A second year student in the Ph.D. program at the University of Wisconsin, Thomas Sobrya ’14 was awarded a prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) by the National Science Foundation.
Two publications coauthored by Sobrya were published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry, one of which was also coauthored by fellow Alumni Jennifer Faust ’10 who is currently in a post-doc position in Canada.
More about Sobrya’s field of study and the Fellowship can be read here
Nicole Besa ’14, who was known as Nicole Chamberlin during her time at Illinois Wesleyan, will be in the ensemble of The King and I at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Nicole Besa ’14
Samantha Olson ’14, a second-year graduate student in the University of Illinois’ Biomedical Visualization program worked to design the new logo for the National Museum of Health + Medicine Chicago.
In the announcement article on the new logo, Olson said “My peers had also developed beautiful, insightful logos. We all pushed each other in the project, and that family-like support is why I love my graduate program at UIC.”
More about the design of the logo and Olson’s work on it can be read here
Congratulations to Erin Sweeney from the Class of 2014! Sweeney was selected to be a part of the PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association) 20 in Their Twenties Class of 2016.
During her time at IWU, Sweeney joined AGD, worked as president of AMA and of SAAC, and played on the softball team. She graduated with a degree in business administration with a focus in marketing.
Twenty in their Twenties is a program that is designed to engage the best and brightest in the Meetings, Conventions, and Business Events industry. Those selected will have the PCMA platform to exhibit their talents and share how they will shape the meetings industry in the future.
More about the program can be read here.
Illinois Wesleyan University student Jenny Prochotsky ’16 has organized a project to distribute free fresh produce at pop-up produce stands in west Bloomington’s food deserts. So far more than 3,000 pounds of produce has been collected from the Downtown Bloomington Association Farmers Market and distributed through the generosity of farmers and the efforts of dozens of volunteers. “After studying food justice issues at Illinois Wesleyan, I was interested in putting a real-life framework to the topic by speaking to people who live in the experience,” Prochotsky said. Within one day of deciding to pursue this interest, she had set up the first pop-up stand using produce from the IWU Peace Garden.
As the project developed, Jenny received help from IWU alumni and staff including, Karin McDowell ’00; Cheryl (Baller) Philippi ’81; Michael Gorman ’10, Information Technology Project Analyst; Deborah Halperin, IWU’s Action Research Center Program Coordinator; Admissions Counselor Bobby Castillo ’13, and Manish Mandava ’14.
Alumnus Joe O’Brien has received the Hester Merwin Ayers Art Achievement Award, which honors a member of the Illinois Wesleyan University senior class for outstanding achievement during four years of undergraduate study in art. O’Brien is quoted as saying, “I see the faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University awarding me the Hester Merwin Ayers Art Achievement Award as a sign of encouragement. (It’s an indication) that my studio practice over the last four years has developed well, and that I should continue pushing myself and my studio practice forward in the same way.”
Joe O’Brien ’14
Congratulations, Joe!
Read more about Joe’s accomplishment here.
Illinois Wesleyan University alumna Kathryn Seibring was selected this past June as one of the first 50 Woodrow Wilson New Jersey Teaching Fellows, a competitive teacher training program through the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation of Princeton, New Jersey. According to a recent article published about Seibring’s success, the fellowship program “recruits both recent graduates and career changers with strong backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and math — the STEM fields — and prepares them specifically to teach in high-need secondary schools.” Seibring will receive $30,000 to complete a specially designed master’s program based on a yearlong classroom experience and apply what she learns through through teaching at New Jersey schools in need of STEM teachers.
Kathryn Seibring ’14
Congratulations, Kathryn!
Read the full article here.
Nicole Chamberlin, alumna of Illinois Wesleyan University’s School of Music, received national recognition for her participation in the Classical Singer Competition in San Antonio, Texas this past May. Out of 1,500 singers, Chamberlin was one of the few to progress to the live rounds of both divisions: advancing to the Semifinals of the musical theatre division and the Finals of the classical voice division. Her success earned her a scholarship to the Graduate Vocal Arts Program at Bard College in Annadale-on-Hudson, N.Y., and a place in the Tyrolean Opera Program in Austria.
Congratulations, Nicole!
Read the full article here.
Nick Anderson ’14, IWU Business alumnus and star basketball player, has finished a Finalist in the National Collegiate Athletic Association‘s (NCAA) Elite 89 Academic Recognition Award Program. According to the NCAA’s website, the Elite 89 Award “recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers” and is “presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 89 championships.” Anderson, with an outstanding 3.97 GPA, received the Elite 89 award for the 2014 NCAA Division III men’s basketball championship.
Nick Anderson ’14
The new “Fan Favorite” portion of the award allows fans to vote for their favorite recipient of the Elite 89 award, with the winner receiving additional recognition from the NCAA. After advancing to the Semifinals and Finals, Anderson finished fourth with a total of 2,010 votes.
Congratulations, Nick!
View the final vote tally here and read about Anderson’s advancement to the Semifinals here.
Harrison Freeland ’14 has been hired as senior associate in the Champaign office of Murray Wise Associates. According to the Business and Professional Briefs in Champaign’s News-Gazette, Freeland will “assist in marketing efforts for auctions, financial modeling and valuation for Murray Wise Capital and crop scouting and reporting with the company’s farm management team in Iowa.”
Congratulations, Harrison!
Harrison Freeland ’14
Read the full article here.