Our 30 Favorite Memories from 2017
2017 is on its way out, and we are reminiscing on some amazing UWM moments. From January to December, our campus was jam-packed with fun-filled events, major accomplishments and great memories. These are some of our favorite highlights!
Bachelor = #UWMalum
Once a track star for the Milwaukee Panthers, Nick Viall, a UWM alum, was ready to find the one on “The Bachelor.”
MLK Day
On MLK Day, UWM students, faculty, staff and alumni chooses a day on, not a day off. Volunteers painted murals of inspirational images of books and quotes from civil rights activists.
Winter Struggles
If you go to UWM, you know exactly what we’re talking about. Whether it’s the crazy wind tunnels as you walk to class or the ridiculously long lines for the Grind, winter on campus can be a struggle.
Valentine’s Day
When love is in the air, Pounce can’t help but to share his excietment! This year, he decided to do so by offering anyone and everyone a free hug (and maybe a selfie, too).
UWM Drag Show
Each year, the LGBT Resource Center puts on one of the largest campus events: The UWM Drag Show! After being treated to 20 performances, the crowd donated more than $1,700 to two local charities — Project Q and Pathfinders Milwaukee, the youth program at the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center.
Research
Ahh, the pothole battle. Fear no more! A UWM professor has been working on a new kind of high-performance concrete. The cement composite is a durable, water-resistant and malleable paving material with such a high level of “crack control” that the researchers estimate it has a service life of 120 years or more.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Basketball legend turned author and political activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gave a speech at the Milwaukee Theatre as the guest of UWM’s Distinguished Lecture Series and the Muslim Student Association.
Horizon League Tournament
As the underdog of the Horizon League Tournament, we were ecstatic to watch our Panthers beat out almost every other team on our way to the championship. Though our Cinderella story fell one game short, we are so #PantherProud of how we played this season!
Opening Day
Opening Day for the Brewers is alway a huge celebration in Milwaukee. Despite the weather, this year was no exception, making this the first photo to reach more than 1,000 likes on UWM’s Instagram.
Milwaukee Day
Living in the 414 means April 14 is a very special day. We asked our students what they loved most about Milwaukee in honor of the holiday.
Carpool Karaoke
Each year, we like to have a little bit of fun when graduation rolls around. When Chancellor Mone offered up his golden pipes, we were officially ready for Carpool Karaoke (shoutout to James Corden!). Check out the grads’ moves and tunes as they drove to the UWM Panther Arena.
Graduation 2017
More than 3,400 spring grads received their UWM diplomas and celebrated all over the city on Sunday, May 21. From the lakeshore to the Panther statue, these alumni were ready to take on the world! #uwmgrad
Beachin’
There’s no better summer activity than beachin’ on a warm, sunny day! Pounce was in full agreement as he got his tan on.
Independence Day
Cookouts, grill-outs and BBQ’s… OH MY! Pounce got a little crafty with his watermelon this year in honor of our nation’s favorite red, white and blue holiday.
Deaflympics
Taylor Koss has broken multiple school and national records, and we couldn’t be happier for him when he got a chance to compete in the 2017 Deaflympics. Congrats, Taylor!
State Fair
We love UWM Day at the Wisconsin State Fair! With a host of tents and activities, lots of yummy snacks in reach and an adorable Roar Contest, this year’s event couldn’t have gone any better.
The Solar Eclipse
KIRC’s front lawn filled up quickly as people gathered ‘round to view the total solar eclipse August 21. We made a day out of it, with a band, food trucks and a NASA-sanctioned viewing event, resulting in the best community viewing experience we could have imagined.
Move-In Day
Move-in day is always a big deal on campus, and this year we sent out one of our own to see what it’s really all about. Check out what these new UWM residents had to say!
Annual Class Photo
Class of 2021 was lookin’ good this year. Sunshine and blue skies made for a wonderful afternoon at University Welcome, where incoming freshmen were served dinner, offered a good luck coin to throw in the fountain and met their peers. We can’t wait to see all of the amazing things they accomplish here at UWM.
Mean Tweets
Pantherfest is the largest annual campus event, taking place at the end of Fall Welcome. When the performers are announced each year, we receive a mixed reaction from our students. After receiving both mean and nice tweets about KYLE, Misterwives and Kiiara, we decided to have some fun with a Jimmy Kimmel-style video!
Pantherfest
No matter your taste in music, there’s no doubt that KYLE, Misterwives and Kiiara put on a great show! The high-energy concert rounded out Fall Welcome and left students with memories that will last a lifetime.
Milwaukee Film Festival
Lights, camera, action! We celebrated the students, faculty and alumni involved in the 15-day festival showing nearly 300 films.
Nobel Prize
We couldn’t have been more #PantherProud of the work UWM’s team played in the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics honoring LIGO’s detection of gravitational waves.
Panther Prowl
Ready, set… PROWL! We always have a blast at our annual Panther Prowl. This year, we raised more than $25,000 for student scholarships!
Fall
Autumn is always filled with beautiful colors and crisp air. We had some fun playing in the leaves this year — we’ll do anything for the ‘gram!
Halloween
Halloween doesn’t have to be all scary monsters and goblins. Sometimes the best way to celebrate spooky season is with some adorable black cats!
A Season of Thanks
It’s important to remember what we’re most thankful for! We spoke to UWM students and many were looking forward to family, friends and stuffing.
Thanksgiving
There’s a lot to be thankful for this year, but we wanted to know what YOU were thankful for. We appreciated hearing all of your thoughts on why UWM is so great.
Giving Tuesday
The thankfulness continued into the following week as campus celebrated Giving Tuesday. More than 100 donors contributed $126,000 for students scholarships. #PantherProud!
The First Snowfall
We love the first snow of the season and campus covered in a blanket of white! This year’s first flurries sprinkled down on December 13.
While we had a great year in 2017, and we’re sad to see it go, we’re thrilled to see what wondeful things our Panther family will accomplish in 2018. Cheers to the New Year!
