Eileen Thacker

Class of 2029

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A headshot of McConnell Scholar Eileen Thacker taken on Oct. 27, 2025.

Eileen Thacker, of Clark County, Ky., is a member of the McConnell Scholar Class of 2029 at the University of Louisville. She plans to earn a BA in French with a minor in political science.

Honors & Awards

  • University of Louisville Honors Program
  • Vogt Scholar

Favorite Books

  • Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
  • The Aeneid by Virgil
  • Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
  • Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
  • Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

High School Experience

Eileen is a graduate of St. Albertus Magnus Homeschool Academy, where she was involved in 4-H, American Heritage Girls, Choir, Students for Life, Seat of Wisdom Homeschool Cooperative, and Speech and Debate Club. She was a 2024 participant in the Governor's Scholars Program and received the American Heritage Girls Stars and Stripes Award. She also worked as a page for the Kentucky House of Representatives for the 2025 legislative session. Her community service experience includes working as Junior Fundraising Coordinator for Seat of Wisdom Homeschool Cooperative, a volunteer teacher for 4-H Sewing and Advanced Cooking clubs, a 4-H volunteer Camp Counselor, and Students for Life Club Executive Board Member.

I am so excited to become a part of the dynamic and encouraging community of scholars at the McConnell Center. I hope to discuss many books and ideas, new and old, over the next four years. I expect to laugh at my mistakes along the way, and I know that I will grow as a person through every challenge and opportunity that the McConnell Scholars Program will offer me.