Oakton Community College Student Trustee Recognized for Excellence

The Illinois Community College Trustees Association (ICCTA) has named Theresa Bashiri-Remetio of Park Ridge as the recipient of its 2013 Gigi Campbell Student Trustee Excellence Award, which recognizes one outstanding student leader from Illinois community colleges. In 2012, Bashiri-Remetio served a one-year term as the student trustee on the Oakton Community College Board of Trustees. Recently re-elected to fill a two-year vacancy on the Board, Bashiri-Remetio will receive her award, which includes a $500 scholarship, at the ICCTA banquet in Chicago on June 7.

To be considered for the Gigi Campbell Student Trustee Excellence Award, a student must:

• Make notable efforts to communicate with the student body.
• Function as a member of the board of trustees, taking part in discussions during both open and closed sessions.
• Act in the best interest of the students and the college, while demonstrating knowledge of the issues facing students through interaction with the student government and campus organizations.
• Report on issues and accomplishments of individual students and student organizations at board meetings.
• Be an asset to the board and the college by serving as an ambassador at professional conferences and meetings.

“It was an honor to serve as Oakton’s Student Trustee for the school year 2012-13,” said Bashiri-Remetio. “It was a busy time, but definitely worth it. Through my experience, I met amazing people and learned so much. To be nominated for the Gigi Campbell Student Trustee Excellence Award amongst a pool of talented individuals was an honor in itself. Being chosen as this year’s recipient is just the ‘cherry on top’ and a great ending to an eventful and meaningful chapter in my life.”

A senior staff account for Colliers International in Rosement, Bashiri-Remetio is a native of the Philippines and moved to the United States in 2004. She first enrolled in Oakton in 2006 and joined Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society for two-year colleges, and was named to the PTK All-Illinois Academic Team in 2009.

Bashiri-Remetio graduated from Oakton with high honors in 2009 and transferred to Elmhurst College, where she graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in economics and marketing. She returned to Oakton in 2011 and earned her certified public accounting certificate at this year’s commencement ceremony.