More than 60 years ago, a girl named Eleanor "Ellie" Stoddard walked through the doors of Uni. Now, thanks to her generosity, the school will host "Uni Celebrates the Arts," an art auction that will benefit the faculty support endowment that she established in 2001.

Some people spend decades aspiring to work at a place like The New York Times. For Gerry Shih, that accomplishment came barely five years after he graduated from Uni. The former Gargoyle editor spent this summer writing as an intern for The Times. And to think it all started with an article about Sue Kovacs.

1968 Uni alum David Goldwasser is an accomplished veterinarian. He is also the proud father of two sons, Ben and Jacob. If the last name sounds familiar, that's because Ben Goldwasser is one curly-headed half of the indie-rock duo MGMT. Check inside for more about Uni's connection to one of the most successful bands of 2008.

This past Saturday, 2003 Uni graduate and guitar genius Jake Hertzog performed at the Urbana Sweetcorn Festival. Sindha Agha and Laura Dripps met with him to talk about Uni, his career, and the art form of guitar playing itself. [Audio included]

The musical lineup for this year's Sweetcorn Festival will include jazz guitarist Jake Hertzog, an award-winning musician who was sitting inside Uni classrooms as a student himself barely five years ago.

The trial and conviction of Yuri Ermakov, formerly an assistant track and cross country coach at Uni High, had a Uni connection that perhaps many did not know about. Senior editor Shivani Khanna recently spoke with the trial's prosecutor, Troy Lozar, and one of Ermakov's defense attorneys, Elisabeth Pollock, both of whom are Uni alums.