Creal Springs Teen Makes College History

As the youngest person to obtain a degree from John A. Logan College, 17-year-old Payton Lindsay is also one of the brightest.

The history-making teen took home four major awards Monday during the College’s 40^th annual honors night, an evening highlighted too by three former Maytag employees who were recognized for earning a perfect grade point average. They included Richard Sikora of West Frankfort, Ruth Bigham of Du Quoin, and Karen Caraker of Herrin.

“In terms of the scope of who was honored tonight, from a very young man just starting out to a number of former Maytag employees who are starting over, this may have been the most amazing honors night in the history of the College,” said Dr. Robert Mees, president of John A. Logan College.

Lindsay, a Creal Springs resident, took advantage of the College’s dual credit program while also being home schooled under the direction of his mother, Robyn, a former public school teacher. Lindsay quickly wowed Logan instructors by excelling in mathematics, chemistry, and physical science. He also earned a perfect grade point average.

“I owe these awards to my mother, she’s a very good teacher, and the really good professors here at John A. Logan,” Lindsay said. “I also want to mention my faith in God.”

Kathirave Giritharan, an associate professor of mathematics at Logan, called Lindsay his brightest student ever.

“Payton was by far the best Calculus II student that I have ever had, he validated that by getting a perfect score on the final exam,” Giritharan said.

Because of his outstanding achievements at Logan, Lindsay has also been called upon to be one of two student speakers during the College’s graduation ceremony May 16^th. Lindsay is moving on to Southern Illinois University Carbondale, choosing to stay close to home, despite being contacted by a number of universities throughout the nation.

Lindsay said he hopes to become a civil engineer with an emphasis on structural engineering, and obtain a PhD in mathematics and teach at a college level.

Those receiving awards last night included:

Kaci Gill of Carbondale, Outstanding Health & Public Service Student
Nancy Gray of Benton, Outstanding Bookkeeping/Clerical Student
Nicholas Reuscher of Carterville and Melody Rowe of Carterville, Outstanding Business Administration and Accounting Students
Jeff Lee of Carbondale, Outstanding Marketing Student
Dianna Ferguson of Marion, Outstanding Office Technology Student
Mary Burks of Herrin, Outstanding Computer Application Specialist Student
Terry Pierce of Herrin and Mark Puffer of DeSoto, Outstanding Computer Information Systems Students
Jerald Branch of Herrin and Charles D. Charlet of Herrin, Outstanding Computer Support and Networking Students
Roger Burroughs of Carbondale, Outstanding Journalism Student
Antoine Bradley, Ian Cochran, and Ricky Jaroski, Outstanding Writing Students
Evan Boswell of Marion and Jessica Herring of Murphysboro, Excellence in Music
Judy Summers of Marion, Outstanding Humanities Student
Caitlyn Ruph of DeSoto, Excellence in Biology
Payton Lindsay of Creal Springs, Outstanding Mathematics Student
Payton Lindsay of Creal Springs, Freshman Chemistry Award
Payton Lindsay of Creal Springs, Outstanding Physical Science Student
Brennan Falker of Herrin, Outstanding Social Science Student
Joy Stewart of Herrin, Outstanding Dental Assisting Student
Olivia Aaron of Ewing, Outstanding Dental Hygiene Student
Karen Williams of DuQuoin, Mary Logan Scholarship
Brenda Dearing of Cutler, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society
Erika Hookham of Murphysboro, Student Leadership Award
Nick Quigley of Murphysboro, Editor's Service Award
Brenda Dearing of Cutler, 2008 All-USA Today Academic Team
Alex Croessman of DuQuoin, Board of Trustees Merit Scholarship
Erika Hookham, President's Distinguished Service Award

CITATION AWARDS for perfect grade point average: James Abbott, Matthew Acray, Shannon Anderson, Ruth Bigham, Jason Billingsley, Heather Bogosian, Karen Caraker, Ryan Curry, Ashley Dean, Brennan Falker, Wesley Johns, Payton Lindsay, David McKinnies, Sherri Moake, Michael Montgomery, Robert Musgrave, Angela Rich, Amanda Schmid, Richard Sikora, Jennifer Troue, Stephanie Wagner, Stephen Weaver, and Britni Woodworth.