MOOSEHEART, IL - One final time this year, Mooseheart's middle school and high school students gathered Wednesday, May 21 in the Fieldhouse - this time to honor their school's best and brightest in the 2007-08 Honors and Awards Program.

Mere hours remain in the school year, and for 21 seniors, those hours will bring a close to their lives at the Child City, a place that is both home and school to 240 children.

But on Wednesday (May 21) they paused to honor those who achieved as well as those who tried at the Honors and Awards Program.

"This is one of the last big community events where we'll get together with the seniors and have some recognition with awards," Mooseheart Superintendent of Education Gary Urwiler said. "From here on out, it's kind of sporadic. We won't have things happening as a community. Next come the emotions with their last couple of days, culminating when the hallway clears out at 9 o'clock on Saturday morning at graduation and it's just the grads out there for the last time together."

Among the numerous honors came a formal recognition of the school's Valedictorian and Salutatorian. Jake Stegeman is the Valedictorian of the Class of 2008 while his good friend Chris Morones is the class Salutatorian.

"This gives me opportunities to do things that I want to do in the future," Stegeman said. Stegeman has mulled a number of possible post-collegiate careers, but his thoughts are centering mostly on business involving kinesiology, or athletic training.

"I just persevered with my academics," Stegeman said. "I didn't overstress myself, but I was persistent and endured when others perhaps slacked off at times."

Stegeman and Morones are both headed to Purdue University Calumet in Hammond, IN. Morones has designs some form of medical career.

"It'll be a good transition, being there with someone you know when you first get to campus," Stegeman said. "He's a really good friend. Being able to relate to someone will be nice."

Stegeman and Morones will both attend Purdue University Calumet, at Hammond, IN, on full-ride scholarships provided by the university.

"What an opportunity for those two," Urwiler said. "I'm thankful they're going to take advantage of it. Hopefully that experience will be a good one for them. Their diploma will say 'Purdue University and that's a pretty prestigious thing."

Awards were given in all academic and vocational disciplines. Those awards were split into two categories, one for those who "achieved" in the 2007-08 school year, and those who showed outstanding "effort" through the nearly-completed semesters.

"I think that's probably an area we do well in," Urwiler said. "We recognize students in just about every area of achievement. In my opinion, every little thing helps. When you look at the 'effort' side of things that we give out, hopefully that's enough to be a catalyst for a student. Maybe that's enough, where a student says 'hey, they recognized me and maybe next year I can turn that into an 'achievement' award."

In a list of various recognitions, Urwiler had senior students who had received substantial scholarship money stand for applause. Among the group were Kenny Arceri (Eastern Illinois University), Kris Barnard (Illinois College) and Gabrielle Datil (Elmhurst College), in addition to Stegeman and Morones.

"The big thing I wanted to stress was some of the scholarships our students received today," Urwiler said. "Some of our students got some nice financial packages. I hope that our students heard properly that this had nothing to do with our students being at Mooseheart. These were scholarships that the kids earned." . .