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Join us in applauding these accomplished Illinois State University alumni.
Illinois State: Summer 2025
Heading to the hall
Jaci McCormack ’05
Jaci McCormack ’05 was inducted into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame. The former Illinois State basketball standout grew up on the Nez Perce Reservation in Idaho before starring for the Redbirds. She has since distinguished herself through community efforts like Rise Above, an organization she founded to benefit Native American youth. The nonprofit has partnered with the WNBA’s Seattle Storm to increase opportunities for BIPOC, low-income, and historically underserved youth, with a focus on the Native communities in Seattle and Washington state. McCormack’s life story will soon be the subject of a forthcoming film.
Civic minded
Shari Conditt ’00
Shari Conditt ’00 earned the National Civics Teacher of the Year Award from the Bill of Rights Institute. Conditt is a veteran classroom teacher of 24 years who currently teaches at Woodland High School in Woodland, Washington. She was presented the award last fall by representatives from the Bill of Rights Institute and sponsoring organization SmartPass at a surprise school assembly. The award came with a $5,000 prize.
Tying it together
Daniel Jackson ’18
Daniel Jackson ’18 was recognized with a Monarch Award celebrating efforts to improve the lives of at-risk children and families in Chicago and beyond. Jackson is a Chicago Public Schools teacher at Arthur Dixon Elementary and the founder and president of Tie Tuesday Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization born from a tradition he began as a teacher encouraging students to wear ties to school.
Life’s work
Dr. Maura Toro-Morn, M.A. ’85
Dr. Maura Toro-Morn, M.A. ’85, was recognized by the Illinois Latino Council on Higher Education (ILACHE) with its 2025 lifetime achievement award. Toro-Morn is a professor of Sociology at Illinois State and the director of the University’s Latin American and Latino Studies Program. Her teaching centers on sociology of race relations, globalization, gender and migration, and Latino Studies. Toro-Morn has been a lead organizer of Latinx Heritage Month events and is on the board of the Bloomington-Normal not-for-profit, the Immigration Project. Toro-Morn has previously been recognized with Illinois State’s David Strand Diversity Award.
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