February 16th is Thank A Giver Day — a day when the Illinois Wesleyan campus community celebrates the generosity of our supporters. We celebrate Thank A Giver Day on February 16th because at this point we’re 70% of the way through the school year. Since tuition covers 70% of the total cost of an IWU education, it’s a fitting time to draw attention to the fact that outside support from alumni and friends of the University plays a key role in delivering the kind of educational experience we expect from our alma mater.
Last year, over 8,000 people made gifts to Illinois Wesleyan University and, regardless of the size, each and every one played a role in keeping Illinois Wesleyan strong. If you would like to take a moment to make your annual gift, we invite you to do so at iwu.edu/give.
Go Titans!
Class of 2012 graduates Jake and Jordan (Diehl) Mann were married at Ewing Cultural Center in Bloomington on Oct. 11, 2014.
The Manns met and got engaged at IWU, and paid tribute to their alma mater with a Tommy the Titan cake topper. Many fellow Titans joined in the celebrations. Congratulations, Jake and Jordan!
Adriane Powell was recently named Director of Alumni Relations for Illinois Wesleyan University. Adriane has been an adopted Titan since 2010, and has lived in the Bloomington-Normal community for over 30 years. She loves to meet IWU alumni where they live, work, and play. Adriane has experience working with a diverse group of IWU alumni and is looking forward to continuing to connect with Titans all over the world!
Please join us in congratulating Adriane on her new role in the Office of Alumni Relations!
Carlee Nestelberger recently launched a new website for her handmade jewelry. She credits her trip to Uganda while at Illinois Wesleyan University for the vision behind her growing business.
Carlee said that during her 2011 trip to Uganda, she witnessed the incredible need for the simple, yet profound luxury of clean water. From Kampala to Gulu, she became increasingly aware of how such a simple thing could make a huge impact on the people she came to love during the months she spent there. This African adventure helped shape her business, AmazziRoots and gave designing, creating and selling jewelry a deeper purpose.
AmazziRoots is raising awareness and funds to support water provision projects across the globe. Ten percent of all purchases from the shop go directly to Blood:Water Mission, a grassroots organization that empowers communities to work together against the HIV/AIDS and water crises in East Africa.
To visit Carlee’s shop and learn more about her mission, click here.
Patrick Dahl ’12 and Illinois Wesleyan University physics professor Gabriel Spalding were recognized in Physics World magazine for their team’s creation of the first acoustic tractor beam. The tractor beam was named a top-10 breakthrough in physics in 2014.
“The team, which also included Christine Démoré and Mike MacDonald of the University of Dundee, Scotland, was recognized for creating the first acoustic tractor beam by using energy from an ultrasound array to exert force behind a centimeter-sized object and pull it toward the energy source.
“The immediate application of the new tractor beam technology is medical. One goal is to improve ultrasound surgery used to treat and destroy tumors more effectively and efficiently. It could also be used to treat Parkinson’s disease and chronic pain, or to deliver prescription drugs to a precise point in the body or a safe supply of universal donor blood, according to Spalding, who is the B. Charles and Joyce Eichhorn Ames Professor of Physics.”
To learn more about this ground-breaking invention, click here.
Kelsie Lorraine Gleason, age 24, a resident of West Lebanon, NH, formerly of Naperville, IL, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, November 22, 2014. She was born May 21, 1990 in Hinsdale, IL.
Beloved daughter of Robert W. “Bob” and Mary Kay (nee Jordan) Gleason of Naperville, loving twin sister of Courtney H. Gleason of Sycamore, IL, adored fiancé of Nathan Butters of West Lebanon, NH, loving owner of two Border Collies, Saoirse and Arya, cherished granddaughter of the late Norman and Hazel Gleason and the late Thomas and Lorraine Jordan, dear niece of Judy (Bruce) Leighton, Thomas (Suzanne) Gleason and Frances (Richard Mulvaney) Todd; Thomas (Becky) Jordan, James (Cathy) Jordan, Robert (Christine) Jordan and Theresa Jordan, fond cousin, friend and sorority sister of many.
Kelsie grew up in Naperville, attended Meadow Glens Elementary School and Madison Junior High School and was a 2008 graduate of Naperville Central High School where she was a member of the National Honor Society and the NCHS Marching Band (playing the clarinet). She went on to receive a bachelor degree in Biology and Hispanic Studies from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington and she was currently a second year medical student at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. Kelsie took advantage of the opportunity to study abroad and was a member of the Kappa Delta Sorority and the Multicultural Club at Illinois Wesleyan. She also volunteered at the local Humane Society and was currently serving her country in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. Kelsie enjoyed marathons and extreme running events, loved horses and excelled at the Hunter Jumper Trials and was active in Doctors Without Borders.
Visitation Friday, November 28, 3:00-8:00 PM at Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 44 S. Mill St., Naperville.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Saturday, November 29, 9:30 AM at SS. Peter & Paul Catholic Church, 36 N. Ellsworth Street, Naperville.
Interment: Wheaton Cemetery, Wheaton, IL.
For more information, please call (630)355-0213.
In lieu of flowers, memorials to:
High Horses Therapeutic Riding Program, www.HighHorses.org. High Horses is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. All gifts are tax deductible.
or
Wounded Warriors, woundedwarriorproject.org
or
Doctors Without Borders, doctorswithoutborders.org
It is with great sadness that we report on the passing of a member of the class of 2012. Kelsie Gleason of Naperville, Ill. passed away suddenly on Saturday, Nov. 22 in Hanover, N.H.
Kelsie was in her second year at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine, and was also a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. At IWU, she double-majored in biology and Hispanic studies and was a member of Kappa Delta Sorority.
From Kappa Delta’s Facebook page:
“Our hearts are heavy in Omicron chapter. Today we have learned of the passing of our alumna sister, Kelsie Gleason ’12, a medical student at Dartmouth. Our thoughts are with her family and fiancé. Please join us in thought and prayer as we remember our sister.”
We ask that you keep Kelsie’s KD sisters, friends, family and fiance, Nathan Butters ’10, in your thoughts. If you would like to share memories of Kelsie’s life, please email our newsletter editors.
Adapt Theatre Productions in Chicago recently welcomed class of 2012 grad Michael Holding as its first-ever artistic associate. Michael most recently performed in the company’s productions of Dancing in the Storm and Below: A Bold Reimagining of the Little Mermaid.
Elsewhere in Chicago, Michael appeared in The Merchant of Venice and The Madness of Edgar Allen Poe (First Folio Theatre), The Diviners (Organic Theater) and regionally as Leo in 4000 Miles (Theatresquared). Later this winter, he will appear in the Midwest premiere of Really Really with Interrobang Theatre.
Please join us in congratulating Michael!
