Jessica Pearce ’09, Chicago, is the new assistant principal horn of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra.  Under the direction of music director Alastair Willis, the ISO performs Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” in October and “Holiday Pops in the Heartland” in November.  Pearce, who received her Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan in 2011, is also the principal horn of the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic Orchestra led by trumpet phenom Orbert Davis.  In addition to her versatile performance schedule, Pearce teaches at two music conservatories, a high school, an inner city program for children and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

On July 17, over 2,500 alumni and friends made gifts to IWU totaling over $450,000. Unless otherwise specified by donors, all the money raised went to student scholarships and financial aid.  The “All in for Wesleyan” challenge began when Illinois Wesleyan Trustee John Horton ’82 and his wife, Joann, offered a gift of $100,000 if alumni and friends could raise $50,000 in one day.  When that challenge was met, several more challenges followed — and each was fulfilled.  Howard ’60 and Sharon ’60 Fricke offered a $10,000 gift if 600 donors participated.  Ed ’62 and Lin Phelps then offered $25,000 for 1,000 total donors.  Korey ’00 and Heidi Coon offered a $15,000 challenge for 1,200 donors.  Dr. Mike Sombeck ’83 offered $25,000 if we could reach 1,500.  Finally, at the end of the day, Dr. Randy ’73 & Jodie Reed offered $25,000 and Ed ’62 & Lin Phelps added $10,000 more to match every new gift, dollar for dollar…up to a total of $35,000 in gifts before midnight.

It was an exciting day to be a Titan.  The challenge became about so much more than numbers and dollars and donors.  It provided our alumni and friends with a chance to share their pride and explain how much IWU means to them.  If you weren’t following these conversations on social media, you can click here to read them now.  THANK YOU to all of our loyal alumni and friends who made July 17 an incredible day for our school and our students.

I recently moved to Los Angeles from Seattle to continue pursuing a career in film.  Since my arrival here, I have landed a supporting actor role in a SyFy feature film, and I am now represented theatrically and commercially. The film is called “Quadrant 9EV9.”   It’s a feature-length film with distribution via the SyFy network. It’s a sci-fi feature which follows the ill-fated camping trip of five college students who stumble upon a abandoned military base.  They unknowingly release a hidden government weapon, and things go horribly wrong. I play a young computer genius named Derrick Grant.  It’s a great experience and I really enjoy working with the cast and the production team.  I am grateful for the knowledge and skills I acquired at Illinois Wesleyan, which help me navigate the subtleties in the script and contribute to a great project.

For more information, photos, and video, please “like” the production company Here.

Daniel can be reached at daniel.will.george@gmail.com.  To learn more, check him out via Facebook atwww.facebook.com/daniel.will.george and via Twitter, @danielwillgeorg.  Representation: Johnson Talent; Teri Johnson, teri.jta@aol.com.

Congratulations on your achievements, Daniel!

This article appeared on the back cover of the Daily Herald, Wednesday 3/27.  Here’s the link to the digital version.  Attached is a picture of the print version.

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130327/entlife/703279944/?interstitial=1

The story is about my friend/co-star on the Indian sit-com Taarak Mehta Kaa Ooltah Chashmah and his trip to the U.S. to visit me and my boyfriend in Palatine this past week.  The show is the highest ranked sit-com in India, and we met on the set in 2009 while I was a guest star on the show.

I am happy to report that I have been promoted to the role of Director of Fine Arts Programs at Robert Morris University.  In addition to overseeing all department responsibilities, I will be working to improve the musicianship of all students in our marching band, pep band, choirs and jazz band!

I’m working for Groupon right now and am currently in Chennai, India for three months. We are opening offices here and I’m helping set that up. It’s been amazing. To celebrate the new year, my friends and I went to see the Taj Mahal, and just two days ago I rode an elephant! I’m so lucky I’ve been able to travel for work, and honestly, I’m constantly reminded of my May Term in 08 to Costa Rica. That was my first major trip out of the country and that experience made me super confident that I would be okay here in India.