The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois is proud to announce that Sreyansh Mamidi has been named the 2022 Howard D. Colman Scholar. Sreyansh graduated from the Illinois Math and Science Academy in 2021, and recently finished his freshman year at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. He is seeking a degree in Electrical and Biomedical Engineering. Sreyansh is the 11th Colman Scholar, a distinction which includes eligibility to receive $32,500 in scholarship funding during a student’s undergraduate education.

Elizabeth Rothermel (Durand High School, 2021) was named the 2022 Colman Scholarship Honoree.

Ryan Anderson (Hononegah High School), Ryan Barrack (Pecatonica High School), Puranjay Gupta (Auburn High School), and Hannah Jacobson (Winnebago High School) were recognized as the 2022 Howard D. Colman Scholarship Recipients. The Scholarship Recipients are graduating high school seniors from Boone and Winnebago Counties who will major in engineering, computer science, applied science, or a comparable technological field. The Howard D. Colman Scholarship Recipients must have a GPA of at least 3.5/4.0 and must personify the innovative spirit of Howard D. Colman. One of the 2022 Howard D. Colman Scholarship Recipients will be named the 2023 Howard D. Colman Scholar. 

The Howard D. Colman Scholarship program is named after the local inventor, entrepreneur, and co-founder of the Barber-Colman Company. The scholarship was established by Colman’s daughter, Ruth Colman Tower. The scholarship awards were presented by Colman’s grandson, Jack Tower. Several other descendants of Howard Colman were also in attendance (pictured in attached photo, names listed below).

This year’s Colman Scholarship Reception was held on the grounds of the historic Barber-Colman campus, the company co-founded by Howard D. Colman. The site, currently owned by the City of Rockford, is in the planning phase of potential redevelopment by Milwaukee-based developer J. Jeffers & Co. The reception speakers, including Mayor Tom McNamara and Brian Loftin, SVP of Development at J. Jeffers & Co., reflected on the past, present, and future legacy of Howard Colman and manufacturing in Rockford. 

As a benefit and requirement of the scholarship program, the scholars, scholarship recipients, and honorees are matched with internships related to their area of study at local companies such as Leading Edge Hydraulics, University of Illinois – Chicago College of Medicine at Rockford, Raytheon Technologies, Crandall Stats & Sensors, Fehr Graham, Ingenium Aerospace, Regal Cutting & Tools, Woods Equipment, and the City of Rockford. 

PHOTO at TOP (L-R): Elizabeth Rothermel (Durand HS, 2021), Sreyansh Mamidi (Illinois Math and Science Academy, 2021), Puranjay Gupta (Auburn HS, 2022), Dan Ross, President, Community Foundation of Northern Illinois; Jack Tower, grandson of Howard D. Colman and member of the Howard D. Colman Scholarship selection committee; Ryan Barrack (Pecatonica HS, 2022), Hannah Jacobson (Winnebago HS, 2022), Ryan Anderson (Hononegah HS, 2022).

PHOTO at BOTTOM (L-R): Charles Colman (grandson of Howard Colman), Sandy Tower (wife of Jack Tower), Jack Tower (grandson of Howard Colman), Julie Colman-Brown (granddaughter of Howard Colman, Adam Brown (great-grandson of Howard Colman), Jenny Tower-Thompson (great-granddaughter of Howard Colman), Emmett Thompson (great-great-grandson of Howard Colman)