Congratulations to Elgin Community College President Dr. David Sam and Streamwood Senior Abigail Estrada for being honored during Judson’s Annual Prayer Breakfast on Monday, May 10. The event hosted 180 attendees at Herrick Chapel and the Reed Room in Lindner Tower.
Dr. David Sam received the D. Ray Wilson Volunteers Service Award in recognition for his work and service in the community. Dr. Sam has volunteered on boards for the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Elgin, Greater Elgin Area YMCA and AMITA Presence St. Joseph Hospital. He is a founding member of the Alignment Collaborative for Education. He also serves on the Rotary Club of Elgin and a number of workforce and education advisory committees at the local, regional, state and federal level. He has received more than 20 awards and honors for his leadership within the higher education and community college arena as well as received many recognitions for his service. Under his leadership, ECC has been recognized for its many achievements and innovations. Dr. Sam is an enthusiastic donor to many charities. He seeks numerous ways to support low-income students and residents and financially supports two endowed scholarships with the Elgin Community College Foundation.
When accepting the award, Dr. Sam expressed his appreciation to the many community groups that accepted him when he joined ECC in 2007 as president. He also thanked many members of the ECC board, faculty and staff for their support.
Judson’s Bea Wilson Youth Volunteer Service Award honors school-aged youth in the Fox Valley who give back to their community. This year’s recipient is Abigail Estrada, a senior in the World Language International Studies Academy at Streamwood High School. She is president of the Girl Up Chicago Coalition in which she works with other Girl Up Clubs in the area to spark change. This year, Abigail organized a Girl Up Summit for the Chicago region. She is also the co-chair of women’s rights for the United Nations Association Coalition of Chicago, participates in Running Start High School Program to teach young girls about government, and is part of the Let’s Move Elgin Youth Board. Abigail also is a youth census committee member and has worked on the Martin Luther King Planning and the City of Elgin’s Human Relations Committee.
In her acceptance of the award, Estrada acknowledged her mother’s encouragement to be a leader and serve others in all ways. She noted that organizations should listen to the voices of youth as they are the future leaders of our communities.
Keynote speaker Jeff Miller, the owner of Divine Signs, gave a compelling message of hope as he shared his story of surviving United Flight 232 in 1989. Read about the full event here: https://bit.ly/3hkn0ci
