Why UNI?

I was listening to the UNI Alma Mater and UNI Fight song, just oozing Panther Pride when I thought, "The first line of our fight song is 'Hail our panthers we are ever loyal!' But why should we be 'loyal' to our university? What has won us over about the University of Northern Iowa? Why do we not only 'like' being here but LOVE being here?"

As I wandered around campus for the better part of Thursday, I asked some fellow panthers for the answer.

What do you love about UNI?

“I love the environment and the size of classes, the people, and just the energy. It’s cool to be part of the Panther Pride, Panther Spirit.” -Abigail Stecker, junior communications disorder major

“What I love about UNI is so many things. I like the people. Everyone here seems really nice and chill. They’re not like, super stuck up.” -Amanda Husak, senior English education major

“What I love about UNI is how small it is and it makes you feel very homey. So I like the fact that I’m just not a number; I feel like a student.” -Kate Madsen, junior biology major

“Basically I just love the community, the atmosphere, the size of it and I really like the people.” -Kelsey Hansen, sophomore public relations major

“I like the community, how small it is and how open everything is in close proximity to each other, like the Hill and everything, and all the people.” -Cody Emery, super senior art and family services double major

“I like just when you walk around you see people that you know like ‘hey what’s up! I know you!’. Like it’s a really nice, close community.” -Madalyn Loring, senior BFA ceramics and art education major

“I like the campus size and the people here. You can meet new people, but still have your same, close friends.” -Nick Ross, senior marketing major

“I really like the community. I think everyone is really welcoming and it’s not something you get at a lot of other universities, maybe. I’ve been to a lot of universities and UNI kind of sticks out in terms of who I feel like I could talk to. I don’t feel like I’m having trouble approaching people. I think it’s just a really nice welcoming community.” -Nicholas Gasser, sophomore political science major

“I love that it has the small town feel to it but with the big university feel to it as well.” -Kean McBurney, senior marketing major

“My favorite thing about UNI is,the thing that actually made me come here, is the atmosphere and the students. So differing from the community it’s just that friendly feel that you get. There’s smiling faces everywhere and I don’t know if other people notice but everyone holds the door open for you. People are just always willing to lend a helping hand and there’s always someone there for you.” -Emily Thompson, senior art major and art history minor

“For me, I love how involved students are. It’s a Division I university with a community college feel. So you can get as involved as you want as quickly as you want. And there’s always opportunities going on around campus. I’m a tour guide here and I absolutely love showing off this campus because it has so many things to offer students that walk on campus. And for me as soon as you’re on campus you know so many different faces. You walk 10 minutes, you’ve already said ‘Hi’ to 20 people. And that’s what I love about this: it’s so welcoming, it’s so inviting; it’s just a great place to call home.” -Kyle Polzin, junior communicative sciences and disorders

“I came in from a smaller university so this is bigger but it’s sort of the same. It doesn’t feel bigger. The community here is still very close knit and people are still so welcoming and friendly. It’s over 10,000 people but everyone is friendly towards everyone else and everyone’s just proud to be at UNI as well. I think that’s something I love about it.” -Matthew Pisarski, senior communicative sciences and disorders.

For me, UNI has always been home. I have so many ties to UNI that it’s become such a large part of me and my history. My parents met here, my aunt and uncles went here. I went to Price Labs for preschool when it was still a school and look at me now; I’m a student here and I love everything about it.

It’s not about the buildings and facilities and landscape. It’s about the people: the students and faculty and staff. Without people, campus is just an empty, hollow place.

Everyone at UNI is part of the Panther Family, and it’s certainly an honor to be a part of that.

I hope that you find your "UNI" a place that you absolutely love and where you feel the most accepted and comfortable in your learning environment, because college is one of the best times of your life (as cheesy as that sounds).

And if you want to express your Panther Pride or simply listen to UNI's Fight Song and Alma Mater, they are below. Lyrics for both songs can be found here: