Hometown: Chatham, Illinois
Major: Communication
Future Plans: Become a broadcast journalist

Jade Anderson is a member of the University of Illinois Springfield women's cross country and track & field team, a host of the athletic department's show PSPN, a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and the Community Voices Assistant at NPR Illinois. “I wanted to go to a University that would give me hands-on experiences to build real life skills that would help me in my professional career in the future,” she said. “UIS offers so many opportunities for that, so it was an easy decision.” Following graduation with her bachelor’s degree, Anderson would like to earn a master’s degree in Public Affairs Reporting at UIS and eventually become a broadcast journalist covering politics or sports. “I love the atmosphere of people here (at UIS), students and professors,” she said. “Everyone wants to see everyone else succeed, so everyone works hard to do better and we all try to bring people along with us.”

Leadership is lived at UIS. Every day.