July 2009

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Having proven that he can dance, there is only one week of competition left for Illinois Wesleyan University senior Evan Kasprzak, of West Bloomfield, Mich., before he finds out whether he is “America’s Favorite Dancer.”

Kasprzak, a music theatre major at IWU, has spent the summer competing with other dancers from around the nation on Fox TV’s “So You Think You Can Dance?,” an American Idol-style show where contenders dance on live TV for phone-in votes from the audience. Kasprzak and his brother, Ryan, both auditioned for the show in the spring, but Ryan was cut right before the top 20 dancers were established. Since then, Evan Kasprzak has performed every week for a live audience in Los Angeles, and viewers from around the U.S. have phoned in their votes on Wednesday evenings.

It was on July 30 that Kasprzak survived the final round of cuts to become one of the top four contestants on the show. Next week, he will dance for his position among the remaining two guys and two girls, hoping to win the first-place prize of $250,000 and the title of “America’s Favorite Dancer.” Notably, Kasprzak is the only competitor out of the top 20 who has not had to “dance for his life” on the Thursday night shows, because there have been sufficient votes for him to advance without impediment each week.

Whether he wins first place or not, Kasprzak will not be attending classes at Illinois Wesleyan during the fall semester, because he and the other top 12 dancers from the show will be part of a 40-city national tour. However, he has stated that he will return to campus in the spring to complete his bachelor of fine arts degree. This tour will perform in Champaign, Ill. on Sunday, Oct. 4 and in Chicago on Tuesday, Oct. 6. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University junior Lukasz Sewera was recently named the recipient of a competitive Benjamin A. Gilman international scholarship. He is one of approximately 1,000 United States students selected annually to receive the prestigious scholarship, which is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

A biology major from Norridge, Ill., Sewera will study medical practice and policy with the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS) in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was also the recipient of an approximately $4,000 scholarship from DIS, one of many scholarships awarded to Illinois Wesleyan students for international study in the coming year.

Sewera is the fourth IWU student to receive the Benjamin A. Gilman scholarship in the last two years. Others who have received the scholarship are Brad Tieche, Celeste Nunez, and Angela Rumsey, all Class of 2009. The Gilman scholarship, which awards an average of $4,000 per student, aims to diversify students who study abroad by offering financial support and to promote non-traditional study abroad destinations.

As part of the Gilman scholarship application, Sewera designed a follow-up project to his experience overseas. On the encouragement of International Office Director Stacey Shimizu, he will deliver a presentation in the spring that encourages science and pre-med students to study abroad, despite the perceived restrictions of their majors.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – While many people are struggling to find summer jobs in the economic downswing, many Illinois Wesleyan University students have obtained summer internships that give them valuable experience in the fields that could be their careers. A few of these students found such opportunities through one of IWU’s most valuable resources: its alumni.

According to Assistant Director and Internship Coordinator for the Hart Career Center Laurie Diekhoff, the job market this summer has been exceptionally tough. “Organizations have been trimming and working with minimal staff,” she said. “Students are competing with laid off workers for the jobs that do exist.”

However, from marketing for a photography business to building sets for an independent film company, three IWU students have obtained summer internships despite the competition by working with alumni. “Internships are especially important because they show that a student is following up on their career interests, learning about the field and developing concrete skills,” said Diekhoff.

Additionally, these particular internships are giving alumni an opportunity to give back to the school by supporting the students and passing on their wisdom. Following are some experiences three Illinois Wesleyan students have had working with alumni this summer.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – A group of nine faculty and staff from Illinois Wesleyan University recently traveled half way around the world to help establish ties with a university in Morocco. The participants were part of the Morocco Initiative, sent to the North African nation to explore possible collaborative projects, discuss research and meet with counterparts at Al Akhawayn University (AUI) in Ifrane, Morocco.

“We came to Morocco to learn, to experience and to share,” said Associate Dean of Curriculum Zahia Drici, who led the group of five faculty and two staff members along with International Office Director Stacey Shimizu. Those chosen for the Initiative were Academic Outreach Librarian and Associate Professor Lynda Duke, Environmental Studies Director and Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and International Studies Abigail Jahiel, Hispanic Studies Chair and Professor Carolyn Nadeau, Associate Professor of Economics Diego Mendez-Carbajo, Associate Professor of Economics Ilaria Ossella-Durbal, University of Communications Staff Writer Rachel Hatch and Career Consultant Robyn Walter.

Before leaving for their weeklong trip to Morocco in June, the group met throughout the spring semester and explored topics of research in a seminar format. Readings and discussions about Morocco included areas such as women’s role in contemporary society, the nation’s environmental challenges, cultural influences of Spain, public higher education and economic relations between the European Union and North Africa.

When in Morocco, the group scheduled several days of talks at AUI, and also set out to experience the people and culture of Morocco, making trips to historic areas of several cities. The group dined with Professor Saloua Zerhouni, who has applied to become a Fulbright scholar at Illinois Wesleyan this fall. A political science professor at Morocco’s largest university, Université Mohammad V – Souissi in the capitol city of Rabat, Zerhouni arranged meetings for the Illinois Wesleyan group with faculty and administrators at Mohammad V.

“This is how we build international bridges,” said Nadeau, who came to Morocco to study the influence that Moroccan Amazigh (or Berber) tribes played on today’s Spanish cuisine. Although she has studied extensively in Spain, Nadeau has never had the chance to cross the eight-mile stretch of water between Spain and Morocco. “I was able to walk through the markets, taste the food, talk with scholars about my research and visit with librarians at both the University of Fez and Al Akhawayn,” said Nadeau. “The physical connection to this part of history was overwhelming, in the good sense of the word.”

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan School of Theatre Arts graduate Marti Lyons will direct a challenging play this summer, but she won’t be alone. Plenty of IWU alumni and faculty have filled the ranks of the production’s cast and crew.

Tooth and Nail Ensemble will present Maria Irene Fornes’ The Conduct of Life, its debut production, beginning July 11 at Chicago’s Viaduct Theater in cooperation with Two Lights Theatre Company.

“It is incredible to work with everyone again,” Lyons said. “We are so far ahead in the process because we have a shared vocabulary from which to work.”

She and fellow Class of ’08 alumnus Tim Martin were inspired to form Tooth and Nail Ensemble after returning to Illinois Wesleyan last fall to view a production by Associate Theatre Arts Professor Sandra Lindberg. “We started talking about how we were not satisfied with the work we were doing [in Chicago],” Lyons said. “We talked about how we had a real ensemble feel in our Wesleyan training and how much we would want to work with Sandra and a lot of other Wesleyan graduates again.”

The former classmates had studied The Conduct of Life in Lindberg’s Introduction to Dramatic Literature class. “Tim and I were both very moved by the play when we read it in school, so when I mentioned it he got very excited, and then when Sandra agreed to be in it, we knew we had a show,” Lyons said.

The pair recruited Martin Langrall ’08 as their production manager and formed their own ensemble.

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