Rebecca Heinen earns two awards at the 2015 Honors Convocation

Rebecca Heinen ’15, daughter of Christine Heinen of Sparta, Ill., was honored with two awards during Honors Day in May at North Central College. They include the Outstanding Major in Mathematics and the Outstanding Student in the Division of Science awards.

Rebecca graduated in June from North Central College with majors in mathematics and economics. She is a graduate of Sparta High School.

At North Central, Rebecca was a member of the College Scholars Honors Program and conducted research for an honors thesis. Her name regularly appeared on the Dean’s List of scholars.

Rebecca also was awarded the prestigious national honor of a Goldwater Scholar Honorable Mention in 2014. The Goldwater Scholar program is highly competitive and represents the highest national award given to undergraduates who plan to pursue careers in science and math research. 

In 2013, Heinen took part in a six-week National Science Foundation math program at St. Mary’s College. The Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program is designed for students who want the experience of mathematics research and want to pursue graduate school. The summer seminar led to research and a presentation at two national conferences and the College’s Rall Symposium for Undergraduate Research. In 2014, she was accepted into a second, highly selective REU program at San Diego State University.

After graduation from North Central, Rebecca started the Ph.D. program in mathematics at the University of Missouri where she is teaching college algebra.