Category Archives: Students

Recent Grad Receives Coveted Government Fellowship

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Recent graduate Christine Gibbs of Glen Ellyn, Ill., has been admitted into the prestigious James H. Dunn Memorial Fellowship Program in Illinois government. Gibbs, a political science and international studies double major, will be a full-time employee of the Illinois state government for the next year.

“The Dunn Fellowship aims to train college graduates to become better leaders in state government some day,” said Gibbs. As the “federal liaison,” Gibbs will be helping to represent the interests of the state of Illinois at the federal level. Her position is the only one of approximately 19 Dunn Fellowships awarded each year to take place in Washington, D.C.

Past recipients of the Dunn Fellowship hail from some of the top universities in the country, said Illinois Wesleyan University Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science James Simeone. “The Dunn Fellowship, particularly the Washington, D.C. position, is a very competitive and very coveted prize for students of political science,” he said.

Students Join Global Medical Brigade to Honduras

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University students will be bringing much-needed medical care to Central America this summer with the campus chapter of the Global Medical Brigade.

“This trip is more than helping out people in need. It’s about creating sustainable solutions for health care,” said Devon Boydstun, a sophomore from Galesburg, Ill., who founded the Illinois Wesleyan chapter of the Brigade, a student-led international relief organization that brings medical care to impoverished nations. The group of 25 students will journey to Honduras in June.

Boydstun said he decided to found the organization in 2008, during his first-year on campus. “I was looking for a program that would combine medical experience with helping others,” said Boydstun. “The Global Brigade programs really help students get up and running by arranging travel plans and holding weekly phone discussions about expectations and issues students might face abroad.” He started the group with five students.

That number has now grown to nearly 30, most of which will accompany Boydstun on the journey. Student members enlisted the help of medical doctors who will travel with them to Honduras. Boydstun will know one of the doctors well – it is his father. “The five doctors who are coming with us are all friends or family members, which makes it easier on us,” he said. “When we spoke to the doctors, many let us know this is something they always wanted to do, but were not sure how. I feel as though we are facilitating a way for physicians to give aid of which they were not aware.”

Miller Wins The Ames Library Artistic and Scholarly Research Strategies Award

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Rachel Miller, a senior Hispanic studies and Greek and Roman studies double major from Fox River Grove, Ill., is the first annual recipient of The Ames Library Artistic and Scholarly Research Strategies Award.

The $500 award, funded through donations to The Ames Library, recognizes students for their outstanding strategies of acquiring information in creating scholarly, artistic or creative projects. To be considered for the award, students must submit an application along with a 500-700 word essay, a digital copy of the project, a letter of support from the faculty member or instructor who assigned the project and signed consent to have the project electronically archived in the Digital Commons. Eligible projects are those completed within the current academic year, regardless of when preparation began.

Miller completed her research, titled “Las bibliotecas pœblicas y la comunidad Latina (Public libraries and the Latino community),” for “Spanish for Social Justice,” a class taught by Professor of Hispanic Studies Carolyn Nadeau. Miller’s research analyzes the library resource needs of the growing Hispanic population in our community.

Students Explore World Through International Internships

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – From French patisseries to Italian art galleries and Eastern European news media outlets, Illinois Wesleyan University students have gained a wide variety of career experiences and opportunities from international internships.

Senior international studies major Lauren Nelson, who held an internship last year with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, an organization that provides uncensored news to countries with regulated media, in Prague, Czech Republic says she gained valuable experience. Nelson’s position involved a wide range of responsibilities from contacting foreign political officials to writing news overviews for broadcast. Although stationed in Czech-speaking Prague, as the Russian information services intern, Nelson had an opportunity to practice her Russian language skills in the office as well as learn some of the Czech language outside of the office.

“The internship allowed me to prepare for future international career opportunities by practicing my linguistic and professional skills in a culturally diverse setting,” said Nelson, who will pursue her master’s degree in Russian, East European and Eurasian studies next year at Stanford University.

Language skills are not the only benefits students reap from international internships. Junior international business major Katie Feriozzi, who worked as an art gallery intern in Milan, Italy last fall and who will return to Italy this summer for an internship with the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, appreciated the opportunity to connect with professionals in the art world.

“I know that I want to pursue a career in arts business and to live and work in Italy. These internships will provide me with great networking in the field,” said Feriozzi.

International internships are available either as part of a study abroad program or separate from organized programs.

Theatre Students Exchange Feedback With Lyricist

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – It was a chance theater students do not have when they perform Shakespeare – to hear what the playwright thinks of their performance, and to offer suggestions of their own.

On Saturday, April 25, successful composer, lyricist and librettist Lawrence Rush attended the Illinois Wesleyan University performance of Winter in the Fall, his musical drama. The next day, Rush spoke with students of the Music Theatre 483 class, who performed in the show under the direction of their instructor, Assistant Professor of the Theatre Arts Scott Susong.

“You did an incredible job. It was thrilling to sit in the audience and watch how you interpreted the show,” said Rush, speaking to students in the E. Melba Johnson Kirkpatrick Laboratory Theatre. “You are helping to bring the show to a whole new place.”

Seniors Wins Ames Library Art Purchase Award

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Laura Murray, a senior Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) art major, has been chosen to receive the fourteenth annual Ames Library Art Purchase Award.

Murray’s winning artwork, titled “Design & Music,” is a graphic design poster. Her other pieces in the Senior BA/BFA Art Show included a branding identity, a package design, logo designs, magazine spreads, poster and book layouts and charcoal drawings.

“I feel very privileged to have a piece of work that reflects my college experience at Illinois Wesleyan hanging in a beautiful building where future students can appreciate it,” Murray said.

A Touch of Class Brings Melody to Evelyn Chapel Saturday

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – A beautiful melody soars through the air of a room in Presser Hall on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University. The rise and fall of notes emanate not from handheld instruments, but a group of dynamic women surrounding a grand piano. As their voices swell into a powerful end, smiles spread across the faces of the women who realize they have yet again captured a moment with song.

These women are the 11 Illinois Wesleyan students who make up the a cappella group A Touch of Class. The group will have its final public performance of the semester at A Touch of Class Spring Concert at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, at Evelyn Chapel (1301 N. Park Street, Bloomington). The event is free and open to the public. Hear an audio clip.

“It’s when we hit those notes, that I really realize what this group is,” said Susan Rapp, a junior music and interdisciplinary education major from Schaumberg, Ill. “This is a celebration of music, and not just for music majors, but for everyone. This is my chance to share my love of music with everyone.”

A Touch of Class began several years ago at Illinois Wesleyan, but has come into its own in the last two or three years, said faculty advisor Associate Professor of Voice Carren Moham. “In the beginning, it was a group of friends who liked to sing, but rarely challenged each other,” said Moham. “There is a musicianship that has evolved from this group, which has elevated not only their music, but their recognition in the community.”

Nelson Wins Technos International Prize

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Lauren Nelson, a senior Russian and Eastern European studies major at Illinois Wesleyan University has been named the recipient of the Technos International Prize through the Tanaka Ikueikai Educational Trust in Japan.

The trust, founded by Japanese businessman and honorary Illinois Wesleyan trustee Kenji Tanaka, honors those who are committed to improving and promoting international relations around the world. The announcement of the prize, which is given annually, was made Tuesday, April 14, at a luncheon at Illinois Wesleyan.

“This award is more than a confirmation of the work I have done in my undergraduate studies. It is a testament to the wonderful professors who have guided me through the years,” said Nelson, a Plymouth, Minn., native who plans to attend graduate school at Stanford University on a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship, where she will pursue a degree in Eastern European studies

Senior Awarded Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University senior Kevin Lewis has been awarded a 2009 Fellowship from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. Lewis will put the $5,000 Fellowship toward his post-graduate studies at Harvard Law School.

Lewis, a business major from Naperville, Ill., is among 60 students nationwide to receive the academic honor. Phi Kappa Phi awards more than $800,000 in scholarships a year to applicants, who are selected on the basis of membership in the organization, academic recognition and awards, campus and community involvement, and quality and scope of chosen post-graduate programs.

Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi describes itself as the nation’s oldest, largest and most selective all-discipline honor society. More than a million men and women from nearly 300 chapters have been inducted into the honor society, including former President Jimmy Carter. In 2009, five members were named Truman scholars. Membership is by invitation, and only the top 10 percent of graduate students and seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors qualify annually.

Student Receives Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University senior Martin Ceisel has received a Rotary Cultural Ambassadorial Scholarship. The $17,000 Cultural Ambassadorial Scholarship provides for six months of intensive language study and cultural immersion in a foreign country.

Ceisel, an international studies major, is from Coronado, Calif.

Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships are intended to promote international understanding and friendly relations between people of different countries. The Ambassadorial Scholarship program, the world’s largest privately funded international scholarship program, has allowed nearly 38,000 men and women to study abroad. In 2005-06 approximately 800 scholarships were awarded.

The application process for the scholarships, awarded yearly, involves a paper application, letters of recommendation, evaluations and an interview with the district selection committee.

“I thought Martin would make an outstanding candidate for the scholarship because he has the perfect blend of a student who is gifted academically, humble, service-oriented, and has a good international perspective,” said Warren Kistner, director of the IWU Craig C. Hart Career Center, who will be Ceisel’s sponsor from the Bloomington Rotary Club.

Ceisel will study in the Slovak Republic at the Center for Language and Academic Preparation at the Bratislava School of Law located in Bratislava, the capital of the Slovak Republic. He will begin his program in October 2009.

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