IIT - Inventing the Future

There are so many great aspects about IIT that are hard to This week I asked our Student Ambassadors about their favorite memories on campus. I will be posting these responses throughout the next week for all of you to read too. Here are the first two from Alicia and Shezami... enjoy!

Alicia, Homecoming Week

I have made many memories during my time here at Illinois Institute of Technology, that it’s hard to choose just one! One memory that stands out the most for me is when I first arrived as a freshman on campus. It was Homecoming Week, and I was just starting to meet new people. I was having a hard time with the transition from high school to college, so I joined quite a few different student organizations in hope of making new friends and to have fun on campus. There were quite a few different groups that welcomed me, including UB (Union Board), LIFE (Latinos Involved in Furthering Education), and SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers).

During homecoming week, UB was in need to volunteers, and since I never had the opportunity to participate in such a huge event like homecoming at my previous school, I was very excited! When it was the day of the Homecoming Carnival, I actually helped create two golf cart floats for the Homecoming Parade and was asked to lead the parade! Everyone was very polite and friendly, and I created many new friendships with my fellow classmates. I am extremely happy to have made the decision to come to IIT, for I feel very accepted here and I don’t think I could find any other place that I would want to be.

Shezami, IPRO Day Spring 2008

I was involved in an IPRO called “Designing an Artificial Pancreas”  which was concerned with developing a non-evasive method for measuring blood glucose level and injecting the appropriate amount of insulin at specific time intervals. Initially I had chosen this IPRO based merely on the fact that it sounded so interesting and innovative but once the project went underway I became very passionate about it.

About 3 million people in America suffer from Diabetes and the fact that we could maybe develop an equipment to relieve them from the pain, they have to suffer to get a drop of blood and inject insulin, really inspired me. This IPRO exploited my full potential and allowed me apply my knowledge in real life problems. It was an IPRO of only 10 students and we learned a lot from and about each other. This was a continuing IPRO and we had completely redesigned the existing technology.  After an entire semester of hard work and diligence, when IPRO day approached we were all suddenly nervous and low in self-confidence. But our instructor gave us the motivation and encouragement we needed. We gave our presentation to the judges in the morning and stood by our display explaining our projects to judges and visitors the rest of the day.

At the end of IPRO day, we realized that we had done our best and there was nothing else we could have done to make it a better project. We were extremely anxious when they were announcing the results for our track. It was shocking and exciting to hear that our IPRO project won first place – it was then that we had realized that all our efforts had paid well.

This experience, among many others, makes me realize how much IIT has molded me into the passionate person I am today about my goals and ambitions. It makes me realize that education is not just about doing good grades and a high-paying job but it is also about helping people.  

Halloween marks costumes, trick-or-treat and the Pumpkin Launch! Although it rained most of the day on Friday, it didn't stop the IIT students from competing in the fifth annual IIT Pumpkin Launch. There was even a sizeable crowd of IIT students, faculty, staff and guests cheering on the teams and enjoying the festive fall treats (including apple cider--my favorite).

This year the first place team, Trebuchet Guevara, launched their pumpkin 185 feet, the third farthest in IIT Pumpkin Launch history! The most accurate team was the Delts who also took second place in a distance of 91 feet.  

The IIT Pumpkin Launch was once again a success and even though the weather didn't cooperate the teams and fans had a great time!!

Hopefully next year you will be able to check it out too :)

There had been recent concerns about whether the Illinois Monetary Assistance Program (MAP) funding would continue for the remainder of the 2009-2010. Last Thursday, October 15, students from colleges and universities across Illinois traveled to Springfield to encourage state govenment officials to restare the MAP funding. Several IIT students attended a rally of nearly 2,000 college students and lobbied Representatives in the Illinois Gneral Assembly.

The students' concerns were heard and the following Sunday, October 18 Governor Pat Quinn signed the bill restoring full Map funding! There were a few IIT students were among a select group of college students present when the bill was signed. Additionally, Julia Gonzalez (IIT student and Admission Intern) spoke to the group at the signing ceremony.

You can watch the WGN news story here.

Did you know that about 16% of IIT’s undergraduate population are international students? I think this is one of IIT’s greatest assets—these students bring a great cultural diversity to campus which enhances the educational experience for all students!

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to travel for IIT to Mexico to recruit more international students to campus. I thought that you may like to hear more about my trip which was AMAZING! Not only was the weather perfect (80s-90s and sunny) just when it was getting cold in Chicago but I met wonderful students and was able to do a bit of sightseeing. Let me start by saying that Mexican food tastes SO MUCH BETTER in Mexico! My favorite dish was this chicken rice soup with avocado and a smoked chipotle pepper…mmmm. Everything was made fresh to order which just enhances the quality of the dish—I miss it already!

So my week began in Guadalajara. I had a fair on Monday so I arrived Sunday afternoon, giving me a few hours to sightsee before it was dark. I took a double decker bus tour of the city which allowed me to see the main sights in the city. There is a great downtown area with lots of churches and historical buildings as well as squares for people to relax and enjoy their surroundings. I attended a fair at the American School at Guadalajra and then it was off to Queretaro.

Queretaro is such a beautiful city! We stayed at this 16^th century Hacienda that was magnificent and the staff was extremely attentive and helpful—I would recommend it to anyone visiting the city. The College fair was great and probably one of the busiest of the week. We had a student who enrolled from this high school last year so students remembered that and wanted to follow in his footsteps J.

Monterrey was the third city of my trip and I was disappointed that I didn’t have time to explore the city as well as the natural areas including the mountains, canyons and forests (the scenery is gorgeous). Did you know that it is the third largest city in Mexico after Mexico City and Guadalajara. It is one of their biggest tech cities in the country and seems very modernized. Next year I plan to spend more time here! Anyways, so I went to the fair and one of the reps accidentally went to the wrong school location. He was supposed to give the Engineering presentation and they needed another representative to present instead of him. Guess what… I had an engineering presentation prepared for the American School in Mexico City so I jumped into it and wowed the students. Well, I don’t know if I would go that far, but I gave the presentation and I think it went well for a last minute substitution. There was a fair following the presentation that was great too! We have an exchange program with Tec de Monterrey which is a top university in Mexico so I met some transfer and exchange students from their school too!

My final stop was in Mexico City. Let me say that I LOVED MEXICO CITY! I was a bit hesitant because you only hear negative comments about crime and the size of the city but I really enjoyed my time here. It was nice because I had four days so I was able to get a good flavor for the city. I attended three college fairs and have two engineering presentations (luckily I had practiced in Monterrey J) so I was quite busy in Mexico City. The fairs were REALLY busy and I met with really students who had thoughtful questions (trust me, reps really appreciate questions that cannot be found online or in the viewbook) about IIT and our specific academic programs.

I would have to say that my favorite part of Mexico City (besides shopping) was when I walked over to Chapultepec Park. This area houses the Castle of Chapultepec as well as numerous museums and monuments. It is a nice area to walk around or just sit on a bench and enjoy a nice book. 

Unfortunately, I did not have more time to go into the museums but next time I will set aside a day for this. The National Museum of Anthropology was highly recommended from colleagues from other schools who were also on this trip.

Oh, I almost forgot. They had wastebaskets that were made out of pop bottles—very environmentally friendly! I had never seen this before and thought it was pretty neat!

As you can see, this was a great trip! I loved Mexico and look forward to going back next year. Hopefully, some of the bright and talented students that I met with will join the IIT community next fall!!

Adios,

Carolyn

I just wanted to remind you that the Early Decision dealine is quickly approaching: November 4, 2009. If you would like to apply for this deadline, please submit your application as well as transcripts, ACT or SAT and letter of recommendation. Early Decision is only for students who are sure that IIT is their first choice and will attend if they are admitted under this decision deadline. If you are still debating between a few schools or need more information about your financial aid package then you should not apply early decision--instead please review our other application deadline options.

We are here to answer any questions that you may have about the different application deadlines to IIT. Please ask us if you have any questions!!