Annika Erickson Named Lincoln Academy Student Laureate
Each year, Principia College nominates one senior for the prestigious Lincoln Academy Student Laureate Award based on overall excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities. Selected from colleges and universities across Illinois, the laureates took part in a gathering at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, in November. Annika Erickson, a computer science major and business administration minor, is this year’s Principia College Lincoln Academy Student Laureate.
During her junior year, Annika led a coding team at the MasterCard Masters of Code event in St. Louis. Competing against 20 teams, Annika and the team won first place, becoming the youngest team to win a regional event. Their win also earned them a spot at the World Finale event in Silicon Valley. In addition, Annika organized Principia’s first web-building hackathon, bringing experts to campus who helped students build professional websites for 24 hours. After her sophomore year, Annika interned at Cyan Optics (now Ciena Corporation), developing a web client for simulation software solutions.This past summer, she worked as a marketing consultant for Resultrek, where management entrusted her to help rebrand the company.
Along with co-directing this year’s Public Affairs Conference, titled “Media as a Tool for Social Change,” Annika is serving as house president and participating in her third year of diving for Principia’s swimming and diving team.