The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes Waubonsee graduates who demonstrate exceptional achievement and meaningful, ongoing contributions to their professions, communities, and alma mater. The individual must have completed an associate degree or certificate program at Waubonsee Community College and may not be a current employee of the college.

Nominations for the 2027 award will open this winter.

Meet Our 2026 Recipient: Hugo Saltijeral ’18

"Waubonsee unlocked the life I was meant to have."

At 35, Hugo Saltijeral had never imagined that higher education was within reach until a Waubonsee career counselor convinced him that he belonged in a classroom. At Waubonsee, he experienced for the first time what it meant to succeed academically, earning his Associate Degree in Sociology with a 4.0 GPA and going on to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration from Arizona University.

Hugo now serves as Executive Director of Valley Sheltered Workshop in Batavia, where he has expanded community‑integrated job opportunities, strengthened employer partnerships, and advanced statewide disability employment reform through his service on the Illinois Governor’s Taskforce for Employment and Economic Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.

Read the Full Press Release

Past Recipients

Year Recipient
2026 Hugo Saltijeral ’18
2024 Cynthia Gamboa ’05
Shannon Kennedy ’85
2023 Dr. Scott Mertes ’92
2022 Tim Buckley ’83
2021 Dr. Indigo D. Triplett ’88
2020 Mary Ellen Thielemann ’98
2019 Chief Kristen Ziman ’93
2018 Ashley Lewis ’09
2017 Steven R. Henrikson ’77
2016 Puamuh T. Ghogomu II ’98
2015 Dwight Baird ’88
2014 Pam Reilly ’92
2013 Tom Muth ’78
2012 Linda Chapa LaVia ’88
2011 Dr. John Avendano ’92
2010 Gregory S. Thomas ’80
2009 Rev. F. William Etheredge ’76
2008 Robin H. Renner ’78
2007 Judge Timothy J. McCann ’80
2006 Gail Johnson ’92
2005 Dr. Jose Magaña ’88
2004 Marilyn Michelini ’71
Penny Deligiannis ’85
2003 Richard Samuelson ’79
2002 Lourdes “Lulu” Blacksmith ’97
2001 John Mertes ’86
2000 David Stover ’74
1998 Nina “Nikki” Kramer ’78
1997 Davis Offutt ’74
1996 Eduardo Gil ’85
1995 Richard Randall ’73
1994 Alma Harrell ’78
1993 Michael Turner ’82
1992 Joanne Collins ’71
1991 James E. Pilmer ’81
1990 Marissa Quiles ’84
1989 Deborah Conlee ’83
1987 Dale Von Ohlen ’76
1986 Dr. Janet Sprague-Williams ’68
1985 Jeffrey Schielke ’69
1984 David Randall ’73

Contact

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Development Office
Sugar Grove Campus
Akerlow Hall, Suite 230
(630) 466-2316
foundation@waubonsee.edu