Getting the most out of your UIC Experience

Doctoral student Jenny Korn competed with the UIC Pyro Paddlers, a dragon boat racing team, last summer as part of her UIC Experience. Photo: Asian American Resource and Cultural Center

By Guy Bertini

Looking for a great way to get involved on campus?

Try the UIC Experience program, which aims to develop leaders through exploring the richly diverse campus community.

The program focuses on three categories: (U)rban exploration, (I)nquiring minds and (C)ommunity.  To participate, students complete two activities in each of the categories, then receive a certificate recognizing their accomplishments.

“The UIC Experience program is easy to participate in and is flexible about incorporating a wide diversity of activities, from social to academic in the program,” said Jenny Korn, doctoral student in communication. “You are doing the activities already, so why not receive a certificate recognizing your efforts?”

Students can create their own experiences or participate in events outlined in planned themed experiences, such
as sustainability, career exploration, involvement or recreation.

Korn created her own template for her UIC Experience certificate. She was a member of the Pyro Paddlers, UIC’s dragon boat racing team, and presented at South By Southwest Interactive in Austin, Texas, in March.

“When students participate in the UIC Experience program, they can select from an ‘a la carte’ variety of experiences, or students can choose to select a themed series of activities with a distinct series of experiences,” said Jill Rothamer, director of the UIC Experience.

In addition to developing their skills and giving back to their community, students also can win a $250 recognition award to use toward books or technology at the UIC Bookstore through the Visual Learning Project. Students can submit as many as three digital photographs of their UIC experiences with a caption of what they learned to be eligible for the award.

Deadline is Nov. 29; email the Visual Learning Project as an attachment to jillr@uic.edu

“We wanted to make available something where the students could visually express their unique experience,” Rothamer said.

For more information, email uicexperience@uic.edu

• Guy Bertini is a graduate student in civil and materials engineering