D.J. and Katie York of Troy, Illinois, made a gift to establish the award in honor of his late wife, Emily York. In 2015 D.J. remarried and together with his wife, Katie, they founded this award as a way for the family to honor Emily’s life.

The renewable scholarship will be awarded to a full-time Southeast student with a minimum 3.0 GPA who is involved with the Office of Admissions campus tours, including but not limited to student ambassadors, multicultural recruitment team members and orientation leaders. An essay and post-campus tour feedback from prospective families will also be taken into consideration. Additional campus organization affiliations, including the Greek community, may also be considered.

The scholarship recipient will be determined by a selection committee that includes the Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Success, Director of Admissions, Director of New Student Programs, Director of College Planning and the Multicultural Recruitment Counselor.

Emily (Connaway) York grew up in McLeansboro, Illinois, and was a 1997 McLeansboro High School graduate. She received a Governor’s Scholarship to attend Southeast. Her own journey to Southeast gave her an appreciation for the impact that financial aid and the recruiting experience could have on students entering college and fueled her passion for Admissions.

While attending Southeast, Emily was a student ambassador and intern for the Office of Admissions. As an intern she led a project to create a self-guided campus tour that included a map and an accompanying audio CD with 41 tracks covering campus buildings and traditions. She was also a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority.

Emily graduated in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science in mass communication, public relations option. After graduation, she was a Southeast admissions counselor, working with 150 southern Illinois high schools and other out of state students.

Emily was also an assistant director of Admissions for New Student Programs Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville (SIUE), working to enhance and redesign the freshman orientation program. While at SIUE, she also earned a Master of Arts in speech communication in 2004.

Emily and D.J. met while both attending Southeast, and were married in May 2001 in Cape Girardeau. They had three children, Madeline, Hannah and Jonathan. Emily passed away of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in June 2013.

Through this endowment, D.J., family and friends hope to honor Emily for her selflessness and support of future students at Southeast, and D.J., Katie, and their family - Madeline, Hannah, Jonathan and Lillian - will always have another reason to return to campus to witness the continuation of her legacy.

​​”Seeing this come together in such a large way has been incredible,” said D.J.  “Katie and I have been searching for the best way to give back in Emily’s honor and establishing this award in the Admissions office at Southeast in support of current and future students was a perfect fit.”

The recipient of the scholarship will embody the qualities Emily exhibited as she shared her excitement for Southeast with families of prospective students, mentored student leaders and tour guides, and her commitment to the orientation programs she facilitated.

“Emily was a loving mother and wife, beloved by her friends, and respected in her profession,” said Jason LeGrand, a family friend and board member of the Southeast Missouri University Foundation.  “This is a unique and special way to celebrate her legacy and to reward some of Southeast’s best and brightest student leaders.”

The family is hosting a celebratory tailgate at Southeast’s 2021 Homecoming celebrations on Saturday, Oct. 30.