Erin Thurman: Hi, I'm Erin Thurman and welcome to Western Illinois University.
I'm about to take you on a brief tour of some fun and interesting things happening here on the WIU campus.
Here you will see students learning the skills they need for the career of their choice. Let’s get started.
Thurman: This is Horn Field, a place where students can get away and enjoy some outdoor fun.
It's also a place for learning, as we are about to see.
First, we'll meet Keri, a biology graduate student studying birds.
Keri Dubina: I'm Keri. I'm a second year grad student in biology, and I have been working out here at Horn Field for about three years.
I started out at Horn Field doing my research. I do research with brown-headed cowbirds. [video of birds]
My emphasis in my master's degree is ornithology, so Horn Field has given me the opportunity to be able to do my research. [video of Dubina working with birds]
The type of jobs that I'm looking to get really is going to be outdoor education and also something in biology. [video of Dubina at Horn Field]
I also would like to eventually go on and become a teacher, whether that's Ph.D. or even high school students. [video of birds]
So being an outdoor educator at Horn Field really opens the door for me to be able to do that in the future.
Thurman: Now here's Ryan, a zoology/biology major here at WIU.
Ryan Croegaert: Horn Field Campus is definitely WIU's little forgotten treasure.
It's kind of out of the way, but people can come out here Open Climbing Tower Day and pay five dollars and go up the wall as many times as they want.
Croegaert [offscreen]: People go five feet on the way up, and say, 'I can't do it. I can't do it.' [video of Sean Hazell climbing 40-foot climbing tower]
We just try and talk them through, like, 'Yes, you can, yes you can. I'm here for you, you’re safe.' [video of Croegaert on high-ropes course]
If they want to come down, we let them come down. In the end, maybe they'll want to give it another try. [video of Croegaert high-ropescourse]
We had a group out here just last week who went up and came back down. Eventually, they went up and did the whole thing. [video of Croegaert on high-ropes course]
Right afterward, one guy called his mom and said, 'Mom, I did the high-ropes course! I feel great!' [video of Croegaert on high-ropes course]
A lot of people come out here terrified of heights. We try and talk them through it and make sure they know they are safe as can be... [video of Croegaert on high-ropes course]
...we got them on the ropes, and they can go up there and just really overcome their fears. If they’re not afraid of heights going through that... You feel like a new person. [video of Croegaert on high-ropes course]
It can be terrifying going through the elements, but once you get through the zipline, it's a blast!
Thurman: Now let's meet Professor Tom Green.
Professor Green has been in the forestry business for nearly 30 years.
Through his experience, he teaches students the skills they need to have successful careers in forestry.
Tom Green: This training is offered in a class, Forestry 200, a basic arborist skills class,
which teaches the student how to climb trees, teaches the student how to prune properly, how to do rigging... [video of student climbing tree]
...how to buy equipment, how to inspect their equipment, how to use chainsaws safely. [video of arborist skills]
We also offer this chainsaw safety program in an introductory class for the ag students in Ag 250. [video of Green lecturing]
We know farmers have chainsaws, but they really haven't had the safety training.
So we train them on how to use the chainsaw safely and show them some new techniques, like the open-face cut and the bore method that make it safer. [video of Green using chainsaw]
We just felled this leaning tree. If it were to fall the normal way, with a normal cut, coming from the back, it's liable to do what's called a 'barber chair.' [video of Green sawing tree]
That is a very dangerous situation -- where it kicks back out at you as you're cutting. We cut all those fibers out, so there was nothing to kick back. [video of Green using chainsaw]
Thurman: This is were the WIU newscast takes place three times a week. [video of Thurman in Sallee Hall, broadcast studio]
Everyone involved in the production and performances of the newscast are students. Here students have a chance to fine-tune their broadcasting skills.
Now we will meet two alumni of the broadcasting department here at WIU. First, you will meet Vanessa Van Hyfte.
Vanessa is a 1996 graduate of WIU and is currently anchoring the five, six, and ten o'clock news cast for WQAD in Moline, Illinois. [video of Van Hyfte]
Vanessa rose through the ranks as a reporter to the weekend anchor before eventually being offered the evening news anchor position. [video of Van Hyfte]
Van Hyfte: I would say I wouldn't trade my experience at Western for anything because the hands-on attention that I got there, the small classroom sizes, were so important.
Van Hyfte: Especially in broadcasting.... and the teachers really sparked my interest in this field, and that's something you can't get in a book.
Thurman: Now let's meet Nicole Murphy. Nicole graduated in 2006 and was recently hired as a reporter for WQAD in Moline.
Murphy: My name is Nicole Murphy, and I am a reporter for WQAD News 8 in Moline. My experience at WIU was great.
They give you a lot of hands-on experience, from behind the scenes in audio board, teleprompter, to directing -- even in front of the scene reporting and anchoring.
I think that's what helped me get my job at News 8 because I was so well rounded in lots of different things so they also wanted me to be able to produce as well as edit my own video. [video of Murphy reporting]
And with all my experience here at Western that I learned and took with me through my internship and also at Channel 6 where I previously worked I highly recommend Western. [video of Murphy reporting]
[Thurman on screen] As you can see, WIU offers its students great opportunities not only here at the Macomb campus but also at our campus in the Quad Cities. [video of WIU campuses]
I'm Erin Thurman, hope too see you soon.
Hosted By: Erin Thurman, WIU student. Video By: Mike Allison, WIU student. [music playing]
Special Thanks: Ryan Croegaert, Keri Dubina, Tom Durso, Sharon Evans, Tom Green, Sean Hazell, Nicole Murphy, Mindy Pheiffer, Vanessa Van Hyfte, WQAD-TV, WIU Broadcasting. [music playing]
Executive Producer: University Relations. Funds Provided By: University Marketing, Campus Area Grant. [music playing]
Visit WIU at www.wiu.edu [music playing]