WIU: Who We Are, What We Do: Cathy Chenoweth Onion & Julie Chenoweth Terstriep

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WIU: Who We Are, What We Do: Cathy Chenoweth Onion & Julie Chenoweth Terstriep

May 23, 2016

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Behind the bricks and mortar, there are the people of Western Illinois University and the Macomb community.

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Who We Are: Cathy Chenoweth Onion & Julie Chenoweth Terstriep.

Cathy: I am a farm kid, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a cousin, a wife, a mom and a life-long learner.

Julie: Sister to Cathy Chenoweth Onion. I bleed purple and gold, and I am a purveyor of "worthless knowledge, as friends and family call me.

What We Do:

Cathy: Faculty member in the Department of Management and Marketing where I teach "Principles of Management," "Introduction to Business" and "Business Communication" (really I teach students!), and former associate director of Alumni Programs.

Julie: Business manager of Campus Recreation, and a 1988 and 2013 WIU graduate.

Why We Love WIU:

Cathy: My family has a long, rich history with WIU. My grandparents sold eggs to Dr. and Mrs. Knoblauch, their neighbors; my mother worked at WIU as a secretary for Vice President Carlson Crane and then as a proofreader for Spencer Brown in the WIU Journal of Developing Areas; my parents have hired WIU students to work on their farm since the 1960s; I graduated from WIU; and have worked here for 30 years.

Every time I think about this question, the answer is the same. It's the people ... the people who have shaped my life, the people who have molded my career, the students I've been able to work with and the alums and their success stories that make me love this place. I can't think of a better career fit for me than to be at WIU and working with college students. When you love what you do, it's an incredibly fast journey.

Julie: WIU means family! I grew up in Macomb and always wanted to go to school here. It means family in that many of the professors' children went to school with me. I grew up around the WIU family. It means MY family! My husband, myself, sister, son, daughter and son-in-law, as well as three nieces and a nephew, ALL graduated from WIU! We're working on the next generation of Leathernecks now.

It means a group of dedicated individuals who truly care about the education and life-long learning of the students of this university. They may enter here as students, but they graduate here as members of our "family".