Judson senior Anali Cisneros of Elgin was named the 2019 Student Laureate of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois.

Every fall, a meritorious senior from each of the four-year, degree-granting colleges and universities in Illinois is awarded the Abraham Lincoln Civic Engagement Award and becomes a Student Laureate.

Cisneros is majoring in Biochemistry in the Honors Program, while balancing coursework, lab research and volunteering with her aspiration to be an Olympic race-walking athlete.

Academically, she is known as an enthusiastic learner with excellent laboratory technique who excels at analyzing and interpreting data. She presented her honors research project on the Molecular Phylogenetic and Genomic Evolution of Rbm45, a Neural Development Protein, in Metazoans at the Associated Colleges of the Chicago Area Student Symposium last April.

Cisneros’ athletic achievements are formidable. She has represented the USA Track and Field for the Pan American Race Walking Cup in April 2019 and placed 4th in the Women’s 20,000m Race Walk for the USA Track and Field Outdoors.

She is a four-year member of Judson’s Track and Field and Cross Country teams. Cisneros is a five-time NAIA National Champion in Women’s Race Walk winning three outdoor titles and two indoor titles. At the conference level, she has six CCAC championships (three outdoor, three indoor). She also received Judson’s Women’s Athlete of the Year award in 2018 and 2019, was a Women’s Cross Country NAIA Scholar Athlete of the Year, and has been on the Dean’s List every year.

Cisneros regularly gives back to her peers and the community. She has been a math and science tutor in the Student Success Center since 2017. She volunteers for the AMITA St. Joseph Hospital Emergency Department in Elgin to assist nurses in organizing supplies and helping patients be more comfortable as directed by health professionals.

She continues to help the Elgin YWCA with its Clothing Center to arrange donations and help with the annual prom dress event Cinderella’s Closet.

“Anali is friendly and lacks hubris. … She always displays a positive and respectful attitude working well in a diverse environment. She is well liked by her fellow students and professors. Anali demonstrates a strong work ethic and high moral and ethical standards,” said Dr. Jeffrey Henderson, William W. Brady Chair of Science at Judson.

Following graduation in May, Cisneros plans to take a gap year to pursue her dreams of being an Olympic athlete before going on to medical school.

SOURCE: Judson University news release

About Judson University

Judson University is a fully accredited, private Christian institution representing the Church at work in higher education. Nestled along the beautiful Fox River in Elgin, just 36 miles northwest of Chicago, Judson is home to more than 1,200 students from 36 states and more than 30 countries.

Judson offers degrees in more than 65 different majors and minors for traditional, graduate and adult students and ranks consistently among the Best Regional Universities in the Midwest by U.S. News & World Report.