Hopkins, Wolford Receive Carl Sandburg College Alumni Awards
Aaron Frey
Thursday, April 13, 2017 2:09 PM
Campus News
Galesburg, IL
Carl Sandburg College honored the 2017 recipients of its Distinguished Alumnus Award and Outstanding Young Alumnus Award at the Alumni Awards Reception on Wednesday evening at the College’s Main Campus in Galesburg. Dr. Karmen Hopkins ’00 received the Distinguished Alumnus Award, and Matt Wolford ’08 received the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award.
Now a chiropractor and college instructor, Hopkins graduated from Sandburg with an Associate in Applied Science in mortuary science. While attending Sandburg, she worked as a personal trainer and fitness instructor in the College’s Fitness Center, and she credited that experience with helping her decide to further her education in the health field.
She went on to attend Palmer College of Chiropractic, graduating in 2010 with her bachelor’s and doctorate, and she opened her own practice a month later in Davenport, Iowa. In addition to her practice, she provides chiropractic care for runners in the Special Olympics torch run, teaches fitness classes at her local YMCA and teaches part-time at Palmer, focusing on techniques taught in the college’s curriculum.
“Accepting this award has helped me pause from moving forward and reflect on where I’ve been and who I am. I’m a small-town girl from Alexis, Illinois, a first-generation college graduate, who with a little grit and plenty of support and guidance has helped me arrive where I’m at today,” Hopkins said. “The phrase ‘It takes a village’ holds very true to my college experience. Being a first-generation graduate, I began here with all of you. I believe that you provide the tools and support, between the faculty and staff, that future generations of college students will know what success is as well.”
Wolford, an Abingdon native, took a full schedule of dual credit courses at Sandburg as a junior and senior in high school, with classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Sandburg while attending Abingdon High School the rest of the week. It led to him earning his associate degree from the College two weeks before graduating as valedictorian from AHS.
“The opportunity to do be able to do (high school studies) at Abingdon at the same time as going to (Sandburg) was an incredible thing, and I’m so grateful that Sandburg has now started to do that jointly and has a process for that,” Wolford said. “It’s really a good value for students. I see a lot of students that graduate with $150,000 in debt, and I’m so grateful I did it differently.”
While at Sandburg, Wolford also worked part-time for Jet Air, Inc. in Galesburg and studied toward his pilot’s license, continuing a family tradition in aviation. He kept working for Jet Air while earning his bachelor’s in communications with a minor in management from Western Illinois University. Wolford graduated from WIU at 20 and immediately began working full-time with Jet Air at its Iowa City, location, where he’s now the general operations manager.
“I’ve learned your education doesn’t stop once you walk across the graduation stage. I feel like I’m learning something every day,” Wolford said. “I feel like that’s really important, and I’m excited that I get to do that every day alongside a great team of people in my job. It’s so important that students are able to get out of school and find a career they really enjoy, and I’m really thankful for that.”
CARL SANDBURG COLLEGE DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS AWARD RECIPIENTS
2017 — Dr. Karmen Hopkins
2016 — Robert Mason
2015 — Dr. Judy Glaser
2014 — Judge Thomas Keith
2013 — Jim Purlee
2012 — Susan Swartwout
2011 — Cynthia Kitchen
2010 — Cynthia Kiffer
2009 — Joshua D. Gibb
2008 — Brenda Stewart Clevidence
2007 — Bonni Smith-Skripps
2006 — Sandra Gavin
2005 — Tara Miller
2004 — Dave Burns
2003 — Dr. Lori Sundberg
2002 — Christine Baumgardner
2001 — Lannie Cation
2000 — Sharon Graham
1999 — Linda Foster
1998 — Victor Miller
1997 — Betty Thal
1996 — Rose Stockman
1995 — Larry Schwartz
1994— Daniel Baker
1993 — Ann Murdock
1992 — Jan Lundeen
1991 — No award given
1990 — Louis Gamage & Mary Louderman
1989 — Janice Champion
1988 — Donna Medina
1987 — Gerald Strom Jr.
1986 — John Delawder III
1985 — Russell Orwig
1984 — Daniel Bailey
1983 — Jerry Latherow
1982 — F. Dale Cozad
1981 — Maren Kay Carlson
1980 — Daniel Baker
1979 — William Campbell
CARL SANDBURG COLLEGE OUTSTANDING YOUNG ALUMNUS AWARD RECIPIENTS
2017 — Matthew Wolford
2016 — Elvith Santoyo-McNaught
2015 — Travis Nesby
2014 — Trevor Davies
2013 — Naomi Wai
2012 — Ashley Swick
Dr. Karmen Hopkins
Matt Wolford