University of Illinois | 150 Years & Beyond

When it came time to pick a place on campus to live, Emily (Kline) Bucarich chose the one-of-a-kind Allen Hall.

Two reasons why:

“One, my mom had lived there when the dorm was all women, back in the '70s,” she says, “and two, I could walk to the classes held downstairs in my PJs.

“Because of the academic focus of that dorm, it was filled with brilliant, quirky and interesting people. They inspired me to stretch my limits and discover new things, including for the first time in my life, a lot of international travel.

“During that time, I had time to figure out what it means to truly be independent," says the Chicago-based director of learning and development content for the National Restaurant Association. "While our lives have since gotten hectic with distance and families, there is a core group of people I still count as almost-family.

“I’m so grateful that connection we built in ‘Alien Hall’ has lasted for decades.”