March 25, 2025

In November, students were provided with test information for the ISBE PreACT Secure and ACT with Writing spring assessments, including the April test dates and the digital test format. As we continued to prepare for the exams for processes, we discovered that the technical requirements for the ACT will not allow us to use student laptops to conduct the exam. Because of this, we have needed to make the following updates for the April test administrations: 

• Both the PreACT Secure and ACT with Writing will now be administered as paper exams that will not require laptops or laptop components.
• The date of the PreACT Secure will not change and is still scheduled for Wednesday morning on April 9, 2025.
• ACT requires that the ACT with Writing paper exams be administered on the first day of the testing window. As a result, the ACT with Writing will now take place on the morning of Tuesday, April 22, 2025.

The halls reopen from the extended weekend on Monday, April 21, at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday will be an I-Day, with the week following an ICBD schedule.

We are excited to be able to still provide you with this opportunity and expect to see all of you on test day! More information will be coming out shortly to provide further details for each individual test day and resources to best help you prepare for your exam. If you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Abraham in the CAC Office.

Lexington has launched its annual spring survey to help improve the dining experience at IMSA. The survey is open to all students, parents, faculty and staff. THe survey should only take about 5-10 minutes to complete, and all responses are confidential. Please take a few minutes to give Lexington your feedback about dining services at IMSA.

The survey closes on March 31, 2025.

The National Community Service Award opportunity from the United Nations Association has been released! Students can create an account, enter their service hours, and be recognized for their hard work and dedication to their community. All community service activities between June 1, 2024 and April 15, 2025 count for this award. Physical award packets will be mailed to IMSA in May.

IMSA is excited to offer a dual credit opportunity in partnership with SIUE School of Business. The course will provide a foundational knowledge of entrepreneurship skills for students interested in pursuing business or entrepreneurial ventures. Students can participate in this summer course online or in person.

If you are interested in participating, please complete the form below. Responses are due April 15.

Future Health Professionals State Leadership Competition

Over spring break, IMSA's HOSA Future Health Professionals chapter stayed busy by dominating the second round of the State Leadership Competition in Springfield! Numerous students placed in the top three of their events with many advancing to the International Leadership Convention in Nashville, TN this June. Congratulations to the following students, and best of luck at the International Leadership Convention:

Biomedical Debate

• Sahasra Janagama '27, Sujana Janakaraj '27, Malayada Medikundam '27 - 1st place
• Sai Ganbote '26, Riyan Jain '26, Carolyn Zhang '25 - 2nd place
• Abhilash Polu '26, Luke Yin '26, Saaketh Bhojanam '27 - 3rd place

Behavioral Health

Luke Yin '26 - 1st place

EMT

Kavya Shah '27 & Srimedha Veerathu '27 - 2nd place

Epidemiology

Eva Beck '26 - 1st place

Forensic Science

Lucas Zhang '26 & Grace Rhee '26 - 3rd place

Healthcare Issues Exam

Kavya Shah '27 - 1st place

Medical Math

Vishnu Vijay '26 - 1st place

Medical Terminology

Vijnna Appasani '26 - 1st place

Pathophysiology

• Avery Frank '27 - 1st place
• Sai Ganbote '26 - 2nd place

Phlebotomy

Aarna Patel '25 - 1st place

Tanvi Boddupalli '26 - 2nd place

World Health and Disparities in Healthcare

Yicole Ng '25 - 2nd place

Ihita Gupta '27 - 3rd place

Little 10 All-Conference Basketball

Congratulations to Lota Onwuameze '27 who was named to the Little Ten All Conference basketball team. As only a sophomore, Lota showcased both talent and leadership among his teammates. Congratulations, Lota!

Table Tennis Goes to State

IMSA Table Tennis competed at the state tournament over the break and took fourth place overall! Congratulations to Roy Wang '26, Chad Park '25, Andrew Nelson '25, Arjun Brahmandam '25, Louis Chen '26, and Christopher Costabile '25. 

They also competed in the Illinois vs. Wisconsin All-Star Game, where they helped Illinois win the match! Roy Wang '26 won five matches in five clean sweeps, without dropping a single game. 

The team will be hosting a singles tournament later this spring at IMSA. Be on the lookout for details!

Debate Team's National Sucess

IMSA Debate has had an outstanding season, achieving remarkable success at multiple prestigious tournaments.

At the Harvard National Debate Tournament, the largest speech and debate competition in the country, Meimei Litowitz '27 placed third in the preliminary round and advanced to the quarterfinals, finishing ninth overall—an incredible achievement!

At the Illinois Congressional Debate Association (ICDA) State Tournament, IMSA brought 14 students and placed fifth as a school. Congratulations to Atmaj Shelar '26 (first place), Luke Yin '26 (second place), Anoushka Rangan '27 (third place), and Meimei Litowitz '27 for earning spots on the ICDA All-State Team!

In the Tournament of Champions Digital Series Three Qualifier, Riyan Jain '26 and Meimei Litowitz '27 reached the semifinals, with Meimei placing second overall and securing her second bid to the Tournament of Champions this April. Best of luck to Meimei as she prepares to compete at this prestigious event!

Juniors Sai Ganbote and Abhinav Anne were featured on WGN News for their work drafting a bill to make mental health education more accessible for students across the state. Watch their interview below!

Jordan Henry '25 also continued her advocacy work in Springfield where she testified in front of the Public Health Committee in favor of the bill she helped draft (HB1910) with Rep. Anna Moeller. The bill passed the committee and will proceed to a second hearing before consideration in the House and Senate. The bill is being supported by the ACLU of Illinois, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, the Illinois Public Health Association, and more. Jordan recently appeared on WGN News where she spoke about her work on HB1910.

This week's IMSA Impact Maker is Linsdey Herehly, Curriculum and Professional Development Specialist. Lindsey played a key role in planning IMSA’s annual Institute Day, serving nearly 350 educators from Kane and DuPage counties. She worked behind the scenes to coordinate with partners, review submissions, and organize schedules for a seamless event. She also collaborated with the history department to create a specialized History Track for the event. Her dedication to supporting educators makes a meaningful impact statewide! Thank you for being an IMSA Impact Maker, Lindsey!

To nominate an IMSA Impact Maker for an upcoming Titan Tuesday, email officeofpublicaffairs@imsa.edu.

In recognition of Women's History Month, please join the IRC for the Women's History Month Read-In featuring Dr. Susana Rivera-Mills. Dr. Rivera-Mills serves as the 14th president of Aurora University. She is also the first Latina to hold this position.

Members of IMSA's Medical Society will present their findings based on research done under the mentorship of generous IMSA Alumni medical professionals. Members will share their experience and host an open Q&A session with the audience. Attendees can look forward to presentations in areas of neuroscience, cardiology, and pediatrics. Guests (including parents) are welcome to attend in person or virtually. Light refreshments will be served. 

Please contact Amelia Szeto at aszeto@imsa.edu if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you there!

TEDxYouth@IMSA

Thursday, April 3, 2025

5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

IN2 and the Auditorium

Big ideas start small. That’s the essence of this year’s TEDxYouth@IMSA event, with our theme: Ripple.

This year’s lineup features four inspiring speakers ready to challenge perspectives and spark impactful conversations:

1. Dr. Shawn Bailey - “Neon River: Rethinking Chicago Environmental History and Personhood in the Age of Humans”
2. Dr. Evan Glazer - “How to Help Others Enjoy What You Love”
3. Luke Yin - “The Art of Starting Small”
4. Tanvi Boddupalli - “Beyond the Mirror: Do Looks Matter?”

Get ready for engaging talks, exciting discussions, and an event with activities, food, and more! Space is limited, so RSVP now to reserve your seat. If you have any questions, please reach out to the TEDx co-coordinators, Arnav Patel

or Aarna Patel.

Join us as we explore how the smallest sparks of inspiration can create waves of change.

IMSAloquium is an annual public celebration where over 275 students in the Student Inquiry and Research, Business Internship, and Independent Studies Programs present their completed and ongoing research.

This year’s keynote address will be given by Bethany E. Perez White, PhD. Dr. Perez White is a professor from the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago and is the Associate Director of Skin Tissue Engineering and Morphology (STEM) Core.

Visit the IMSAloquium web page for more information

Evaluators Needed

Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) seeks evaluators for this year's Student Leadership Exchange (SLX). Evaluators will evaluate student projects in social entrepreneurship, activism, and data journalism in correspondence with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Evaluators can either evaluate in person or virtually (however, we would prefer in person). Please send this form to anyone who might be interested in this opportunity!

PAC is looking for parents and guardians to serve on the PAC Executive Committee next school year.  

The PAC needs your dedication to fulfill our mission of supporting the students and administrators of IMSA in their educational and residential experience.  Please consider nominating yourself for the board through the link below.

To learn more about the role of the PAC Executive Board, please visit this link. Please let me know if you have any questions.

I'm really excited to share that we are able to place over 100 students into summer research and internship experiences through SRELO, meeting the demand. Students will find out their placements or interviews in the coming weeks. We've improved access by over 50% this summer due to new locations, like CSU and SIUE, new alumni mentors, and expanded programs at IMSA. 

The programs at IMSA are not solely for IMSA students, and not only in Aurora. We're also active in Southern Illinois and Metro East. Check out the outreach website that lists opportunities for K-8 and research programs for rising 11th and 12th graders. Please share them with family/friends. While there is a cost, please know that scholarships are available for students with financial need.

Additionally, if you're interested in hosting an IMSA intern, there are plenty of seniors in the Class of 2025, as well as recent IMSA alumni who might take you up on the offer. We intend to share surplus opportunities with them at the end of March. As parents/guardians, you have the ability to enrich the lives of IMSA students beyond your household. Please reach out to me at eglazer@imsa.edu if you have questions or would like to contribute. 

Building Resilience

Resilience is something that helps us get through challenges, and oftentimes, it's something that we have to learn over time. Learning to overcome and potentially grow from hardships or obstacles is critical during adolescence. Here are some tips to help you become more resilient:

• It is okay to make a mistake – Things won’t always go perfectly. Be kind and forgiving to yourself. Learning from mistakes and growing from them helps build resilience.
• Connect with people you care about – Having supportive people around you makes it easier to navigate difficult times than facing challenges alone.
• Look at it from a different perspective – Try looking at a situation as if you were a few months or a year in the future. How would it seem to you then? Would it still feel as daunting as it does now? In this perspective, you're already imagining yourself having overcome the obstacle.

IMSA's Information Resource Center is offering a tutoring program for students in 1st - 5th grade. If you know of students seeking additional support along their academic journey, please share this flyer with them. Spots are limited, so please use the QR code on the flyer to register.

The Illinois Department of Public Health requirement for Meningococcal Vaccine is as follows:  

Any child entering the 12^th grade shall show proof of having received two doses of meningococcal conjugate vaccine prior to entering the 12^th grade. The first dose shall have been received on or after the 11^th birthday, and the second dose shall have been received on or after the 16^th birthday, at least eight weeks after the first dose. 

If the first dose is administered when the child is 16 years of age or older, only one dose is required. If your child is NOT 16 before the start of school, you will have one month after their birthday to submit this documentation. 

Please arrange for the administration of this vaccine with your primary healthcare provider. Once your student has received this vaccine, please submit the documentation to the health office as soon as possible via email (nurse@imsa.edu) or fax (630.907.5938). You may use this form to submit documentation. 

IMSA is pleased to offer a wide range of opportunities for students of all ages to explore STEM topics over the summer. Discover our summer programs designed to ignite curiosity and learning.

ComEd invites 10th and 11th grade students to apply to their summer STEM Academies. ComEd STEM Academies are free, week-long programs for current students interested in STEM who live in Northern Illinois. Students will learn from ComEd/Exelon professionals, explore renewable energy, and connect with like-minded peers. 

Please note, IMSA is sharing these camps on behalf of ComEd. IMSA staff is not involved in the planning or application process of these camps. Students should apply using the links posted below.

The deadline to apply is April 1, 2025

If you ever need to refer back to a previous Titan Tuesday, visit the Titan Tuesday Archive.

April 9 - IMSAloquium Practice and PreACT

April 17 - IMSAlquium

April 17-21 - Extended Break

April 22 - ACT with Writing

April 26 - College Day

April 30 - SLX and Hollister Lecture

Notice of Nondiscrimination: IMSA prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates. Individuals may report concerns or questions to the Title IX Coordinator.