For Octavian Cheung, the Illini Union was one part pool hall, one part catnap spot and one part place to people watch.
“You really got a lot of value out of that building," the Immersive Education Academy CEO ('09) says from his home in Hong Kong.
"One specific memory related to the Union was during the 2004-05 basketball season. The Illini were on a roll under Bruce Weber and made it to the championship game. Although the championship game didn’t go as planned, I remember everyone would pile into the Union event room to watch the games leading up on the big screen.
"As you might expect, the celebrations would spill over into Green Street. People would fill the streets and would be cheering. Some even were climbing the lamp and traffic poles. It really was a time for everyone to share and you really saw the pride people had for being an Illini."
