Before he became one himself, Tom Ludwig got to mingle with UI alumni in a position unlike any he'd ever had.
“My time spent working as a student development representative for the University of Illinois Foundation had a positive, and memorable, impact on both my college and post-college life,” says Ludwig (BS ’03, technical system management), the St. Louis-based general counsel and executive vice president of National Loan Exchange, Inc.
“I spent time discussing the benefits of giving to UIUC and other U of I campuses with alumni — work that taught me importance of both communicating well and continuing alumni support. I stayed in touch with the terrific managers of the UIF for several years into law school.
“Music also played a big part of pushing me through the rollercoaster of undergraduate life, specifically the rock-solid Ludicris, who was at the height of his career during my time at the university.
“To me, he was, and is, a poet that generates mostly positivity and motivation — his southern hospitality stayed with me to this day.
“As Nietzsche said: ‘Without music, life would be a mistake.’”
