Despite spending his college years in a county where the tallest building is EIU's Stevenson Hall, Justin Stewart '11 is now the highest-ranked competitive stair-climber in the world.

So far in 2012, his first full year of racing, he has placed first in nine races (including Chicago's Hustle Up the Hancock and the 180-floor Presidential Towers event, where he set a new course record) and also took a respectable 17th-place finish in the Empire State Building Run Up.

If Stewart is still among the world's top three stair-climbers in August, he'll earn an all-expenses-paid trip to Columbia for the World Cup Championships.

• Kamerer leads warehousing company that stores millions of pounds of fine cheeses -- and much more

• It all started with prom: 2009 graduates tell their engagement story

• Coach Pugh's migration to Plains is admirable

• Stratford University promotes Flaggert to chief academic officer

• Rattlers girls coach Stanley has won and won often at LSRV

• Harris among WMU graduate students awarded Fulbright grants

• Veteran works past PTSD to earn master's at Eastern

• Sanders has drive for local volunteer work

• Charleston renames softball field for longtime coach Karch

A dozen EIU graduates were named to the JG-TC's '20 Under 40' list, which honors successful young people who contribute to the region in various ways.

• Erica Stollard

• Monica Genta

• Rachel Fisher

• Kurt Rankin

• Jennifer Staskiewicz

• Brandon Combs

• Sarah Holsapple-Miller

• Greg Aydt

• Ryan Whitlock

• Kimberly Abell

• Kelsey Swing

• Malia Smith

• Members of the Alumni Association still have the opportunity to purchase tickets to our Chicago baseball outings before they are offered to non-members. Presale ends Friday, May 25.

• June 22: Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago White Sox
• July 13: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Chicago Cubs

• Big kudos to the 584 alumni and students who participated in Panther Service Day. To check out photos from the day, visit the EIU Student Community Service Facebook page.

• Due to popular demand, we're bringing back our Alumni & New Student Picnics. This June, we'll be in Belleville (June 7), Springfield (June 14) and Bloomington (June 21). Mark your calendars and join us!

• This fall, the Alumni Association, in partnership with AHI Travel, will sponsor a trip to Rome. Highlights will include visiting the Colosseum, St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel; wandering through the art collections of the Borghese Galleria; witnessing the art of mosaic-making during an exclusive visit to Studio Cassio; and more! For additional information, visit AHI Travel.

The EIU athletic department will host its annual Chicago-EIU Golf Classic in Naperville on May 29. The outing is a great way to connect with other alumni, Panther fans, EIU coaches and current student-athletes while enjoying a first-class experience on the golf course. The day includes greens/cart fees, golf favors, lunch, beverages on the course, and dinner.

For more information, please call the Panther Club at 217-581-7211, email pantherclub@eiu.edu or view the flyer. You do not need to be a Panther Club member to participate.

Do you know an EIU graduate doing extraordinary things? Then nominate him or her for an Alumni Award! Categories include the Distinguished Alumnus Award, Louis V. Hencken Alumni Service Award, Distinguished Educator Award and Outstanding Young Alumnus Award.

Nominations, which must include this nomination form, a formal letter of nomination and any supporting materials such as articles or additional letters of support, should be sent to Steve Rich, Executive Director, EIU Alumni Association, 600 Lincoln Ave., Charleston, IL 61920. The deadline is Friday, June 22.

This June and July, head football coach Dino Babers and the EIU football staff will host a series of satellite football camps in Chicago and St. Louis. Camps are geared for players in grades 9-12. For more information on these and other Panther sports camps, click here.

Last month, the Alumni Association held a "Marty Pass" contest in which its members were asked to submit up to three lines each explaining how EIU shaped their lives/careers/ideas of the world. Two winning entries were randomly drawn, with each receiving a Marty Pass voucher redeemable for two complimentary St. Louis Cardinals tickets.

Congratulations to our two winners, Lynn Klein '83 and Carly McCrory '10, '11! Thank you for your continuing support of the university and the EIU Alumni Association. Here's what they had to say about EIU:

• "Eastern Illinois University made me the person I am today, with lifelong friends, career advancement opportunities and hometown values." — Lynn Klein

• "EIU shaped my life in the following ways, it gave me the best education that money could buy, I made life-long friends and I challenged myself in ways I didn't know was possible." — Carly McCrory

Throughout the year, members of the EIU Alumni Association qualify to receive exclusive discounts, promotional offers and sweepstakes opportunities as a special "thank you" for their support. Not yet a member of the EIU Alumni Association? Join today!