If it had a piano and it was on the UI campus, odds are Cynthia Pietrucha visited it at least a time or two as a pre-law student.
“Even though I didn’t major in music, I took many music classes and was even a part of concert band playing first chair flute, played in the handbell choir at a local church and took cello lessons,” says the Downers Grove attorney.
“I loved practicing the piano in the Student Union, the Music Hall and at my dorms — Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall and Allen Hall in Urbana. I also volunteer ushered at Krannert Center and saw dozens of fine arts performances.
"Music memories are my favorite memories at U of I.”
As for a favorite professor, count Pietrucha among the legion of Mitch Kazel fans.
She had him for television journalism, where “he taught me the importance of being responsible with deadlines. Even though our student news team had limited viewership, he treated us all like we were Ryan Seacrest-level talent. From him I learned how important it is to keep commitments, big and small.”
Then, in 2002, “I took my first sociology class with Judith Pintor and fell in love with sociological topics,” Pietrucha says. “I still read through my Sociology 101 workbook from time to time.
“She made me feel empowered about my life goals and empathetic toward others and their experiences.”
