GradFest a fun, but also beneficial event for grads
By Mara Shapiro
May 6, 2014
When commencement comes to a close on May 17, graduation caps will be tossed and diplomas will be handed out, and seniors will officially become alumni. The Student Alumni Ambassadors and the University Alumni Association recognize and celebrate the achievement of graduation annually with their co-...
‘Don’t forget to look forward’
May 6, 2014
Dear seniors, On May 17, you,along with 11,000 of your peers, will “turn the tassels,” throw your caps into the air and take one last picture by the (now bronze) Alma Mater statue. Although entering the “real world” may seem daunting, there’s no doubt that the next few years will bring with them...
Seniors: By the numbers
By Stephanie Kim
May 6, 2014
In about two weeks, roughly 11,000 seniors will finish their undergraduate schooling with years of memories and a bachelor’s degree in hand. But even if they represent more than one-fourth of the student body, it is difficult to know who they are and what they do. Using data from the University’s D...
Graduation weekend schedule of events
May 6, 2014
Native American House Congratulatory Program For all graduating Native American students When: Friday, May 16, at 5:30 p.m. Location: Illini Union Rooms A, B and C Bruce D. Nesbitt African-American Cultural Center Black Congratulatory Ceremony For all graduating African-American students When: F...
Scholar, sister and achiever
May 6, 2014
According to Ashley Robin, senior in Business, becoming a Bronze Tablet Scholar was pretty much expected of her by her parents. Since the start of her academic career, she has been a straight-A student. Even with the rigorous curriculum Robin said she has gone through over the past four years, she h...
425,000 and growing: University alumni continue to span a variety of fields
May 6, 2014
Graduation day can be a time for current students to look back on their college memories, but it can also be a time for University alumni to reflect on how much they have accomplished since their own days at the University. Whether past students graduated one year ago or 20 years ago, alumni serve as an i...
Senior Essay: “What does U of I mean to me?”
By Kelsey Vlamis
May 6, 2014
Alas, when asked to comment on my University experience in approximately 500 words, I found myself drawing a blank. Not due to a lack of notable experiences, but rather an inability to determine which of these experiences is most representative of my time here. As I spend my final days preparing for th...
Commencement speaker Mike Hopkins credits UI with success
May 6, 2014
On Sept. 25, 2013, Colonel Mike Hopkins was strapped in the Soyuz TMA-10M spacecraft ready for takeoff on his first mission to space. If this sounds like the beginning to a science fiction novel, that’s because even for Hopkins, preparing to blast through Earth’s atmosphere seemed like a surreal exp...
Seniors aim to finish bucket list before graduation
By Christen McGlynn
May 6, 2014
With only a couple weeks left of the school year, the class of 2014 is starting to say farewell to its four undergraduate years at the University. While they may have started their time here as freshmen who were unaware and overwhelmed by the large campus that surrounded them, as seniors, they are becom...
Four years of change around campus
By Earn Saenmuk
May 6, 2014
One of most significant changes was made only two years ago— the restoration of the Alma Mater. The Alma Mater left campus on August 7, 2012 for an extended restoration and returned to campus on April 9, 2014. Unlike the previous graduating class, the class of 2014 can rest assured that they will have ...
