Tonise Paul’s favorite spot isn’t the Illini Union or Alma. It’s the space between the two campus landmarks.
“If you look at most any picture of Alma Mater, you will see the gorgeous backdrop of very old trees," says the Bronze Tablet-winning head of the advertising agency Energy BBDO Worldwide. "My favorite place on campus was a spot under those trees between the Union and the statue.
"I used to study at the Union as I loved — and oddly, could concentrate — being surrounded by the motion and din of happy, frenetic student activity.
“After studying, I would head toward Alma Mater. Halfway there, I would sit in this spot on the grass and gaze up at the trees. It was an incredibly peaceful place for me to pause and seemed to be located right between my present and my future possibilities.
"I always visit that spot whenever I return to campus and can even remember many of things I pondered there.”
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