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Chicago Tribune
14-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Special day for hundreds of IU Northwest grads, families
The youngest of nine children and the third to earn a college degree, Cindy Torres stood before hundreds of fellow graduates and their families Wednesday to share her insight. Indiana University Northwest officials selected Torres, 21, a business major, to deliver the student address at the university's 59th commencement ceremony held outside on the campus' north side. The Lake Central graduate, who lives in Schererville, talked about meeting academic goals, personal loss, and staying focused on the future ahead. She concluded her speech in Spanish, offering thanks to her family for their support. Torres has already lined up a job in the human resources department at grocery store Strack & Van Til, based in Highland. Torres, who graduated with high distinction, said she stayed close to home because she was nervous to try a new environment. What sealed the deal were several scholarships she earned at IU Northwest. 'With all the scholarships I received, I had my entire tuition covered so I will be graduating debt-free.' Navy veteran Bronson Bigbie, 28, of Lowell, served as a mass communications specialist, including his last post on the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier. He finished his degree in three years, taking an extra course load. Bigbie graduated with a 4.0 grade point average and a degree from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He's heading to the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University. IU Northwest made sense for Bigbie. 'I wanted to stay close to home and it was affordable. It had the degree that I thought was best for me – public affairs.' His busy schedule continues in October when he marries Haley Feiler, of Highland Park, Illinois, who is graduating from IUN with a master's degree in the fall. Destinee Winger, 22, of Portage, has already launched a dessert business for showers and special occasions. Her dream is to open her own bakery in Portage. 'It would be tough, but it's just in my heart,' she said. Winger is president of her Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority where she received its 'Entrepreneur of the Year' award last year. Meanwhile, Jodi Garcia, of Hobart, held roses and a teddy bear for her daughter Ella Garcia who received a degree in biology. Jodi Garcia, dean at Longfellow New Tech Elementary in the Lake Ridge Schools, said her daughter will soon take the exam for admission into medical school. Nearby, Apples Cullum Knapp, of Hobart, anxiously searched the lines of gowned students trying to find her daughter, Sierra Vasquez, 29. A brass quintet played 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody' as Knapp talked about her daughter. 'She's getting a BS in nursing and is already working at the hospital in Hobart,' she said. What she couldn't quite grasp was Sierra's decision to marry her long-time boyfriend Michael Carpenter at 2 p.m. at the courthouse in Crown Point, just a few hours after graduation. 'I can't believe she's getting married,' Knapp said. 'It's such a wonderful day! I couldn't be more proud of the woman she has become. She's my rock.' IUN officials said the Class of 2025 received 24 associate, 472 bachelor and 90 master's degrees. The youngest graduate was 20, while the oldest was 66 with women making up 76% percent of the graduates. Of all the IU campuses, IU Northwest has the highest percentage of first-generation college students at nearly 30%. It also has the most underrepresented students of color at 46%.
Chicago Tribune
17-03-2025
- Automotive
- Chicago Tribune
Hot diggity dog! Wienermobile rolls through Region, spreading whistles, cheer wherever it goes
It's not every day a 27-foot-long hot dog zips down U.S. 41, but when it does, it spreads a special kind of joy, said 'hotdogger' Bridget 'BBQ' Berens. The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile rolled through the Region, stopping at Strack & Van Til in St. John on Friday afternoon. It returned Sunday to the Strack & Van Til stores in Lowell and Cedar Lake before baring east to Ohio. Berens and her co-pilot, Cooper 'CoopDawg' Albert, traveled through 25 states before crossing into Northwest Indiana on the annual Wienermobile tour, where a fleet of giant hot dog trucks hit the nation's highways through early summer. The tradition, while seemingly silly, stems from a time marked by struggle and harsh circumstances, according to Oscar Mayer history. 'The Wienermobile was created during the Great Depression, to bring some cheer and levity to people during a hard time. And now 89 years later we're still out here doing this, it's all a part of that tradition,' Berens said. In 1936, Carl Mayer, nephew of Oscar Mayer, had an outlandish dream: creating a 13-foot-long hot dog car. The car was in a parade through Chicago, where it cemented its legendary status. History was re-lived on Saturday when the Wienermobile donned green streamers to be in Chicago's St. Patrick's Day Parade. 'Everyone has some story about the Wienermobile,' Berens said. 'It's a special moment, whether it's their first time seeing it or hearing people talk about seeing it 30 years ago when they were kids. Today alone I've heard so many stories from people.' Berens said when it comes to the coveted 'Wiener Whistle,' she discovered it has become an heirloom of sorts to Midwesterners. 'People have told me they still have their grandma or grandpa's whistle,' Berens said. 'It's a tradition from generation to generation, and to be a part of that is amazing.' Grace Kleine, of Merrillville, said when she was a child, her grandma told her about getting a Wiener Whistle and taught her the Oscar Mayer Wiener Jingle. On Friday, Kleine got a whistle of her own and brought along her two rescue pugs, Cici and Ivan – all three dressed as condiments. Tiny T-shirts on the pugs packaged them as ketchup and mustard, with Kleine being the relish of the trio, prompting people to flock to them for photos. Kleine said she had the outfits from last Halloween and figured she'd add to the Oscar Mayer festivities. 'Everyone is so happy to see them,' Kleine said. 'How can you not smile while looking at the Wienermobile? I told my friends, 'You've got to come out and see it, it's a part of American history.'' The Wienermobile itself has gone through many transformations throughout the decades, all while retaining its original hot dog form. The 1952 version of the vehicle is in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, and iterations since have included Ford Thunderbird tail lights, microwave ovens, refrigerators, car phones, big screen TVs and stereo systems that play 21 versions of the Oscar Mayer Wiener Jingle. Different versions of the Wienermobile have also marked the epochs of time. In 2015, The Wiener Rover, an all-terrain, off-roading hot dog on wheels was created, and 2016 saw the invention of the motorhome-hotdog combo called the Wienie-Bago, according to Oscar Mayer history. In 2017, the world welcomed the WienerDrone, an unmanned hotdog-carrying aircraft, and the WienerCycle, a three-wheeled moped. The moped had a sidecar that doubled as a hot dog warming station. Finally, 2018 saw the creation of the Super Hotdogger, a person in a jetpack wearing a utility belt lined with hot dog carrying cases. Today, the Wienermobile fleet travels an average of 500 miles per week. 'People say we're celebrities, but we're not,' Albert said. 'We're just driving around the celebrity.' Each vehicle is manned by two 'hotdoggers' who compete with thousands of applicants in a four-month-long interview process that will come down to just 12 hired individuals. Albert is from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, and Berens is from Elm Grove, Wisconsin. Now, they're reaching near the end of their travels in June. 'We've been through 25 states, and I feel like I met the soul of America,' Albert said. 'Seeing people united in kindness and joy over giant hot dogs. We're in a new city every week. It's been an amazing adventure.'
