Zach Silver ’18

Zach Silver ’18 has been working with Laurie Santos, director of the Comparative Cognition Laboratory and the Canine Cognition Center at Yale University. Zach is a graduate student interested in how nonhuman animals learn from and about human agents. He also provides original music for Santos’ podcast The Happiness Lab.

Jacob Taitel ‘18

Jacob Taitel ‘18 has had a busy semester! On April 29, a musical scale book for tuba, Beyond the Scale, was officially published by Encore Music Publishers. The book originated at IWU (under the name The Well Tempered Tuba) in 2018 and it received research honors the same year.
Congratulations, Jacob! What an awesome accomplishment!

Jacob Taitel ’18

Thank you very much to Jacob Taitel ’18, who returned to Illinois Wesleyan February 8th and 9th to give a Tuba recital and a masterclass to our tuba/euphonium  students. He is pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Tuba Performance at the University of Michigan starting next fall. Go Jacob!

Jacob appears in the middle with the red tie.

Engaging with IWU Virtually

Here are ways to virtually engage with IWU and fellow Titans:

  • Performances from IWU alumni, students and faculty
    Contact us at iwualum@iwu.edu if you have a virtual performance to share. Follow the School of Theatre Arts Facebook page for posts about performances by students and alumni.
  • Back to College Classes
    Check out videos of previous classes featuring alumni.
  • Take part in Titan Talks: Webinar Series
    We are excited to launch this series featuring alumni, faculty and staff.
  • Start a Titan Group
    Have you been wanting to start a book club? Let us know at iwualum@iwu.edu and we can help connect you to other interested alumni.
  • IWU Social Media
    Follow Illinois Wesleyan University Alumni Association social media for the latest updates and announcements – FacebookTwitterLinkedIn.
  • Virtual Titan Connections
    We miss connecting with Titans in person, but we would love to see photos or videos from your virtual connections. Show your Titan pride and tag IWU Alumni Association (@IWU_AlumniAssoc) on Twitter and (@illinoiswesleyanalumni) on Facebook. You can also post in your Regional Alumni Chapter’s Facebook group, reunion group, or affinity group.
  • Titan Challenges
    Challenge your fellow Titans to a virtual 5K or fitness challenge. Be sure to wear your favorite Titan gear and share a photo on social media or you can send it to iwualum@iwu.edu.

Titans Supporting Titans

Ways to Support Fellow Titans
    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. You can see more ideas here.

TAG Day 2020

Thank-A-Giver Day (TAG Day) is Monday, February 10. This day provides the IWU campus community with the opportunity to thank donors who support Illinois Wesleyan. IWU celebrates each year in mid-February because it marks the symbolic point during the academic year – about 70% of the way through – when we rely on support from alumni and friends, our endowment, and external grants.  

If you would like to be celebrated as a donor today, you can make a gift at iwu.edu/give

Emilee Lieser (Monken) ’18 and Erich Lieser ’18

Congradulations to Emilee Lieser (Monken) ’18 and Erich Lieser ’18 for getting married on June 8th! They met in the education department during their time at IWU. Erich played football all four years and Emilee was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta. Present at the wedding were many fellow students and alumni, including Emilee’s parents, who are alumni, and Emilee’s sister, who is a student.

 

In photo, from left to right: Jon Lieser, Bobby Lieser, Ian McGinnis (IWU ’18), Matt Campbell (current IWU employee and student), Brian Johnson (IWU 2014-18), Trevor Staley (IWU ’19), Reid Monken, Lee Lieser (IWU ’19), Erich Lieser (IWU ’18), Emilee Lieser (Monken (IWU ’18), Abigail Monken (IWU ’21), Emily Lieser, Linnea Swanson (IWU ’18), Emily Diehl (IWU ’17), Kelly Kaveney (IWU ’18), Caroline Cochonour, Gina Lathrop