Students

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – It was a day of beginnings and welcome for Illinois Wesleyan University students of the class of 2013. Celebrating their first day on campus, 526 new students and 31 transfer students gathered in Westbrook Auditorium of Presser Hall on Tuesday for the New Student Convocation, part of the annual “Turning Titan” week on campus.

“This is a very talented and diverse group that comes from across the nation and around the world,” said President Richard F. Wilson at the Convocation. Wilson noted students sitting in Westbrook had come to Illinois Wesleyan from 21 states and from 11 different countries. “You hail from China, Spain, Nepal, Ghana and Israel, just to name a few. The diversity of your background, interests, talents and ideas adds to the vitality of our campus community.”

Wilson led the students in their first recitation of the campus motto, “Scientia et Sapientia” (which translates to “knowledge and wisdom”). “You should do more with your time here than simply acquire facts and information,” Wilson said. “You must learn how to use that knowledge wisely for the benefit of others.”

Keynote speaker Associate Professor of English Wes Chapman said he could envision the excitement and nervousness new students experience on their first day. Still, he encouraged students to “have confidence. Have confidence that it is going to be okay, but try to have the right kind of confidence – a genuine confidence rather than a false one.”

> Hear Chapman’s address (mp3 file)

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Beginning Tuesday, Aug. 18, Illinois Wesleyan University’s class of 2013 will officially “turn Titan” as part of the University’s annual “Turning Titan: New Student Orientation.” The program is designed to acclimate incoming first-year students to academic, residential and social aspects of college life. The orientation will culminate on Sunday, Aug. 23, and University classes will begin the following Monday.

The Titan Orientation schedule will combine support services with entertainment, offering events such as “Traditions Night,” where students can socialize while learning about the University’s history, and “Real World 101,” an onstage send-up of common student anxieties.

Other key events will include: New Student Convocation, an address to be delivered by Associate Professor of English Wes Chapman titled “The Right Kind of Confidence;” “One Stop Shop: a Campus Community Resource Fair,” which introduces students to local businesses and other services; and the Summer Reading Program, which invites students, faculty and staff to critically discuss a common literary work.

This year’s selection for the reading program is Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace… One School at a Time, by New York Times No. 1 bestselling author Greg Mortenson. Co-written by journalist David Oliver Relin, Mortenson’s novel chronicles his experience in Pakistan in 1993 after a failed expedition to climb K2, which inspired his efforts to establish over 75 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the years since. Mortenson will be the guest speaker at the President’s Convocation on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 11 a.m. in the Westbrook Auditorium of Presser Hall (1210 N. Park Street, Bloomington).

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – He may not be “America’s Favorite Dancer,” but Evan Kasprzak is still Illinois Wesleyan University’s favorite dancer, as well as the favorite of millions who voted for him across the United States. Kasprzak, an IWU senior from West Bloomfield, Mich., has won third place on Fox TV’s So You Think You Can Dance?, a hit reality TV show in the style of American Idol.

A music theatre major and a dancer since the age of six, Kasprzak was the first contestant dancing the Broadway style to compete on the award-winning show’s top 20. He was also the only dancer of the top 20 in season five who did not have to “dance for his life” to stay in the competition. Each week, the TV audience phoned in votes for their favorite dancer, and there were sufficient votes for Kasprzak to advance without impediment every round of eliminations this season.

“It’s been an awesome journey and I couldn’t ask for anything else,” said Kasprzak in front of an audience of over 3,000 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. He said one of his favorite aspects of the show has been working with the various professional choreographers, many of whom have won Emmy awards for their work. Hostess Cat Deeley asked him if he was glad he had been on the show. “I’m ecstatic,” he said.

Kasprzak’s final episode was greeted with cheers from an audience of over 60 at IWU’s Minor Myers, jr. Welcome Center auditorium. Members of the campus community gathered to celebrate the Illinois Wesleyan student’s weeks of dancing on the show, and many wore shirts with the phrase “Proud Kasprzaktivist” on them.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – A group of Illinois Wesleyan University students, faculty, and alumni will present a free of charge musical in Portland, Oregon this summer.

Tin Pan Alley Theatre Company (TPA), which was started by an IWU alumnus, will present the musical Triumph of Love at the Artist’s Repertory Morrison Street Theater in Portland. Although the production is free, tickets can be reserved by e-mailing iwantfreemusicals {at} gmail(.)com or calling (503) 708-7553. The show will debut on Friday, August 7 and run until Saturday, August 22. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. PST Wednesday through Saturday, and at 2 p.m. PST for the Sunday performance on August 15.

Tin Pan Alley’s co-founder and artistic director is David Rubin, a Portland native and 2009 Illinois Wesleyan graduate with a bachelor of fine arts. “The idea behind the production,” said Rubin, “is to dedicate Triumph of Love to the average person who is ready to have some fun this summer.” According to production promotional materials, the company hopes to continue to offer free musicals in the future with the support of donations through the Web site and at performances.

The show will feature extensive involvement by Illinois Wesleyan School of Theatre Arts students, faculty, and alumni. Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts Scott Susong is the director. TPA’s managing director Natalie Buccomini, ’08, will direct the music (with Rubin choreographing). The musical also features students Maia Diaz, ’10, Neil Stratman, ’10, Melina Rey, ’11, and graduate Tony Lopez, ’08, in lead roles.

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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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