The 18 best moments of 2018 at UWM
2018 has been a whirlwind at UWM! It’s hard to believe the fall 2018 semester has come to a close and we’re welcoming a new year and soon, a new semester! Before we look ahead, let’s look back on the best moments of 2018.
Spring
1. Vintage footage of actor Willem Dafoe
This year, we discovered old footage of actor Willem Dafoe in our film archives showing off his early acting career as a student here at UWM!
2. Jaidynn Diore Fierce at UWM Drag Show
We had a celebrity appearance at the Drag Show this year — Jaidynn Diore Fierce, a beloved RuPaul contestant!
3. Reopening of Peck Mainstage Theatre
After the devastating fire that destroyed the PSOA Mainstage Theatre last year, it finally reopened this spring after renovations completed!
4. Giant snowman on Instagram
We had a bit of fun on Instagram with an exaggerated and hilarious edit of a huge snowman on campus.
5. Welcoming spring with the fountain
When the fountain was finally turned back on, we welcomed the imminent warm weather with an epic video, Spongebob-style!
6. Spring graduation video
This spring’s graduation video took us 90s babies back to the good ol’ days with parodies of our favorite TV shows growing up!
Summer
7. Kicking off Summerfest
When the Big Gig came to town this summer, we were part of the first Show Your College Pride day, which granted free admission to those repping their #PantherPride.
8. Introducing the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute
The new Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute, a product of our partnership with Northwestern Mutual and Marquette University, was introduced to cultivate Milwaukee’s growing tech hub!
9. Milwaukee’s Vogue mention
Though we already knew how awesome our city was, we were #PantherProud to have Milwaukee named the “Midwest’s Coolest City” by Vogue!
10. UWM at the Villa Terrace Art Museum
The stunning, and sometimes overlooked, Villa Terrace Art Museum featured beautiful artwork from UWM faculty, staff and students in their “Look Here!” exhibition over the summer.
11. UWM Day at the State Fair
Cream puffs, sky-rides, Panther roars — OH MY! UWM Day at the State Fair this year was packed with proud Panthers young and old as we celebrated our new branch campuses at Washington and Waukesha counties.
12. Welcoming the Class of 2022
The summer ended and the school year started simultaneously with the welcoming of our new Panthers, the Class of 2022!
Fall
13. Fall Welcome & Pantherfest
From UREC Fest and Milwaukee boat tours to therapy dogs and Street Fest, we had a memorable Fall Welcome this year, topping it off with an amazing performance from Pantherfest headliner, Khalid!
14. First Day of Fall
We celebrated the first day of fall on Instagram with a sweet photo of our favorite fall treat.
15. National Coming Out Day
Panther LGBT-Pride was in the air for October, LGBT+ History Month, culminating on National Coming Out Day with this adorable photo on Instagram!
16. Hank Green on campus
Popular author Hank Green made an appearance on campus for his excited fans this fall to speak about his new book.
17. Women’s Soccer reaches the NCAA Tournament
Our Women’s Soccer team triumphed the Horizon League Championship and earned an automatic bid to compete in the NCAA tournament in Florida!
18. Winter Commencement
Finally, we closed the year with Winter Commencement, a record-breaker for the amount of winter graduates we had. Remember, once a Panther, always a Panther!
2018 had so much to offer us, even more than we could fit into this post! We’re excited for what 2019 has in store and can’t wait to see everyone back in January. Happy holidays and happy new year!
