Each year, Housing Services honors a select number of outstanding students who have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to leadership and academic excellence. This semester, Annie Dew was selected as a recipient of the RACA Academic Scholarship and the Anna Keaton Memorial Award.
Described by her supervisor as “enthusiastic, driven, hard-working and organized,” Annie Dew is a distinguished RA in Watterson Towers.
“One of the most significant things to me, in receiving [RACA Academic Scholarship], was realizing the effect I had on my community,” explained Dew. “This scholarship helped to show me the impact that I have had on my residents.”
Whether it’s planning floor events or greeting her floormates each time she sees them, Dew makes a serious effort to cultivate meaningful relationships with the students she oversees.
“One of the things I have tried to focus on during my time as an RA is showing up for the person who needs it,” said Dew. “I am not able to fix every problem that arises on my floor, but I can show up and offer what I do have.”
Funds from these scholarships will help open doors to different academic opportunities within her field of study as an art education/studio art major. “This money is directly affecting my education and I am overjoyed by the gift that it is,” said Dew. “This [RACA Academic Scholarship] is giving me the opportunity to try another art format. … The opportunity to learn about many kinds of artmaking is shaping me into the artist and teacher I will become.”
Dew noted that she couldn’t have gotten to where she is today without the help of her family. “I would say my mom and dad are my biggest role models. … They encouraged me to work hard in school and at my jobs. I was taught to take my education seriously and they taught me how to finish what I started, even if I didn’t want to.”
The RACA Academic Scholarship and Anna Keaton Memorial Award is made possible by the generosity of our community. Head to Giving.IllinoisState.edu for information on how you can contribute to student success and give back to our housing family.
