Irene Wilken is a senior majoring in mathematics with minors in music and secondary education. In addition to her involvement in Rural Area Student Initiative, Irene is also a returning LAS Brand Ambassador!
Coming to college is a difficult transition—moving away from home to an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. Everything is new, and the world just got a whole lot bigger. The move was particularly challenging for me, coming from a small rural town with a population of just over 1,000. My graduating high school class was 95 students strong, and we’d known each other most of our lives. It was comforting to go through every life transition together. Here at the University of Illinois, however, I was on my own.
I moved from the suburbs of Chicago to our family farm at the age of 10, but it still didn’t prepare me for the culture shock on campus: All the restaurants in one place! The sheer number of people crammed onto the quad! Traffic!
But perhaps the biggest shock was the difference in academic experiences. To prepare for college, I took as many AP courses as my school offered and participated in as many extracurricular activities as my schedule allowed—and I was lucky! Other local high schools couldn’t provide these same opportunities. Yet it was nothing compared to my non-rural peers. I felt as if I had to do twice as much work to keep up, and I struggled to relate to others.
During the spring semester of my freshman year, I learned about the Rural Area Student Initiative (RASI), an organization run by rural students for rural students. Through RASI, I met a community of students from all over the country who also experienced the drastic shift from rural to urban life. RASI offered the leadership, service, and professional development opportunities I felt I had missed out on.
RASI also allowed me to give back to rural high schoolers through their Liaison program. As a Liaison, I reach out to rural high schools with resources for the college enrollment process, including SAT/ACT prep, college application tips and tricks, and Q&As about college life. Since its founding, RASI has connected with 50 rural schools through the Liaison program! Our mission is to ensure that all students can make a fully informed decision.
I am so grateful to have found this community that has made U of I feel a bit more like home!