Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Abigail Fritzgerald of Decatur awarded a University of Illinois Springfield scholarship

Abigail Fritzgerald, a resident of Decatur and a counseling student at the University of Illinois Springfield, has been awarded the Malcom and Amy Levin Scholarship in Memory of Cynthia S. Levin for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Fritzgerald, who holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, worked for six years before returning to the classroom to pursue a master’s degree in human development counseling.

Fritzgerald said the classes at UIS challenged her to demonstrate more compassion to herself and others.

“In the multi-cultural counseling class I was challenged to face my own prejudices and privileges. I walked away from that experience wanting to show others the beauty of truly listening to people’s hardships,” she said.

Fritzgerald is on track to graduate in December 2018.

She plans to pursue becoming a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor specializing in trauma, grief, human trafficking and LGBTQ.

When she’s not attending classes or studying, Fritzgerald leads Set Free, an anti-human trafficking group in Decatur.

“We’ve done numerous presentations to inform the community about the issues of human trafficking and how to report it,” she said.

The Malcolm and Amy Levin Scholarship in Memory of Cynthia S. Levin was designed to honor the life of Cynthia Levin, who was the executive director of the Dana-Thomas House Foundation in Springfield. Levin passed away in 1996 at the age of 42.

The scholarship is awarded to graduate students pursuing a degree in liberal arts and sciences. Preference is given to non-traditional females over the age of 30 who have had their education interrupted. One requirement is that applicants be actively engaged in serving their community.

For more information on scholarships, contact the UIS Office of Financial Assistance at 217/206-6724 or finaid@uis.edu. For a full list of scholarship opportunities visit www.uis.edu/financialaid/scholarships/.

The deadline to apply for institutional scholarships is February 15, 2018. If you are interested in creating a scholarship, please contact the UIS Office of Advancement at 217/206-6058 or giftinfo@uis.edu.

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