By Megan Melone, Writer and Editor & Grace Gross, Editor-in-Chief
Photos provided by Grace Gross
I (Megan Melone) interviewed senior Grace Gross. Grace is a communication major from Cottage Hills, Illinois. She is the president of the Lambda Pi Eta Honor Society, editor for the McKendree Review, captain of the McKendree College Guard, and much more.
OK, so starting the interview, where are you from?
GROSS: I am from Cottage Hills, Illinois. It’s about 45 minutes from McKendree.
OK, and why did you decide to come to McKendree?
GROSS: McKendree is a nice small school, and I found the faculty-student ratio to be appealing. I also really liked the music program here.
What about the music program?
GROSS: Well OK, so I originally came for the marching band, however that’s not a thing anymore…but just the atmosphere of the spirit band was very intriguing and I’ve been in band all my life and so I wanted to be able to continue that and make more friendships in that way.
For sure, so what major are you?
GROSS: I’m a communication major
And why?
GROSS: The same reason I chose McKendree, actually, the faculty for the communication department here is amazing, and they are. They’re just really great people, honestly, and they have lots to learn from them.
OK, and what activities are you involved in?
GROSS: A lot. I’m a student academic mentor for residence life and student success. I work at Holman Library. I’m the captain of the color guard team. The PR and media for the Psychology club, and then the president of Lambda Pi Eta, the national communication honor society. I am also the editor-in-chief for the McKendree Review… almost forgot about that one.
OK, so first first tell me about being President of Lambda Pi Eta, what does that entail?
GROSS: Currently, we are preparing for our induction ceremonies to happen next week, so there are lots of behind-the-scenes that go into being president of an honor society. We hosted some fundraisers this last year to raise money for a research conference that I attended as well. Just really promoting communication as a whole is a big part of it.
OK, awesome, and then what about the editor of the review? That’s a pretty big job.
GROSS: Yeah, I have been working for the review since I was a freshman, actually. It’s been a huge part of my time here at McKendree, and leading it has been one of the best experiences ever, quite literally ever, and now that I’m a senior, it’s kind of sad that I’m leaving it behind, honestly. It’s like my baby!
What is your favorite part of working on the review?
GROSS: I honestly just love hanging out with the staff and everything my freshman year we all we did only zoom calls and so that was quite sad, but I liked the last couple of years meeting in the library and like playing games while we were waiting for the meeting to start and just just hanging out with everybody
For sure, and then you are the captain of the color guard, so tell me about that.
GROSS: It’s been quite a trip, honestly. We just got a new coach this year, and so she’s been very helpful since I feel like I’m not that experienced with color guard, as I only started in college, but I feel like I am a natural leader, and so that has been really fun. I learned a lot from the girls on the team. They teach me a lot of skills, and it is quite interesting learning from people who are younger than you, but it’s honestly really worth all of the effort that goes into it.
For sure, and then lastly, OK so you’re S.A.M. (Student Academic Mentor) so what is that like?
GROSS: It’s it’s also quite an interesting experience. Residence life is a lot of work, but it’s incredibly rewarding The relationships you make as a SSM are really just wonderful, and I get to help students academically as well along the way, and I really found a passion in helping others through my job as an S.A.M. One especially fun experience was working in Walton last year. The girls on my floor were so sweet and kind, and they loved me, which was great. I still talk to a lot of them to this day, and it’s just so nice seeing the impact that you have on others and then the impact that they make on here as well.
Yeah, for sure, because you almost kind of become like a parent in some ways.
GROSS: Yeah, definitely a lot of them come from places that are really far away from McKendree, and they are far from their families, so you become like their second family while you’re here.
What are your future plans?
GROSS: I’ve been accepted to Illinois State University and their communication master’s program. I’m very excited about that, and I’m gonna be a teaching assistant as well, so I’ll be teaching intro to communication to all of the freshmen.
And lastly, do you have any advice for your fellow students at McKendree?
GROSS: Make the most of your time here I am a busy busy person but everything that I do and everything that everyone I interact with I love and it really has shaped my experience here so if I could give one piece of advice is to get involved at least one thing that you’re passionate about aside from academics and aside from work like just something fun that is just for you.
Letter from the Editor:
Hi, Grace here! As you may have read, I am about to graduate in about a week. How exciting!? McKendree has been my home for the last four years, and I am so sad to leave it and all of my activities behind. I have been a part of the McKendree Review since my freshman year, and what a great experience it has been! This position has helped me grow as a writer, editor, and leader throughout my four years here.
To my friends, family, and mentors: thank you all for your love and support. I could not have gotten to where I am today without your help.
Thank you for a wonderful four years, McKendree!
