Every year Northern Illinois University recognizes exceptional leaders within the community. The Kevin D. Knight Leadership Awards are awards that recognize these leaders and honors Kevin D. Knight, an exceptional leader himself. Kevin D. Knight was a student that embodied what it meant to be a student leader by dedicating himself to the betterment of campus life and served in various leadership positions, even receiving numerous awards and recognition for his work.
In addition to the Kevin D. Knight Leadership Awards that we previously recognized; we also select one of these award recipients that truly embody the characteristics that Kevin D. Knight exemplified as a student leader. The award is rightfully called the Kevin D. Knight Leadership Award. This student leader would not only be a student leader on campus but also dedicated time to the NIU, DeKalb and other communities. With this in mind, we identified a student leader that truly exemplified the characteristics of the Kevin D. Knight Leadership Award. This year’s Kevin D. Knight Leadership Award recipient is Edgar Lopez.
Edgar Lopez
Management, Marketing and Political Science minors
Senior Leadership Award
Edgar is involved in many different organizations including Dream Action NIU, Tau Kappa Epsilon, and NIU Huskie Service Scholars among others. Within his involvement in these organization Edgar also has taken up multiple leadership positions such as treasurer and vice president, some of which he has been in a leadership role for multiple years. Additionally, Edgar mentors thirty-five first-year students where he guides first year and transfer students through their first semesters at NIU. As mentioned before the recipient of the award should not only show that they are a student leader but one within the community. Edgar has dedicated over one hundred hours of service in a variety of different ways. One such way is through the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) where he served as an advocate for the Hispanic Community in Rochelle, IL and volunteered hours by raising funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through his fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon.
When reviewing Edgar’s application, it was evident that others could see his impact in the NIU Community. One recommendation stated “Edgar inspired through his example of a dedicated and involved student. He also inspires potential future Huskies and lifelong Huskies (alumni) through his role as a Northern Ambassador and through number of open house presentations and speeches”. Another recommendation stated Edgar “developed charitable projects for the [Business Administration Student Association] (BASA) and led their project to support children in need” and that “he was a role model for the other student in the organization”.
Edgar will be graduating this Spring 2020 semester with a degree in Management with a Marketing and Political Science minor. Congratulations to Edgar on his accomplishments and being selected for the Kevin D. Knight Leadership Award!
