IMSA Graduates at a Glance
IMSA has graduated 3564 students in the Classes of 1989-2007, from every House and Senate district in the State. More than 99% attend college after graduation.
60% enroll in Illinois colleges and universities, with the top five being the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, The University of Chicago, Northwestern University, the University of Illinois at Chicago and Bradley University.
40% enroll in out-of-state colleges and universities, with the top five being Harvard University, Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rice University (Texas) and Washington University (Missouri).
Percentage-wise, more than twice as many IMSA graduates--and three times as many IMSA female graduates--earned undergraduate degrees in math, science or technology fields, compared with college graduates nationwide.
65% of undergraduate degrees earned are in math, science and technology. For example, for the class of 1990, the five most frequently completed undergraduate degrees were in engineering (24%), biological science (21%), social science (14%), physical science (9%) and mathematics (7%). For the class of 1995, the top five were in social science (21%), engineering (16%), biological science (16%), physical science (12%) and computer science (10%).
43% have completed or are completing a post-baccalaureate degree. Half of these are doctoral degrees.
Regarding professional employment, for the class of 1990 the top four professions are health care practitioner (16%), computing and mathematics (12%), management (12%) and architecture and engineering (11%). The top three industries are professional, scientific and technical services (31%), health care and social assistance (17%) and educational services (12%).
50% say they continue to be involved in tutoring, mentoring and social service program volunteering.
IMSA conducts a longitudinal study of graduates to determine the impact of the IMSA experience on students' development, to obtain valuable recommendations for program improvement, and to track some of the ways graduates contribute to bettering Illinois, the nation and the world. IMSA also is developing a web portal to enable graduates to create and continually update their own records, making it possible to track graduates' academic and professional achievements and contributions quickly and cost-effectively.
As young adults (IMSA graduates are only in their 20s and early 30s), many are already accomplished leaders in their professions and active leaders and volunteers in their communities.
Snapshots of IMSA Alumni
Here are a few snapshots of IMSA alumni who are working in Illinois:
- Don Blaheta ('93) is assistant professor of computer sciences at Knox College in Galesburg.
- Aimee Chong ('94) is a senior analyst (civil engineering and city planning) at Cambridge Systematics in Chicago.
- Daniel Hall ('97) teaches mathematics at Barrington High School.
- Jill Howk Gengler ('89) is coordinator for the LEEP Distance Education Program of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
- Amanda-Kathryn Leonard Shanbaum ('96) is a forensic scientist with the Illinois State Police in Chicago.
- Jennifer Mawdsley ('90) is a scientist in the areas of chemical engineering and material sciences with Argonne National Laboratory.
- Ronjon Paul ('89) is a spinal surgeon with DuPage Medical Group in Naperville.
- Don Rossi ('91) is director of information systems with McMaster-Carr Supply Company in Elmhurst.
IMSA alumni currently based outside of Illinois also contribute to advances in mathematics, science and technology in ways that benefit our state, nation and world. Some recent examples:
- Matthew Baumgart, ('99), is studying advanced mathematics at University of Cambridge in England as made possible through his receipt of the prestigious Gates Cambridge Foundation Scholarship while at The University of Chicago.
- Gary Cerefice ('89) is a research scientist focusing on nuclear engineering and radioactive waste management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- Jesse Hsu ('93) is director of corporate development for Perlegen Sciences, Inc., which conducts genetic research and develops products that improve people's lives.
- Sanza Kazadi, PhD., ('90) , is a director with the Jisan Research Institute, the first research institution of its kind which provides computational research services to scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and students.
- Terri Willard ('89), a Rhodes Scholar, is a project manager at the International Institute for Sustainable Development in Canada.
- Kara Yokley ('94), a research manager with IDC's Workstations and High Performance Systems program, conducts market research for high performance computing markets.