Seniors talk ‘Why Northwestern’

By BEATRICE VILLAFLOR the daily northwestern @beatricedvilla

By WILLIAM TONG and ZHIZHONG XU the daily northwestern @william2tong, @zhizhong_xu

With Northwestern seeking city approval for its Ryan Field rebuild, Evanston officials are progressing with plans for an independent study on the project’s impacts.

NU commissioned two studies about the project’s economic impact and public approval. However, because many Evanston residents say they doubt the trustworthiness of research Northwestern published on its new field’s impact, the city has made it a priority to independently obtain data.

The city’s Economic Development Committee unanimously approved Requests for Proposals to commission an independent study on the impacts of a new Ryan Field and determined a process for community engagement on

“I just want us to make our decision about the project based on real numbers and not inflated numbers,” Ald. Eleanor Revelle (7th) said.

Plans to rebuild Ryan Field would add concerts and alcohol sales to the new stadium. NU is awaiting approval from the city for a special use permit for the stadium’s construction, a zoning text amendment to permit fullcapacity concerts and a liquor license.

In an email to The Daily, NU’s Assistant Vice President of Communications Jon Yates wrote the University has “no current plans to move forward with the stadium redevelopment unless the University can obtain these entitlements.”

Under the Economic Development Committee’s plan, contractors would submit proposals for an independent study by early April. City Council would execute a contract by May, and the research firm would prepare findings for the city before July.

High school seniors and prospective students across the globe have been eagerly awaiting college decision letters for the past few months. For those applying to Northwestern University, hopefuls likely wrote up to 300 words tackling the “Why Northwestern” essay, an optional prompt.

Today, seniors who will soon be graduating look back on whether their time at NU reflected their original supplemental essay.

McCormick senior Wing Chow said he arrived at NU expecting to study mechanical engineering. Instead, he plans to graduate with a degree in industrial engineering and economics.

In his “Why Northwestern” essay, Chow originally wrote about joining the NU Solar Car Team and the marching band, he said. However, he left NUSolar after a few quarters and never even joined the marching band.

Chow also switched his engineering focus and learned about consulting — his future career plan — from a family friend as a sophomore. He then became involved with student group Consultants Advising Student Enterprises.

“Everything just aligned and pushed me (toward) consulting,” Chow said. “It was quite a drastic shift from what I originally wanted to do.”

Due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, most members of the Class of 2023 could not live on campus for the full two-year requirement. As a result, Chow said he felt he lost out on a lot of social interaction when he was an underclassman.

He said he wishes he focused less on academics his freshman year and more on his social life.

“At the end of the day, you can only get such good grades, but there’s never really a limit on how many people you can meet,” Chow said.

Weinberg senior Grace Doakes said NU opened many doors for her academically and professionally, which she expected of the institution when writing her “Why Northwestern” essay as a high school senior.

But, like Chow, Doakes felt the COVID-19 pandemic impeded her ability to cultivate a closer community at NU.

“The Black community is very small at Northwestern, so we have events geared just (toward) the community,” Doakes said.

“With (COVID-19), you couldn’t really have that.”

In her supplemental essay, Medill senior Jenny Huh said she wrote about friends she made in the Medill Cherubs program, but her essay largely emphasized academics — making the affinity space she found