Welcome New Illini!

Welcome New Illini! This month, a whole new class of Illini will be joining us returning students on this big, beautiful campus. I remember just one year ago being ecstatic that all of the hard work to get to Illinois was finally going to be paying off as I unpacked all my stuff (sorry, Mom and Dad!) and began my new and exciting journey on the Illinois campus. For me, the promise of learning at one of the worlds finest educational institutions was one that kept me reaching for my next accomplishments all throughout freshman year. There will undoubtedly be times when you are homesick or stressed about an upcoming assignment, but with a little optimism and a phone call back home, your worries will disappear. If you dont make friends immediately, there is no need for concern, this campus has hundreds of RSOs that help each student to find an activity or cause that they can engage with other students about. Besides, if all else fails, you will surely make some friends playing a little Pokemon Go on the Quad. So go forth, Class of 2020! Explore everything that this amazing campus has to offer. Challenge yourself to seek out all of the opportunities for cultural enrichment here at the University of Illinois. Take every opportunity to learn about something that furthers your understanding of the world around you. And most importantly, make sure that every second you spend here will be a memory that you will hold for a lifetime. Jacob Class of 2019 I’m an Advertising student within the College of Media. My hometown is a place called Fairmount, Illinois, which is about 30 minutes from campus. I began my Illinois journey in the Division of General Studies.