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If you ask Wanda Nguyen about her career plans, she does not hesitate with her answer: She will graduate from Northeastern Illinois University, attend dental school and eventually become an orthodontist, she says. And then she smiles.

For nearly five years, Aaron Cortes served as a part-time tutor in Northeastern Illinois University’s Center for College Access and Success while completing his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Quickly establishing himself as a tireless worker, Cortes was promoted to coordinator of TRIO Upward Bound Math and Science.

This past fall, I began a new life as a Ph.D. student in history at the University of Chicago. To become a fully funded historian-in-training at one of the world's top programs was hardly something I would have predicted for myself just a few years ago. I owe this unique opportunity to the rigorous and nurturing experience that I had as an MA candidate at Northeastern Illinois University.
     In 2004, I was finishing my post-baccalaureate teaching certification at NEIU, and enrolled in history courses as part of my preparation for teaching high school social studies. This final round of coursework would prove to be transformative. Professors Susan Rosa and Andrew Shankman exposed me to a world of intellectual passion and critical inquiry that would change the way I thought about history, define the way I would teach it in my career as an educator, and plant a seed of curiosity that would not be satisfied until I was on the path to becoming a historian myself. Professor Shankman suggested that I apply for the MA program in history at Northeastern and I accepted his challenge.

When Pedro Castillo enrolled in a Typography 2 course at Northeastern Illinois University in Spring 2022, he had no idea what he was in for. With guidance from his Graphic Design instructors, Castillo not only created his own font families, but he did so by paying homage to Lorenzo Homar, a painter, master printmaker and calligrapher who, like Castillo, was born in Puerta de Tierra, Puerto Rico.