Author Archives: Ann Aubry

Alumna Participates in FACE AIDS Cross-Country Bike Ride

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University alumna Kirsten Pufahl has brought new meaning to taking the road less traveled by. After graduation in May 2010, Pufahl packed her duffle bag and headed out west to the sunny shores of Palo Alto, Ca. There, on June 14, she began a 67-day, 4,000-mile biking journey across the United States as part of the FACE AIDS Ride Against AIDS 2010 campaign.

This is the third year of the FACE AIDS campaign, a not-for-profit student organization whose mission is to mobilize and inspire students to fight AIDS in Africa. The organization, which works in collaboration with Partner’s in Health, has raised over $1,700,000 since it’s inception to support the fight against AIDS in Zambia and Rwanda.

Pufahl, who graduated from IWU with a degree in anthropology, hit the trails with six other riders from Stanford University and the University of Wyoming. The team has made stops along the way for speaking engagements to spread awareness about the impacts of AIDS and the FACE AIDS mission. Each rider will attempt to raise $5,000 by the time they complete their journey on Aug. 19 in Boston, Ma.

Students Rethink Fraternity-Sorority Life at Leadership Institute

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan University Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life sent four Greek-affiliated students to the Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute (UIFI) during the months of June and July. The conference promoting fraternity and sorority leadership was held at the University of Indiana in Bloomington.

This year UIFI hosted 80 undergraduate students from seven different chapters, including IWU’s Kappa Delta (KD), represented by Kasey Evans ‘12, Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI), represented by Jo Howard ‘12, Sigma Kappa (SK), represented by Kylene Wolfe ‘13 and Theta Chi, represented by Chris Strzemp ‘12. Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Blake Bradley also attended the institute as one of the facilitators of the breakout sessions.

As a part of the five-day program, the participants were asked to make a personal commitment to leadership by example in the hopes that they will positively affect their chapter, council and community. The sessions centered around the theme of re-thinking fraternity and sorority.

“UIFI is trying to help us re-think how we can improve fraternities and sororities,” said Bradley. “I think we are going to see some really positive changes in the fall because the students are returning from the conference rejuvenated and with a renewed commitment level.”

Alumna Named Alpha Kappa Alpha Director

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University alumna Gisele Casanova was recently appointed the 28th Central Regional Director for Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Sorority. The 1982 graduate is one of nine regional directors for the sorority and will represent Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Minnesota and North and South Dakota.

AKA, an international service organization founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1908, is the oldest Greek-lettered organization established by African-American college-educated women.

Wesleyan Welcomes National Merit Scholars

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University is pleased to announce that eight of the incoming first-year students in the class of 2014 have been named National Merit Scholars. The students are recognized for their exceptional academic ability, potential for success in their college studies and for their accomplishments.

Initiated in 1955, about 200 universities and colleges are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Program. The independent, not-for-profit program recognizes approximately 8,200 high school finalists out of 1.3 million Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) entrants with an award between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study.

Alumna Receives Fulbright Award

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board announced recently that Lauren Ostrowski has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship. The 2005 Illinois Wesleyan University graduate will teach English part-time at a secondary school and continue her graduate studies at a local university in Madrid.

Ostrowski, who graduated with a degree in English-writing and Hispanic Studies, is one of more than 1,500 United States citizens who will travel abroad for the 2010-2011 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. She will remain in Spain for nine and a half months, or one full academic school year.

The Fulbright Program, which operates in more than 155 countries, is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the United States government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.

Ostrowski cites her previous experiences abroad in Madrid and Mexico and her current work as an Academic Project Manager at IES Abroad (a not-for-profit organization that provides study abroad opportunities for United States university students), as the main factors in her decision to apply for the scholarship.

Alumnus Receives John V. Bergen Award

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. –Illinois Wesleyan University alumnus Charles Hawker received the John V. Bergen Award at the annual Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) Leadership Conference March 23 in Baltimore.

The 1962 graduate earned the award for his unique and significant contributions that have advanced the organizational directives and objectives of CLSI. Hawker, who has worked for ARUP Laboratories for 18 years, is currently the scientific director responsible for automation & special projects. He is also an adjunct professor of Pathology at the University of Utah’s Department of Pathology.

ARUP Laboratories is a leading national reference laboratory and an enterprise of the University of Utah and its Department of Pathology. The company offers tests specializing in high esoteric molecular assays and serves clients across the United States. It is also a worldwide leader in innovative laboratory research and development.

Alumnus Wayne Messmer Recognized for Lifetime of Excellence

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.- Known as “The Voice of Wrigley Field,” Wayne Messmer, a 1972 graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University, was one of four people inducted into the 2010 Signature Sinfonian class of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia on July 7.

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, which is the oldest and largest music fraternity for men, recognizes alumni members who have achieved a high standard of accomplishment in their field or profession.

Daniel Krueger, director of alumni engagement for the fraternity, says “While Phi Mu Alpha is a music fraternity, we have members whose professional accomplishments continue within and beyond the field of music. The Signature Sinfonian award recognizes these members for a lifetime of excellence. It is truly an honor to have… Messmer represent the ideals of our fraternity through his personal and professional accomplishments.”

Messmer, of Glenview, Ill., is the public address announcer for the Chicago Cubs. He sings The Star-Spangled Banner before Cubs games. Messmer also sings prior to many Chicago Wolves American Hockey League games and is part owner of the Chicago Wolves. And, for many years, he sang for the Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Sting.

Recent Graduate Earns Prestigious Fellowship in Washington, D.C.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Recent Illinois Wesleyan University graduate Charlie Sell of Wauconda, Ill., has been admitted into the prestigious James H. Dunn Memorial Fellowship Program.

The Fellowship will take Sell to Washington D.C. where he will act as a liaison between the federal government and the governor’s office for the state of Illinois. Several Dunn Fellows are chosen each year to work at offices in Springfield and Chicago, but only one fellow is slated to work in the three-person Washington, D.C. office. This is the second year in a row that an Illinois Wesleyan graduate has secured the Washington, D.C. slot. Illinois Wesleyan 2009 alumna Christine Gibbs was honored with the fellowship last year.

Sell, a 2010 graduate with a degree in political science, will be a full-time employee of the Illinois state government for the next year. “The office serves as a point of contact between state-level government and the federal government,” said Sell. “My job will be to help communicate with the governor’s office and see they get the information they need to help the state.” Sell said the office keeps close track of information on topics such as jobs, health care and the stimulus package.

According to Illinois Wesleyan University Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science James Simeone, the D.C. fellowship is bestowed upon top students from the state. “This is a very competitive and very coveted prize for students of political science,” he said.

Ross Named Director of Multicultural Student Affairs

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Roshaunda Ross has been named the director of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs at Illinois Wesleyan University.

Ross, who has been with Illinois Wesleyan since 2006, served as interim director for the office over the past year. Before that appointment, she was a residence director on campus, overseeing two residence halls.

“Roshaunda brings to this position a passion for working with students and solid experience in student affairs administration,” said Vice President for Student Affairs/Dean of Students Kathy Cavins.

Ross earned a master’s degree from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs in 2005, following completion of her undergraduate work at the University of Tennessee in 2003. She holds a certificate in Non-Profit Organization Fund Development awarded from the Indiana-Purdue University School of Philanthropy.

During her time at Illinois Wesleyan, Ross has been active with the Alternative Spring Break Program providing advisement, assistance with fundraising and participation in service trips since its inception. As the interim director of Multicultural Student Affairs, she has coordinated many activities and events, including those for Native American Heritage Month, Black History Month and the Illinois Wesleyan Summer Enrichment Program.

Alumni Forge Careers in Emerging Media

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – E-blast, pay-per-click, tweet, update, blog – all of these are tools of social media marketers, a job that didn’t even exist 10 years ago. Now many people, including some Illinois Wesleyan University alumni, are using the Internet and e-communications as an integral part of their careers.

“Honestly, I didn’t even know this area existed when I was studying in school,” said Kyle Brigham, a senior search marketing manager at L2T Media in Chicago, an agency that specializes in helping businesses market through online media. Brigham said he planned for a career in media marketing after graduating from Illinois Wesleyan in 2006 with a major in business administration and a minor in music. Though he began as a promotions director for a local radio station, he was soon offered a job with L2T Media, where he assists clients in setting up and managing profiles on Internet-based media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. “I was looking for something big,” he said.

Social media marketing is an expanding field. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a continued growth in public relations, especially with the emergence of social media. Social media sites, like Facebook, boast millions of users, which means millions of people for businesses and organizations to reach.

IWU News Blog

Headlines From Illinois Wesleyan University