The Lake County Chapter of the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers awards the Melvin E. Luke Scholarship to a senior high school student, graduating from a Lake County or McHenry County High School, who will be entering an engineering program at an ABET-EAC accredited college or university.  This award is named for Melvin E. Luke, President of the Lake County Chapter in 1967, who was an active member at both chapter and state levels.  He served on the State Board of Directors, being particularly active in the areas of professional development, registration and scholarship.  At the time of his death in 1981, he was Assistant  Lake County Superintendent of Highways and Chairman of the State of Illinois Professional Engineering Examining Board.  The award was presented for the first time in April of 1982.

An announcement letter and scholarship application forms are sent to the Director of Student Guidance, at each senior high school in Lake County and McHenry County, at the beginning of each year.  Applications are due April 1st. Our chapter executive board determines the amount of the scholarship award each year, reviews the applications received and determines the recipient.  The award is given to the college or university in the name of the attending student to be applied to their freshman year fees.  The announcement letter and scholarship application can be downloaded by clicking the appropriate link under Downloads on the left side of this page.  Awards are based on scholarship, on/off campus activities including work experience, an essay expressing the applicant’s interest in engineering, and a recommendation from a teacher.

If a high school student participated in MathCounts in middle school, they are eligible to apply for the MathCounts Alumni Scholarship by March 1st, at http://mathcounts.org/mathcounts-alumni-scholarship.

All engineering students attending an ABET-EAC accredited college or university are eligible to join ISPE and NSPE at no cost.  Use the web site of the National Society of Professional Engineers in Washington, D.C. at www.nspe.org/ and click on “Join Now”.  Also visit the web site of the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers in Springfield, Illinois at www.illinoisengineer.com/. Both of the web sites provide information on their available scholarships, employment opportunities and information on the different types of engineering careers in demand today.  Remember to keep your contact information with ISPE and NSPE up to date, especially your e-mail address, so you will continue to receive the latest information from them.  The web site of the Lake County Chapter of ISPE is www.lc-ispe.org/.

If you would like to make a donation to the Melvin E. Luke Scholarship Fund please click on the Request for Donation link under Downloads for additional information.

2024 Melvin E. Luke Scholarship $500 Award Winners:

The Lake County Chapter of the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers awarded three $500 Melvin E. Luke Scholarships. This years recipient's are:

- Sarah Lanza, who graduated from Prairie Ridge High School will be attending Vanderbilt University majoring in Biomedical Engineering

- Liam Cooper, who graduated from Deerfield High School will attending the University of Texas at Austin and majoring on Mechanical Engineering.

- Andrew Logan, who graduated from Highland Park High School will attending the Marquette University and majoring on Mechanical Engineering.

Congratulations Sarah, Liam & Andrew!