By Megan Melone, Writer
Photography submitted by Brad Eston
According to The Lincoln Academy of Illinois, “Student Laureates are honored for their leadership and service in the pursuit of the betterment of humanity and for overall excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities.” Every year, seniors from every college in Illinois are nominated by their college and are recipients of this prestigious award recognizing their excellence. McKendree’s 2023-2024 recipient is senior Brad Eston. Brad is a music education major from Quincy, Illinois. I interviewed Brad about becoming a Student Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois:
Have you always wanted to do music education?
ESTON: I did not, actually. That was a conversation we had at this event. So, I originally wanted to be a lawyer, and then something changed my senior year, and I never wanted to be a lawyer again. Now here I am almost finished.
What instrument do you play?
ESTON: I started on trumpet when I was a kid, and then I switched to euphonium, and that is what I have been on ever since.
What were you awarded for?
ESTON: So, the Lincoln Laureate award is awarded to a senior, only one senior from every university. It awards that student for being involved in and out of the classroom. Their academics are representative of the school, as well as an all-around advocate and represents for us the Mckendree Bearcat way. Other schools, they have their different standards and things like that, but ideally it is someone who can represent that school. Oh, and also a student that is high in civic engagement, that is one of the top things.
Does every college in the state have a nominee?
ESTON: Every four-year university picks one senior.
When did you get the award? Bring me through the whole process.
ESTON: So, last year kind of towards the end of the year or around the beginning of spring semester, I got asked to submit my CV resume, which is a resume with everything that you have ever done, as well as like, write about what does Lincoln mean to me.
Wait, Lincoln as in….
ESTON: Like, Abraham Lincoln, yeah. So I had to submit all of these things and keep my grade up … So then, we’re sitting in choir and Dr. Moder-Bell and Dr. Bell are at the door, and Dr. Bell looks in, and he is never here at like noon on Wednesday. So I was like wondering, what are you doing here? Anyways, they come in, and Tami Eggleston makes this dramatic thing about how this is a student who represents this, and she just explains what it is. She said this student has been involved in concert band, wind ensemble, etc. And she keeps going, and she says his name is Bradley Eston, and then it was a whole dramatic thing. From then on, I got emails from the state, and I had to submit a paragraph that basically tells more about my story and what it means to be a Lincoln Laureate in our eyes. So, we got a booklet in which every senior wrote a paragraph. Then we go there, and we actually tour the Supreme Court Building.
So, you actually tour the Illinois Supreme Court?
ESTON: Yes, in Springfield. We toured the second floor and the third floor, which no one gets to tour because it is the living quarters of the judges. We went up there, and the top three majors that were there were psychology, business, and pre-law.
So, you were a minority.
ESTON: Exactly. There was one other music education person there. We drove over, originally it was supposed to be the Illinois Capitol building, but they’re renovating it right now. So, you win some, you lose some. We went to the Abraham Lincoln Hotel, and we had the whole procession and ceremony there. My favorite part was the food, and then all went our separate ways.
Who gave you the award?
ESTON: The head of the Lincoln Academy, and two other outstanding laureates were there, and they actually placed the medal on us. Usually, Governor Pritzker is there, but this year I think because the ceremony is typically in the spring, his availability is more open, but he made a video, and we all watched it.
What did you do at Mckendree for you to be recommended for the award?
ESTON: So, at one point I was involved in all the music ensembles, as well as theater. There was no arts thing or visual art that I was not a part of. Outside of the music department, I was a student ambassador, I was the president for our National Association for Music Education for two years, as well as the vice president prior to that. I am an RA, so I consistently do a lot.
Eston with two other Lincoln Laureates.
This will sound cheesy, but what does being a Bearcat mean to you?
ESTON: I knew this question was gonna come up. For me, it’s being an advocate for change. Like be who you are, but when a change needs to happen, we as the Bearcats need to step up and make that change. The first is being aware, but yeah, I think being a Bearcat means being an advocate for change and a genuine, true, kind person.
What do you want to do after school?
ESTON: I will give you the synopsis. I want to teach high school for a couple years, and then following that, go back and get my master’s, hopefully at some dream school that I have in mind. Then go back immediately after that and get my doctoral degree, and both of those would be in wind conducting. The angle, which would be about 15 years, is to teach at a university.
Anything else you want to add about the experience?
ESTON: No, it was just really amazing. It was enlightening as well.
ReferenceStudent Laureates. (n.d.). The Lincoln Academy of Illinois. Retrieved November 16, 2023, from https://thelincolnacademyofillinois.org/students/
