Category: Alumni
Vicky Baftiri, ’03, M.A. ’05, has always been passionate about finding the truth. She and her three siblings were raised by a truth-seeking, matter-of-fact father. “He stressed the importance of honesty,” she said. With only one TV set in her house, Baftiri’s father would always watch the news, especially world news. Even though she was only...
On November 19, 2021, the NIU College of Business held its Alumni Awards Dinner. Hosted by Dean Balaji Rajagopalan, attendees included NIU President Freeman, 2020 and 2021 award winners, NIU College of Business alumni and friends, and NIU faculty and staff, all of whom gathered together in celebration of the college’s award winners for the...
It has been said that “those who cannot do, teach.” In the case of Lukas Bonnen, who earned his B.S. in electrical and biomedical engineering in 2017 and his M.S. in electrical and electronics engineering in 2018, working as a teaching assistant only helped him to do more. Today, just four years after joining the...
Liz McSpadden, ’10, M.B.A. ’16, says she lives by three principles—grace, grit and gratitude. Now in her mid-thirties and going through her third round of treatments for stage IV breast cancer, it is easy to see why she has needed grit. But her grace and gratitude are the traits that are most impressive, as she...
We often think of art and science as very different processes. But for NIU art education faculty member Kelly Gross and artist, STEAM teacher and NIU alumnus Jolien Genus, art and science share the same processes of investigation, research and relationship-building. At the next STEM Café, these two artists and educators will present “Artistic Process...
It’s a fact. Huskies are stronger together. When we band together, there is nothing we cannot accomplish, and this year’s “Thousands Strong” day of giving event proved that once again! Northern Illinois University alumni, students, faculty and staff, and friends of the University came together on Nov. 10-11 to celebrate the incredible positive impact NIU...
If you’ve enjoyed the beauty this fall of NIU’s East Lagoon and Montgomery Woods, the latter of which is home to a pair of great horned owls, you can thank our community of environmentally minded students, faculty, staff and alumni. A portion of the western shoreline of NIU’s iconic East Lagoon, the creek that feeds...
The NIU College of Business welcomes Elois Joseph (MBA, ’15) as one of the newest members of the Business in Action team. Joseph brings extensive experience to the program, guiding undergraduate students through a hands-on course that provides them with a unique opportunity to solve real-world problems for major companies. “Understanding how broad business is helps students identify areas...
When Kellie Martial, J.D. ’10, was growing up in Chicago, she was a go-getter who took ballet and piano lessons and interned on the set of two television talk shows that taped in Chicago. During her junior year of high school, she studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain, living with a host family and attending a...
Zachary Craft Zachary Craft began his career in education in Batavia like many classroom rookies, spending one year as an interventionist and then shifting to teach fourth grade. But his 2012 arrival coincided with a sea change in mandates. “I entered the field at a time when it felt like a seismic shift – maybe not...
To say Amy Buhrow, M.S.Ed. ’05, likes her job as senior director of strategy, student success and accreditation for the College of Business would be an understatement. “When I meet someone new, I always introduce myself as having the best job in the NIU College of Business,” she said. “My duties require me to have...
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences honored 12 alumni, faculty and staff Oct. 22 during their annual event at Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center. The CLAS Distinguished Awards program honors individuals who have achieved prominence in their professional fields or who have made major contributions to the college, its mission and its reputation for...
