Aden Marucco of Taylorville, Illinois, has been admitted to the University of Illinois Springfield for the fall semester of 2025 and awarded a $16,000 Star Scholar Award for tuition over four years. At UIS, he will major in political science.

The scholarship is awarded based on high school GPA and can be renewed if the student maintains college GPA requirements.

In high school, he was involved in FFA and worked as the school’s greenhouse manager.  

“UIS has a special advantage being in the Illinois state capitol,” Marucco said. “With this comes the Illinois Legislative Staff Intern Program, which I hope to get into. This will give me hands-on experience in the political field.”

After graduation, Marucco plans to pursue a career in politics that will help advance causes supporting his community and the environment.

All undergraduate first-year students are automatically eligible for Star Scholar First Year Scholarships. To receive $16,000 over four years, the student must have an unweighted GPA of 3.25-3.49.

For more information on scholarships, contact the UIS Office of Financial Assistance at 217-206-6724 or finaid@uis.edu. A full list of scholarship opportunities is available on the financial assistance website.

Students may apply online for admission to UIS. Contact the UIS Office of Admission at admissions@uis.edu or 217-206-4847 with questions.