You say goodbye and I say hello... hello, hello!

Yes Blogfans, this is my last official UIS Blogger post. It's been great sharing my thoughts and views of UIS with you over the past 35 posts during these past 32 weeks. In a nutshell, if you want opportunities to succeed (note: you must take advantage of said opportunities), if you want small classes, if you want to know your professors (yes, it's true), then come on out to the the state capital and let us show you a grand time.

Graduation was this past weekend, and it was a great time. Here are some pictures!

Me and my fiancee after the ceremony!


Recieiving my diploma from Chancellor Ringeisen


The place was packed!


The Fab 4 RA's, with 10 total years of work towards making UIS a better place.


Me with my dad, mom, and brother!


Me with my Grandpa and Maggie!


Me with Jen in front of LRH, our home for the past 4 years!


Celebrating in front of the Coll


Supper at the Yacht Club after Graduation.



Well, I think it's time to sign off. If you have any questions about UIS, please email me at bward03s(at)uis.edu or give Admissions a call at 217-206-4UIS. We'd love to have you join the U of I family. :)

It's been a blast,
Brad J. Ward

Moving Out and more

No, I'm not moving out. But a gazillion other people are. :(

It's always a dull point in the year, watching all your friends leave. I have always been on this side, watching people leave instead of leaving. From the time I arrived on campus in August 2002 until I graduated in December 2005, I always lived on campus. Starting in LRH 3 West (room 315), I headed to Pennyroyal 19 for a summer, then back to LRH to be the Twosouth RA (room 240). I lived there until Summer 2005, when I moved over to Marigold 16 for the summer, then returning to Room 240 for the grand finale. And it was always good times with not much to complain about. Most others have a different story/take on housing, but you know the rules when you come in, and they aren't going to change just for you. So.... deal with it, or move off campus. :)

Move-Out!






In other news, I recently found out I would be 1 of 3 recipients of a new award on campus. It's the Student Leadership Award, and it is given out by the Alumni Association at UIS. It is now the highest-ranking student award that the UIAA-Springfield gives. That's pretty sweet. My fiancee Jen, UIS Journal Editor Heather Shaffer, and myself were the recipients of the award at the ceremony on Wednesday. It was pretty awesome.

Recieving my award from Geoff Obrzut (Chairman of the Springfield Campus Alumni Advisory Board) while Chuck Schrage, VP for Alumni Relations, says a few words.


With my Dad, Mom, and Brother after the ceremony


(L to R) Jennifer Davis, Me, Heather Shaffer


Me with David, my twin brother. Same mom, different dad... it's a long story..... lol :)


Me with two of the studliest studs on campus. Brace Clement on the left, he's a sharpshooter with upper management written all over him. On the right is Stuebe... Jason Stuebe. You will more than likely know him as Governor Stuebe later down the road.



GRADUATION TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!! Pics to follow. :)

Bon voyage,
Brad

Hitting the homestretch...

Here we are, 8 days from the 35th Annual UIS Commencement Ceremony. Even though I graduated in December and have had my diploma for nearly 2 months now, I still won't feel that overall sense of accomplishment until I march across that stage, shake a hand or 2, recieve a nice diploma case, smile for a picture or two, and celebrate with my closest friends and family. I'm pumped. It's going to be an awesome day.

It's hard to tell you how much I have enjoyed the past 4 years without feeling like I am trying to sell you something, but UIS truly is a great school, and that is the real deal. But this is my blog and my experience so I'm going to talk about myself and what I enjoyed. Keep reading if you wish.

The memories are plentiful, the stories could last forever, all the awards and plaques are nice, but it's what I have taken from the past 4 years and am able to implement into my future years that counts. Leadership skills, event planning and advertising, conflict resolution, time management, interacting with crazy liberals ;) , choosing the right classes to make sure I have 5 or 6 day weekends... wait, that is a thing of the past. Dangit. Anyways, it's been a blast for sure. And it's pretty cool that I work at UIS now, so I will get to stick around and see things change, for better and worse, but more better than worse.

So bottom line, I wouldn't trade my UIS experience for any other college experience. All the fun and mischief from every semester, all of the Intramural Sports, Springfest, Cabin Fever Games, Dodgeball, Farm Games, War of the Wings, and Lounge Decorating Championships. (Hate all you want, we were unstoppable and you know it. Thanks to you were were motivated to win more often. :) ) All of the Who's Who, RA of the Year, School Spirit and Involvement Awards. All of the nights pushing the limits with the Police about the legality of racing scooters in buildings at 3am or shooting slingshots of fruit across campus, and if an airsoft gun on the 5th floor of the PAC really looks like a gun from the 2nd floor. (Yes, it does. Thanks for not shooting me and/or taking me to jail that night.) All the fun with "BigBrother" at the police station.

And what's more enjoyable to me now is watching students who I worked with or was an RA for that are now getting out there on campus and doing great things. John Maxwell considers it one of his 21 irrefutable laws of leadership. It's called the Law of Reproduction (and of course it relates to other laws, such as the Law of Magnetism and the Law of Respect). 8 of my former residents now make up 40% of the RA Staff. That's pretty awesome. I hope I had a part in shaping each of my residents' college life and helping them to get involved, etc. (Maxwell says that leaders became a leader by: 85%-- the influence of another leader, 10%-- natural gifting, 5% -- result of crisis). Many others are now doing great things other than being an RA -- leading student groups, SGA, community involvement, etc. If 10-20 years down the road a former resident thanks me for helping them with [enter life experience here], then I'd say my job here is done.

So to all the ones who have helped me here during my time, and you know who you are, thank you. I am eternally grateful.

Save your collar, pop a balloon.
Brad