Now 86 and living on a remote green patch of Northern Iowa countryside, famed anti-racist and University of Northern Iowa alumna Jane Elliott may seem an unlikely candidate for viral videos and social media clout.
As one of the world’s most recognizable brands, Coca-Cola routinely works with top-tier design firms. Even against that backdrop, when its North American division recently teamed up with UNI’s Advanced Design Studio II class to create a new in-store fixture, merchandising directors were left impressed.
While COVID-19 forced an unimaginable end to the semester, our graduating seniors continued to impress with their academic brilliance, strong relationships with faculty and other students, and wide variety of out-of-class experiences to create a strong foundation for their future. These are but a few of our promising Class of Spring 2020 graduates:
The University of Northern Iowa prepares students for many avenues of success, including in graduate school. Here we highlight a few talented members of the Class of 2020 whose UNI experience helped them achieve their goals in higher education.
Joseph Tibbs
While COVID-19 forced an unimaginable end to the semester, our graduating seniors continued to impress with their academic brilliance, strong relationships with faculty and other students, and wide variety of out-of-class experiences to create a strong foundation for their future. These are but a few of our promising Class of Spring 2020 graduates:
Growing up in a tight-knit neighborhood community in Waterloo, Wilfred “Mickye” Johnson learned the importance of helping your neighbor. Johnson has 12 siblings, and his parents often struggled to make ends meet. But his community’s generosity helped his family thrive and instilled values in Johnson that guide him even today.
Her story almost sounds like a made-for-TV movie — a young girl from small-town Iowa is hand-picked by an instructor from the famed Juilliard School of Music to pursue a career in New York City under her guidance. It might sound too good to be true, but that’s actually what happened to UNI alumna Sheri Greenawald ‘68.
David Schmitz ‘06 is proof that art can change lives. The Charles City native said his time at UNI was transformative - from creating his own unique artwork to his first exposure promoting the arts while a UNI Gallery of Art student worker. Those experiences sparked a passion for promoting art and a career that led from the Dubuque Museum of Art to the Iowa Arts Council, where he will start as administrator late next month promoting the arts across Iowa.
