Contacts

InterVarsity Graduate Christian Fellowship at Illinois

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» Executive Committee

» Staff

» Small Group Leaders

» Other Leadership

Michael Culbertson

Michael Culbertson graduated from Wheaton College in 2004 with majors in French and Ancient Language. Since then, he has taught English to elementary school students in France, and completed an Ed.M. from Boston University in International Educational Development. Michael is now in his second year at the University of Illinois, studying Educational Statistics. He has an interest in educational measurement models that provide rich information about what students know and can do, as well as longitudinal models that track students' growth through time. He hopes one day to help educational decision-makers understand these and other statistical information available about educational programs in order to improve the quality and access of education for the disadvantaged. Michael attends Hessel Park Christian Reformed Church, and enjoys thinking, story, choral singing, and playing the violin.

Patricia Lazicki

Patricia Lazicki is a master's student in soil science. She studies the ways that more diverse crop rotations affect several soil structural and chemical characteristics, and is hoping to eventually use her skills to research ways to enhance organic matter storage in highly depleted tropical soils. She will be helping facilitate the weekly prayer meeting. She spent her childhood in West Africa and Southern California, did her undergrad at University of California, Davis, and is now really excited to be in a place where it snows. Outside of soil, she is interested in books, Africa, feeding people and doing outdoorsy stuff.

Julie McCormick

Born in Dallas, Texas, Julie completed her Bachelor and Masters degrees at Texas A&M University. She's currently working on her second year as a PhD student in literature, focusing, at the moment, on intersections between Irish modernism, post-structuralism, and psychoanalysis. Some of Julie's craziest memories include hitchhiking the Isle of Skye, camping through a west Texas tornado, and almost getting arrested in Rome due to a strange misunderstanding that's worth asking her about later. She hates cooking, nuts, and canned pineapple but believes in the frequent consumption of dark chocolate (especially in ice cream form). She also thinks Ezekiel was the man and would love to tell you why....

Matt Parkolap

630-639-6032

Matt Parkolap is a second year Master's student in Civil Engineering with specialization in steel structural analysis and earthquake stability. Originally hailing from the southwest Chicago suburbs, Matt also did his undergraduate work at the University of Illinois while receiving a music minor in trumpet performance and maintaining an active membership in the undergraduate InterVarsity chapter. He has recently returned from spending his spring and summer semesters abroad in India working with Engineering Ministries International, a non-profit Christian organization providing free design work to other ministries. Excited to be back on campus, Matt looks forward to leading a Bible study and fostering discipleship in the chapter this year. In his free time, he enjoys reading classic & fantasy literature, games of all sorts, sports, intellectual conversations, nature, and following the White Sox, Bears, and any type of soccer.

Rachel Rizzo

Rachel Rizzo is a second year masters student in theatre studies. After studying theater, literature and sociology at Wheaton College, she spent some time in the real world trying various careers. She worked as a social worker, a Spanish translator and as a second grade teacher before finally deciding to pursue her passion of theater as a director, a scholar and an actor. Her admiration for theater began at Wheaton where she was an ensemble member of Arena Theater. She later studied acting briefly at Michael Howard Studios in New York City and was a member of a fun Chicago land theater company that her friends started called Spindrift Theater Co. Rachel likes the way theater reminds her of the joy of the sacraments and liturgy in church. Her other interests include salsa dancing, yoga, the Urbana farmer's market, and listening to her brothers play original folk music in Wisconsin.

David Suryk, GCF Staff Worker and Small Group Leader

217-377-0995

David Suryk is an InterVarsity Staff member who resources the Graduate Christian Fellowship and the Illini Christian Faculty and Staff (aka, the faculty fellowship). He studied economics and mathematics at Knox College where he took his BA. He became a follower of Jesus Christ somewhere during the last part of his senior year of college and the first year of law school. David first got involved with InterVarsity while doing his JD degree at the Drake Law School. After working as an attorney in the Des Moines area he felt that he wanted to be back on campus helping others come to know the Lord Jesus Christ and to grow as his disciples. While staffing undergraduate IV chapters at Illinois Wesleyan and Illinois State Universities he decided to study philosophy at ISU and got a BS in philosophy. David also took a few summers of intensive theology classes at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School after joining IV staff. After coming to the U of I to work with GCF, he did graduate studies in philosophy and is ABD for his PhD in philosophy at the U of I. The philosophy doctoral program required two foreign languages so he got to do the reading course in German and also take courses in Greek. He is not convinced that doing the dissertation is what's in store for him. Doing his doctoral studies, David taught philosophy for three years at the U of I and enjoyed enough not to want to be a full-time faculty member. He taught logic, critical thinking, and intro courses in ethics and moral philosophy. When not working on his house (always some repair or improvement is needed—he even used a jack hammer this summer) he enjoys reading, discussing big ideas, leading manuscript Bible studies, and working out (but he needs to restart his gym membership). He enjoys traveling in Europe (Austria, Germany, Netherlands) and has met many great people studying here who enjoy housing him when he makes it to Europe. He has a web page at www.gfmuiuc.org. This year he leads a manuscript study on Tuesday evenings.

Josh Drake, Men's Fellowship

217-419-6147

Josh Drake is an IT professional at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. Although currently not a student, Josh attended the U of I from 2001 to 2006, studying the history of the British Isles, and is currently considering a return to academia at some indeterminate point in the future. Josh lives in southwest Champaign with two roommates and his dog Calvin, and attends Tapestry Church, where he leads a small group. In his free time Josh enjoys studying theology, studying and playing chess, hosting cookouts and movie nights, constructing lego models, biking, cooking, reading and listening to audiobooks and podcasts. If you have a twitter account, you can follow him at twitter.com/jcdrake.

Amanda (Wisdom) Dooley, Women's Fellowship

Amanda (Wisdom) Dooley graduated from the University of Kansas near her hometown in the suburbs of Kansas City with a bachelor's degree in atmospheric sciences. Continuing to pursue atmospheric sciences, she came to the University of Illinois for graduate school as a teacher's assistant. Her research while in graduate school has focused on the role of ice microphysics in tropical cyclones. Being a teacher's assistant, she realized her interest in teaching and is currently teaching two introductory level courses for meteorology. In July, she was blessed to be married to the love of her life, Isaac Dooley, whom she met at a GCF meeting. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, traveling and seeing new places, visiting family, playing sports and games whenever she can (Sequence is so much fun!), and reading (especially the Bible!).

Nina Chanlin, Small Group Instigator

Nina began growing on the western cusp of Chicago. She entered the University in the Dark Ages, before colour was invented and everything was still black and white. She dabbled in Architecture and Consumer Psychology before finally settling on a major: Miscellaneous. Through her tenure here, Nina has interacted in InterVarsity since her latter undergraduate years and continues to enjoy the intellectual stimulation of Graduate Christian Fellowship. She enjoys posing as a "small group leader" as she coyly goads others into answering her theological queries. Currently, Nina attends Twin City Bible Church. In her spare time, she enjoys swimming, cycling, backpacking, cuisine, road trips, and general adventure. She was quite content until fall 2006, when she encountered Michael LeMay, who beat her at arm wrestling and tells her that most products she uses will cause serious ailments.

Daniel Sinkovits, Treasurer

815-236-3955

Daniel Sinkovits is a sixth year graduate student in soft condensed matter physics. Through computer simulations, he studies how macromolecules and ions interact in water, especially where electrostatics are relatively strong. He has been a faithful member of small groups for his five years so far at GCF and served on exec the last two years. He also works with Bob Whattoff in doing ministry with visiting scholars from China. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2004, attending Intervarsity Christian Fellowship there, and participated in an Intervarsity Global Project in Yinchuan City, Ningxia Province, China during the summer after graduation. For fun here, he likes to do swing dancing, Argentine tango, and salsa. He also greatly enjoys hiking, playing with fire, and reading Wikipedia.

Geoffrey Poore, Webmaster

931-239-8737

Geoffrey Poore is a graduate student in physics. He studies pattern formation and nonequilibrium thermodynamics in the context of river networks. After growing up in the Chicago area and then central Tennessee, Geoffrey returned to Illinois to earn a BA in physics from Wheaton College. He has attended GCF small groups since arriving in Urbana-Champaign, and served on exec from 2006 to 2008. His favorite authors include G.K. Chesterton, Charles Williams, Jane Austen, and Wendell Berry. He also enjoys baking, biking, English country dancing, and folk music.