Honors Convocation 2013

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Jennie Black

April 10, 2013 was the annual Honors Convocation in Westbrook Auditorium in Presser Hall at Illinois Wesleyan. The convocation recognizes the accomplishments of both students and faculty. Rebecca Roesner, Associate Professor of Chemistry, was named the winner of the 2014 Kemp Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence. This is the university’s highest honor for excellence in teaching. The 2013 winner of the award was Narendra Jaggi, professor of physics. He was presented with the award at the convocation by Nick Kemp of the Kemp Foundation. Professor Jaggi was the keynote speaker at the convocation, giving an address entitled “Refracting Honor Through a Personal Prism.” You can view Professor Jaggi’s speech here.

Nick Kemp, Professor Narendra Jaggi, and University President Richard Wilson smile as Professor Jaggi is presented with the Kemp Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence.

Alternative Spring Break

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Jennie Black

Each year, IWU students have the option of spending spring break volunteering for charity. This year, the Alternative Spring Break (ASB) trip was to Laredo, Texas, a town near the border of the US and Mexico. International student Sophia Li (’15) went on the trip and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, which builds homes for those in need.

Sophia and the other students volunteering spend seven days on ASB, including a 24-hour bus ride to Texas and a fun day in San Antonio, Texas. There were two work sites, and Sophia worked to cut insulation and build a home. The students used power tools to accomplish this, and Sophia learned how to use a nail gun. She says that when she has her own home, she will now know how to do home-improvement and renovations with the skills she acquired on ASB. Sophia also met a boy helping to build the home since his family had also received a home from Habitat for Humanity. In this way, the recipients become the volunteers, and everyone is connected through the program.

The trip was a combination of work and fun. At night, there were activities for the ASB students to have fun and get to know each other. One night, a Mexican fiesta was held at a beach house, and the students were able to spend time with the family who would live in the house being built.

Sophia really enjoyed her experience with ASB. She says it was an enriching experience, especially as an international student, and that she would recommend ASB to everyone!

Career Connections Features International Students

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Jennie Black

Each month, the Hart Career Center at IWU, which helps students with job, graduate school, and internship searches, releases a Career Connections newsletter with advice for after graduation. The April 2013 issue features three international students, AmmarMalik, Yelei Kong, and Sijia Song, all from the class of 2013. These students, along with other members of the graduating class, share their advice for current students and reflect on their time at IWU.

This issue, as well as past issues, of Career Connections, can be read in PDF format here.

Tung Nguyen Places 49th in Putnam Competition

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Jennie Black

Tung Nguyen ’15

On December 1, 2012, the 73rd annual William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition was held. The competition, which is always held on the first Saturday in December, is known for its difficulty. This year, 4,277 undergraduate students participated in the competition, which includes students from the United States and Canada. Illinois Wesleyan student Tung Nguyen (’15) participated in the Putnam Competition and placed 49th, earning a score of 50 out of 120 possible points, and an Honorable Mention. Congratulations to Tung!

Nate Evans Studies in Morocco

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Jennie Black

IWU student Nate Evans (’14) is currently studying abroad in Morocco with the School for International Training (SIT). His blog, Four Months Overseas, details his adventures while in Morocco’s capital, Rabat, and traveling throughout Morocco. Some of the things Nate has had the opportunity to do while studying abroad include celebrating Passover with the U.S. ambassador to Morocco, Samuel L. Kaplan, seeing the king’s royal palace in Fes, tasting delicious Moroccan food, riding a camel, and living in a home-stay with a Moroccan family. Read Nate’s full blog here.

Intricate designs inside al-Karaouine University, the oldest in the world. Located in Fes, the school is now a working mosque.

Sun sets on the Casablanca beach. The tower on the left is the Hassan II Mosque, which you can see from anywhere in the city.

Nate’s group stopped by this textile shop in the Fes medina. Multicolored scarfs and caftans and dresses stacked upon one another made for a stunning visual display.

Zung’s Food Photography

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Jennie Black

Zung Do (’15) really enjoys taking photographs of food she makes. She first began her food photography because it combines two of her interests. She enjoys cooking and baking, especially as a birthday treat for friends. She also likes cooking with other Vietnamese students as a way to bond and feel connected to home. Since Zung also likes taking photos, she naturally combined her two hobbies, and ended up with some awesome photos.

Red Velvet Cakeballs

Choux à la Crème

Red Velvet Black Bottom Cupcakes

Founders’ Day Convocation

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Jennie Black

February 7, 2013 marked the annual Founders’ Day Convocation, held in Westbrook Auditorium in Presser Hall. The convocation is given in honor of the thirty signers of Illinois Wesleyan’s charter in 1850.

Allen C. Guelzo presents at the Founders’ Day Convocation

This year is not only Illinois Wesleyan’s 163rd anniversary, but the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Allen C. Guelzo, the current Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, spoke at the convocation about the Civil War and the end of slavery in the United States. Many of the individuals who signed the university’s charter knew President Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation, personally.

Lunar New Year

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Jennie Black

The IWU campus community celebrated the Lunar New Year together on Sunday, February 10, 2013 at the Hansen Student Center. The event was sponsored by the International Studies department’s Asian Studies team. We enjoyed an evening of great food with entertainment by Chicago-based Tsukasa Taiko.

Visit Tsukasa Taiko here.

The Chicago-based Japanese percussion group Tsukasa Taiko performs.

Son Vu Dang ’15 (left) and Zung Do ’15 (right) show items from their home city of Hanoi to Rudy Negrete.

International Mother Language Day

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Allison Sutton

Students write names in their mother language

To celebrate International Mother Language Day, IWU international students invite people on campus to have their name written in another language. International Mother Language Day is a joint project between UNESCO and the US State Department. It was first celebrated on February 21, 2000 to honor the day in 1952 when students were killed by police while demonstrating for recognition of their mother language in what is now Bangladesh. Linguistic and cultural diversity are the celebration’s goals. Read more Here.

Spring is Here!

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Allison Sutton

Purple Blossoms Outside of Buck

Spring has arrived at IWU! The sun is warming the ground and the trees are blossoming! Students are sporting shorts and sandals as they absorb the sun’s warmth while traveling from class to class–some classes are even meeting outside! The sun has arrived just in time to usher us into commencement and then May term.

Trees surround the bell In front of McPherson Theatre

International Features

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