Joshua Eastby honored with Student Laureate Award from the Lincoln Academy of Illinois

University of Illinois Springfield senior Joshua Eastby was honored with the Student Laureate Award from the Lincoln Academy of Illinois during a ceremony on November 2, 2013 at the Old State Capitol in Springfield.

Eastby, an Edwardsville, Ill. native, is majoring in political science at UIS. He holds a 3.96 GPA and plans to attend law school following graduation. Ultimately, he hopes to pursue a career in federal law enforcement and work for the FBI.

On campus, he serves as treasurer of the Student Government Association, vice-chair of the Student Organization Funding Association, plays violin and the viola in the UIS Chamber Ensemble, and is a member of the intercollegiate UIS Squash Team. He’s a member of numerous committees, including the Student Union Planning Committee, Tenure Review Committee, and the Campus Planning & Budget Committee.

“My involvement in these numerous activities, committees, and organizations have served to enhance my educational experience here at UIS, because it has given me several important opportunities to explore my own interests and contribute to the UIS community at the same time,” he said.

Previously he’s served as a peer mentor and a peer tutor in the Capital Scholars Honors Program, volunteered as part of the Leadership for Life (L4L) Community Service wing, and been active in Model United Nations on campus.

Eastby has also gained valuable work experience, which has helped him pay for his education at UIS. Eastby has worked in the UIS Office of Financial Assistance as a financial aid assistant, a page in the Illinois House of Representatives, and interned with the FBI’s Springfield Division.

“My employment, separate from my academic and extracurricular activities, has reinforced my desire to become involved in government because it has enabled me to witness the ways in which government can solve problems that would be otherwise intractable,” he said.

Eastby has previously been honored with the Capital Scholars Honors Program Chancellor’s Scholarship, Capital Scholars Honors Program Academic Excellence Award, and was selected as a James J. and M. Joan Stukel Scholar. Eastby is also a member of the Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society and has been named to the Dean’s List every semester he’s attended UIS.

Each year an outstanding senior from each of the four-year degree-granting institutions of higher learning in Illinois is awarded the Student Lincoln Academy Medallion and thereby becomes a Student Laureate of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois. Student Laureates are honored for their overall excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities.