05/15/2026
On Tuesday, May 12th, Crete Woman's Club, President Midge Koza and Second Vice-President, Joann Lindholm attended Crete-Monee High School's Scholarship Celebration.
They presented the following awards to very deserving graduating high school students.
EPSTEIN MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP 2026
Cadence Argue of Crete is the recipient of the 2026 Edward C. Epstein Memorial Scholarship. This $2500 award has been established to honor the father of Crete Woman’s Club Member Joann Lindholm. Cadence will major in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University.
She was very active while at Crete-Monee High School as a member of student government and Volleyball Team manager. She was also Band percussion leader, Math Team presenter, Volleyball and Robotics Teams’ captain, and Rho Kappa and National Honor Societies, acting as NHS President. Her honors include High Honor Roll, Scholar Athlete. Outstanding Band Performer and All-State Girls Volleyball. She received the American Recognition Award and will graduate Summa Cum Laude.
In giving back to the community, Cadence volunteered at clothing and toy drives, the Boosters Craft Fair, AKA’s Community Feed and Back to School Event.
In speaking to her choice of major, Cadence said, “After attending engineering camps I was captivated by it all. That is when I was sure this was the field for me.”
We wish her every success as she continues to strive for excellence and continues to reach her future goals.
TECHNICAL/TRADE SCHOLARSHIP 2026
JaCorey Hopkins of Crete and graduate of Crete-Monee High School has been awarded the $2000 Technical/Trade Scholarship by the Crete Woman’s Club. He will attend Langston University in Oklahoma with an Electronics major. He expressed his love for game design and computer engineering in his application statement. “It all started the summer after seventh grade when I took a coding class and created my first game…that experience got me hooked on how games are made and made me want to dig deeper into this field.”
JaCorey was on the Track Team in high school, and out of school, with 5 Alive Blazers Club. He also participated in Omega’s YES Program and Next Young Investor Financial Literacy Project. Last summer he was a youth leader with Happy Campers and hopes to participate again this summer. He was on the Principal’s Honor Roll.
The members of Crete Woman’s Club wish JaCorey every success at Langston and in the future.
CRETE WOMAN'S CLUB SCHOLARSHIPS 2026
Park Forest resident Rubi Perez will be attending the University of Illinois Chicago, majoring in Integrated Health Studies. In her application she noted her career goal was to be a nurse. “My goal is to help many people with any of their needs.”
While at Crete-Monee High School, she played soccer and was a member of Business Professionals of America. She volunteered at Crete Park District’s Clean Up, the Boosters Craft Show, 8th Grade Open House, Country Christmas, and food drives.
Rubi thanked Crete Woman’s Club for the opportunity to apply for this $2000 scholarship and has been inspired by the Club’s commitment to students. Best wishes for continued success in your chosen profession, Rubi.
Ja’Niya Scott of Park Forest was awarded a $2000 scholarship from the Crete Woman’s Club. She will be attending Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and will major in Accounting. “I always had a thing for numbers and counting money, leading me to consider a career in accounting. I enjoy paying attention to small details and analyzing information, seemingly making this a good fit for me.”
While at CMHS, she was an NJROTC member acting as a Public Affairs Officer and on the Exhibition Drill and Drone Teams. She helped photograph school events for yearbook and assisted with building the set for a school play. She was a member of National Honor Society and the Principal’s Honor Roll. Ja’Niya volunteered with her church’s monthly food drives.
The CWC wishes her every success as she furthers her education at SIUE in the fall.
D’asyah Siller of Monee received a $2000 Crete Woman’s Club Scholarship. It will assist her as she forwards her education at the University of Illinois Chicago where she will be a Criminology, Law, and Justice major. She noted, “I have an interest in being a lawyer that stems from my freshman year of high school where I took my first AP class, Government and Politics.”
While at Crete-Monee High School, D’asyah was on the Principal’s High Honor Roll and completed community service. She was also Marshall’s Sales Associate.
The CWC women send our best wishes to D’asyah in her future endeavors.
Crete-Monee High School graduate and Frankfort resident Chanel Tafolla received a $2000 CWC Scholarship. She will be attending the University of Illinois Chicago majoring in Biology.
She was active in student government and participated in the Women’s Empowerment Club .A two sport athlete, Chanel was an MVP and an All-Conference tennis and soccer player.
Among her honors are being chosen for the National Honor and National Social Studies Honor Societies. In giving back to the community, she volunteered at the Boosters Craft Show, Park District Clean Up, on a cancer walk, and to work concessions for athletic events.
In her scholarship essay, Chanel talked about her grandmother inspiring her to become a nurse. “Taking care of others has been a part of who I am for as long as I can remember.”
Crete Woman’s Club wishes Chanel every success as she pursues her dream of becoming a nurse.
Thank you to all of the wonderful women of Crete Woman's Club for providing this amazing opportunity for the students of our community.
The above scholarships are available to any graduating senior who resides within School District 201-U.
