Nouriath Lawani of Rushville awarded a University of Illinois Springfield scholarship

Nouriath Lawani, a resident of Rushville and accounting major at the University of Illinois Springfield, has been awarded the Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Lawani’s family immigrated to the United States from Ajegunle in Benin, West Africa when she was beginning high school.

The family settled in Rushville. “It was very hard to adjust to the new environment and connect with my peers due to the language barrier,” said Lawani, who spoke mainly French. “But over the course of time, and with a lot of hard work, I learned to adjust and get back on track to achieving my goals,” she said.

Lawani comes to UIS from Lincoln Land Community College, with an associate’s degree in accounting.

She plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in accountancy at UIS and hopes to someday work as an auditor.

Her plans also include pursuing a master’s degree and Certified Public Accountant certification. “With a degree in accounting I can easily find a job and earn a decent wage to support my family and do what I love the most,” she said.

To qualify for the Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship, full-time students must be members of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA to be eligible for the scholarship renewal.

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.