A Celebration of
Student Success

The University of Illinois Chicago’s inaugural Celebration of Student Success brought together student ambassadors and more than 100 donors on March 5 to honor our shared commitment to student success.

Vice Chancellor for Advancement Tom Wamsley welcomed attendees and introduced Provost Karen Colley, who thanked donors for their support and unwavering belief in the potential of UIC students.

“The support we receive from you helps our incredible students achieve the success they deserve,” Colley said. “It also plays a role in meeting our city’s workforce needs. All of you have invested in our students’ success, so I want you to know how UIC is investing in student success as well.”

Throughout the evening, attendees engaged with students seated at their tables and heard directly from students about the impact of UIC’s investment in student success.

UIC senior Monica Padilla — a dual degree student studying public health and biological sciences, who is also in the Honors College and pursuing a minor in Chinese — talked about growing up in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood and her journey to college.

“At times, I had to consider whether I could afford certain academic or professional opportunities,” Padilla said. “That was until I learned I’d earned three scholarships.”

Padilla is a breast cancer researcher who studied abroad in Taiwan to improve her Chinese language skills and has presented at six national conferences. She plans to become a physician dedicated to serving underrepresented communities.

“Your generosity has given me the opportunity to pursue my aspirations without limitations,” she concluded  “You are not just investing in my education. You are investing in the future of health care and helping create a world where more physicians come from the communities they serve and understand their struggles firsthand.”

Wesley Mullens BS ‘23 shared his journey from a student who believed “school is not for me” to being a certified teacher in his second year at a South Side school thanks to Brothers Teaching, a UIC cohort program that aims to increase the number of certified male teachers of color in Illinois schools and includes a full-tuition scholarship. 

“For me, this meant I could eat every day,” Mullins said. “This meant I had free time because I only had to work weekends. It meant when my dad lost his job, I didn't have to drop out. In simplest terms, the scholarship made it so that during my time at UIC I could live, not just be alive.”

Mullens said he currently works and is roommates with another member of his cohort. As an alumnus, he is grateful for the donors who made his debt-free education possible.

Aruba Awan, a senior in her final year studying chemical engineering at UIC, shared how her experience with the Guaranteed Paid Internship Program (GPIP) shaped her education and career aspirations. Through the program, she worked on CO2 capture technology and water treatment experiments that showed her the endless possibilities in her field.

“As my studies come to and end, I am in the process of applying for jobs in various areas of chemical engineering,” Awan said before thanking everyone there for all they’ve done for her and her classmates. “The experiences GPIP gave me are showing prospective employers that I am a hard worker and willing to grow my skills.”