Dear Butler Family,
Thank you for the generous scholarship you have provided me for the upcoming school year. My name is Andrew Cunningham, and I am from Decatur. I come from a large family who always championed community involvement and helping others, which, in a way, led me to UIS.
For high school, I attended the Lutheran School Association, but I was previously homeschooled. As a child and teenager, I learned much of what I know about public service and personal integrity from youth development organizations like student government and 4-H. I was ultimately led to UIS because of its commitment to public affairs and economic accessibility.
I am a political science major and communications minor and have a love for all things related to government affairs. On campus, I have served as vice president of Student Government Association for two years and joined other organizations like Student Advocacy Coalition and Campus Senate. Off campus, I currently intern for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and I have previously worked on several political campaigns. These opportunities were all offered to me because of UIS and its commitment to community involvement. In the future, I hope to work in political advocacy and government relations to champion the needs of others. I also plan to continue my education through graduate school at UIS to further develop my public policy skills.
The Homer L. and Paul C. Butler Memorial Scholarship is a generous gift that I am very grateful for. This scholarship will allow me to continue my education at UIS with a lesser burden of student loans, but it will also allow me to embrace my future career goals. I am thankful that I was awarded this scholarship and I hope to make my donor proud, through greater commitment to leadership and helping others through public service and involvement. Also, this scholarship’s generous monetary award will allow me to spend more time on my education and campus community involvement.
Because of its rich history and meeting, I am truly honored to have received this scholarship. I am forever grateful to those who made it possible.
With thanks,