Given that Eastern is located in a small town just north of the middle of nowhere Illinois, it may be hard to believe anything remarkable could come out of such a tiny community. After all, one of the biggest prides of the town is being the start of a fast food chain along with being the site of a debate most college students could not tell you much about.

Even though attendance at Eastern has fallen over the last few years, community members continue to make a difference that stretches far beyond the university. To honor these individuals who are excelling in unique and extraordinary ways, we created the student spotlight, which was published for the first time this year in Tuesday’s edition of The Daily Eastern News.

It is a time to showcase all the hard work students on this campus are doing, whether it be creating a work of art, participating in a highly competitive internship or becoming a student laureate. Although this spotlight will focus on students and their accomplishments, faculty and community members also have incredible projects they are working on as well and they deserve to have their stories told.

To nominate a student for our student spotlight, simply email us at dennewsdesk@gmail.com or our reporter at tlmoody@eiu.edu with their first and last name, their year and their major, as well as why you believe them to be deserving of this recognition.

These student spotlights will show what Eastern is and what it can be. Most students on this campus have opportunities to succeed in ways that deserve to be noticed if they only apply themselves and seek those opportunities out.

This spotlight will strive to show the public what has been there all along. When our strengths are known we can utilize them more effectively.

A simple series like this can even change the way we view the world around us. The random student you see from time to time doodling stunning pictures could have a hidden talent. The professor who gives your lectures could be researching to find a cure for Alzheimer’s. You never know what you will find or who could truly be an amazing nominee until you begin to engage more with the community around you.

Being a student can be difficult enough on its own some days. The students who will be featured go above and beyond normal expectations and this will let them know their effort does not go unnoticed.

Great works continue to be considered great whether they are done at a tinier or larger university. Small does not mean insignificant.

We as a community are as powerful as we choose to be. With the amount of dedication and determination members of the university have, we should have no problem continuing to shine spotlights on their successes.

Because when it comes down it, there is more to this community than debates and fast food restaurants. It may come as a surprise to some, but there is even more to this community than just bars, pizza joints and cornfields.

The main reason this community is more than these things is the people in it and what they bring to the table. These individuals make this community a better place to live in. They lead by example and are invested in a way that we all should be.

After all, for the short time we are here this is our home. Just because we may leave this place someday to get a job and continue our lives does not negate this fact. Whether we get honored with an award or spotlight for our hard work or not, we should leave it in such a way people say we made the community grow in a way as positive as it made us grow.