Senior Master Sergeant Carlos Vargas has been selected by the university as the recipient for the Student Lincoln Laureate Award for 2005.  He is the director of customer service, patient advocate and protocol office at Andrews Air Force Base.

Vargas was selected to represent the entire university, including campuses in Chicago, Northern Virginia/Washington DC, Tampa and Milwaukee based on his exemplary academic ability, contributions to his classmates and the University, and his professional contributions.

Vargas was honored on November 6, 2004, in the Hall of Representatives of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, where he received the Student Laureate Medallion and a certificate of achievement.  Immediately after the ceremony, he joined 49 Student Lincoln Laureates from the other Illinois institutions at the executive mansion for lunch with the governor.  Also attending the ceremony, was the College of Management Dean, Richard Magner, and the Northern Virginia/Washington DC Campus Executive Director, Sue Shumate.