Priyanka Deo honored with Student Laureate Award

University of Illinois Springfield senior Priyanka Deo will be honored with the Student Laureate Award during a ceremony at the Old State Capitol in Springfield on November 7, 2009. Deo is the only recipient chosen to speak at the ceremony out of a group of more than 50 students.

Each year an outstanding senior from each of the four-year degree-granting institutions of higher learning in Illinois is awarded the Student Lincoln Academy Medallion and thereby becomes a Student Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois. Student Laureates are honored for their overall excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities.

“Coming from India, it is personally a great honor for me to be recognized as an Illinoisan for my academic and extracurricular career. Winning this award makes me more determined to do great things and contribute to the betterment of our world in the future,” said Deo.

Deo is now a U.S. citizen and preparing for a career in law. Since her freshman year, Priyanka has held an internship with the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project. She has been involved in several extra-curricular activities, including forensics team and women’s varsity tennis team. Ms. Deo serves as a peer tutor and mentor for UIS’ Capital Scholars Honor Program, and as the Chairperson of the Housing Residence Council. She recently chaired National Model United Nations and won best delegate out of 400 students from competing universities. That honor presented her an invitation to the Global United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland this past summer.

Priyanka has been recognized in front page articles by the Chicago Tribune and State Journal-Register for her work with the Innocence Project, and has won a national tournament in parliamentary debate. She is trained in classical Indian dancing and does choreographing for various international festivals and off-campus shows in the Springfield area.

Priyanka is majoring in Political Science in the College of Public Affairs and Administration and Anthropology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. With all of her interests and activities, Priyanka has still maintained a 3.98 GPA at UIS, and is currently a resident assistant on campus. She plans to pursue a JD/PhD in international criminal law.

In addition to receiving the Student Laureate Medallion Priyanka will also receive a certificate of achievement and a check for $150 to cover travel and other expenses.

For more information contact Blake Wood, UIS Public Relations at 217/206-6716 or bwood8@uis.edu.

Students hold Halloween makeup workshop

The “Off University Drive Players”, a new student organization on the UIS campus recently held a Halloween makeup workshop to share theatre tricks.

“The goal for the Halloween workshop is to create a good cute monster so people can learn how to do this on their own” said member “Lucy Black”.

Black says it’s best to practice what you’re going to do in advance, so you know how long it will take and what techniques to use. It’s also important to make sure you buy the right type of makeup. Theatre and Halloween makeup usually require several layers that you don’t use day to day.

The club was formed to educated students on campus about theatre. They take trips to different plays and hold workshops like this one.

“Our goal is to further the entire theatre experience for any and all UIS students,” said Black.

UIS Student honored with Undergraduate Teaching Fellowship award

The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) has selected Christopher Crockett from the University of Illinois Springfield as a 2009 award recipient of the ASM Undergraduate Teaching Fellowship (ASM-UTF).

This fellowship is aimed at highly motivated and competitive students who are interested in a career as an elementary or secondary school science teacher. Students will have the opportunity to develop a project to provide instruction in a scientific discipline in a local school or community setting in partnership with a mentor at their home institution and a teacher or site coordinator from the host site.

Each fellow receives up to a $2,000 stipend, a two-year ASM student membership, and travel support to the ASM Conference for Undergraduate Educators (ASMCUE). Awardees are also encouraged to submit abstracts and applications to attend the 2009 ASMCUE.

This year, nine applications were received and four were awarded. Of the four awardees, three students were from masters’ and doctoral institutions and one student was from a liberal arts institution.

Michael Lemke from the University of Illinois-Springfield is Christopher Crockett’s faculty mentor, while Mary Dawson from Taylorville High School is the K-12 site mentor. The title of the project is: Microbes: Improving the Environment.

The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the oldest and largest single biological membership organization, with over 40,000 members worldwide. Please visit www.asm.org/students for more information on this fellowship or contact Michael Lemke at 217/206-7339 or Lemke.Michael@uis.edu.

Student Volunteers Create 9/11 Video

Students from the University of Illinois Springfield’s Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center have put together a video in remembrance of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Student and staff volunteers traveled around the UIS campus asking students what impact 9/11 had on them, where they were when the attacks happened and if they think it united the country.

“It’s probably the defining event in young people’s lives on campus since they’ve been alive it’s been the one event that has impacted the entire world,” said Jordan Jeffers, Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center Americorps VISTA.

The project is being done as part of the first ever 9/11 National Day of Service, which will be the culmination of President Obama’s Summer of Service.

Jeffers hopes the video interviews will spark discussion about the importance of the events and inspire people to work towards civic engagement.

The video will air on the campus cable channel at various times through Sunday.

Watch the full video of what the volunteers created below:

Diversity Center helps campus celebrate differences

By Courtney Westlake



Snacks, comfortable couches, a big-screen television and a caring staff draw students into the Diversity Center – Student Life Building 22 – whether it be for studying, watching a popular TV show with friends or discussing the need for a particular service with a staff member.

“The Diversity Center is a space where students can come and be whoever it is they want to be,” said Herb Caldwell, admission and community partner counselor for the center. “But more importantly, we are made up of staff who are really student-oriented, who are really going to help the students get connected with other resources. That is really the strength of the Diversity Center - helping all students from all backgrounds and all cultures.”

The Diversity Center was created a year ago at UIS to develop the understanding of differences through educational, cultural and social activities. The opening of the center kicked off with an open house during Welcome Week 2008.

The Diversity Center fulfills a great need to the UIS campus, Caldwell said, helping students, staff and faculty to celebrate the differences between people.

“It's a diverse world; we come from so many different backgrounds - geographic, ethnicities, religious, cultural, how we identify sexually,” he said. “A lot of times, misunderstandings come from ignorance. So what the Diversity Center is really trying to do is bring all these different things together so we can celebrate these things that make us different.”

“You may not agree with everything, but you want to have understanding so there can be acceptance,” Caldwell added. “That is key, to not just have tolerance but acceptance.”

Many changes and progress have been made since the opening of the Center, Caldwell said, including the extension of the center’s hours, especially in the evenings and weekends.

“Being student-friendly, you have to be up and at 'em when the students are,” he said. “We try to really keep an open door policy in practical sort of way. Students rise late and are up late, so we try to be accessible to them.”

The Diversity Center is made up of staff members Caldwell, Jeannie Capranica, who is the program manager, Yolanda Beamon, the center's graduate assistant, and Dr. Clarice Ford, who is the associate dean of student support services and director of the Center. Under the Center also falls the Women’s Center – directed by Lynn Otterson –the LGBTQ Resource Office, and the Center for First-Year Students, Caldwell said.

“We make sure we have dialogue and co-exist peacefully in terms of unity as a campus,” Caldwell said.

The Diversity Center is offering several new programs this year, including the Necessary Steps mentoring program that connects first-year students with older students and the Host Family Program, which enables local alumni and community members to serve as models of success to students.

“Jeannie also runs the Cultural Dine-Out program, which is a wonderful program where students can meet and go feast out in the community at different ethnic restaurants,” Caldwell added. “It provides dialogue and an opportunity to learn and experience different cultures.”

Students are first priority at the Diversity Center, and the Center not only works with other offices in Students Affairs, but also on the academic and social sides as well, Caldwell said.

“We want to really meet students' needs on every level, always helping with the students,” he said. “And we do provide a lot of emergency assistance - students without books, a student living in the townhouses without food, or any services within the community- but there doesn't need to be any great need to come in and hang out.”

UIS graduate receives award from Illinois Broadcasters Assocation

Greg Bishop, 2009 graduate of UIS with a degree in Communication, was recently awarded an Illinois Broadcasters Association Silver Dome Award in the category of Medium Market Radio for Best Use of New Media. Bishop is a producer, director and editor at WMAY-AM Radio.

The award ceremony, which was sponsored by the Illinois National Guard, was held on July 17 in Peoria. Bishop was one of several members of the WMAY staff who received awards.

Bishop’s award was given for a video he compiled of WMAY’s “Rally for Common Sense,” which was broadcast on the radio station in May 2008. The video was shot at the State Capitol Building during a rally held to encourage the governor and General Assembly to act on several ongoing issues at the time.

“I believe that the video I submitted was chosen because of the content and its relevance,” Bishop noted. “It captured the flavor of the audience and the message from the event, all while being upbeat and current. I was truly honored and pleased with the award.”

There are several different categories in the Silver Dome Awards in both large and medium markets, including best humorous and non-humorous commercials, best talk-show host, best station Web site, best reporter and more.

WMAY is owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting, which also owns and operates three additional stations including 92.7 FM WQLZ, Alice at 97.7 FM, and Light Rock 98.7 FM WNNS.

Commencement Moments 2009

UIS' 38th Commencement Ceremony was filled with emotional and celebratory moments as hundreds of students received their diplomas on Saturday, May 16, 2009.

UIS Forensics participates in Readers Theatre Tournament

At the beginning of May, UIS Forensics participated in the American Readers Theatre Association National Championship Tournament at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California.

Hilary Holmes, Niesa Patton and Samarth Rajendra performed an original Readers Theatre titled "Dream On," documenting the development of the American Dream throughout the country’s history. The UIS theatre was one of a few "world premieres," designating a theatre that had not been performed in competition prior to this event.

The performance was well-received and named a nominee for a special jury award recognizing achievement in script writing.

For information concerning UIS Forensics, contact Thomas Bartl, Director of Forensics, at tbart2@uis.edu.

Students receive honors at Model United Nations conference

A class of 12 students from UIS attended the annual National Model United Nations conference, held April 7 through April 11 in New York City, and was honored with the Distinguished Delegation Award for their efforts at the conference.

Model United Nations is a conference that simulates an actual United Nations meeting. More than 300 groups of students from schools internationally attended the conference, each representing a specific country. The group from UIS was chosen to represent Croatia.

This is the first year that a course was designed specifically to learn about and attend the conference, said Adriana Crocker, professor of political science and teacher of the class. In past years, a group of students from the UIS Model United Nations Club attended the conference.

“I felt like the students were much better prepared,” Crocker said. “In class, we discussed Croatia, its history, culture, relations with other neighboring countries, and we also studied how the UN works.”

Each of the students served on various committees during the conference. Students defended the committee they wanted to serve on in class and were placed on those committees by their arguments and interests. Some students served in groups of two on larger committees, while other students represented Croatia by themselves on smaller committees.

“One of the most interesting challenges, I thought, was that you have to throw your own personal ideas aside and have to portray and represent Croatia, even if it’s not what you believe personally is best,” said Dustin Morrison, who represented Croatia on the World Trade Organization committee along with classmate Marko Markovic.

In addition to the group’s Distinguished Delegation honor, several UIS students also received individual awards at the conference. Kelsey Quinn received the Best Delegate Award from among more than 400 delegates. Priyanka Deo was honored with the Best Chair Award for her role in serving as chairman of the General Assembly. Deo served as chair for more than 450 delegates.

“I really got to know the rules and procedures,” she said. “I was aware of Croatia’s viewpoints because we had studied them in class and discussed them before the conference, but it was interesting to see all of the other countries’ viewpoints on issues. It was a really fun experience.”

Both Deo and Quinn have been invited to attend a conference in Switzerland this summer based on their exemplary efforts at Model United Nations.

“I have to congratulate our students; it was quite an accomplishment to receive those awards and honors,” Crocker said. “It was a great experience for our students. They got to learn about foreign policy and diplomacy and also got to hear from and learn about different students from across the world.”

Student named finalist in photography competition

By Courtney Westlake

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When UIS student Andy Mitkos decided to enter an international student photography competition, he opted at the last minute to "thrown in" a few more photos than he had chosen originally to "round out" his entry, he said.

It was one of the last-minute photos that impressed the judges.

Mitkos was selected as a finalist in the 29th Annual Student Photography Contest sponsored by Nikon and Photographer’s Forum Magazine. His photo, titled “Any Landing You Can Walk Away From...,” will be published in the Best of College Photography Annual 2009.

The winning photograph captures a scene of a plane underwater that Mitkos took while he was scuba diving off the coast of Aruba. He used an underwater housing for camera, which weighs about 50 pounds including the camera.

“I’ve always loved photography, and I had the fortune of being able to get really good camera few years back,” he said. “I like to use photography in everything I do.”

Mitkos is currently earning his degree in mass communications and has taken two photography courses with Professor Michael Duvall. He also works fulltime at Lincoln Land Community College as a blackboard system administrator.

He said he is thrilled to be among the finalists in the competition.

“Professor Duvall suggested it to me, and I entered it not expecting anything to happen,” he said. “I got collection of what I thought were my best pictures and just hoped to get some kind of recognition.”

Undergraduate students presented research at AAAS meeting

UIS undergraduates presented their research at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago last month.

Kimberly Bartosiak and Adam Waters presented "Bacterial Diversity and Water Quality in Connected and Unconnected Lakes of the Illinois River Floodplain System," while Bronson McLeod and Lindsay Zscheck presented "Antimicrobial & Antioxidant Properties of Oak and Walnut Leaves."

The papers were co-authored by biology and chemistry faculty Keenan Dungey, Wayne Gade, Michael Lemke, Amy McEuen, Gary Trammell, Lucia Vazquez and Jim Veselenak. The research was part of UIS’ Merck/AAAS Undergraduate Science Research Program.

UIS students utilize spring break to help hurricane victims

The University of Illinois at Springfield’s Alternative Spring Break student organization will be taking a trip to Mandeville, Louisiana during the 2009 UIS spring break to assist victims affected by Hurricane Katrina.

For seven days and six nights, from March 15 to March 21, 24 UIS students will be residing at Camp Living Waters in Mandeville, Louisiana. The purpose of the trip is to rebuild and eliminate poverty housing by physically lifting materials and building homes in the Southeast Louisiana area.

“By planning this trip, we will be able to educate UIS students in disaster preparedness on a national level,” said Kelly Thompson, director of UIS’ Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center. “The students are excited to spend their spring break serving others.”

The UIS Alternative Spring Break student organization was formed during the current academic school year, and this is the first official spring break service trip being offered by the group.

The trip is coordinated through the Collegiate Challenge program within Habitat for Humanity. The Collegiate Challenge has provided volunteer trips for youth ages 16 to 25 across the nation for 20 years and has grown to include more than 15,000 volunteers each year.

Student determined to receive degree and serve as role model

By Courtney Westlake

Ricardo Montoya Picazo is no stranger to hard work and commitment - characteristics that have taken him far in life after his family moved from Mexico to the United States. Now Montoya Picazo, a senior at UIS, is using those characteristics of determination and leadership to carry him through college and onto a political career that will be shaped by his background and experience.

After moving from Mexico, Montoya Picazo’s family first lived in California and then in Iowa for a year before settling in Beardstown, where his uncle lived. He transferred to UIS in his junior year after attending Lincoln Land Community College.

Montoya Picazo was motivated to come to UIS by a professor who told him what a great political science program UIS offered and about the many opportunities available because of UIS’s location in the state capital. Montoya Picazo first became interested in political science after he was involved in a political rally at age 15.

“As I grew older, I learned more about public and social issues, and I liked it more,” he said. “I wanted to work with the public and get involved in social change. There needs to be more Hispanics in the public field.”

Latinos and Latinas make up one of the biggest minorities in the United States.

“Sometimes issues in the political field are biased if you see them from a Hispanic perspective,” he said. “Sometimes people don’t see how a law would affect our customs, and they’re not familiar with how we think.”

Montoya Picazo has always had an interest in serving the public and his community. For several years, he has been a mentor and teacher for Project Next Generation, which encourages and enables children in the Beardstown community to pursue and complete degrees in higher education.

“We want to make the parents aware that their kids can seek higher education; they don’t have to just graduate high school and go into the labor force,” he said. “Many of my kids in junior high and high school think that way.”

The Project also helps children learn about technology and computers, Montoya Picazo said.

“There is a program based on teaching digital and computer technology and software, and we want to make kids aware of technology and take them out of the streets,” he said. “Today’s kids like to burn music, create videos and create their own projects. We also take yearly trips to major cities. It is interesting.”

Being a Latino in politics will not only open doors for other Latinos in the country but also encourage them to become involved, Montoya Picazo believes.

“If somebody is Hispanic, other Hispanics tend to want to participate in events,” he said. “Changes in Beardstown have improved; they are a much more accepting town, and the town is really trying to involve Hispanics in the school and community.”

Montoya Picazo sees himself in public office in the long-term future and would like to work for governmental agencies before running, such as the department of immigration or homeland security.

When Montoya Picazo came to the United States at age nine, he assumed it was a Spanish-speaking country because his father still spoke Spanish to them over the phone while they were in Mexico. Unfortunately, there wasn’t an ESL (English as a second language) program at his school, and he “felt lost” at the culture shock, he said.

“I didn’t want to go to school; I wanted to stay home,” he said.

In 5th grade, however, an ESL program was implemented, and he began to learn reading and writing. In 7th grade, he made the choice to not be a part of ESL anymore.

“There was no way for me to learn it well,” he said. “They offered to have me come back if I had trouble, but I didn’t. It forced me to speak English, and that’s why I’m better at English now.”

Montoya Picazo said while he still embraces his native culture, he is grateful for the opportunities in the United States, especially being able to pursue higher education.

“I love my culture, but I have grown into American culture too; I like American food and music,” he said. “And I know if I was over there still, I wouldn’t be at UIS. I would have only gotten through grade school. So I owe that to my father; I’m thankful to him.”

Office of International Student Services brings students together

By Courtney Westlake






At this year’s International Festival, Rick Lane noticed that during downtime, members of the Students of African Descent group and the Indian group began to dance together and enjoy each other’s cultures.

That is exactly the environment Lane is working to create, with help from many others on campus, as the director of the Office of International Student Services at UIS.

Organizing the International Festival, held annually, is just one of the responsibilities of the office. Its primary duty is to assist international students with immigration issues, whether they are arriving as new students or maintaining their legal status, and the benefits of that status, in the United States, Lane said.

“We also do programming with the students and for the students, like the International Festival,” he said. “We assist them with tax workshops and cultural adaptation. I am also one of two advisers (along with Dana Atwell) for the International Student Association, so we do welcome parties and other activities to help them interact with each other and get to know the campus and Springfield.”

The Office of International Student Services works closely with numerous other offices on campus, including the Diversity Center, Housing, Student Life and the Admissions office. In fact, a new counselor recently started in the admissions office who is dedicated solely to international students.

“We know how important it is for international students to get a quick response when they’re trying to figure things out from many miles and many hours away,” Lane said. “We wanted someone who could understand their unique needs and questions and respond promptly to those, and dedicate himself to that.”

The Office of International Student Services is located in the Human Resources Building, in the same space as the Office of International Programs led by Jonathan GoldbergBelle. The student services office also includes office manager Sherri Boner, graduate assistant Jolene Vollmer and student worker Reid Johnson. A future goal for both offices is to rename the space the “International Center” to bring all programs together.

The international studentson the UIS campus, including U.S. lawful permanent residents and all non-immigrant visa categories, number around 500, Lane said, which is close to 10 percent of the campus population. The majority come to study at UIS from India, most of those in computer science. The office and the international recruiting task force, which is chaired by Lane, have plans to expand recruiting efforts to parts of Asia, as well as recruit students in a variety of majors and programs.

“We have many students from India, Korea, Japan, China, but we also have students from western Europe, Africa and the Americas – North, Central and South,” Lane said. “We are now going to be concentrating on Asia; that area of the world is sending the most students to the United States, and we would like to grow our international population very quickly. While we certainly want to continue welcoming students from India in computer science, we have a goal of diversifying to other parts of the world as well as what majors they are pursuing outside of computer science.”

While it’s the law to have such a department on campus to provide services regarding forms and legal status, Lane believes the office provides much more than that to the international students who come to UIS.

“I believe that interaction between international students and American students is crucial not only for education of those international students but for - dare I say it? - world peace,” he said. “I don't think there is anything that does as much to help foster good understanding of who were are as Americans, and understanding of the rest of the world, as having international students and American students interacting. They couldn't do that if we weren't here to help that happen; they need someone to be their advocate, their liaison.”

Computer Science grad student wins 2nd in international contest

By Courtney Westlake



Tejesh Morla, a graduate student in Computer Science, recently won second place in the General Students category of the MySQL and GlassFish Contest sponsored by SUN MicroSystems. The contest challenged participants to create a web application using MySQL and Glassfish along with Java, Morla said.

"It's a global contest; anyone can participate," he said. "I found out about it because of an email sent by Dr. Ted Mims (computer science department chair)."

Morla's winning project was a basic web application that responds to customers' needs to register on a site to place and view orders, as well as administrators' needs to view and list all registered customers. He then created an in-depth blog entry that detailed the steps he took to develop his application and how he used MySQL and GlassFish in the process.

Morla says the project took a lot of time and research.

"It was a tough task," he said. "At one point, I thought I would never make it. I had problem where mySQL stuff was not syncing with the Java."

The contest began on September 2, and October 22 was the deadline to submit a project, Morla said. He found out he won 2nd place while he was on Thanksgiving break vacationing in Las Vegas.

"One of my friends always says there should be something in your resume which would tell the difference from others, so I thought I should participate in that to get some experience," he said. "I am very excited and can't believe that I happened to win."

Wing in LRH promotes leadership and service

By Courtney Westlake



Even before school started, students in the Leadership for Life Service Wing in Lincoln Residence Hall were lending a hand, volunteering for the local Special Olympics.

“Everyone is just genuinely interested in doing volunteer work,” said Charles Olivier, a sophomore who is the resident assistant for the wing.

The Leadership for Life Service Wing is the only living-learning community in LRH and provides residence to 28 first-year and sophomore students. The wing has a new focus this year on both leadership and service, said Kelly Thompson, director of the Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center at UIS.

“They really go hand in hand,” Thompson said. “We’re trying to work with first-year students to help build their service and their leadership skills. We want our first-year students to feel comfortable and at home at UIS, and we want them to know that we're here to help them, as well as engage them with the campus and the community.”

Students living in the Leadership for Life Wing have service requirements that they need to complete, as well as several service programs to attend each semester, Thompson said. One of their first activities was a leadership retreat at Camp Cilca, which Thompson described as “very enlightening.”

Besides volunteering at the Special Olympics before classes started, the residents of the wing were also able to work together in service when Senator Barack Obama was in town to introduce his running mate.

“It really tested our bonds with each other; we were out there for seven hours in the heat, but it was a good experience,” Olivier said. “We also all came together in the first weeks and had a party for some of the residents who had a birthday after they moved in.”

To join the Leadership for Life wing in LRH, students fill out an application, explaining why they have an interest in service and what volunteer opportunities they have been involved in.

“The students all have a passion for volunteering and all have backgrounds in service and volunteerism - mission trips to other countries, activities in their communities, awards they've been given,” Thompson said. “They have a wide variety of interests they would like to explore, such as working with animals, children, the homeless and different special needs populations. Our job is to be that link and help them explore those options and feel that connection to the university as well as the community at large.”

Olivier lived in the service leadership wing last year and said he feels it is a very positive environment and brings students together with a common interest.

“You know that other people are involved in something you like doing,” he said. “We promote development of leadership through building connections with community organizations or having volunteer services on campus.”

Olivier has high hopes for his first year as a resident assistant and believes his residents will have a big impact on the campus.

“It's exciting; we have fun,” he said. “I believe volunteering is not a one-way street. Everyone who volunteers gets something back, even if it’s not money. You gain a sense of humility and gratitude. I think it's important and an important part of leadership.”

Research has shown a relationship between civic engagement and how well students do in school, and Thompson hopes to foster a sense of the importance of service and leadership in the residents of the Leadership for Life wing and all students at UIS.

“We want our students to be better informed about their own leadership skills and better informed about service opportunities, and what it means to them to be involved in service, how that might affect their major and even their course for what they do in their life after they leave UIS,” she said.

Welcome Week 2008

UIS celebrated Welcome Week 2008 in August to greet new and returning students to campus. Welcome Week activities included an open house at the Diversity Center, the Chancellor's Picnic, the Involvement Expo on the Quad, the Foot in the Door Job Fair, a trip to Knight's Action Park and much more.

Current UIS students give advice to first-timers

Current students at UIS weigh in on the university and what it is like to arrive as a freshmen, and give veteran advice about getting involved on campus.



Shana Stine, senior: The cool thing about UIS, and really any college campus, is however active you want to be, you can be. It's all up to the student how much they want to do. There are tons of things to do: Sangamon Auditorium has Broadway shows, Student Life is always offering crazy things, you can go in to downtown Springfield, or just go to a movie and hang out. Living in the dorms gives you a great chance to meet everyone, and you can do a lot of group study or just a lot of group fun. And don't be scared of the laundry machines; laundry is not that bad.

Derek Rhoads, sophomore: It is so easy to get involved at UIS; there are so many things to do. Get out of your safety bubble. We all have this place we feel comfortable in, and the worst thing you can do is stay there. The best thing you can do is just get out and meet new people, and not let the nervousness of somebody different keep you from interacting with them because you're going to learn a lot of new things. We get to experience diversity instead of just talk about it, and I promise you your life will be changed because of the other lifestyles you run into.

Priyanka Deo, junior: I would say to bring a lot more stuff than you think you'll be able to for your dorm room because it's a lot bigger than you think here, which is nice. And don't be nervous about coming here at all because it's one of the best experiences you'll ever have. The small campus is really beneficial because you can get so involved in so many things, and there are a lot of leadership positions available.

Jordan Haley, senior: As far as UIS goes, my favorite thing is the community. It's big enough that you always have the opportunity to meet new people, make new friends and make connections around campus, but it's small enough that you can get to know friends really well and your professors really well. As a freshmen, you'll get a ton of emails about events going on around campus - go to those events, show up at stuff and you won't have a problem getting involved.

Freshmen coming in need to remember that they're here for school and because they need to build skill in a certain area so that they can graduate and get a job; I think you realize that as a senior and not as a freshman. The other thing they need to remember is that you're only going to have the opportunity to be an undergraduate once and live in a residence hall once, so you need to make the most of it and embrace the whole experience.

Student named finalist in photography contest

By Courtney Westlake

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When Sue Huskins was involved in an accident at work that left her without the use of her right hand in 1999, she was forced to quit her job at a print shop. She took that opportunity to go to college, first receiving her associates degree from Richland Community College in Decatur and now working toward her bachelors at UIS.

"That's where I found photography, and I love it; it's my passion," she said.

At UIS, Huskins is majoring in visual arts with a focus on photography, which she studies under professor of communication Michael Duvall. It was after one of Duvall's classes that Huskins noticed a brochure for the 28th Annual Student Photography Contest.

And from among the more than 4,000 students who entered this year's contest, Huskins was selected as a finalist in the competition, and her photo titled "Repetition in Glass" will be published in the "Best of College Photography Annual 2008."

"I just happened to find the flyer for the competition in Professor Duvall's lab and just thought I'd try; it doesn't hurt to try," she said. "I was very surprised. I was hoping to be at least maybe recognized a little bit, but I never dreamed I'd make it in the top five percent."

Huskins captured her "Repetition in Glass" photograph while on a trip to Chicago.

"My friend and I went on bus trip to Chicago, but instead of going to the art museum we were supposed to go to, we spent the whole day downtown looking for shots that we liked. We drug each other all around the town," she said. "I like reflections, I like using the camera to get odd angles. And I like to get every day items that people see but pass by and don't really recognize."

Because her accident left her without the use of her dominant hand, Huskins must hold her camera differently than most people to capture her images.

"Since the shutter release button is located on the right side of the camera, I cannot use it in the normal position. When using a camera, I turn it upside down, resting it on the top of my bad hand," Huskins said. "Doing it this way, it leaves my left hand free to manually focus and set the shutter speed and the aperture. It also puts the shutter release button on the left side on the bottom where it is easily accessible with my left thumb."

Huskins said she decided to come to UIS because of its close proximity to Decatur and due to all of the positive things she had heard about and read about UIS. Eventually, she said, she'd like to continue her education and pursue a master's degree.

"I'd like to do freelance photography but also maybe teach photography in a community college setting," she said.

UIS graduates nearly 1,300

Nearly 1,300 students received degrees at UIS' 37th commencement ceremony on May 10.

See a printable list of graduates' names and degrees

2008graduates.pdf

Mexico Diez shares knowledge gained on trip

By Courtney Westlake

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As the world becomes increasingly globalized, it is becoming more and more important to pay attention to the repercussions of the economic policies that guide Western society today, a group of UIS students has found.

The Mexico Diez, a group of 10 students and two faculty members, left for Mexico the week before spring break in March and spent about 10 days in San Cristobal and Chiapas, as well as some southern, rural areas, after first undergoing training with Witness for Peace, said Julian Borjas, a junior who participated in the trip.

The group, part of the political studies class called Mexico & Globalization taught by Dr. Heather Dell and Veronica Espina, was studying how workers are actually affected by different trade agreements and economic policies put forth by the United States.

“We were looking at economic effects from neo-liberal trade policies, which are the official economic foreign policies that that U.S. backs through trade organizations and through trade agreements like NAFTA (North America Free Trade Agreement) and CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) that kind of privatize government lands and publicly-owned lands so that corporations can use the resources,” Borjas said.

The students met with families, grassroots activists, scholars, labor organizers, and other experts in everyday life to learn about their experiences and perspectives regarding these policies and also stayed with three Mexican families during part of their time there.

“We talked with them about what their lives are like and what their concerns are,” said Bob Skorczewski, one of the ten students on the trip. “I had a little background in some of these political and economic issues from my time here at UIS, but the actual real world application of these policies and how they affect people is something you don't really get in a classroom environment.”

“Actually going there and communicating with the people in Mexico was very eye-opening, and you can see how these things affect them and their families,” he continued. “There are just so many things happening there that we weren't ever wanting for something to do and to learn.”

Borjas said the trip reinforced many of the ideas he had before taking the class.

“There is a lot of militarization; there are military installments in every town,” he said. “The people that are known to protest the government, the Zapatistas, are really feeling a lot of pressure. A lot of the towns are being persuaded to become more favorable to the government.”

As part of the experience, members of the Mexico Diez began speaking to groups around campus and the community upon returning from Mexico, sharing what they studied and what they learned while on their trip.

The students first talked to a couple of UIS classes, Skorczewski said, and then took on some speaking engagements at high schools in the area as well as community groups that helped to sponsor their trip.

Skorczewski encouraged other UIS students to sign up for the Mexico & Globalization class next spring for the chance to study this area, learn about globalization and make the trip to Mexico.

“Some of the experiences we had were very intense, but in a good way, in an eye-opening way,” he said. “I’m looking for ways now to get involved around here, or whatever community I end up living in, with the labor movement, or if it's in politics, keeping that in mind as we form public policy. There’s a hidden side to all these issues we see, and a lot of time we're concerned only with how it affects us and not other people.”

Online students enjoy UIS campus before commencement

By Courtney Westlake

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Beth Trimble and Susan Greene became fast friends after Trimble was searching for a "study buddy" while she completed her bachelor's degree in math online at UIS. Years of support, encouragement and friendship ensued, and the two met face-to-face for the first time in 2007 when Greene traveled from her home in Lawrenceville, Ill. to see her online friend graduate.

On Saturday, May 10, it was Trimble's turn to make the trip from her home in California to celebrate as Greene received her degree in math with a minor in teacher education from UIS.

"I couldn't have asked for anything better on my graduation than for her to be here," Greene said. "I feel like my day is complete since she is here. She has been a major support system for me, along with my husband Tony."

Dozens of students and their families, many of whom had never set foot on the UIS campus before, traveled from near and far to participate in UIS' commencement ceremony on Saturday. Before the ceremony, however, graduating online students were able to be a part of the campus in the morning during a celebratory brunch in the Public Affairs Center.


Students hailed from all over Illinois and from as far away as California, Delaware, New Jersey and Florida. The graduates, online coordinators and program faculty were all recognized during the brunch.

"As graduates, you represent much of all that is good and great about the university," said Chuck Schrage, vice president of alumni relations. "Your accomplishments as students, your future achievements, the way in which you live and the values by which you live will have a significant impact on UIS. It's true what many have said: alumni are the truest measure of a great university."

Online graduates from UIS live and work throughout all 50 states and many other countries internationally.

"We have a wide reach with these programs," said Chancellor Richard Ringeisen. "I really want to congratulate you and thank you for choosing this university. We are very proud of these programs."

There was a wide mix of emotions during the brunch as the graduates met many campus community members for the first time and celebrated with their families and friends.

"I'm relieved, excited. It's been a long road," Greene said.

Both Trimble and Greene said they will always feel a connection with UIS, and especially with each other and their programs. Being teachers will also continue to keep them close, Trimble said.

"I don't think we'll ever lose that connection," Greene said.

Career Center provides students with job search resources

By Courtney Westlake and Portia Kerr-Newman (Southeast High School senior)

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Graduation, not to mention summer vacation, is looming in the very near future, and many students are still unsure of their plans, either for the next few months or for a full-time career path.

From numerous web-based programs to assistance in discovering an ideal career match, the Career Development Center at UIS is packed with resources for those involved in the job search process.

The Career Development Center offers a variety of quality services that use both online and face-to-face methods of service delivery. Career counseling is a primary service at the center, but they also offer assistance for those looking at career options, gaining experience, preparing for a job search, deciding about graduate school or making a career transition.

"The Career Center helps students with being prepared for job interviews," said Tammy Craig, director of the center. "It gives students the knowledge on how to wear the proper attire, impress the employer, and give a good first impression."

Many times, students believe the Career Development Center is only on campus for resume help and job searches, but the center's primary service is to teach career development as lifelong process.

"We want to educate students in their first and second years in order to really help them understand that whole process, so they can have plenty of time to prepare for careers and to set goals, so they will be successful when they transition into workforce," Craig said.

The Career Development Center also provides workshops and events like "Dress for Success," where students modeled the do's and don'ts of dressing for an interview or putting on a reality show that was a take-off of the actual reality television show called The Career Pursuit.

One of the center's newest features is called the GOALS program. People don't always like to read or be lectured to, so the center has incorporated YouTube videos, podcasts, worksheets and more to meet individuals' needs and provide a tool that faculty can incorporate into their courses.

"The feedback we hear from students is that they may not be able to come in and devote the time they need to, so we wanted to engage students, staff and faculty to help in the career development process and to integrate that into the curriculum or extracurricular activities," Craig said. "This goes back to the justification of starting early."

Due largely in part to the growth of UIS' online population, the Career Center has adapted all of their on-campus services to some method of online delivery service, Craig said. A tool called UIS-Success, a top resource used at the center, allows students to view job postings and internships profiles and to upload resumes, and another program, called FOCUS, offers career and personality tests where students can go online and take a test to help them find their perfect career match.

And because 80 to 90 percent of open jobs aren't even posted on sites like Monster or CareerBuilder, the Career Search program serves as an international job post for employees seeking jobs at companies that might not have a known posting.

The center also offers personality assessments to help students to decide exactly what they want to do in life, and the Perfect Interview program helps those students who haven't had a lot interview experience or have interview anxiety.

In addition to the abundance of job-related resources at the Career Development Center, Craig offered several pieces of advice for graduating seniors and others currently searching for a job. Of utmost importance is to make a good first impression and prepare before the interview, she said.

"I would highly recommend that you research the company thoroughly so you know what your strengths are and how you can contribute to the company," Craig said. "The more diversified your skill sets are, the better off you are. It's really knowing the company, knowing what your skills sets are and knowing how to articulate that to a recruiter."

Craig said a major concern the Career Development Center hears from recruiters is that students need to be proactive and know what they want.

"Know yourself," Craig advised. "If you don't really know what type of career or job position you want to pursue, then how can you expect to describe that in an interview with a potential employer? If you are still undecided or don't know what you can do with your degree, come see us because there is nothing worse that to partake in an interview when the recruiter asks questions and you aren't able to articulate what you want."

Students enjoy spring break trip for Habitat

By Courtney Westlake

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Students involved with Habitat for Humanity on the UIS campus took a different route in planning a spring break trip this academic year.

A group of ten students in the UIS Habitat for Humanity club, along with Beth Hoag, assistant director of student life at UIS, spent their week-long spring break in South Dakota, helping the local chapter of Habitat with various projects.

"I got involved in the Habitat club because I'm friends with Dan Bosomworth, who is the president," said Zach Berillo, a sophomore. "The club meets every Saturday, and we work on different houses in the area. We helped Dan with picking the location of our trip."

When Berillo mentioned the trip to his friends, Colin Samson decided he might like to join the group.

"It sounded like it'd be a fun adventure - a bunch of people helping out - and it sounded like something I'd like to do," Samson said.

The first day, the group helped to tear down a house that contained some pieces that Habitat wanted to salvage, like the circuit breaker, heater, vents, sinks and lighting fixtures. Those parts are then used in some of the new houses that Habitat will build, Berillo said.

The other three days the group spent in South Dakota included building a shed for a food pantry in the local town of Sioux Falls, Berillo said.

"It was too cold to build outside - 35 degrees - so we couldn't build a house or anything, but they had us build the shed inside a warehouse," he said. "It was really good because there were a lot of volunteers there, like some local guys who volunteer about 20 hours a week, so we got to work with them and talk with them, so that was really nice."

The students enjoyed getting to know each other better and learning about Sioux Falls and the people that live there.

"I liked it a lot. We managed to complete shed that we started; we stayed there a little longer," Samson said. "I hope it's in use."

The group is already looking forward to next year's spring break Habitat for Humanity trip.

"We're probably going to pick a place a little warmer so we can enjoy it a little bit more, but I think definitely for our first trip with Habitat for Humanity, it was a really good one," Berillo said.

UIS Cares event proves successful

By Courtney Westlake

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A group of UIS students proved that college kids do indeed care about the well-being of the local community on Wednesday morning, and grateful community members who drove by and thanked them reinforced their efforts.

The group of UIS students and several staff members spent much of the morning on Wednesday, April 30, pulling weeds, planting flowers and partaking in other beautification projects at Jefferson Middle School as part of National Volunteer Week.

The day was just a part of an ongoing relationship with Jefferson Middle School, through which UIS students also mentor students from Jefferson.

"This is the 6th annual UIS Cares day, and we wanted to do a beautification project," said Kelly Thompson, director of the Office of Student Volunteers and Civic Engagement at UIS. "We wanted to show the students from Jefferson truly that we did care; we are using the name UIS Care by really showing them that we care about their school, both on the inside through our mentoring and on the outside."

UIS junior Adam Findley said he heard about the chance to volunteer during the UIS Cares event through his soccer coach and felt it would be a great opportunity for some of the student athletes.

"I felt that it'd be a great thing for us as athletes to do to really just give back to the community," he said.

A cleaner and more beautiful image is important to the community, Findley said.

"What I like to say is the first glance is always the best," he said. "When people come to Jefferson Middle School, they want to see a beautiful place, and they'll want to come back if they do."

Student's volunteer trip moves her to action

By Courtney Westlake

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It started out as a joke between friends but eventually led Shana Stine to experience a trip that would change her life.

Stine, a junior at UIS, repeatedly told a friend and former co-worker, mostly kidding, that she wanted to accompany him when he returned to his native country of Kenya in Africa. As time drew nearer to his return though, she began to make tentative plans to go as well.

“I’d always wanted to go to Africa since I was little,” Stine said. “So I decided to go. And the more I got to thinking about it, the more I thought that I didn’t just want to go as a tourist; that would seem really empty. So I thought I would do two weeks traveling with my friend and two weeks volunteering at an orphanage.”

A little research put Stine in contact with a Kenyan volunteer organization called Fadhili Helpers. When she arrived in Kenya, Fadhili placed her at Gathiga Children's Hope Home, outside of Nairobi in Kenya. She made all the arrangements herself, received the required vaccinations and filled out her visa. And when she got to Gathiga in June 2007, she didn’t want to leave.

“I got to Kenya and fell in love with children at the home, so I actually stayed about three weeks there,” Stine said. “Because I went on a mission trip to Mexico, I knew it was going to be hard, and I would see kind of the worst of humanity. But I wasn't prepared completely for it. It was rough to say the least, a pretty hard experience.”

Although the poverty broke her heart, the bright spots in Stine’s work at the orphanage were the children. She became especially fond of an eight-year-old boy named Joel, whom she later found out has HIV. Joel’s situation, as well as the other children’s, moved Stine into action.

“Joel is easily a favorite; you can't not like him,” she said. “When I found out he has HIV, that just broke my heart again, as if the poverty wasn’t enough. So Jump for Joel is a project I started in his name to help the orphanage there.”

With help from other friends and family members, as well as the campus community, Jump for Joel has taken on a life of its own since its beginning, Stine said.

Through the organization, Stine has been able to raise more than $5,000 for the children’s home, providing food, a second toilet for the residents, a roof over one of the “sleeping” rooms, assistance to get some of the children back in school and more. Jump for Joel was also accepted through the Applied Study Term at UIS to allow Stine to earn academic credit for her work on the project.

Stine said she is so grateful to the support Jump for Joel has received. And she can’t wait to do more.

“Words are great, but if you're not going to back it up with action, what's the point?” she asked. “I came back from Kenya knowing I couldn't just tell the stories; I needed to do something. I couldn't sleep in my dorm bed with my own bathroom when there are kids sleeping 20 to a room with one toilet for 96 kids. I think Kenya changed me in that way; it solidified that I need to do.”

For more information about Jump for Joel, visit www.jumpforjoel.org.

Students get involved with UIS

By Courtney Westlake

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Students packed through the concourse of the Public Affairs Center's lower level on Wednesday evening to get an idea about what opportunities UIS offers in terms of clubs, organizations and more.

The semi-annual Involvement Expo allows campus clubs, departments and groups to set up booths in the PAC, showcasing their missions and activities to interested students.

"The Involvement Expo is a very exciting event; it's probably one of our most successful events of the year," said Cynthia Thompson, director of the Office of Student Life, which coordinates the Expo. "It's an opportunity for campus departments, student organizations and local businesses to showcase what they've got to the new students. The students get very excited; it really gives them a chance to show off their organizations."

The Involvement Expo takes place twice a year, in the beginning of the fall and the spring semesters, Thompson said.

"Every time during First Week we do this," she said. "Each semester, we have new students, and we want to introduce them to Student Life and student activities."

Ashleen Woods, co-president of the Vegetarian Club at UIS, said the club has become very active in the last couple of years and wanted to showcase itself at the expo.

"The main thing we like to do is provide information for people if they're interested in vegetarianism," she said. "We're always welcoming members; it doesn't matter if you're a vegetarian or not. We welcome everybody, and it's just a great way to be part of student activities."

Ana Morales, president of ESCAPE, or Entrepreneurs of Space Concepts and Planet Exploration, said the club is currently working with the Entrepreneurship Club at UIS to give students the opportunity to gain business experience and form possible entrepreneurship opportunities.

Morales said the club was very interested in having a booth at the expo to share information about ESCAPE. ESCAPE had a game set up at the Involvement Expo to engage passing students and give out prizes, along with information about the club.

"It's a very good way for students to see what's out there," she said. "A lot of people don't know how maneuver through the Web sites. This is a good way to attract students and let them know what we're doing."

Global Experience Takes Students Across the World

By Courtney Westlake

The Program:

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Student Experiences:

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It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience right out of National Geographic for graduate student Melissa Smith when she spent three weeks over the summer in Australia with one other student studying at Charles Darwin University.

"It was so much better than I ever thought," Smith said. "We got to camp out in the Outback for five days and learn from the Aborigines. You see that kind of stuff on National Geographic, but it was amazing to be able to go there and do that."

The Global Experience program at UIS offers students the opportunity to spend time furthering their education in another country and to experience that country's culture. The summer programs are oldest and most popular, said international programs director Jonathan GoldbergBelle, and in summer 2008, UIS will offer summer programs in Jamaica, Australia, Quebec, Japan and more, as well as an internship program in Romania.

UIS also has exchange agreements with universities in Japan, Mexico and Australia - and is in negotiations with China and the United Kingdom - to allow UIS students to study at those partner institutions for the same tuition paid at UIS.

"We didn't have Global Experience when I first came (nine years ago), so just the fact that we have an exchange program shows tremendous growth," GoldbergBelle said. "What we've seen is an increase of faculty who are interested in taking trips, and we've been seeing more interest from faculty and students in exploring different exchange programs overseas. We will work with a student to get them almost any place they want to go."

Leslie Reutter, a sophomore at UIS, said she jumped at the chance to study for two and a half weeks in Ashikaga, Japan. Her group, which studied Japanese language while there, stayed with a host family and traveled around the area, including Tokyo for two days.

"The people are very kind; they'll talk to you about anything," she said, adding that the Japanese enjoyed practicing their English with the UIS students. "The history was very eye-opening. We went to museums, city halls, shrines and temples; it was very different than anything I'd learned about."

The impact of studying abroad through the Global Experience program is extremely positive, GoldbergBelle said.

"The benefits are really gaining an understanding of the world; the state of Illinois has tremendous international connections, and it's important for our students to have some understanding of that, both on the economic side and on the cultural side," he said. "And what students come back and say is 'I really learned a lot about myself; I became interested in things I didn't know existed before'."

Both Reutter and Smith had no hesitation as they answered a resounding yes when asked if they would recommend the experience to other students.
"To be able to have that kind of opportunity to go to Australia, while you're still in school, I'd suggest to anybody to jump at the chance; whether it's Australia, Europe, Japan or any other place," Smith said. "Just the opportunity to travel while you're in school, I'd take the chance and do it."

To learn more about the Global Experience program, click here.

WIC Takes a Stand for Women

By Courtney Westlake

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If there is any doubt about the vitality and success of the Women's Issues Caucus on campus, you just need to look at the wall in the Women's Center, which is lined with recognition.

Most recently, the UIS Student Government Association has awarded the club the President's Award for Best Student Event for the Rising Up of the Springdale Ladies Aides Society performance, as well as two other President's Awards for the production of the Vagina Monologues. The SGA also gave WIC the recognition of Outstanding Student Organization on campus.

The active Women's Issues Caucus at UIS seeks to raise awareness, encourage leadership and be a voice for women on campus. In the past couple of years, the group has brought nationally-known presenters to speak to the campus community, held a Day of Action for a Student Senate Bill and become involved in the annual Oxfam Hunger Banquet, with this year's theme being "Poverty Has a Woman's Face."

"One thing I was most proud of was our pay equity bake sale, where we pointed out the wage disparities for men and women," said Amanda Looney, who is also the graduate assistant for the Women's Center, which allows her to serve as a liaison between the Women's Center and WIC. "We then donated the money we raised to a local women's shelter, which was wonderful."

The Women's Issues Caucus also recognizes the student leaders within the group with a Student Activism award, said Ashley Rook, the current chair of WIC.

"It gives really amazing female leaders a chance to have a forum, to be involved and to be recognized," Rook said. "I think it really helps them to develop their leadership skills."

Hanna Collier, who is the chair of finance, is finishing up her first semester in WIC. She said she wanted to get involved in a group where she felt the issues were meaningful and important, and the experience has motivated her to want to get involved in a non-profit sector that deals with women's issues upon graduation in May.

"We try to counter images about what feminism is and how it's perceived on this campus," Collier said. "It's important to have this group to show that gender issues and women's issues are really important and shouldn't be as controversial as it is. We do need to deal with things like sexual assault, women in the media and pay equity."

Collier, Rook and Looney agreed that being members of the Women's Issues Caucus has not only strengthened their leadership skills but also helped them to make new friends.

"I really like being able to help the women on campus through advocacy, and I also like the social aspect of being in WIC," Looney said. "It's really helped me to meet other women with similar interests to me, and also to help women on campus with issues and educate women and everyone about what is a women's issue and what we can do about that."

WIC is an extremely collaborative effort between its executive board and general members, Rook said, with time split between coordinating events, addressing needs of women on campus and much more.

"There are so many issues that pop up between all of our programming, and it's really great to be organized and have a forum to speak out," Rook said. "Lynn (Otterson, Women's Center director) likes to compare our organization to a car with the key in the ignition; it's not on, but we're ready at any time."

Group Heads to Mexico to Make a Difference

By Courtney Westlake

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When a professor suggested that Julian Borjas take a class that corresponded with his area of study, political economy, he jumped at the opportunity. Now the class is leading him south of the border to gain some firsthand information and perspective on globalization.

A group of UIS students, known as the Mexico Diez (which means Mexico Ten), will be traveling to Mexico in the spring to study the effects of globalization nationally and internationally. They will spend ten days in poverty-stricken areas of Mexico City and rural communities such as Chiapas.

The Mexico Diez is part of a class called "Mexico and Globalization," said Borjas. During the trip, they will act as delegates for Witness for Peace and interview families, grassroots activists, scholars, labor organizers, and other experts in everyday life.

"We're going to be studying globalization, including contracts like NAFTA (North America Free Trade Agreement) and CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement), which will go into effect soon, and then we'll be going to Mexico to see how workers are actually affected by these different trade agreements," Borjas said. "There is going to be a lot of groundwork, which I'm really interested in."

As the world becomes increasingly globalized, many feel it is important to pay attention to the repercussions of the economic policies that guide Western society today. Borjas said he hopes he and others in the group will gain new perspectives about trade workers and agreements and looks forward to the opportunitity to provide service to others.

"We're taking a lot of natural resources from other places and displacing our own labor force in doing it," he said. "It's not really a good system; it's not benefiting most Americans, not benefiting other countries. So we figure it's kind of our obligation to go out and say 'this is what our country is doing'."

The group has been actively fundraising for the trip for the past three months, said Kris Bein, graduate assistant in Women and Gender Studies. At least $15,000 must be raised to cover the costs, she said. (Anyone interested in contributing can contact Bein at kbein2@uis.edu or 206-8205).

"The students have worked so hard and raised quite a large sum in three short months, but we're not done," she said. "We still have about $1,000 to go, so we still need support from the campus community."

The research the group compiles will enable students and community members alike to better understand the effects that trade policies have on the developing world, Bein said. The group will return home after the trip to present their work to the UIS campus and Springfield community.

"We're going to come back and talk to schools, organizations and civic groups and talk about what we did and what we saw there," Borjas said. "Witness for Peace in its entirety is to let people see the influence that our economy and government is having worldwide, and just to come back and say what you honestly saw and felt."

UIS Students Honored at Tournament

By Courtney Westlake

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Sarah Wellard had never competed in a debate tournament before, but with the encouragement from her more experienced teammate, Priyanka Deo, she found something she not only enjoys but excels in.

On Saturday, December 1, Wellard, a junior at UIS, and Deo, a sophomore, won top honors at the 20th annual "Study Break Debate Tournament" at Webster University in St. Louis. The two were the single undefeated team among the 23 teams participating.

Additionally, both also won individual "speaker" awards, with Deo earning the "top novice speaker" designation, and Wellard ranked ninth.

Deo said she had debated in high school and wanted to do it again at UIS, and Wellard said she decided to get involved with debate after taking an Oral Communication class with Thomas Bartl. Bartl is the faculty adviser of the UIS Forensics Team, which Wellard and Deo belong to.

"I was surprised with a lot of the format; I didn't really know what was going on until we got going, but Priyanka definitely helped me a lot," Wellard said.

During the debate, the pairs debate against each other and are given a topic they have to argue. Wellard and Deo were given topics such as making the school year 12 months and the Patriot Act.

"We just really don't know what's coming at us; it's very random," Deo said. "We just have to go in and do our best."

The team said they are definitely planning to continue debating together, with another tournament coming up in January.

"It was a great experience; we'll definitely do it again," Wellard said.

Service Learning Provides Unique Opportunities for UIS Students

By Courtney Westlake

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Cristina Bowman, a UIS sophomore and Springfield native, hadn't given much thought to homelessness and hunger until she decided to take a service learning course at UIS.

Bowman's class, Learning and Serving: Hunger and Homeless, requires that everyone meet certain amount of hours toward assisting and bettering the local community.

"We spend 20 hours at St. John's Breadline, and 40 hours working on group project, which is collecting items like plastic bags, small plastic containers, tea and sugar (for the clients of the Breadline)," Bowman said.

The Service Learning Program was started as an effort to get students involved in volunteer and service opportunities, and is currently led by service learning coordinator and professor of applied study Kathy Guthrie.

Under the new curriculum set by the campus senate in 2005 called ECCE (Engaged Citizenship Common Experience), students must fulfill 13 hours in various categories such as U.S. Communities, Global Awareness, a Speaker Series and more. Guthrie sets up courses that connect community service to academic credit under the ECCE requirements.

Past and present courses on community service focus on issues, including hunger and homelessness and the environment, Guthrie said. There are also online courses that center on general service and a new course that will be offered in the spring on social change and leadership.

"It's important to get not only students but any individual to think about how they can be active and involved in their community," Guthrie said. "Everyone is passionate about something, but it's finding that passion and actually acting on it."


Recently, students taking the course on environmental issues created an anti-littering campaign for city and worked with waste and recycling manager within Public Works. The students recruited high school students to pick up trash one day around the State Fair Grounds. Fifty to 60 high school students showed up to work with three UIS students, which sparked residents in the surrounding area to join the students in cleaning or offering them beverages, Guthrie said.


There is also a current group of UIS students performing service at the Animal Protective League, working with the animals and providing advocacy for the animals, she said.


For her hunger and homelessness class, Bowman is working on an additional, individual project that includes videotaping the guests of the Breadline, asking questions such as "how has the breadline helped you?" Then she will compile the information for the Breadline to help them better their services.

"It's really opened my eyes to the problems in the community," Bowman said. "We do need to help the homeless around here. My projects may seem a little small, but I know I'm doing my part in helping the community of Springfield."

As for the future of the service learning program, Guthrie is working to start an immersion program for students to provide service in other parts of the country or internationally.

"There seems to be a lot of interest in that, so once those (courses) get established, that will be quite popular because it's taking people out of the area they're used to living in and being engaged in and taking them to another part of the country they've never seen," she said.

Ideally, Guthrie hopes to build the program up and inspire students to find their passion and make a positive social change.

"I think a lot of time people get stuck and think 'I can't make a difference' or 'I can only give one hour of community service a week, a month or a year' and so then they feel it's such a small amount, they don't even do that," Guthrie said. "That hour does make a difference."

Hunger Banquet Raises Global Awareness

By Courtney Westlake

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Students and other participants learned about the worldwide issues of hunger and even got a small taste of what life would be like going hungry during the 3rd annual Oxfam Hunger Banquet.

On Wednesday evening, November 14, UIS hosted the Hunger Banquet in the Great Room in Lincoln Residence Hall. The event is held in observance of National Hunger and Homelessness Week and focused this year on the theme "Poverty Has a Woman's Face."

During the Hunger Banquet, guests are randomly assigned high-, middle-, or low-income rankings and are served food that range from gourmet meals to small portions of rice and water, depending on the guest's designation.

The program also included a video, artwork, and displays, as well as a presentation by UIS student Shana Stine, who spent a month in Kenya, Africa last summer. Stine told the personal stories of several framed photographs of children she had taken while there.

"When you hear numbers like 854 million people are hungry today, we forget that for each number, there is a story and a face, and a lot of crying, a hungry belly and a lot of pain 854 million times over," Stine said. "I was blessed to spend the summer in Kenya, and it changed my whole perspective on life and what it means to be privileged. After living with hungry orphans most of my trip, I came back a changed person."

The name of the Banquet, "Oxfam", came from the original postal abbreviation for the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, which was started in England during World War II to provide relief to war victims in Europe. Oxfam America, an affiliate of Oxfam International, is a relief and development organization that works to create lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice.

The purpose of the Hunger Banquet is to raise awareness of hunger nationally and internationally.

"The majority of the 1.2 billion people living in poverty are women; poverty has extensive implications for women around the world," said Ashley Rook, who helped to coordinate the event. "For most of us in this room, we can't imagine what it would be like to be in a refugee camp or lose a relative to starvation."

UIS Chemistry Club Gets Creative with Celebration

By Courtney Westlake

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Brightly-colored concoctions bubbling over in the Public Affairs Center on Thursday had many passerby stopping with interest, and members of the UIS Chemistry Club took the opportunity to educate their audience and showcase fascinating chemistry demonstrations.

"We are doing these demonstrations that anyone else could do with simple household chemicals," said Dr. Harshavardhan Bapat, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and faculty adviser of the Chemistry Club.

In honor of National Chemistry Week, the Chemistry Club planned an array of events, starting with the clebration of Mole Day on Tuesday, Bapat said.

"The mole measures a huge collection of either atoms or ions or anything like that; the mole is kind of like a chemist's dozen," Bapat said. "To remember the number, which is 6.022 x 10 to the 23, chemists try to remember it on the 23rd of October (the tenth month)."

The club held a presentation on Mole Day by making ice cream using liquid nitrogen, and then on Wednesday, Oct. 24, the Chemistry Club held a drawing for a free t-shirt.

The celebration of National Chemistry Week will be capped off on Monday evening, Oct. 29, with a program called "Is it Chemistry or is it Magic?," Bapat said. The free presentation will be held in Brookens Auditorium at 7 p.m. and will include unique and compelling chemistry demonstrations by nationally-known chemists from Illinois State University and Heartland Community College in Bloomington.

"The main idea is to make people aware that chemistry is an absolutely important and central science to our lives," Bapat said. "We really can't have all of the amenities and luxuries that we are so used to without chemistry. Chemistry is everywhere, and it plays an extremely important role in our wellbeing, as well as our lives."

UIS Online Programs Find Success with Students

By Courtney Westlake

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Kaley Noel is busier than most college students are – working more than 40 hours a week at her two jobs – but fortunately for her, going to class doesn’t get in the way.

To submit her homework, take part in class discussions and even complete tests, she simply heads to her living room and turns on her computer.

The University of Illinois at Springfield began online learning in 1998 with just 30 enrollments in two classes, said Ray Schroeder, director of the Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning. UIS now offers 16 bachelors and masters degrees completely online in areas that include English, computer science, public administration, history and more.

The online programs through UIS have grown tremendously in the past few years, with an increase of 11.5 percent of online students just from fall 2006 to fall 2007.

“UIS has a wonderful online program; we have more than a thousand online majors,” Schroeder said. “This semester, very nearly one half of all our students are taking at least one online class.”

Noel, who is originally from Monmouth, came to UIS her freshman year with uncertainty about what major she wished to pursue. By her junior year, she decided on mathematics, and after a couple of semesters, she found that the upper level math courses offered at UIS are primarily online. Now, as a first semester senior, Noel is taking four online classes.

“I like the freedom of not ever having to go to class and doing things on my own time,” she said. “There are still deadlines, but you just have more freedom to do your work whenever you want, wherever you want.”

Some students living on campus are in the same situation Noel is in, but many of her online classmates are from cities and states across the country, she said. Such is the case with Colleen Joyce, who connects to her classes, and the whole university, from New Jersey.

Joyce said she began searching online for universities that would allow her to finish her degree online, which she started at her local community college.

“My main focus was to find an accredited university that would offer a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies,” she said. “I looked at many universities, and my searches always came back to UIS. Once I called and spoke with Andy Egizi, online program coordinator for Liberal Studies, I was sold.”

Joyce agrees with Noel that freedom and convenience are the biggest perks of online classes. She said she has enjoyed each of her classes, especially one on the Chinese Century, which led her to travel to China.

“If I want to travel, I do not need to worry about missing my classes because my classes come with me,” she said. “Another great thing about online classes is the convenience that is offers. You log on and do your work, within a certain time period, of course, when you want to do it.”

Noel estimates that she spends about three hours working online each night. Different classes all have different deadlines for submitting homework assignments and discussion posts, she said, so it’s important to stay organized. Noel said she has just one piece of advice for her fellow online students.

”Don't procrastinate,” she laughed. “I was really bad about that when I first started, but you get a little more responsibility as you go and learn to not wait until 10:00 at night when things are due at midnight.”

With so much success in online learning, Schroeder said the university is now looking into “blended learning” programs, in which some of the class sessions are online and the rest are traditional, “face-to-face” classes.

“We have developed a large cadre of online learning programs, and now we’re beginning to look at blended learning programs, so that we can better serve our local community by reducing the number of visits they have to make to campus,” he said.

Students Beat Alumni by 3 in Annual Game

By Courtney Westlake

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Even with UIS Chancellor Richard Ringeisen on their team, the alumni of UIS couldn't pull off a victory against the team of current students.

Tuesday night's Student vs. Alumni basketball game proved close though, with a 3-point win by the students. The final score: 35 to 32.

The two teams started out with warm-ups and introductions in front of a small crowd of students, faculty, staff, friends and family. Several UIS men's and women's basketball players served as the referees for the friendly event.

Alumni, staff and faculty of all ages came out for the game, which was played in two 15 minute halves.

The game started with the students leading most of the first half, but the alumni came from behind to lead at halftime. The second half proved exciting, and the students were named the winners in the end.

Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour Motivates UIS Students

By Courtney Westlake

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Sheena Lindahl clearly remembers leaving for college with one half of her first semester paid for and $30 in her pocket. But she was determined to make it, and through ambition, action and some good fortune along the way, found a job and earned her way through school.

Lindahl is now one of the co-founders, along with Michael Simmons, of Extreme Entrepreneurship Education and authors of The Student Success Manifesto and All or Nothing, Now or Never. The pair is 2005 graduates of New York University and now travel the United States as part of the Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour.

The Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour made a stop on Wednesday afternoon, October 2, at UIS while visiting colleges nationwide to inspire students to dream big and take action.

"There are a lot of reasons that having a vision is important," Simmons told the crowd on Wednesday. "Even though it's way in the future, what you want to accomplish in your life and the legacy you want to leave, it immediately starts guiding your decisions now."

The tour also brings together young entrepreneurial speakers who have made, earned and sold their company for millions and made a huge impact before 25. UIS’ panel of speakers included Joe Kim of Springfield’s Design Ideas, Michelle Tjelmeland of e-Websmart in Springfield and Mary Byers, a local author and motivational speaker.

"Act like the person you want to be," Byers advised the audience during the panel presentation. "If you want to be a successsful CEO, you need to dress like one, you need to act like one, you need to respond to phone calls like one, you need to be a continuous student like one. Whatever it is you want to be, ask yourself how does this person act, and then act that way, and you'll be successful."

Throughout the afternoon and evening, booths were set up in the Lincoln Residence Hall entry from a variety of vendors around the area, including the UIS College of Business and Management, Career Development Center, and Center for Entrepreneurship, SCORE, LLCC Small Business Development Center, State Farm Insurance, Illinois Entrepreneurship Network, e-Websmart, Chamber of Commerce Young Springfield Professionals Network and Design Ideas.

Several workshops, speed networking and an “inspirational” keynote introduction were also offered as part of the tour’s stop. During the Dream Action workshop, participants were asked to write down their goals in life, how they might accomplish those and what obstacles they might face, and were left with the challenge of taking action on their goals.

"If you're really committed to a vision, and you're willing to take action steps, you'll have all of the resources - like research, marketing, networking - available to you," Lindahl said. "It sounds so simplistic: to take action. But if you're taking action on your vision, you can't go wrong."

Homecoming Kicks Off with Pep Rally and Bonfire

By Courtney Westlake

The University of Illinois at Springfield kicked off the 2007 Homecoming festivities with a Monday evening bonfire and pep rally. A few hundred students gathered near the campus pond to make s'mores, get their UIS Homecoming T-shirts and cheer on the Prairie Stars athletic teams.

Senior Rachel Dasenbrock, president of the student activities committee, said she was impressed by the turnout of students at the bonfire and pep rally.

"It gets students out and active and excited about homecoming," she said. "The bonfire is meant to be the kick off and start of the week to get students thinking about homecoming even though the game isn't until Saturday. So it just gets us in the mood to have school spirit."

Mary Umbarger, a sophomore who is coordinating many of this year's student homecoming activities, said a lot of work goes into planning and preparation for homecoming events.

"We moved things around a little bit, but we kept pretty much the same general line-up," she said. "We did add some of the other teams coming to the bonfire to give it a stronger kickoff. I think a lot more people stayed around this year to support our teams."

During the pep rally, students gathered around as each of the Prairie Stars teams were introduced, and the cheerleading and dance teams performed. Several nominations for homecoming court representatives were also announced.

Students said they enjoyed the night out on campus and the opportunity to celebrate the new tradition of Homecoming at UIS.

"I decided to come out because it's a good opportunity to show my support for UIS programs," said junior Ian Beall. "I like the overall atmosphere of all the students coming out. I think the turnout was pretty good from past years; now that I'm a junior, it's interesting to see how the campus has grown and become more involved."

Student Government President Has Big Plans for His Term

By Courtney Westlake

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Every meeting, before President Bob Skorczewski calls for new and old business, he asks the members of the UIS Student Government Association and meeting attendees to stand and honor their country by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

He realizes, as most involved in politics do, that the political system wouldn’t be where it is today without the basic principles the nation was founded on.

Skorczewski, who is originally from Nashville, Ill., first became interested in politics in high school, and after serving his first term for the Senate-at-Large, Skorczewski said he began to find that politics and government contained many more “niches that needed to be filled” than he originally thought.

Skorczewski then ran for vice president his junior year and served as Sergeant-at-Arms his senior year. Now, as a graduate student in political studies, he has stepped up into the role of president.

“When you study politics you learn about agenda setting; the president has a lot ability to influence what gets discussed,” he said. “It also allows me to be in a position to talk to other student government presidents around the state about legislative issues we want to work together on.”

The student government association is made up of 16 main positions, 14 of those being voting positions. There are also 20 committees, subcommittees and councils.

Skorczewski said his decision to attend UIS rested largely on the excellent “public affairs package,” and the opportunity to get to know his professors and mentors on a more personal level.

“It really helps, with the small class sizes; I didn’t realize how great it would be until I got here,” he said. “I think I know the faculty here better than my teachers in high school.”

As president of the student body, Skorczewski said he has many plans for not only the government and the students, but for the university as a whole.

“This year already, we are talking with the Springfield Mass Transit District to try to get more bus service to UIS,” he said. “In a campus setting committee, we’re working on revising the UIS academic integrity code, and in the Student Government Association, we’re working on a student Bill of Rights.”

And in working with other student government presidents this term, Skorczweski hopes that a coalition called the Illinois Students Coalition will be formed that will be able to lobby the state and federal governments as a voice for students, which he believes is a part of the population that is often overlooked.

When he’s not governing the student body or attending classes, Skorczewski serves as a research assistant for the Center for State Policy and Leadership, locating and researching grants and implementing forums for the center.

Through each of his roles, Skorczewski is hoping to get students at UIS more involved in the center and politics in general.

“We’re always looking for ways that people can get involved,” he said. “We have a number of committees; even if you don’t want to serve on the actual board, you can serve on a committee. And a personal goal is to try to get people involved in government on any level. Raise your hand and let us know what you think.”

UIS sets new enrollment records

By Courtney Westlake

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The University of Illinois at Springfield is experiencing new records as the numbers of students enrolled continue to jump from years past, according to the Office of Admissions.

“We hit another record enrollment this fall at UIS with 4,855 students enrolled, an increase of 3.8 percent over last fall’s record of 4,761 students,” said Dr. Marya Leatherwood, Director of Enrollment Management and Associate Vice Chancellor. “Most of the gain was at the undergraduate level; there are 2,863 undergraduates at UIS this fall, compared to 2,758 last fall.”

Diversity seems to be a major trend in the incoming classes, Leatherwood said. Forty percent of the freshman class this year is made up of underrepresented groups, and geographically, the numbers are spreading from outside of the immediate area.

“Over 65 percent of the student body at the freshman level is from outside of Springfield area which is tremendous in terms of gains for housing prospects,” she noted.

Online student enrollment has also increased this year, Leatherwood said; 1030 students are enrolled in the 16 online degree programs offered at UIS, which is up 11.5 percent from last year.

Each of these major steps in student enrollment brings the University closer to achieving its vision, she said.

“Part of strategic plan includes attracting and enrolling 6,000 students by the year 2012,” Leatherwood said. “And of those 6,000, we expect 4,000 of them to be taking courses on campus with 2,000 living in the residents’ halls and campus apartments.”

Workshop brings out float creativity for students

By Courtney Westlake

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Who knew that spray paint would disintegrate Styrofoam?

Students got their fair share of tips and advice on constructing and decorating a parade float on Monday, September 17, using materials like Styrofoam, chicken wire, garbage bags, paint and more.

A Build a Parade Float workshop was held in the Student Life office and was the second program of its kind this school year. The Student Life office decided to coordinate these workshops in hopes of inspiring more students and staff to build floats for the October 6 homecoming parade.

“We wanted to make sure our students could get some idea of how to build a float, or even just decorate a car, to make it easier for our student groups to enter things into the parade,” said Beth Hoag, assistant director of Student Life. “It’s fun and just casual to get people interested in the techniques and also to talk about cost-saving methods because that’s usually a concern with our student groups.”

Participants were given booklets with information on materials and pricing and practiced creating floats by stapling chicken wire on a wooden box and using paper mache and pieces of garbage bags, folded to look like flowers, to decorate.

UIS freshman Charles Olivier said he was intrigued by how parade floats are constructed, so he decided to come find out for himself. Since the deadline is looming for float applications, Olivier said he doesn’t think he will be able to pull together a float for this year’s parade, but he is excited to get some friends together to create a float for next year’s homecoming.

“I thought (the workshop) was great; they had a lot of creative ideas that you wouldn’t regularly think of,” he said.

Last year was the first year that UIS held a parade in conjunction with homecoming, and floats ranged from a fire truck to a decorated red wagon, Hoag said. She hopes the numbers of floats will begin to increase with each homecoming celebration.

“We hope to get more each year and have it build, and also get floats from the community as well,” Hoag said.

Applications for parade floats are available in the Student Life office.

Students Remember 9/11 on Sixth Anniversary

By Courtney Westlake

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Tuesday’s cool and calm night provided a serene backdrop for UIS students to pay tribute to the thousands of men, women and children who lost their lives six years ago during the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a plane crash in Shanksville, Pa.

At a 9/11 Remembrance Event on Tuesday evening, small, tea light candles were available for students, staff and passerby to light in memory of those who were affected by the tragedy. The candles were placed around the Colonnade and fountain, lighting up the Quad area and providing a peaceful atmosphere for people to reflect and pray.

The remembrance event, which occurs on each anniversary of the attacks, was sponsored by the resident assistants of the townhouses.

“We decided that something needed to be done; something needs to be done every year to commemorate and remember 9/11 and what happened,” said Heidi Fisher, an RA for the west side townhouses. “It’s something that really shouldn’t be forgotten. We need to have an active effort to remember it.”

Seniors Laura Strum and Kathleen Knolhoff spent some time reflecting by the fountain and sharing their thoughts with each other. Strum said she has family members who live in New York, and the events of the day were very personal for her.

“It was the experience that we heard about from them that really touched me,” she said. “It means a lot to come out and honor them and everyone that died that day.”

“I came out for support and remembering that very tragic day,” Knolhoff added. “It was just an eye opener.”

Blank poster boards were also provided to attendees who wished to express their thoughts in the form of a poem, picture or, for some, a simple phrase or quote.

“This is still a major event in the life of our students here at UIS,” said Loni Oehlwein, Resident Director for West Campus Apartments. “The event was just something calm and interactive for students to stop by for.”