The 2024 co-recipient of the UI’s Alumni Achievement Award arrived on campus four decades ago with her trusty Huffy 10-speed, to help her get to IMPE and other spots a ways from her dorm room at Trelease Hall.
She left four years later with a newfound appreciation for the great outdoors.
For that, Mary Schubauer-Berigan has Bob McGrew to thank.
“I have to honor Bob McGrew, the former head of the outdoor program of the Department of Campus Recreation of UIUC,” Schubauer-Berigan writes from Lyon, France, where she’s a senior epidemiologist at the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Shortly after arriving as a freshman, she remembers, “I noticed a flyer for a weekend bike-camping trip led by Mr. McGrew, to Moraine View State Recreational Area 50 miles away. Although I was ill-prepared for the trip — I had no bike rack on my Huffy, so had to tie panniers to my bike frame! — this wonderful trip began a long and fruitful association with the outdoor program led by Mr. McGrew.
“I was able to hone leadership skills by leading backpacking and canoeing trips around the C-U area and around the country. I met so many interesting people in the process, as the outdoor program trips attracted many international students and faculty. I also found gainful employment in the ‘camping room,’ helping maintain equipment and manage rentals to the UIUC community.
“I eventually upgraded my ride (thanks to the fine folks at Champaign Cycle) and was able to fly through the cornfields exploring the many beautiful parks — Allerton, Middle Fork, Clinton Lake and Forest Glen — and towns in and around Champaign County.
“This has led to a lifelong love of all sorts outdoor recreation activities — which I attribute in no small part to the influence of Bob McGrew and his visionary outdoor recreation program at UIUC.”
