosnich, Macklin Brady, Maximus Bray, Ella Burris, Summer Conlin, Madelyne Dalton, Rubi De La Torre, Erin Dove, Tessa Dugosh, Ella Englehaupt, Evan Englehaupt, Evan Entrican, Aleah Espel, Daliayah Farris, Seth Ferrari, Milana Gayan, Molly Gonzales, Georgina Guo, Isabella Hagenbuch, Gavin Hahn, Makenzie Hanson, Katelyn Harth, Macy Hartt, Mariella Hermes, Teagan Hewitt, Kylie Hill, Nathan Husser,  Jeanna Ladzinski, Henry Mertel, Ariella Mudge, Ava Mueller, Kyra Newman, Khue Nguyen, Olivia Orteza,  Isabella Pinter, Zachary Popurella, Logan Potthoff, Drew Roda, Anna Rudenko, Hunter Savage, Kaelyn Schwemlein, Sierah Shaver, Casey Shearer, Aubrey Siebert, Ryan Slingsby, Madison Stanbary, Reagan Stoudt, Marly Tillman, Amie Tomaszewski, Vy Tran and Katherine Zeller.

Juniors: Teer Ao, Haiden Ator, Jazmin Barreras-Vazquez, Veronica Bartlett, Andrea Brandner,  Qiyu Chen, Ziheng Chen,  Garrett Connelly, Trayger Davis, Alondra Delao, Lorelei Denny,  Madalyn Dittmar, Bailey Engels, Avery Entrican, Yibo Fan, Phillip Gray, Mirella Haskell, Halden Hueneburg, Elizabeth Huffaker, Kathleen Hunter, Tyler Jordan, Yuno Kawai, Maci Kelly, Sadie Koehler, Jaxon Kozak, Lin Le, Violet Lopez, Haohongze Ma, Haiqing Mao, Greyson Marincic, Gavin Marquez, Jack Maschmann, Quinn McClain, Victoria Mendez, Jake Migliorini, Grace Millington, Adeline Mitchell, Mason Moreno, Aidan Mullane, Kaden Nauman, Ryan Nawa, Kaden Newman, Huy Nguyen, Alivia Payne, Logan Pineda, Mason Ross, Emma Smudzinski, Zixuan Song, Alan Spencer, Paige Tomaseski, Mina Trandinh, Arthur van den Berg, Samantha Wagner, Tyler Walsh, Abraham Wiesbrock, Kefei Wu, Solomon Zhang and Jinhao Zhao.

Sophomores: Margaret Arkins, Ava Balestri, Genavyve Barnes, Landon Boggio, Lily Bosnich, Noah Buck, August Burr, Drew Carboni,  Anna Cyrocki, Emerald De La Torre, Haoxuan Du, Madeline Fabish, Gino Ferrari, Harrison Fess, Ashton Gonzales, Mae Hagenbuch, Brody Hahn, Weston Heersink, Aiden Hermes, Micah Huetteman, Zachary Husser, Shuyu Jiang, Isaac Kang, Wanyu Liu, Lili McClain, Ruby Michels, Ella Mudge, Sophia Ni, Jillian Pinter, Trajan Raffety, Xiangyi Ren, Carson Riva, Chipper Rossi, Sara Ruiz, Alyssa Savitch, Emma Slingsby, Lillian Soliman, Ryan Soliman, Shujie Song, Devin Steil, Miranda Torres, Khoa Tran, Julian Villava,  Peiwen Wu, Xindi Wu, Hongsheng Yang, Yannis Yong, Kian Zeller, Sora Zepeda, Ruihan Zhang and Yijing Zhang.

Freshmen: Faith Ankiewicz, Yesenia Avila, Caleb Barto, Chloe Brandt, Sean Brayton, Brody Burris, Calen Cass, Geno Dinges, Kate Duncan, Kyra Finley, Grace Gahan, Eden Galvan, Daniel Garcia, Cecilia Giacalone, Gavin Gillan, Ashlan Heersink, Brennen Hirst, Emma Huffaker, Lila Koehler, Ella Lamboley, Landon Marquez, Lucy Maus, Emma Mavity, Stuart McGunnigal, Matilda Mitchell, Stephanie Ni, Niko Pappas-Anniballi, Chase Riva, Olivia Ross, Ranbir Saini, Alaina Schulz, Michael Schulz, Nancy Shi, Mackenzie Stanbary, Macy Strauch, Bryce Stuepfert, Lex Tillman, Alec Tomsha, Judith Torres, Carter Vasquez, Ariana Villava, Kerstin Williams and Lillian Wray.

St. Bede Academy students qualify for Advanced Placement Scholar Award

PERU – The College Board Advanced Placement Program has recognized six St. Bede Academy students as being AP scholars.

The Ap program provides motivated and academically-prepared students with the opportunity to take rigorous college-level courses while still in high school, and to earn college credit, advanced placement or both for successful performance on the AP Exams. About 18 percent of the 1.8 million students worldwide who took AP Exams performed at a sufficiently high level to also earn an AP Scholar Award.

St. Bede students who earned this recognition include Kylie Cofoid, Gianna Grivetti and Madelyn Torrance, who graduated from the academy in May 2023; and Ella Englehaupt, Bella Hagenbuch, who are seniors this year and Greyson Marincic, a junior.

The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on students’ performance on AP Exams:

·        Students qualify for the National AP Scholars Award by earning an average score of 4 or higher on a five-point scale on all AP Exams taken and scores of four or higher on eight or more of these exams.

·        To qualify for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award by earning an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken and scores of three or higher on five or more of these exams.

·        To earn the AP Scholar with Honor Award, students must score an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of three or higher on four or more of these exams. 

·        By completing three or more AP Exams with grades of three or higher, students qualify for the AP Scholar Award.

Through more than 30 different college-level courses and exams, AP provides motivated and academically prepared students with the opportunity to earn college credit or advanced placement and stand out in the college admissions process. Each exam is developed by a committee of college and university faculty and AP teachers, ensuring that AP exams are aligned with the same high standards expected by college faculty at some of the nation’s leading liberal arts and research institutions. More than 3,600 colleges and universities annually receive AP grades. Over 90 percent of four-year colleges in the United States provide credit and/or placement for qualifying exam grades. Research consistently shows that AP students who score a 3 or higher on AP Exams (based on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest) typically experience greater academic success in college and higher graduation rates than students who do not participate in AP.