This week’s 5 Questions Friday spotlight shines on an alum who remains very connected to campus, but in ways he might not have imagined. In addition to a host of other roles, Dr. Michael Smith serves as an emergency medicine physician.

What is your agriculture background?

URBANA, Ill. – In the center of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) campus at University of Illinois, look up and you’ll see a massive, hexagon-shaped building, recognized for its gorgeous interior and well-loved study spaces with lush, green views of south campus.

That scene of the ACES Library, Information, and Alumni Center (LIAC), against the background of bright blue Midwestern skies, is iconic these days. But just two decades ago, the land LIAC stands on was an empty parking lot.

URBANA, Ill. – Every one of Stacy Zuber’s career goals centered on science. That doesn’t mean she took a direct path.

“In middle school, I was certain I wanted to be a veterinarian. I learned quickly that I didn’t like the sight of blood, so I tried biochemistry,” she says. “If had done an internship instead of working on the family farm during the summer, I would have seen what was really out there and made up my mind earlier.”

Dozens of ACES alumni returned to the University of Illinois campus in September to celebrate the impacts of an international internship experience and reconnect with a mentor, professor emeritus Lowell Hill.

For over two decades, agricultural economics students under Hill’s supervision covered the globe to shed light on practices and standards in international grain trade.

When she began her studies at the University of Illinois, Rachel Janovsky would not have pictured herself working for an international aircraft manufacturing company. A 2018 graduate of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (NRES), Janovsky has been able to leverage her College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) degree to ensure the health and safety of employees at Honda.

Once an Illini, always an Illini. This maxim is more than an expression of alumni loyalty for Dave Shockey (Ag Science, ’80; Law, ’83). It is a way of life.

With a bachelor’s degree in forestry and a love for adventure, Nora Rasure’s life and career have been nothing short of exciting. Rasure enjoyed a successful 40-year career with the U.S. Forest Service and is now retired and living in Sisters, Oregon. While she was able to create amazing memories during her career, she was also able to make a difference by caring for public land and serving people.

URBANA, Ill. - Strengthening families and communities through gathering and connection have been important themes throughout Doris Kelley Christopher’s life and career. Now, a $45 million gift from the University of Illinois alumna will support the creation of an engagement-rich center located in the Arboretum on the Urbana-Champaign campus.    

URBANA, Ill. - A lot can change in 100 years, and a lot has, especially in the agriculture industry. Much of this growth is thanks to the research and innovation of brilliant individuals who attended schools like the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and its highly ranked Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE), which turns 100 years old this year.

URBANA, Ill. ­– For Will, Clayton, and Dallas Glazik, making spirits from Illinois-grown heirloom corn is a labor of love. The brothers own and operate Silver Tree Beer & Spirits from their fifth-generation family farm in Paxton.

“We grew up on a certified organic farm, and we wanted to get back into farming and figure out a way that we could bring something of value to the farm,” says Will Glazik, the oldest brother and Silver Tree director of sales.