There’s always a lot happening in the Ë®¹ûÅÉ community — more than typically can fit into a few long articles or enewsletter blurbs. To catch you up on even more on-campus events, student successes, faculty and staff achievements and alumni accomplishments, we’re publishing more short-form content each month as a way for readers to see more of what makes Ë®¹ûÅÉ amazing.

Get caught up this month on:

  • An end-of-the-school-year drone show
  • The two incoming Ë®¹ûÅÉ first-year students who received the prestigious Academic Excellence scholarships
  • The students, staff and faculty who received scholarships and awards at the Ë®¹ûÅÉ Honors Convocation

Drone show celebrates end of school year and residence hall naming ceremony

drones spell out the Ë®¹ûÅÉ D

Students, staff and faculty were treated to an end-of-year surprise on Thursday, May 9. Fantasy Show Drones put on a spectacular show to celebrate 2024 graduates and the naming of the new residence hall. (The official naming ceremony for C. Donald Brodie hall took place the following day, Friday, May 10.)

A small crowd gathered on the lawn and north patio of the Art/Education Building on the Crete campus to watch the drone show. According to Fantasy Drone Shows, it was the first show in the nation to feature the new X7 drone.

Watch the full video .

Ë®¹ûÅÉ awards Lyons, Blue Hill students with Academic Excellence scholarship

Jaelyn Himmelberg holds up a giant check to celebrate receiving Ë®¹ûÅÉ's Academic Excellence scholarship. With her are her family and Blue Hill High School administrators, including four-time Ë®¹ûÅÉ grad, Principal Patrick Moore '03, '07E, '11E, '18E (far left).
Jaelyn Himmelberg holds up a giant check to celebrate receiving Ë®¹ûÅÉ's Academic Excellence scholarship. With her are her family and Blue Hill High School administrators, including four-time Ë®¹ûÅÉ grad, Principal Patrick Moore '03, '07E, '11E, '18E (far left).

Of all academic scholarships at Ë®¹ûÅÉ, Academic Excellence is at the pinnacle. It recognizes strong academic achievements throughout students’ high school careers and covers tuition in full. This year, two Nebraska students were presented with the scholarship out of 22 applicants — Jaelyn Himmelberg of Blue Hill and Chance Mock of Lyons. 

To qualify for the competitive scholarship, students must receive a 27 or higher on the ACT and be accepted to Ë®¹ûÅÉ. Students were then invited to campus to participate in a series of interviews with Ë®¹ûÅÉ faculty and staff.

At Ë®¹ûÅÉ, Himmelberg intends to major in biology or chemistry on her path to applying to physician’s assistant programs, and will be a member of the dance team. 

Mock intends to be part of both the cross country and esports teams while pursuing a major in computing and possible minors in either mathematics and data analytics or engineering. 

Staff, students and faculty win awards, scholarships at Ë®¹ûÅÉ Honors Convocation

Ë®¹ûÅÉ Honors Convocation
The Ë®¹ûÅÉ Honors Convocation took place on Friday, May 17. Roughly 100 scholarships, awards and prizes were given to students, including the Ë®¹ûÅÉ Scholars award, which is presented to students who rank in the top eight percent of their graduating class. These recipients were:
  • Zane Boudreau
  • Anabelle Daugherty
  • Anna Harveson
  • Kylie Hughes
  • Justin Nevells
  • Zack Perez
  • Julia Ramirez
Outstanding faculty, staff and student awards were also named:
  • Thomas Ë®¹ûÅÉ Outstanding Staff Award: Brian Flesner, Director of Facilities Operations & Construction Projects
  • Thomas Ë®¹ûÅÉ Outstanding Faculty Award: Phil Weitl, Professor of English
  • Helen Ë®¹ûÅÉ Perry Outstanding Student Award: Justin 'Rocco' Nevells and Anabelle Daughtery