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NOVEMBER 2011
Loud and Proud: Marching Illini Benefit from Gifts
This year, members of the Marching Illini have a reason to toot their own horns...their shiny, new horns. That’s because they are the beneficiaries of new instruments made possible by gifts from alumni and friends to the Illinois Band Loyalty Fund.
Members of the Marching Illini will tell you that the contributions made a big difference. “The sound of the band this season has grown to a new level. I know for the mellophones, our sound was good before, but it's incredible now,” says Melissa Kandel, Mellophone player, 3rd year Marching Illini member and senior in the College of Fine and Applied Arts. “These new instruments make playing together so much easier. We don't have to focus on the inconsistencies of our horns anymore. Our confidence has been magnified.”
Director of Bands Robert Rumbelow has had a vision for the band program. He wants to make “every element of our program the finest quality and exemplify the most creative developments in the world.” He appealed to alumni for help believing that the purchase of new instruments for the Marching Illini was an important first step. Robert reports that they have been able to replace twenty percent of the instruments that need to be retired. The effort will continue for the next two years.
“We've had horns that needed replacing for so long…to be equipped with new horns is a blessing," says Dan Roseland, a senior in the College of Applied Health Sciences, 4th year Marching Illini and Baritone player. “These new horns brought excitement to the band, even for those who were not provided one, since it is a sign of things to come for them.”
“From a drumline perspective, we had drums falling apart and stands that were duct-taped together my first three years, then this year, we were fortunate enough to have an entirely new set of equipment which was fabulous! There is nothing better than playing on new drums! They give us a very sharp and professional look…” says Corey Rudner, senior in the Institute of Aviation, 4th year Marching Illini and tenor in the drumline.
Melissa, Dan and Corey are grateful for the donor and alumni support. Melissa says, “The pride you still have in this program is so apparent and we believe in it too. As a soon-to-be alum, I know how huge of a part you play in our success, and I can't wait to be able to do that myself.”
And Dan encourages MI alumni to try out these new instruments for themselves. “For any alumni wanting to come back and test out these new editions, you are more than welcome. You're the ones who provided them, right? So why not see how wonderful they are!" TOP
Every Dollar Helps!
Arijhanna Mann, a sophomore from Bolingbrook, Illinois, has always loved going to school. “Growing up, my parents and teachers were always very supportive of my education. School felt like a second home,” she recalls. When it came time to choose a university and a major, the choice was an easy one for Arijhanna. “I knew I wanted to attend Illinois and study to become a teacher.”
While she was confident she would find professors that would support her the same way her teachers always had, she was surprised to discover that College of Education alumni and friends were ready to lend a helping hand as well. “This year I was very grateful to be a recipient of a William Chandler Bagley Scholarship,” Arijhanna explains.
These merit-based scholarship awards are funded by gifts from alumni and friends of the College of Education and named after William Chandler Bagley, an early and influential director of the College (then called the School of Education), who was known for his insistence that both formal training and experience are needed to promote good educational practices. Recipients are awarded $1,000 each academic year and the scholarship can be renewed annually. Although it might not cover tuition costs, Arijhanna wants donors to know what a difference it makes in her Illinois experience. “Every dollar helps! Not only does it lighten my financial load, but it motivates me to know that a donor wants to help me make my dream of becoming a teacher a reality.”
In early November, Arijhanna and her fellow scholarship recipients had the opportunity to share their gratitude with donors at the annual College of Education Student Recognition Brunch. The popular event brings recipients and their parents together with donors and attendance grows each year. Arijhanna found the experience to be very meaningful. “I think it’s really important for students to be able to meet donors and thank them personally. It’s also fun to get to know donors and learn about why they decided to support students.”
Arijhanna looks forward to graduating in May 2014 and teaching middle school social studies or language arts. In the meantime, she’s successfully balancing a full course load and participating in organizations like Women of Color, Cru, Axiom, and English Corner.
Gifts to the William Chandler Bagley Scholarship Fund benefit Access Illinois – a new initiative designed to build scholarship support for current and future Illinois students. All alumni and friends can participate in Access Illinois by making a gift to a school, college or campus scholarship fund of their choice. TOP
Lively Learning Space
From dark and drab to bright and lively, Room 47 in the basement of the School of Labor and Employment Relations (LER) underwent a drastic change with support from student gifts.
Each semester, soon-to-be graduates from LER hold a class gift campaign to raise monies for the School. With thoughtful leadership and a drive to see improvement, the December 2010 and May 2011 classes combined their enthusiasm and resources in order to transform Room 47 from a rarely used computer lab into additional learning space.
Alumnus Boris Pilev, who now works as a Human Capital Analyst at Deloitte Consulting, LLP, joined his peers to lead the Class Gift campaign. He admits that his fellow students needed some persuading to donate because they were not going to see the immediate impact of their gifts, but he says, “We all came together for this cause. We saw a need for our future peers and assisted the school for them. The space was needed for growth and the school really backed the project."
More than 50 students gave more than $4,500 toward the project. Combined, it was LER’s largest class gift. The School matched those gifts with a grant from the Green Family Foundation of Biddeford, Maine in order to make renovations over the summer. Now the space is wired for teaching with multiple monitors, newer desks and brighter walls.
Pilev is proud of their accomplishments. “It will be neat for everyone to go back to LER, see the updates and know that they helped. The rewards are enormous. I learned that you have to initiate and envision how things will look in a few years and help if you can.” TOP
Read stories featured in past issues