University of Illinois | 150 Years & Beyond

Thirteen years later, there’s little Janis (Lee) Buesching doesn’t remember about freshman life at the Florida Avenue Residence halls.

And yes, that includes all “the 4 a.m. fire alarms that people pulled,” the Microsoft senior design program manager says from Seattle.

“My freshman year, I met my lifelong friends and we are the same group of friends since we graduated,” says Buesching (BS ’09, computer engineering).

“We had family dinners together after classes, studied in the dorms together, had snowball fights in the courtyard, and got late night snacks at PAR. 

“The place where I had the most peace was on the main Quad. Between classes on sunny days, I would sit under the trees alone or with whoever I was with, and we would watch people scurry to classes, tight-rope walk, unicycle and do all sorts of activities.

“U of I felt like home for the four years that I was there, especially with the faculty and friends I made along the way.”