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Collaboration

“We (Block Museum) worked closely with the MENA Õ¬Äи£Àûµ¼º½ Association on the Block Museum's presentation of our Fall 2022 exhibition, "Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s – 1980s." We reached out to MENA SA about the exhibition over the summer, and Sara Ibrahim (president) was immediately receptive and enthusiastic. Throughout the entire exhibition, took great care to warmly welcome the membership of MENA to the exhibition, and to our public programming. They co-sponsored a musical performance at the Block by the Chicago-based Middle Eastern music ensemble East Loop, and coordinated a private, student-led tour of the exhibition before joining us for the performance. Sara and her peers helped to boost and share the exhibition broadly, including by offering interviews for local media about their experience at the museum and personally greeting Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi, founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation, when he visited campus.”

Discovery

Hometown: Glencoe, IL 

Majors/academic concentrations: B.S. Mechanical Engineering (McCormick), Minor in Environmental Engineering (McCormick), Segal Design Certificate (Segal Design Institute) 

Graduation year: 2023 

Õ¬Äи£Àûµ¼º½ orgs I’ve been a part of: Engineers for a Sustainable World (Co-President of ESW and founder of AutoAquaponics), 2021 Solar Decathlon Building Design Challenge (Water Systems Engineer), NU Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, NU Taekwondo 

“During his tenure as co-president of Engineers for a Sustainable World, Bill has worked to create an automated aquaponics system from scratch, leading a team of over a dozen people. Large portions of this project included work over the pandemic, and the results are only now becoming apparent. However, this project has been spotlighted within the university as an example of the excellence of our engineers. This quarter, Bill is focusing on transferring the skills necessary to lead to the next generation of leaders, which is an excellent example of exhibiting stewardship. Through his efforts, the new leaders of Engineers for a Sustainable World will not have to come up with procedures from leadership from scratch and can refer to Bill's excellent example.” 

Diversity

“Hindu YUVA has successfully created a vibrant space for Hindu and South Asian students on campus to engage meaningfully with peers. With their YUVA Meet events I have experienced home-away-home feeling by engaging in cultural activities I used to do at home but in more relatable way. This is the best place for me to make friends and get spiritual as well as emotional support throughout my stay at Õ¬Äи£Àûµ¼º½. I was really impressed by the creativity and range of events Hindu YUVA is able to offer. I could have never imagined engaging in religious activities in such an interactive manner. The events include debates on the next steps for our society, team-building games, learning from spiritual scriptures as well as connecting with each other deeply via YUVA Meet. This is a true sense of innovative work that the Hindu YUVA team is able to do. At last, I would say that the Hindu YUVA team is able to deliver practical learning for students with diverse interests through Hinduism values.”    

Empathy

“When No Fun Mud Piranhas re-constituted about a year ago, they sought to create an open and inviting Õ¬Äи£Àûµ¼º½ where anyone interested could play and learn. Quite simply, they accept anyone interested, and that person can come as often as they like, i.e. they don't have to make a long term, firm commitment. They can learn the value of improv without the stress and pressure of other groups. This group has created a beautiful and much needed positive dynamic on campus, where fun and exploration can happen. They have (not surprisingly) grown quickly as they fill such an important need on our campus.” 

Excellence

Hometown: Palm Harbor, Florida 

Majors/academic concentrations: Theatre and Creative Writing, SOC and Weinberg 

Graduation Year: 2024 

Õ¬Äи£Àûµ¼º½ orgs I’ve been a part of: WAVE Productions, The Dolphin Show, Graduation Office, Peer Adviser 2021 and 2022, Õ¬Äи£Àûµ¼º½ Theatre and Õ¬Äи£Àûµ¼º½ Film Community 

“Haley is the lighting designer for this year's Dolphin Show, the largest student theater production on campus. As a part of her role, Haley has worked tirelessly for months to create and further her design work, seeing it through from a vague idea to a realized lighting design executed on stage. Haley demonstrates excellence through the meticulousness in which she conducts herself, never resting until her design is the best it can possibly be. Lighting such a large show is not a solo operation, and what's more than the excellence she exhibits is the dedication she gives to leading a tight-knit team of students that work together on the lighting. She actively encourages collaboration, solicits group feedback, and pays great attention to the wellbeing of every member of the team the way an exemplary leader should.”