Psychology Major Named McKendree University's 2022 Student Laureate
McKendree University senior Breanna Sampo, a psychology major from Cedar Point, Ill., received the state’s highest student honor – the 2022-2023
Abraham Lincoln Civic Engagement Award – as a Student Laureate of the Lincoln Academy
of Illinois. It is the state’s highest student honor for leadership, service and excellence
in curricular and extra-curricular activities, awarded to a noteworthy senior from
each college and university.
Breanna has amassed an impressive record of scholarships, has been the coauthor on
four peer reviewed journal articles and three professional conference presentations
and also presented her work at multiple undergraduate research conferences. She also
recently earned a position as a Fulbright Canada Mitacs Globalink intern at Wilfrid
Laurier University; during this time, she spent the summer designing and evaluating
health literacy courses for educators in developing countries and is the first author
on the paper being submitted for publication based on this project.
“Breanna is a model citizen at McKendree. Her myriad involvements prove that she not
only possesses varied interests but also the drive to pursue them,” said Dr. Alan
Alewine, associate provost at McKendree University. “Her research experiences are
exceptional for an undergraduate and would rival those of students graduating from
doctoral programs.”
During her time at McKendree, Breanna has been a tutor, an intern, a peer mentor and
an academic mentor at the Student Success and Advising Center. The president of McKendree’s
Psychology Club and Psi Chi, the international psychology honor society, Breanna has
also served as the Student Government Association’s secretary and as a student representative
on the Academic Excellence Celebration, in which she took the lead in promoting the
day’s activities on campus and through social media. Off campus, Breanna has volunteered
at Cedar Ridge Nursing Home in Lebanon, Ill., Trinity Social Services and the LaSalle
Veterans Home and Spring Valley food pantry in her hometown.
In addition, Breanna is the captain of McKendree’s Color Guard, a member of Phi Eta
Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies and a student academic mentor. Following graduation,
Breanna plans to earn a doctorate in positive education research and become a professor
at a university in which she can teach and mentor students. Another long-term career
goal she has is to become a dean of students in order to advance school leadership
in the direction of creating supportive inclusivity on campus.