Nominated for their significant contributions to student life, Wildcat Impact Award winners exemplify the values of Student Affairs in their work.
The Office of Student Engagement recognizes both undergraduate and graduate winners each quarter through this award, formerly known as the Campus Life Awards. Winter 2017 nominations are open until February 15.
Integrity
Marissa Esparza 2018
Marissa has exhibited stellar composure, respect for her peers, and model leadership as president of Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Inc. and as an executive board member of the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC). In her role she has advocated for MGC in the greater fraternity/sorority community and displayed high ethical and professional standards in working with the Fraternity & Sorority Life office to solve conflicts, advance her chapter’s and council’s cause, and improve the member experience as a whole
Stewardship
Julian Gerez 2017
Julian demonstrates a uniquely committed belief in fraternity. He has spent a majority of his collegiate career motivating his community to live fraternities’ principles fully, challenging the Interfraternity Council (IFC) team to continually reevaluate how they operate. He has spent considerable time building relationships with many departments and campus administrators. Julian also brought together stakeholders throughout the IFC community to begin to rebuild a functioning Standards Board. He helped create a scholarship fund which he hopes to develop throughout the years for members of the IFC community. The end goal is to increase financial accessibility and remove barriers for members.
Social Justice
Frankie Hamburger 2017
Frankie’s leadership in the Freshman Urban Program (FUP) has been characterized by compassion in working with others, responsibility in completing tasks, and contagious dynamism. FUP’s new goals have expanded the program’s community partners and increased the emphasis on diversity of leadership within her team. Frankie has brought a focus on community empowerment and an entrepreneurial attitude to her leadership in this organization dedicated to engaging with social justice issues such as poverty, public housing, racial justice, and education reform. Frankie has an uncanny ability to bring people of diverse backgrounds together to work for the common good so they can form ‘bridging and bonding social capital.’
Collaboration
Zoya Khan 2017
Zoya is a notable leader in Model Arab League, an organization focused on discussion of Middle Eastern political, economic, and social issues from the perspectives of different Arab states. While bringing multiple stakeholders together, Zoya has worked to grow this organization’s membership and develop sustainable frameworks. She organized Northwestern’s first Model Arab League conference for high school students, created opportunities for her peers to connect with the National Council on US-Arab Relations in D.C., and has facilitated dialogue and learning spaces in partnership with the Buffet Institute and the Northwestern Muslim Cultural Students Association.
Integrity
Dominique Mejia 2017
Dominique has immersed herself in building residential community at Northwestern. From her time serving on her residential college’s welcoming committee, promoting activity among her co-residents, and serving as Residential College Board president this year, Dominique has demonstrated increasing dedication and resourcefulness in each role. She is highly regarded for her calm and collegial presence. Further accomplishments include organizing events for hundreds of students and serving as a QuestBridge national conference group leader. Dominique’s commitment has demonstrated long-term service throughout her collegiate experience in advancing Northwestern’s values.
Innovation
Joji Syed 2017
Joji is an innovator thanks to her strong vision for Northwestern and her persistence in changing the status quo. Members of her Associated Student Government community relations committee speak of the dedication and motivation she brought to projects, such as expanding lights on Sheridan road, bringing Divvy bikes to campus, and engaging more with the Evanston youth. Through her work with SCNO, she has increased student engagement with Chicago nonprofits, impacting the greater community through pragmatic problem solving. By creating such infrastructures in these organizations, she has made her efforts sustainable for years to come.
It’s no secret that Evanston winters are unpredictable and get to the best of us, often going from single digit weather to mid-40s in the time it takes you to walk from Norris to the Rock. While the constantly shifting temperature might be annoying to deal with, the true trial comes when you step outside your residential hall to be slapped in the face with a blast of wind. Sometimes it’s all you can do to avoid forming icicles on your face on the way to class.
You before reading all these great tips
Northwestern knows what it feels like to be tormented by winter. Students and staff members alike have to battle the blustery winds to reach their destinations, so we’ve decided that enough is enough and collaborated to come up with some ways to alleviate some of your worst winter woes..
1. Pretend you’re literally anywhere else
There’s nothing more depressing than spending the evening sequestered to your room with only a ceiling light and homework as company. Indulge in some escapism! There are plenty of student productions going on in the evenings at Northwestern, and it’s a chance to escape the bleak reality outside while having a good time with friends. Mee-Ow is coming prepared with all their best jokes in January and February. You can also check out cultural student group activities such as Celebrasia 2017: Year of the Rooster, the South Asian Student Association show Keeping Up with the Kapoors, or Black History Month events to learn more about a specific culture and about your peers’ cultural backgrounds. Plus, A&O Productions is hosting free movies at McCormick Auditorium, so make sure to check out their movie lineup
2. Embrace the cold. Go to Andy’s, or…
Now this may seem counterintuitive, but let’s be real: you crave custard no matter how cold it is outside. Why should you let a bit of snow or sleet stop you? Think about it this way: after you get frozen by the cruel weather, you willingly freeze yourself with creamy sugary goodness. You go outside and BAM! The cold isn’t so cold after all! Hey, reverse psychology is a thing. You should try it yourself and indulge your poor suffering winter quarter self. Mm… that triple chocolate concrete though. Be right back.
3. … Avoid the cold at all costs
No one likes to make the trek from south to north (or vice versa) when the weather is nice, so it makes sense that that long walk is even more insufferable in single digit weather. Luckily, University transportation is here to save the day! Download the DoubleMap app to your phone to keep an eye on where the shuttles are at every moment in the day and minimize the time you spend freezing at the bus stop. For those of us who like to stay out past 7:00 p.m. but aren’t willing to walk home alone in the dark, use Safe Ride. While ride times can be unpredictable, if you put in a request early enough and stay patient, you’ll save the few bucks you might’ve otherwise spent on an Uber.
4. Surrender to the marshmallow lifestyle
We all know that Northwestern students come from all over the world, and dressing for the frigid Evanston temps is a little bit different than throwing on a windbreaker for a California “winter.” Wear tights inside your jeans, throw on a tank top under that t-shirt, and put on a sweater over that t-shirt. But avoid cotton for your inner layers! It absorbs sweat, and you’ll end up wearing damp clothes for the rest of the day. If you can, get your hands on some thin insulating inner layers that will preserve body heat without adding too much bulk (author recommends Heattech clothing from Uniqlo). Don’t forget the accessories! A scarf, hat, and pair of warm mittens will save your extremities a lot of grief. If you like listening to music as you walk, you might also want to invest in some headphone earmuffs so you can still listen to lit music without freezing.
5. Seek refuge whenever possible
No one ever said you had to walk from class to class without pausing. If you start to feel that you really can’t stand the cold anymore, take a pit stop in the nearest building to thaw your extremities. Here’s a handy (haha- get it?) tip for those walking from one end of campus to the other: cut through Tech longways to save yourself a block on Sheridan. In fact, go through all the buildings you can (I’ve heard that there’s a bridge connecting Tech and Ford on Tech’s second floor and Ford’s third floor). For those of us who need an extra kick to get us through the day, here’s a useful list of campus coffee options you can take advantage of during those breaks.
You after reading all these great tips
So there you have it, SAM’s best tips for busting those winter blues! We hope you stay warm and safe this winter and have tons of fun while doing it. And hey, maybe next time we see you, you’ll be bundled up at a coffee shop while waiting for the shuttle on the way to the Mee-Ow show with a stop at Andy’s after.
Black History Month celebrations and reflections include campus-wide and identity-based discussions and performances. Harambee kicks of the month of programming January 27.
Harambee
- The celebration, sponsored by For Members Only (FMO) and Multicultural Student Affairs, will bring together faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the African Diaspora to enjoy music, performances, and food. ‘Harambee,’ meaning ‘all together’ in Swahili, refers to the indigenous Kenyan tradition of collective community participation.
Focusing on Black women
- On February 7th, Black women are welcome to explore the journey to self-love at Radical Self-Love: Learning to Live in Harmony Amongst the Contradiction, an event sponsored by Multicultural Student Affairs, Northwestern Residential Life and Norris University Center.
- Lizette Williams, a marketer and Kellogg alum, will present on Cracking the Concrete Ceiling: Bringing Black Girl Magic to Corporate America on February 22.
Call to Action
- The Sheil Catholic Center and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary will host a February 9th discussion, Being My Sibling’s Keeper: A Dialogue on Race, Policing, and the Christian Call to Action, on how Christianity compels active allyship to marginalized communities.
Know Your Status
- Stop by the Multicultural Center of February 10th for free HIV Testing and counseling.
Artistic Expression
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Beginning with a reception on February 16, visit the Dittmar gallery to experience Neither Free | Nor, an exhibit by Chicago painter Brittney Leeanne Williams. The series “investigates the black body as a site of suffering, mourning, and memorialization, yet still one that is available to transcendence.”
If you’re looking for a time to just chill out and hang out with friends, Jan Jam is the place to be. There’s nothing better than spending time at Norris with a few of your closest buddies and watching streamed movies, sipping hot chocolate, experiencing an Oxygen Bar and horse drawn carriage rides- wait, what?!
Students enjoy last year’s Oxygen Bar, featured again this year.
Deering Days and Norris Center Programming is hosting Jan Jam for the second year! It’s a day full of relaxing fun at Norris. On Sunday, January 29, come to Norris to enjoy an Oxygen Bar, free food, various giveaways, a comedy showcase, and even horse drawn carriage rides! Events run from 1:00–6:00 p.m. with horse drawn carriage rides running from 1:00–4:00 p.m. outside Norris. Other featured events include pretzel dipping, free skate rental, a photo booth, and free foods.
Don’t let winter get you down! Treat yourself to a break from winter’s drab atmosphere and unwind.
A full schedule can be found on the Deering Days Facebook page.
On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 16 at 7:00 p.m., the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at Northwestern will host a candlelight vigil in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For 38 consecutive years, the candlelight vigil has been hosted annually at Northwestern. Alpha Phi Alpha began honoring Dr. King this way even before a national holiday was enacted in 1983.
Dr. King was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha from the chapter at Boston University. His membership was, in part, what inspired the Alpha Phi Alpha chapter at Northwestern to begin this annual candlelight vigil tradition.
“Considering that Martin Luther King is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, it’s important for us to be involved in what we have here,” president of Alpha Phi Alpha, Dante Robinson, said. “There isn’t really anyone else in our fraternity more famous than MLK. Of course, we have other civil rights activists, but the fact that we have MLK in our fraternity means that I personally want to live by his vision.”
Brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha attend the 2016 Candlelight Vigil
The sentiment extends to members of Alpha Phi Alpha nationwide. The fraternity has been involved in a number of civil rights projects to honor Dr. King, including construction of the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial in Washington D.C. in 2011, and the members hold great pride is hosting the candlelight vigil.
According to Robinson, planning for the annual vigil begins at the start of fall quarter, and the speaker invited each year is meant to tie in King’s legacy with topics and events happening in the present day. “We don’t want speakers to come in and talk about whatever they want. We want them to talk about something relevant,” Robinson explained.
The candlelight vigil holds special meaning for members of the fraternity such as Robinson. This year’s speaker, Clint Smith, is an acclaimed poet and essayist along with being a doctoral candidate at Harvard University. He will be speaking alongside Spoken Word poet, Timothy Mays, and Northwestern musical student groups.
Northwestern students will enjoy a day free of classes on Monday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, something that Robinson feels that students should not take lightly. “A lot of people do understand who MLK was and his legacy, but a lot of people don’t understand his impact on the black community and how important he was,” the president said. “Just having a day off here at Northwestern makes that seem a lot more important.”
“You have this day off for a reason,” Robinson continued. “You should go and learn why. Even though it’s about Dr. King’s legacy, I think it’s just important overall to hear people speak about current events and how his legacy ties in today to get more perspective on what it means to be a black person on this campus, ‘cause not a lot of people know that.”
The candlelight vigil is part of Northwestern’s MLK celebration. Visit Northwestern’s website for the full program.
When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you…
… And Norris will make it happen.
Now that the ice rink is open, it’s time to take advantage of everything it has to offer, including the satisfaction of getting warmed up after skating against the frigid Chicago winds.
Ice doesn’t have to be cold all the time; it can be nice, too.
On Friday, January 6, come out to the Northwestern Ice Rink from 5:00–8:00 p.m. for a magical night of skating to your favorite Disney tunes, complete with free hot chocolate and chocolate fondue while supplies last! Use $2 skate rentals to your advantage by spending the evening gliding across ice. Heralding your return from winter break, Friday Night Ice is the best way to greet the new quarter with new themes every Friday.
On Thursdays, enjoy Norris’s programming for nICE Comfort. From 5:00–7:00 p.m. on January 12, Norris’ ground floor has free hot cider for anyone who needs shelter from the icy weather outside. Recline with a hot beverage and enjoy a free movie screening while cozying up to your friends.
Come back every week for different comforts on Thursdays along with new themed skating nights every Friday! The currently planned schedule is below:
nICE Comfort: Thursdays, (times vary)
- January 12 – Free movie screening of “Blades of Glory,” hot cider from 5:00–7:00 p.m.
- January 26 – Fill-a-Friend: Free lovable animals to stuff from 3:00–5:00 p.m.
- February 2 – Midterm Relief: free movie screening, “Groundhog Day,” hot dogs from 9:00–11:00 p.m.
- February 9 – Love Café: Free heart mugs to decorate and glaze, cupcakes from 3:00–6:00 p.m.
- February 16 – Waxy Hands: warm cookies, fresh fruit, lemonade, and cocoa from 3:00–5:00 p.m.
Friday Night Ice: Fridays, 5:00–8:00 p.m. (free food at all events)
- January 6 – Disney Skate on Ice
- January 13 – Boy Band night
- January 20 – “Happy Feet” on Ice
- February 3 – Saddle Up! Country Western Skate Night
- February 10 – Date Skate Night
- February 17 – Skate with Purple Line, One Last Time
Jump-start your job or internship search at the Winter Internship & Job Fair. Stop by the second floor of Norris from 12-4 p.m. on January 11 and 12 to network with potential employers. More than 90 employers from a variety of industries will attend over both days, with different employers on each day. The fair is open to all Northwestern students and alumni.
Application and hiring periods for industries like marketing, government, and education stay active in winter and spring, and you’ll see employers from each of these career fields at the fair. Other industries that have less of an on-campus presence in winter, such as finance and consulting, will also be represented. You can find a complete, up-to-date employer list in CareerCat, under the Events – Career Fairs tab.
Keep in mind that employers use different strategies and timelines for recruitment. Every industry has its own application and hiring cycle. Some employers, such as those in arts and culture and nonprofits, for example, are more likely to recruit through networking and posting opportunities in CareerCat, Northwestern Career Advancement’s central platform for career activity.
Although NCA continues to receive internship and job postings throughout the year for many industries, the following tables provide general time frames for the most active timelines for internship and full-time recruitment.
A few job/internship search tips:
- Stay active on CareerCat to ensure that you don’t miss an opportunity. Select your career interests when creating or updating your CareerCat profile and schedule a Job Search Agent to receive the career opportunities that you care about most.
- Connect with your Northwestern Career Advancement (NCA) career adviser to develop a job or internship search strategy early in the quarter.
Celebration is a vital part of human life as we often search for reasons to throw a party or blow off steam. From birthdays to graduations (or just the end of finals), we love to have celebrations with friends and family. But what happens when we examine what lies behind the curtain? Is your celebration meaningful or empty? Erin Elizabeth explores these questions in her gallery, Embracing the Chaos.
Elizabeth incorporates actual candy and confetti into her pieces to convey the temporary state of celebration, examining why humans assign meaning to arbitrary celebrations and what that mindset says about us.
The exhibition makes use of foodstuffs and texture, as many works are composed of sprinkles, glitter and other objects reminiscent of celebration. Some pieces use cake to underline the differences in experiential value that people place on ceremony.
The eclectic pieces compel people to them as everyone can relate to them in a way that reflects their own personal traditions and values. What is important to one person is meaningless to another, and Elizabeth’s exhibit artfully exposes those differences.
Embracing the Chaos runs from January 6 – February 12. A reception will be held January 6, 4:00–6:00 p.m. For more details, visit the Dittmar Gallery website.
When world events leave us asking what we can do, we keep doing what we do: teach, advocate for social justice, and continue interfaith engagement. University President Morton Schapiro shared this message of moving forward in darkness through engagement to communities gathering at Fall Faith Fest.
“Sometimes you go to your house of worship for community, for inspiration, for a sense of humility,” said President Schapiro, reflecting on his experiences at Shabbat.
President Schapiro expressed his feeling of belonging in Northwestern’s faith community as an observant Jew, and encouraged the audience not to retreat into themselves, but to act and serve the most vulnerable. The mission of service rang true throughout the event, where student leaders were recognized with community engagement awards.
Tahera Ahmad, Associate Chaplain and Director of Interfaith Engagement, presented students with bonsai trees to recognize their work.
Like the resilient bonsai trees and their ancient seeds, Ahmad described the students’ work as “deeply rooted in traditions and philosophical pathways.”
Ahmad presented President Schapiro with the final bonsai tree for his allyship.
Student Recipients of the Fall Faith Fest Community Engagement Award
- Megan Behnke, University Christian Ministry
- Justine Hung, South Asian Student Alliance
- Jessica Hoffen, Hillel
- Jo Ann Efobi, Sheil and Catholic Scholars Program
- Rimsha Ganatra, Muslim Cultural Students Organization
Weinberg alumni Michael Knudsen continued the message of social engagement by discussing how he joined advocacy at Standing Rock to prevent the continuation of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Michael explained how activism and allyship with faith communities came together in this work to standing up to protect sacred spaces. After sharing a short documentary, Michael video called Linda Black Elk, a Standing Rock reservation resident and professor at Sitting Bull College, who explained how native people were not only fighting to protect sacred land and water, but are also continuing to resist oppressive federal forces.
The Health Promotion and Wellness (HPaW) peer education group, WATCH (Wildcats Advancing Total Campus Health), won an Outstanding Program Award for their Red Watch Band Bystander Intervention Training.
The BACCHUS Initiatives of NASPA General Assembly presented the award. The NASPA Foundation works to advance the student affairs profession.
This national peer education conference was held in Kansas City, MO on November 16-19, 2016.
KEVIN MEIER , COORDINATOR OF ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUG OUTREACH AND EDUCATION IN HPAW (AND WATCH’S ADVISER) REBECCA SMITH ’17, WATCH EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER STEPHANIE GORDON , NASPA’S VICE PRESIDENT FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PHOTO BY: DEVIN KEALEY