How might right- and left-handedness — or pawedness — manifest in the movements of mice? Senior psychology major Kylie Little doesn’t graduate until May, but she’s already asking the questions of an academic scholar on the way to her dream of becoming a neuroscientist. Little’s latest capstone research project in December won an honorable mention...
Gareth Elkins, ’21, is currently a registered nurse working at the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and this fall, he will enter a doctoral program at the clinic’s medical school. Elkins said his experience at NIU helped him prepare for his career and future goals. “My two main reasons for coming to NIU were because...
Are you a strategic thinker with a knack for solving problems? Are you hoping to gain skills in these game-changing areas before graduation? You won’t want to miss our three-day HAVI Hackathon, which will be held March 26-28, with final presentations April 8. All NIU undergraduate and graduate students from all majors are invited to...
Michele Herlein, ’89, M.A. ’90, has deep roots at NIU, and she brings the lessons and values from those years to her roles in the business world. Herlein is the chief people officer for Bridgestone West, where she “partners with leaders and teammates across the organization to strengthen culture, accelerate leadership development, and advance priorities...
Buki Fabusiwa, a second-year Ph.D. in Health Sciences student at Northern Illinois University, has been selected as a national awardee of the AIM-AHEAD All of Us Training Program. The highly competitive initiative is supported by the AIM-AHEAD Coordinating Center and is designed to expand national capacity in data science and precision health research through the...
The Huskie Academic Success Center (HASC) serves as NIU’s central hub for academic support to enhance student persistence, retention and achievement through collaborative programming, innovative services and equity-focused initiatives. Recent updates have increased the impact of this valuable resource for students. Beginning in fall 2025, Jennifer Salmon served as interim director of HASC and her...
NIU’s Center for Early Learning Funding Equity (CELFE) recently shared new findings from the Shortchanged Project, their 50-state analysis of public investment in early care and education. The newest report, published in December 2025, is titled Early Learning Shortchanged: Creating a Record of Public Investments in Early Care and Education. It uncovers $6.7 billion in...
For years, Katelyn Kaechele’s future after high school felt overwhelming. Then she spent a week living on a college campus. “I didn’t see her going away to college and living in a dorm right after high school,” her mom Jamie said. “The Huskies BELONG program helped us picture what could be possible.” Katelyn was among...
When Nora (Balayti) Reuter was working shifts as a bartender at Murphy’s Bleachers, the popular sports bar located just steps from the bleacher entrance of beautiful and historic Wrigley Field, little did she know that she was also doing prep work for a future book project. Reuter, a 2006 graduate of NIU with a bachelor...
Dr. Kerry Freedman, professor of art and design education in the NIU School of Art and Design is the 2026 recipient of the National Art Education Association’s Eisner Lifetime Achievement Award. Freedman has previously been honored by the NAEA with the National Higher Education Art Educator Award (2006), the Manuel Barkan Memorial Award (2012) and...
“Northern Illinois University, in partnership with Braven, helped prepare me for real-world success.” Kailah Stewart graduated from NIU in May 2024 with a communication studies degree and an emphasis on media studies. Stewart currently works as a public relations assistant for Cook County Sheriff’s Office. Stewart says, taking the UNIV 301: Braven Leadership and Career...
TJ Schoonover and Kimberly Hart The 20th cohort of NIU’s School Counselor Institute (SCI) will finish this spring. Launched in 2005, the program enables licensed clinical mental health counselors to earn their Illinois Professional Educator Licenses and School Counseling endorsements without pursuing a second master’s degree. Students complete their coursework in one calendar year of...
