Congratulations to Brien Rooney ’11 and his wife, Mallory, on the arrival of their new Tiny Titan! Rory John Rooney was born on January 23, 2021. Congratulations on the newest addition to your family!
Brien Rooney ’11
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Sara Ghadiri ’11
Congrats to Sara T. Ghadiri ’11, who is the winner of IWU’s Robert M. Montgomery Outstanding Young Alumni Award!
Ghadiri graduated magna cum laude from Illinois Wesleyan with a double major in Comparative Political Science and Philosophy and minor in Music. As a student, she was active in the School of Music, lending her talents to the Jazz Ensemble and the Symphony Orchestra, and performing during chapel hour. Ghadiri was also a proud member of Sigma Alpha Iota.
In 2014, Ghadiri earned a law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law with service honors, winning awards for human rights and client service. During her time in law school, Ghadiri was selected as an ABA Judicial Intern Opportunity Program Intern for the Honorable Rben Castillo, formerly Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Her last year of law school, she worked for the University of Iowa Clinical Law Program, where she helped low-income Iowans secure domestic violence orders of protection and assisted on a number of immigration cases under the supervision of clinical law professors while also running a jazz combo and teaching private double bass lessons.
Ghadiri was a summer associate at Chapman and Cutler LLP during law school, and after graduation joined the banking and financial services litigation group in 2014. She became her firm’s first Pro Bono Counsel in 2018 and balances her pro bono program leadership and caseload with an active bank-related litigation practice. Ghadiri has also been the recipient of a number of awards for her work and advocacy on behalf of pro se litigants, immigrants and survivors of domestic violence, including awards from Chapman and Cutler LLP, the American Bar Association, the National Immigrant Justice Center, Legal Aid Chicago, and the Illinois Jaycees, which named her an Illinois Outstanding Young Person of 2019.
Submit a note of congratulations to Sara T. Ghadiri here .
Beth (White) Schaller ’11
Beth (White) Schaller ’11 married Evan Schaller on June 27, 2020! Congratulations to them! The couple’s parents and siblings joined them in-person, with many family and friends joined virtually. Hannah (Jones) Heinzel ’11 and Sara (Thome) Nader ’11 served as bridesmaids and assisted in the planning of the wedding. Beth’s Sigma Alpha Iota sisters surprised her with a video serenade. 
Dr. Dan DeWeert ’11
June 23rd at 7 pm, Dr. Dan DeWeert ’11, an ER doctor from Detroit, Michigan, shared his experiences from the middle of the pandemic. Dan graduated from IWU in 2011 with a religion major and a chemistry minor, received his M.D. from the University of Iowa and now works for the Henry Ford Health System. He also shared about his journey from IWU through medical school to the ER. Thank you , Dan!
Amber Spiewak ’11
Jessica Schaeffer ‘11
Titans Supporting Titans
Ways to Support Fellow Titans
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- To share a word of support for your classmates at this time, submit a post to your class newsletter by emailing your editor or if your class does not have an editor, send your post to classnews@iwu.edu.
- You can provide support to the Titan Student Emergency Fund. This fund will provide relief to students with needs such as housing, travel, moving and storage, transportation and vehicle repair, and technology needs related to remote learning.
- If you have expertise or a career opportunity that you can share with students, please connect with a Hart Career Center staff member for a phone or video appointment through a Handshake account here. You can also post job and internship opportunities on the site. View FAQs here.
- University Archives & Special Collections wants to hear your experiences and reflections to keep a historical record of the impact of the pandemic on the Illinois Wesleyan community, you can learn more here.
- Assist the IWU Admissions team in student recruitment efforts. Our alumni are the best and most qualified to meet with prospective students to share your IWU experience. Sign up here: Titan Alumni Ambassadors.
- You can see more ideas here.
Bianca Cotton ‘11
Thank you to Bianca Cotton ’11, volunteered to eat lunch and talk with students during the Psychology and Sociology Luncheon on 2/12/20, concerning Bianca’s experience as a leader of United Way of Metropolitan Chicago’s AmeriCorps program. She is also the author of 3 books geared towards women overcoming their fears. Her website is: behindtheconfidentsmile.com