The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois (CFNIL) is pleased to announce this year’s Fehr Graham Scholarship Recipients, five students representing five high schools in communities within 50 miles of a Fehr Graham office. Each student intends to pursue a career in engineering and/or environmental fields, representing the areas of Fehr Grahams’ expertise.

Fehr Graham established the Fehr Graham Scholarship at CFNIL in 2023, in honor of the firm’s 50th anniversary and in thanks for the support of the communities they serve. Awarded annually via CFNIL’s Fall scholarship application cycle, the fund supports students pursuing careers in engineering, landscape architecture, land surveying, geology, hydrogeology, assessment and remediation, and environmental health and safety, and who live near one of Fehr Graham’s 13 offices in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois.
Scholarship applications are reviewed and scored by community volunteers. A “blind” review process assures scholarships are awarded objectively to students who best fit the scholarship criteria. Learn more about the Fehr Graham Scholarship and CFNIL’s full scholarship program at cfnil.org/scholarships.

Meet the 2025 Fehr Graham Scholarship recipients:

• Gianna DeGennaro, Belvidere High School Class of 2025 (Belvidere, Illinois), will attend Arizona State University to study Environmental Engineering.
• Tej Kosaraju, Adlai E. Stevenson High School Class of 2025 (Lincolnshire, Illinois), plans to attend Stanford University and major in Earth Systems Sciences, focusing on computational climate/hydrogeological modeling.
• Scarlette Patricio, Wheeling High School Class of 2025 (Wheeling, Illinois), plans to attend the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to study Civil Engineering in the Grainger College of Engineering.
• Stella Ristic, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy Class of 2025 (Aurora, Illinois), plans to attend the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and study environmental engineering.
• Caleb Stocks, West Delaware High School Class of 2025 (Manchester, Iowa), plans to attend Iowa State University and major in Civil Engineering.

The full slate of 2025 CFNIL Scholarship Recipients will be announced May 1, 2025. CFNIL will host Scholarship Award Night 2025 on Tuesday, June 17, 6:30pm at Tebala Events Center (7910 Newberg Road, Rockford) to celebrate this year's scholars with recipients, their families, scholarship donors, and CFNIL volunteers. You are warmly invited to join in this festive occasion! Learn more and RSVP at cfnil.org/scholarshipnight