On August 16, 2018, Matt Cassady accepted a new position with the Minnesota Historical Society as the Program Specialist for their brand-new Interpretive Programs Team. Matt’s new responsibilities include leading institution-wide initiatives and projects around historic interpretation, educational program development, staff training, and communications for the Society’s 26 historic sites and museums. Working with the other members of the team, Matt will also develop strategies to create and foster partnerships with community groups and leaders, organizations, businesses, educational organizations to further the mission of the Minnesota Historical Society.
Category Archives: News
Homecoming Awards Ceremony
Join IWU at this year’s Homecoming to recognize Debo Olaosibekan on his achievement. The awards ceremony is Friday, October 5th; Debo will also be announced as the winner at the October 6 football game during halftime. Register to attend at https://www.iwu.edu/homecoming.
To learn more about Debo’s achievements, check out our recent class newsletter post.
Debo Olaosebikan Named Outstanding Young Alumnus
The 2018 Robert M. Montgomery Outstanding Young Alumnus will be presented to Debo Olaosebikan ’06 Alumni Award at Homecoming on October 5th at the Alumni Awards Ceremony at 6 p.m. in the Memorial Center’s, Young Main Lounge in recognition of outstanding professional achievement and civic leadership. Olaosebikan is the chief technology officer and co-founder of Gigster, a smart software development service utilized by top businesses including Staples, Airbus and MasterCard. Olaosebikan came to Illinois Wesleyan from Nigeria as a Presidential Scholar at 16 years old and was named the IWU Anderson Scholar for 2005-06. Olaosebikan pursued graduate-level physics at Cornell University, where he represented Cornell in a collaboration with MIT, Stanford and Caltech to build the world’s first electrically activated silicon laser, a project supported by $6 million in grants. Olaosebikan has demonstrated his dedication to promoting education through a variety of scholarships and educational opportunities for students in Nigeria, including CATCH AFRICA, a scholarship competition for secondary school students. A link to the full article may be found here.All In For Wesleyan
Tuesday, April 3rd is our day of giving at Illinois Wesleyan and this year’s theme is
Think Bigger!
Not only is today a day for giving, it’s a day to celebrate IWU and all of the things that make it special. Last year, our class had an impressive 43 donors, let’s try for 50 this year! We contributed $2985. Our goal this year is $3500! Think of the impact this can make for IWU students and their families!
Click here to learn more and to donate on Tuesday, April 3rd.
Help spread the word using #AllInForWesleyan and take advantage of our social media toolkit.
Katie Salo Serves on Caldecott Award Committee
Katie Salo (’06) served on the 2018 Randolph Caldecott Award committee. The winner this year is Matthew Cordell for his book Wolf in the Snow. The committee chose four honor books as well. They are: Big Cat, little cat by Elisha Cooper, Crown illustrated by Gordon C. James and written by Derrick Barnes, A Different Pond illustrated by Thi Bui and written by Bao Phi, and Grand Canyon by Jason Chin. The awards will be given in June at the American Library Assocation’s Annual conference.
Details on the award/ award winner, and a link to more about the award and the selection process can be found here.
Congratulations to Katie on this awesome achievement!
Kyle Brigham in Forbes Magazine Online
Check out the full article from Forbes.com here.
How well do you know IWU?
How well do you know Illinois Wesleyan University?
IWU Crossword ANSWER KEY
ACROSS
4. Eric
5. Stevenson
7. Powell
8. Sapientia
10. State
12. Hedding
13. Black
15. Aflame
DOWN
1. Japan
2. Illinois
3. Memorial
6. Tommy
9. Titan
11. Female
14. Park
Happy Holidays Class of 2006!
The spirit of giving is all around us this holiday season, please consider giving the gift of bright futures to current and future Illinois Wesleyan University students. Your gifts provide opportunities and experiences that will be remembered for a lifetime.
Giving Tuesday
After Black Friday and Cyber Monday is #GivingTuesday, a global initiative to celebrate generosity and give back during the holiday season. Join the movement and help make bright futures possible for current Titans with a gift at www.iwu.edu/give today!
Debbie (Bartell) Hochdörffer ’06
Debbie (Bartell) (’06) and Jan Hochdörffer welcomed their daughter and newest Tiny Titan, Annina Lynn, into the world on September 25th, 2017.
Congratulations, Debbie and Jan!




