“I think you need to acknowledge differences, but also realize how many similarities we have with one another.”
— Dylan
“We are a community, where everybody belongs and should feel like they belong.”
“I think here in DeKalb, and at NIU, we are heading in the right direction. I think we are taking the right steps to build a community.”
I'm a political science major with an emphasis in public administration and a nonprofit NGO studies minor. I'm from South Beloit, Illinois.
In my free time, I really like to hang out with the friends that I've made here at NIU and also, when it's warmer outside, I like to spend a lot of time around campus walking around the lagoon, but also riding my bike on the different bike paths here in DeKalb.
I hope this picture conveys the sense of pride that I have in where I come from.
“…I do have a pride in being from the state of Illinois…
I remember when I was, I think, a freshman in high school, or in eighth grade, I was watching the Orange Bowl, and that's when NIU was playing, and I was like, "I kind of want to go to school there."
I did end up going to community college for two years after high school. Then I took a tour here on campus and I felt at home. I felt like this could be a home away from home here at NIU.
Not only is it a big, respected research institution, but it's also very close to home. I do have a pride in being from the state of Illinois and staying here and going to a state college, and I thought NIU was a great choice for that.”