With over 1,000 RSOs, University students still find innovative ways to bring communities together over shared interests. Illinois Global Review, a new RSO, has introduced the University’s first foreign affairs journal.
The group is a “globally focused organization dedicated to reporting accurate and informative news from every region of the world,” according to its Instagram.
President and founder Agnes Akenou, junior in LAS, came up with the idea for IGR during her sophomore year. Looking for a community of her own, Akenou launched IGR in the spring of 2024.
“I was just looking for an outlet, a platform where I could talk about the things happening in the world, but I didn’t find any RSOs on campus that specifically focused on that or fulfilled that need,” Akenou said.
The journal features six geographical subsections: North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and Oceania.
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Vice President Luca Iasinschi, junior in LAS, played an instrumental role in getting the RSO off the ground. He helped promote the group around campus and led member meetings.
“One of the reasons that we founded the club was because a lot of us found that we have very deep interests,” Iasinschi said. “We put a lot of hard work into doing research for our classes, and we felt that a lot of our assignments never really got to be put anywhere for other people to read.”
Iasinschi writes for the journal while performing his leadership duties. His primary focus is on Eastern Europe, and he channeled that interest into a story about the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“It goes a little bit into how aid to Ukraine has been politicized, especially recently and even more so since the article was published,” Iasinschi said. “How that aid has changed in its amount and its support domestically in the U.S., but also the importance of that support.”
Stephany Barrios Hernandez, IGR’s secretary and senior in LAS, recently joined, spurred by a newfound interest in international relations after a summer internship on Capitol Hill.
“I think that pushed me more into a pre-law career, specifically in international relations,” Barrios Hernandez said. “When I found out there was an up-and-coming RSO, I found it really amazing, and I wanted to join.”
IGR has grown significantly this semester, and Akenou shared that it had a successful first general meeting in early November. The journal now features around 15 regularly involved writers.
“Just seeing the interest was really, really great,” Iasinschi said. “To be building a group of like-minded individuals is very rewarding.”
Getting IGR off the ground was not without its challenges. It took until this semester to garner more engagement, and the board members said they have learned valuable lessons from this experience.
“When we first started, things weren’t working out, and I had to ask myself why that was,” Akenou said. “I had to figure out what leadership meant and what leadership had to look like, and I think a strong leader has a vision.”
Akenou worked hard to create an open environment where she could communicate the image she had for IGR and actively listen to members.
“I needed to give the group a concrete, very clear idea as to where we were going and what we were,” Akenou said. “But a good leader is also a good listener. You need to let everybody express themselves and their ideas.”
Barrios Hernandez stressed the importance of learning from her fellow students in IGR, sharing how much she has gained from the collaboration.
“As a senior, I’ve seen that people’s writing styles can vary a lot, but even more so when you’re writing about international topics — what matters to people, what they’re writing about, what their stances are and how they go about writing that.” Barrios Hernandez said.
Looking forward, Akenou hopes to grow involvement and publication. She wants to create relationships with related academic departments, ideally inviting faculty members to write from an expert’s perspective.
While the semester wraps up, IGR is just getting started. The journal always accepts new ideas and writers to diversify its content as its platform grows.
