A Lincoln Laureate
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Academic excellence, service and leadership define Anthony Rhoads’ McKendree University career. Unafraid of a challenge, he has taken numerous advanced
courses and aced them all, and participated in two summer research programs to bolster
his studies. In 2012, he was selected for a highly competitive National Science Foundation
initiative, where he worked on a project modeling the early evolution of HIV. During
a 2013 internship, he studied biostatistics, which applies statistical analysis to
various topics in biology.
He plans to focus on biostatistics in graduate school and eventually in his career.
“I am interested in many branches of the field, including research in public health,
the design and analysis of clinical trials in medicine, and statistical genetics,
which can be used to identify genes that can cause predispositions to certain diseases,”
he says.
McKendree faculty members have high expectations for Anthony. “He is serious, focused,
diligent and clearly dedicated to his education,” says Dr. Alan Alewine, professor of mathematics. “We envision his contributions to the mathematical and
biological sciences to be significant.”
“My McKendree experience has been about finding my academic interests, having a blast in Dr. Alewine’s mathematics classes, finding acceptance, friendship, and support in Alpha Phi Omega, and getting to do a lot of community service.”
Over 250 volunteer hours since 2010, to be more precise. Anthony has tutored children
in math and science, visited nursing home residents, and participated in many service
events as part of the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) service fraternity. “APO has been my favorite part of McKendree,” says the
chapter president, “because of the leadership development and personal growth I can
see in every student who spends time in our organization.
“McKendree is excellent at getting students excited about being involved on campus.
My New Student Orientation leader was very passionate about community service, and
it was very inspiring to see that there could be so much more to college than just
classes and studying. I knew that I wanted to have that same kind of experience, and
student organizations provide a great opportunity for that fulfillment.”
About Anthony
• 2013 Lincoln Laureate, chosen by the Lincoln Academy of Illinois for excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities
• Senior from Litchfield, Illinois
• Mathematics and computational science major, biology minor
• 4.0 GPA
• Lab assistant
• President, Chi Omega chapter, Alpha Phi Omega national service fraternity
• McKendree Community Action Team
Learn more about McKendree University, the Mathematics program, or the Computational Science program.
