Voices of ACES

All Students Educators From the Dean Social
January 6, 2021
By Maddy Liberman
Let’s Talk Trash
In 2014, I walked through the University of Illinois campus for the first time. While here, my 14-year-old self took a silly photo next to a pile of trash (pictured above). Little did I know this would foreshadow what was in store for me just a few years down the road. In sharing my “trash” journey, I hope to provide a few words of wisdom and inspire my fellow students to take action on campus.
December 22, 2020
By Madison Mitchell
December grad encourages students to find their "why" on campus
My name is Madison Mitchell and I am from Mahomet, IL. For those of you who are familiar with the Champaign-Urbana area and know Mahomet is 15 miles west of campus, you may be wondering why I chose to attend a school practically in my backyard. Here are a few of the “whys” that were pretty influential: The 15:1 Student/Faculty Ratio, $3.5M dollars awarded in ACES Scholarships, 80% participation rate in experiential learning, a 77% four-year graduation rate, 94% employed or continuing graduation, and having 7 family members graduate from the College of ACES before me. Throughout my 4 years I saw those “whys” come to life and began to fully understand how impactful the College of ACES would be in my life.
November 30, 2020
By Marla Todd
A gift is never wasted
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. – Aesop
November 25, 2020
By ACES staff
Participating in independent lab work during COVID-19 sets path to career in research
Back in May, student Veronica Casey was thrilled to learn she had received an undergraduate summer research fellowship from the American Society for Plant Biologists (ASPB-SURF) to fund her research project on the spread of copper resistance by bacterial pathogens of tomato and pepper plants.
November 25, 2020
By ACES staff
Pumpkin project gives student greenhouse experience
Over the past several months, students like Kayla Vittore have had to adapt to ever-changing requirements and restrictions due to COVID-19. While these rules can be difficult to adapt to when working with other people, the situation is much easier for budding scientists like Kayla who work with non-human organisms likes plants and bacteria.
October 14, 2020
By Becca Coffman
From Undeclared to Animal Sciences: Finding your fit in ACES
Coming to the University of Illinois, I was accepted into the College of ACES as Undeclared; however, I had an idea that I wanted to point in the animal science direction. The only thing that was unclear for me was what my concentration would be in. Would it be pre-vet, companion animals and equine science, or food animal production and management?
October 12, 2020
By Hannah Spangler
Keeping the Greenhand Conference tradition going, virtually
Hundreds of high school students are filling the stock pavilion, over 60 volunteers are getting classrooms ready, making sure the long line of pizzas are ready to feed a hungry crowd or checking in the busloads of FFA Greenhands and their advisors, and a committee of conference planners waits excitedly for all of their hard work to unfold.
September 29, 2020
By Anneli Cers
Global Food Security scholar conducts research on women’s empowerment in India
Around the world, many people live with the burden of not knowing from where their next meal will come. I grew up in Chicago, and although I did not realize it at the time, food insecurity was a very real struggle for many of my peers. In 2014, 338,000 students in the Chicago Public Schools system qualified for free or reduced school lunches. This was enough for the school district to begin offering free breakfast and lunch to all of its students.
September 4, 2020
By Office of Marketing Communications
Emily Green, Event Manager for Pear Tree Estate and L.A. Gourmet Catering in Champaign, IL
“I manage special events and all things that are involved on the day of the event. This includes coordinating with other vendors, acting as a point of contact for clients, and communicating with back of house staff to ensure things run smoothly. I am responsible for event staff management, training, and hiring. I also manage alcohol purchasing, costing, and recipe development. Working for a small business allows me to experience many aspects of the event industry.
September 4, 2020
By Office of Marketing Communications
Melissa Wang, MS
As a product developer for Quaker Foods North America, Melissa supports innovation projects, focused on the bars category. Working on new product innovation involves creating formulas in benchtop formulation, scaling products up to full plant production, and working cross functionally to deliver the desired product in a safe and nutritious way. This requires both technical understanding to develop the product and communication skills to collaborate with the project team. Melissa completed her Undergraduate and Masters in Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.