"Every time I step on the Quad, I'm proud to be a student here."

Alaina, Senior in the College of Business

Major: Business Administration
Hometown: Bloomington, Illinois

Favorite part of the day: Right before I go to bed -- because I finally know that my day is over and everything that I've had to accomplish is done, hopefully, I just like relax.
Favorite late night snack: Chips and salsa
What's in your CD player right now? Kenny Chesney

Hangouts: Sometimes I just hang out in the Quad if I have a break between class. Off campus in Bloomington, I hang out a lot at the mall, Eastland Mall. I'm a shopper.

Favorite place to study: My apartment just because it's quiet, I don't have many distractions there.

"The biggest difference between high school and college is definitely the free time. If you don’t have a job during the day, you go to class a couple of hours and you have free time just to do whatever you want. Those are the hours that you really need to take advantage of, I think, and get your stuff done. Where in high school, you’re in school all day and it’s routine, and in college it’s kind of up to you to go to class. You’re not required by all teachers to be there.

"The most important thing I’ve learned from being a student at Illinois State would have to be time management and organization because I’m involved in a lot of clubs and to get good grades, you have to really plan ahead and organize, prioritize your life and see exactly what needs to be done and when and that’s how you’re going to get through college is by being organized and on top of things, I think.

"I participate in several organizations. I’m a member of a sorority and then also the Honors Program. I’ve just become a member of Gamma Oda Sigma, it’s an insurance fraternity, and I’m a member of several different Honors programs such as National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Order of Omega, which is a Greek Honorary Society. I think that the benefit of being in so many clubs is just that you really get to meet a lot of different people for one. And two, just like, I mean it’s a resume builder but at the same time it’s like distinguishing you and making you different from everyone else. When you get out in the real world, there is going to be 20 people or hundreds of people competing for your job, and you need things to make you stand out and different from everyone else.

"I am a member of a sorority. The reason that I was interested in Greek life was just because I was very active in high school, like very involved and when I got to Illinois State, as a freshman it’s kind of like you don’t really know where to go. You’re not exactly sure how you start meeting people and getting involved with the campus, so I went through recruitment. Right away, you meet hundreds of girls going through the same process that you are and then once you join the house, it just has so much to offer you. There’s always things to do and leadership activities. I think that it’s also one of the best experiences I’ve had here at Illinois State is because I met so many people. Just like networking and more organizational skills and leadership opportunities that you can’t really find anywhere else."