Knox College Student extends her gratitude to Hawkinson Nissan after receiving scholarship

Jan. 2, 2012 - PRLog -- Mary Murray the Knox College student who received the  Robert R. & Marion Lindsten Hawkinson Scholarship this year extends her gratitude to the Hawkinson Family in her below letter.  

Knox College is located in Galesburg, Illinois and has been named as a top 50 "Best Value Private College for 2010", according to the Princeton review and USA TODAY

visit http://www.hawkinsonnissan.com for details

Mary K. Murray
Galesburg, IL 61401



Dear Mr. Hawkinson and Mrs. Gainer,

My name is Mary Kate Murray, and I am a first-year at Knox College.  I extend to you my sincerest gratitude for giving me the opportunity to study at such a great school through your offer of the Robert R. and Mary Lindsten Hawkinson Scholarship.  I have lived in Oak Lawn all my life and graduated from Queen of Peace High School in 2011.  Having attended private school my whole life, providing a good education for my brother and I has become hard on my parents' finances.  Going to Knox is a great blessing to me, and I would not be able to do so without the consideration of financial aid donors like you.

After graduating high school with high honors, I entered college with the academic standing of a sophomore, which means I have the possibility of graduating in three years instead of four.  This puts a bit of pressure on me to choose a major by the end of the academic year, but I am fairly confident that I want to double major in English and secondary education with a minor in history.  With the current job market, I am not sure I want to go into teaching or dive straight into the world of writing and publishing, but figure the safest path is getting a degree that will allow me to do both.  So far, my classes have been both very fun and challenging, and I cannot wait to start taking more classes winter term!

Outside of classes, I have made lots of friends, many of them international, and enjoy spending time with them and learning about their experiences in different countries as often as I can.  As for extra-curricular activities, I am involved in Odyssey, Circle K, and Women's Chorale.  Odyssey is a group that partners with Lombard Middle School in which college students serve as mentors for sixth, seventh, and eighth graders.   Basically, a small group of Knox students goes to the middle school once a week after school for after school activities, games, and tutoring.  The middle school kids are really spirited and hope to continue being a part of Odyssey for the rest of the year.  Circle K is an organization that partners with Kiwanis to provide community service both to Knox and the people of Galesburg.  I have volunteered with this group several times babysitting, trick or treating for canned goods, washing dishes at a local church, and running in-school events.  I am also in Woman's Chorale, an all-women's choir which recently performed at the students' general recital, and will be holding its own concerts winter and spring term.  Choir is a lot of fun (the director is hilarious), and even though I am not the best singer, I'm glad I am able to express my love of music with a couple of people who are just as passionate about it as I am.  In spring term, I hope to apply for Union Board, which organizes and runs all the fun student events on campus like different shows and presentations, trips off campus, and Knox's famous Flunk Day.  Fingers crossed that I get in!

Once again, I cannot thank you enough for your kind scholarship donation.  It really means a lot that you are willing to give of yourself in order to allow someone like me a full college experience.  I promise to make the most of it.  Both my family and I greatly appreciate your generosity, and wish you a wonderful and warm holiday.

Sincerely,
Mary K. Murray

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Hawkinson Nissan in the Matteson Auto Mall is happy to be your Nissan near Chicago Nissan car dealer of choice.
We are located about 20 miles southeast of Chicago. Located right off of I57 and Route 30.
Robert R. Hawkinson opened a Ford dealership in Oak Lawn in 1961.
The current owners of Hawkinson Nissan and Hawkinson Kia, Bob and Jim, trained at their father’s operation and today, carry on in the same tradition of excellence and values that began with the first Hawkinson dealership over 50 years ago.
The Hawkinson name has become synonymous with sales integrity and outstanding customer service.
Both Robert Hawkinson and Bob Hawkinson attended Knox College in Galesgurg, Illinois.
Each year Bob and Jim Hawkinson are proud to be able to extend the Robert R. and Mary Lindsten Hawkinson Scholarship to a lucky Senior in High School.