May 21, 2024

Students spent a magical prom night at the Odyssey Venue in Tinley Park, followed by some late-night fun at Scene 75 in Romeoville. Thank you to all the students, faculty, and staff who helped make prom a night to remember! Stay tuned for more pictures from the dance!

Joey Paras '24 has been awarded the prestigious Alumni Distinguished Scholarship from Michigan State University. This scholarship is one of the most competitive in the country, with only a handful of recipients selected from over 1,000 applicants. Winners are chosen based on their performance in written short answer responses, a general knowledge examination, high school achievements, standardized test scores, and finalist interviews.



The scholarship covers tuition, room and board, and other academic expenses for up to eight semesters of undergraduate education. Recipients of the ADS award are also invited to join the selective Honors College program and receive a two-year paid research assistantship in a discipline of their choice. Congratulations, Joey!

Boys Tennis

Congratulations to the Boys' Tennis Team for winning the IHSA Sectionals! This marks the first time IMSA has claimed the sectional title since 2006. Special recognition goes to Coach Bernardini and the team members for their impressive athletic performance!

• Luke Yin '26
• Arnav Patel '25
• Laksh Mehta '25
• Chad Park '25
• Rithik Thekiniath '24 (not pictured)
• Aidan Kim '24 (not pictured)

Illinois Junior Academy of Science

Numerous students represented IMSA at the Illinois Junior Academy of Science (IJAS) State Exposition. Congratulations to the following students who were recognized for their outstanding research projects.

Vignesh Tiruvannamalai '24 and Josephine Kim '25 won the following awards:

• First Place, Illinois State Academy of Science Competition
• First Place, Cellular and Molecular Biology (Illinois Soybean Growers)
• Best in Paper Session (Senior Division)
• Jay and Jeremy Hoffmann Memorial Award (exceptional project to advance the human condition)
• Exceptional Project Award (Field Museum)
• Gold Rating Overall

Vignesh Tiruvannamalai also won the Ethel M. and Lyell J. Thomas Scholarship, valued at $1000.

Samantha Narchetty '26 won gold fr her paper and poster and was awarded an Exceptional Project in Engineering by Hanson Professional Services Inc.

Aditya Prasanth '24 was awarded the prestigious Schroeder Wetzel Scholarship at IJAS. Aditya also completed his fifth year serving on the Board for IJAS, where he acted as president, helping lead, organize, and run the IJAS science fairs located around the State of Illinois.

Congratulations to Abhinav Anne '26, who scored in the top 50 students on the USA BiOlympiad semifinal exam. Abhinav is the only student from Illinois to advance to the finals. The top 20 finalists will be invited to a residential training program to learn even more advanced biological concepts and lab skills. Students will then be able to represent the U.S. at the International Biology Olympiad.

Congratulations to Annabell Zhang '24, who made it to the semi-finalist round in this prestigious competition!

Illinois Personal Finance Challenge

Congratulations to Neel Shanbhag '26, Aarva Lala '26, and Laksh Patel '26, whom the Illinois State Treasurer's Office recognized for their performance in the final round of the Illinois Personal Finance Challenge Competition. The UIC Center for Economic Education, in partnership with the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office, hosted the competition, which provides students with an exciting and motivating opportunity to build, apply, and demonstrate their knowledge of money management. The IMSA team secured 3rd place in the competition.

CNA Graduation

On Saturday, May 18, the Inaugural class of Certified Nursing Assistants was presented with their CNA Caduceus pin in a celebratory event attended by their friends and family. 

The pinning represents their course completion and entry into the career as a Certified Nursing Assistant. 

Top row - Amy Lendi '25, Aashi Dharia '25, Trinh Yong '25

Middle row - Grania Kozlowski '25, Sriya Mudumba '24, Maryam Zaidi '26

Bottom row - Neil Sitapara '26, Tate Schneider '24

Not pictured - Kaella Moraga '25, Sophia Ait Boucherbil '24

IMSA's Annual Senior Recognition Assembly will be held this Friday following the Community Cookout. Sophomore and junior students should be in the Main Gym by 1:30 p.m. Seniors should be in the auditorium no later than 1:30 p.m. for a final senior meeting before the assembly. 

This school assembly is required for all students. There will be no sign-outs from

1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., as all students and staff will attend the assembly. Fobs will be turned off starting at 1:15 p.m. The event will be livestreamed for all families. However, senior parents who wish to attend in person will have limited seating in the main gym. 

Senior Celebration

Immediately following the assembly, seniors will take a group picture and attend the CAC Senior Celebration. Seniors are encouraged to wear shirts or colors representing their post-IMSA plans to the assembly and the reception. We also invite all faculty and staff to join the celebration by wearing their alma mater gear or any apparel that represents their post-high school journey. We look forward to celebrating the seniors as they take the next steps in their lives!

Students will not be allowed to sign out on Friday until 3:00 p.m.

Students interested in this unique learning opportunity should apply by Thursday, May 23, at 11:59 p.m. Please see the recorded information session below, or contact the Principal's Office at prinoffc@imsa.edu with questions.

Friday Fest

Thursday, May 23, 2024

6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

The last "Friday" Fest of the year will be part of the CABabunga extravaganza! We are starting the Friday Feelings a day early by hosting the event on a Thursday night. Food will be served outside the Main Gym on the south end of the building before the CABabunga party.

Students were recently notified if they were admitted or waitpooled for the Class of 2027. As these students prepare to begin their time at IMSA, PAC is looking for IMSA parents/guardians who are willing to welcome these families into the IMSA community and answer questions about IMSA.

Please complete the form below if you can be a resource for Class of 2027 parents. If you have any questions, please contact PAC President Sonya Harrington at president@imsapac.org or Chief Student Affairs Officer Katie Berger at kberger@imsa.edu.

Senior Transition Education Program

May 22, 2024

1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Auditorium

The event will include a class of 2023 panel, a financial wellness workshop, and swag!

This is a mandatory event for all seniors. Students who do not attend will not be allowed to go on the Six Flags of Great America Trip. 

Service Hours

Please remember to log your service learning hours in HelperHelper and check in to make sure they are approved. Data transfers and email blasts will be sent out monthly until graduation. As a reminder, students who do not complete the graduation requirement for service learning, as stated here, will not receive their final transcripts until they have done so. All hours must be submitted and fully approved (present in PowerSchool) by May 21, 2024.

Writing Center Hours

• Monday, May 20: 9:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 21: 9:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 22: 11:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.
• Thursday, May 23: 9:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.

Due to the shortened schedule, the Writing Center will be closed on Friday, May 24, and will remain closed through finals week. Please plan ahead and visit the Writing Center on one of the four days we are open next week or reach out to a tutor in one of the Res Halls.

Tuesday, May 21

6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 22

8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, May 23

8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Friday, May 24 - 8:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

(The IRC will be closed after the Campus Cookout for the Senior Recognition Assembly.)

IRC Reminders and Deadlines

Thursday, May 23

Last day to check out library materials

Friday, May 24

All IRC items & Interlibrary Loans are due

Any incoming Interlibrary Loans will be IN IRC USE ONLY. Please arrange to return any library materials you no longer need, including those you may have left at home, as soon as possible. The sooner you return your IRC items (including Interlibrary loan material), the smoother your checkout procedures will be.

Items returned after 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 28, may be reflected in MySchoolBucks as IRC obligations. You can view the items you have checked out by signing in to your library account (with your IMSA credentials). 

ATTENTION!

All students should complete the end-of-the-year tasks for ITS. Review their email for more details.

With summer fast approaching, blood donations start to decline. This is your chance to help restock the blood bank and potentially save up to three lives from one donation! There is a critical need for blood in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Donors will get snacks and a t-shirt for participating. Please sign up for a donation time at the link below. 

That’s my advice for the Class of 2024 as they make decisions on college. It actually comes from Frank Bruni, New York Times columnist and best-selling author. Bruni analyzed the college destinations of some of the most successful people and concluded that a large portion of them come from lesser-known schools. The appeal to go to highly selective schools has value, but it doesn’t define your chances to do remarkable things in life. It’s really about how you find and seize opportunities while you are on campus.

That was my experience, as well. I went to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, which was a fine school, but I didn’t really want to go there out of high school. I had my eyes set on Columbia, another fine school, but realistically, I couldn’t afford it. I actually thought I settled by going to UIUC. Upon arriving on campus, I learned fairly quickly that opportunities were everywhere - student organizations, leadership, research, service, and fun ways to earn money like tutoring. I think what defines our leadership is what we do with our spare time, and I firmly believe all campuses can stretch our students if they are motivated to be difference-makers.

It turns out, I stayed at UIUC to earn a second degree. I contemplated a third, however, I ultimately realized a change of scenery for my PhD also helped me explore new possibilities. By that level, college is very affordable as tuition is often waived for being a TA or RA. 

So, if your family feels disappointed in any way by the college process, don’t worry about it. Make the most out of going to college, and inquire about what’s possible. You’ll be amazed, and you’re on a journey to do amazing things, no matter where you go.

A team of students representing the Founders of Campus Unity and Solution (FOCUS) have been working closely with the administration regarding improvements that can be made to support student opportunities to express their views and to include explicit reference to bias in our discipline policies. The Board unanimously approved their recommendations, which included policy JG - student discipline, policy JB - student expression, and policy JFJ - student distribution of materials.

Special thanks to Aldo Magana '24, Jose Lazcano '25, Miracle Clemmons '24, Raven McKelvin '24, Dael Garzon Torres '25, Chiamaka Okoli '24, and Anahi Moreno '24 for presenting, and many more FOCUS students for their efforts. While these FOCUS efforts continue, I am pleased to see how student voice and collaboration yield better outcomes at IMSA. I'd also like to recognize Neev Patel for presenting on behalf of our Artificial Intelligence team to capture our progress from this year. Check out the AI team's presentation.

Please email me at eglazer@imsa.edu if you have thoughts on this topic or would like me to discuss it in a future Titan Tuesday.

Check out the new search engine from the Illinois of Gifted Children for local STEM enrichment opportunities for all ages. This search engine was developed by IMSA Senior, Michael Meng '25!

Titan To Go is a resource for students to discreetly order basic toiletries when they cannot replace them before a trip home. Students may select from the following items:



• Shampoo and Conditioner
• Toothpaste and Toothbrushes 
• Dental Floss 
• Deodorant 
• Menstrual products
• Hand soap 
• Body lotion 
• Facial tissues
• Lip balm  
• Contact lens cases

Requests are confidential and can be made by clicking on the button above. Requests received by 8:00 a.m. will be processed daily, Monday through Friday. You will pick up your items in a Smart Locker once you receive a notification that your package has been scanned in.

For more information, contact Michelle Bemis, Volunteer Coordinator for Titan To Go at mbemis@imsa.edu.

Mark Your Calendars! 

May 22 - Center for AI Grand Opening

May 22 - STEP Program (required for all seniors)

May 23 - Friday Fest and CABabunga

May 24 - Community Cookout

May 24 - Senior Recognition Assembly and Senior Transition

May 27 - Memorial Day (Academy Closed)

May 28 - 31 - Final Exams

May 31 - Graduation Rehearsal and Senior Banquet

June 1 - Graduation

ILLINOIS MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE ACADEMY



1500 Sullivan Rd., Aurora, IL 60506-1000 |  630.907.5000 |  imsa.edu

To ignite and nurture creative, ethical, scientific

minds that advance the human condition.