OP_020818

14 | February 8, 2018 | The orland park prairie School
opprairie.com
The Orland Park Prairie’s
Standout Student
Sponsored by Marquette Bank
Ryan Pfeiffer, St.
Michael School
fourth-grader
Ryan Pfeiffer was chosen as
The Orland Park Prairie’s
Standout Student because of
his academic accomplishments.
What is one essential you
must have when studying?
I need to have my brother
in a different room, so I can
concentrate.
What do you like to do when
not in school or studying?
I like to play Xbox, watch
YouTube and have Nerf
wars with my friends.
What is your dream job?
My dream job would be
to have my own YouTube
channel and get paid for
playing video games.
What are some of your
most-played songs on your
iPod?
I don’t play songs, but
some of the most-played
videos are about “Minecraft.”
What is one thing people
don’t know about you?
I don’t sleep in my own
bedroom. I sleep in the top
bunk in my brother’s room.
Whom do you look up to and
why?
I look up to my mom, because
she is helpful and reliable.
She also helps to take
care of my pets.
Photo submitted
What is your favorite class
and why?
My favorite class is science,
because we do so
many fun labs. In one lab,
we put gummy bears in different
liquids to see how
they changed after a day.
What extracurricular(s) do
you wish your school had?
I wish St. Mike’s had a
video game club, so I could
play games with my friends
every week.
If you could change one thing
about school, what would
it be?
I would not make the kids
wear uniforms.
What’s your best memory
from school?
My best memory from
school was when my friend
and I carried a real chicken
for the live nativity at the
children’s farm, and it was
pecking my arm.
Standout Student is a weekly
feature for The Orland Park
Prairie. Nominations come from
Orland Park area schools.
School News
Providence Catholic High
School
Orland Parker recognized
with first honors
Dr. John Harper, principal
of Providence Catholic High
School, recently announced
the school’s first semester
honor roll.
The honor roll includes
two categories. first honors
recipients must obtain a 3.51
or higher grade point average,
whereas second honors
students receive a 3.00-3.50
GPA.
Among those who received
first honors was Teresa
Topolski, a freshman from
Orland Park.
Moraine Valley Community
College
Man involved in Orland Park
Prayer Center to be inducted
into Alumni Hall of Fame
Dr. Jehad Matariyeh, of
Homer Glen, is one of four
alumni being inducted into
the 2018 Alumni Hall of
Fame at Moraine Valley
Community College.
Matariyeh, the first in his
family to attend college,
has an Associate of Arts degree
from Moraine Valley, a
bachelor’s degree in political
studies from the University
of Illinois in Springfield, a
master’s degree in political
and justice studies from
Governors State University,
and a doctorate in educational
leadership and administration
from Concordia University
Chicago.
While at Moraine Valley,
he was a student trustee and
earned a leadership award
from the Illinois Community
College Board for his leadership
and dedication to the
Student Advisory Board.
Matariyeh is employed
at the Universal School in
Bridgeview, where he serves
as dean of students and
teaches American history
and American government.
He also takes students to
volunteer at homeless shelters,
arranges student-led
interfaith activities and has
volunteered for Sanad Social
Services, an organization
that provides food and clothing
for people in need in the
Chicago area.
Currently, Matariyeh
serves on the board of directors
for the Mosque Foundation
of Bridgeview and the
Southwest Interfaith Team.
He has served as the Community
Iftar Program chair
at the Orland Park Prayer
Center, has been a member
of the Community Economic
Development committee
in Homer Glen, and a member
and treasurer of the statewide
Arab-American Anti-
Discrimination Committee.
Matariyeh is to be inducted
Feb. 22 at the college.
For more information,
email mcgrealc2@moraine
valley.edu.
Dayton University
Three Orland Parkers earn
places on dean’s list
The following Orland
Park students made the University
of Dayton fall 2017
dean’s list for achieving a
minimum 3.5 grade point
average for the semester: Julie
Baffoe, Jenna Perdue and
Erin Rowe.
Miami University
Two from Orland Park
named to president’s list
Miami University students
who are ranked in the top 3
percent of undergraduate
students within each division
for fist semester 2017-
2018 have been named to
the president’s list recognizing
academic excellence.
Among them were Orland
Parkers Clara Gannon and
Michelle Dyrda.
Olivet Nazarene University
Three students from Orland
Park named to dean’s list
Olivet Nazarene University
recently congratulated all students
named to the dean’s list
during the fall 2017 semester.
Orland Park students who
achieved this honor are: Andrew
Aardema, Lauren Palmer
and Jeffrey Sneideraitis.
To qualify for inclusion
on the dean’s list, a student
must have been enrolled as a
full-time undergraduate student
and must have attained
a semester grade point average
of 3.50 or higher on a
4.00 grading scale.
St. Mary’s College
Student from Orland Park
recognized on dean’s list
Kelly Golden, of Orland
Park, was named to the fall
semester dean’s list at St.
Mary’s College.
University of Alabama
Orland Parkers named to
dean’s, president’s lists
A total of 12,594 students
enrolled during the 2017 fall
semester at the University of
Alabama were named to the
dean’s list with an academic
record of 3.5 or above, or the
president’s list with an academic
record of 4.0 (all As).
The UA dean’s and president’s
lists recognize fulltime
undergraduate students.
The lists do not apply to
graduate students or undergraduate
students who take
less than a full course load.
Dean’s list students from Orland
Park are Kevin Casey,
Curtis Fortin, Leah Warchol,
Madelyn Haugh, Daniel
Houlihan, William Kolpak
and Kyle Struck. President’s
list students from Orland
Park area Mia DeMarco,
Madeline Hirschfield and
Casey Krzeczkowski.
University of Iowa
Orland Park students earn
spots on dean’s list
Students named to the
University of Iowa fall 2017
dean’s list included the following
Orland Park resident:
Nicholas Adduce, Mary
Carol Barkowski, Mark Biangmano,
Ally Carey, Madison
Dawczak, Jack Duffner,
Alexa Egan, James Foley,
Grant Glover, Zosia Horak,
Connor Kaufmann, Erik
Krause, Michael Leyden,
MollyMaeve Lusk, Michael
Moore, Mara O’Connor, Cecilia
Ortega, Jake Payton,
Angela Schab, Tori Vennetti,
Liam Walsh, Austin Wojtczak
and Jillian Zuelke.
Washington University
Student from Orland Park
makes dean’s list
Mikaela Rae Arredondo,
of Orland Park, recently was
named to the dean’s list for
the fall 2017 in the College of
Arts & Sciences at Washington
University in St. Louis.
Western Illinois University
Two students from Orland
Park earn degrees
A total of 740 students
earned academic degrees
or post-baccalaureate certificates
after the fall 2017
semester at Western Illinois
University. Of these, 107
graduates’ primary attendance
site was the WIU-
Quad Cities campus.
Bachelor’s degrees were
awarded to 551 graduates.
Academic distinction
was awarded to baccalaureate
graduates who achieved
high grade point averages.
This includes: summa cum
laude, 3.90 GPA or higher
on a 4.0 scale; magna cum
laude, 3.75–3.89 GPA; and
cum laude, 3.6–3.74 GPA.
Master’s degrees were
earned by 169 graduates;
eight individuals earned
their doctorate degrees in educational
leadership. Twelve
individuals earned post-baccalaureate
certificates.
Among those who earned
degrees were Orland Park
residents Michael M. Zydlewski,
Bachelor of Arts,
communication; and Nicholas
Aaron Castro, Bachelor
of Arts, sociology.
Compiled by Editor Bill Jones,
bill@opprairie.com.