This luncheon is an opportunity to celebrate student achievements and ambition, while also celebrating the generosity of donors who make scholarships possible. This event puts donors and scholarship recipients at the same table, sharing hopes, dreams and ambitions.
Current Location: Divernon, IL
Hometown: Canton, IL
UIS Degree: B.A. (Communication/Management minor) (Magna Cum Laude), M.A. (Communication)
Pronouns: She/Her(s), They/Them/Their(s)
Christine Tressel (Class of 1987) is an investigative journalist on the I-Team at WLS-TV in Chicago, where she has worked in various producer roles for more than 30 years. She started her career as a reporter and morning anchor in Springfield for WCIA-TV while interning for the station as part of her master’s degree in PAR. After graduation she moved to the station’s Champaign headquarters. Tressel left WCIA in 1992 to join WLS-TV as a writer and later became associate producer for the 10 p.m. newscast.
J. Jacqueline McLean (Class of 1978) is a veteran investigative reporter who has won an Edward R. Murrow and eight Emmy awards. Her creative and unique reporting style led to her being named one of the top three reporters in the country by the National Press Photographers Association in 2006. Her work includes the development of OCI, OnCamera Investigations, an online, independent investigative news agency, and JM Bonjour Productions, a news consulting and video production outlet.
Phil Jurik (Class of 1983) is managing editor of the Chicago Tribune. He has been with the Tribune since 2003, having served as deputy metro editor, editor of the suburban news group, metro editor and director of content-news.
Daralene Jones (Class of 2003) is an anchor for WFTV Channel 9 in Orlando and an Emmy award-winning investigativereporter. She was the executive producer of the “The Ocoee Massacre,” a television documentary detailing what sparked the killings of Blacks and destruction of their property on Election Day 1920 in Ocoee, Fla. She also produced “Groveland Four: Journey to Exoneration,” the story of four Black men who were wrongly accused of raping a white woman in 1949.
Jeremy Finley (Class of 1996) is the chief investigative reporter for WSMV4 in Nashville. He specializes in investigations into political corruption, criminal activity and waste of taxpayer money.
The University of Illinois Springfield honored longtime NPR Illinois (WUIS) donors and volunteers Richard and Hannah McDaniel with the University of Illinois Foundation’s William E. Winter Award for Outstanding Advocate Leadership during a Celebration of Philanthropy event on May 1 in the Student Union Ballroom.
Hometown/Current Location: Rosamond, IL
UIS Degree: 2009 graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Anthropology
Current Position: Herd Manager for Clavin Dairy Farms Inc.
How did your UIS education prepare you for your career?
I came back to my roots. I grew up on a dairy farm and continue along that path. I feel it helped me to think outside the box, which I believe is very important as a woman working in a man’s field.
I am the Senior Director for Public Policy and Advocacy at Planned Parenthood of Illinois and Planned Parenthood Illinois Action.
What is your fondest memory of UIS?
I met my husband, Neil Calderon, at UIS and we started dating.
How has your UIS education prepared you for your current career?