On July 13 – 16, 2021, the Illinois Eastern Community Colleges TRIO Student Support Services program took 30 of its participants to Washington D.C. Travel was by charter bus so in two days, the group was able to visit many of the D.C. landmarks. TRIO SSS is a program that is 100% funded by the U.S. Department of Education to help students that are first-generation, low-income, or have other qualifying barriers to completing their education. The program offers many services to assist students with basic college requirements and increase college retention and graduation, and transfer rates.

Olney Central College Director of Choral Activities Dr. Andrew Pittman is excited to announce the OCC Community Choir is returning for Fall 2021. “After a very difficult year, I’m so excited to see my friends in the Community Choir again, for us to sing, to connect, and to just plain have fun,” he said. Last fall the OCC Music Department made the difficult decision to cancel Community Choir and its annual Christmas Concert due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Olney Central College Instructor Heather Sandy’s artwork, Protect and Respect, won first place in the 2021 Art for Health and Unity Competition sponsored by Unity in Action Magazine in Champaign. Sandy used both Procreate, an iPad app, and Adobe Illustrator to create the digital piece, which features four individuals walking together as the COVID-19 virus lurks in the background.

The Lincoln Trail College Athletic Department produced 41 student-athletes that earned All-Academic honors from the NJCAA. Six teams earned Academic Team of the Year honors. “This is a great honor,” says Athletic Director Kevin Bowers. “It is a very important part of our culture that our student-athletes work hard in the classroom as well as in their sports.”

Lincoln Trail College is planning a variety of different Community Education Classes throughout the Fall. LTC’s summer Community Education offerings wrap up with a Herb and Botanical Extractions and Infusions class that begins August 3. Instructor Nicole Martin will teach the class about flower and herb infusions that you can do yourself. Students will learn how to create their own lotions, salves, and oils. The class is on August 3, 10, and 17 from 6-8 p.m. each night. 

Lincoln Trail College Summer Theatre Director Brennan Seth Tracy announced the cast for the College’s production of Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl. Eurydice reimagines the classic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice not through Orpheus's infamous pilgrimage to retrieve his bridge, but through the eyes of its heroine. Dying too young on her wedding day, Eurydice must journey to the underworld, where she reunites with her father and struggles to remember her lost love. With contemporary characters and plot twists, the play is a fresh look at a timeless love story.

Olney Central College is excited to announce line dancing classes are returning this fall. “I’m anxious to get back,” said Instructor Vickie Smith, who has been teaching the classes since 2003. “A lot of the same people signed up every semester and I have really missed them.” In addition to familiar faces, Smith hopes to welcome new students as classes resume.

Olney Central College Baseball finished the 2021 season with a 34-21 record and was named an Academic All-American Team with a 3.24 team grade point average. Several players earned postseason honors. Those named Great Rivers Athletic Conference All-Conference were: • Peyton Meredith, who finished with a .419 batting average and 29 runs batted in;

The new Crawford County Recreation Center will be a reality at Lincoln Trail College. The Illinois Eastern Community Colleges Board of Trustees gave their approval for the project in May of 2018 and gave the green light to move forward on the project based on local fundraising at their May 2021 meeting. Now the facility can start moving forward in the pre-construction process.