Alumni Spotlight: January 2007

Janet Vaksdal Weaver

Degree:
BS'64, journalism/political science

Family:
Husband Tom, also an IU grad, and daughters Christina and Alison

Current Position/Place of Employment:
For 10 years I owned and operated a gift shop in Jacksonville, Fla. Before that I worked part-time writing for The Florida Times-Union, also in Jacksonville. And I was a stay-at-home mom until our daughters were in high school.

Favorite hangout as an IU student:
In four years I never missed a home football or basketball game, so I guess the old fieldhouse and football fields should be considered as favorite hangouts. Also, as assistant sports editor of the Indiana Daily Student, I spent a lot of time at sporting events and Ernie Pyle Hall.

What do you enjoy most about living in a college town?
For me it was heaven attending a university large enough to offer everything I could academically want located in a town small enough to feel like home. When I first saw IU, I was wowed by the beauty of the place and knew it was were I wanted to be. Now retired, it’s good to be back in Bloomington taking advantage of activities and events I didn’t have time for as a student.

Where did you live?
Tower Quadrangle as a freshman and at Kappa Delta the last three years.

What is your fondest memory of your years as an IU student?
The basketball games with hot-shooting Jimmy Rayl, Steve Redenbaugh, Tom Bolyard, and the VanArsdale twins lighting it up… Being co-chair of the first Cream and Crimson game for the IU Student Foundation … The camaraderie enjoyed while a board member of the Student Athletic Board