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UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA CEDAR FALLS, IA THURSDAY, APRIL 5 VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2026
CEDAR FALLS, IA
VOLUME 123, ISSUE 2
UNI aims to sell naming rights to UNI-Dome See DOME, page 8
How’s the view up there, Panther Climber?
UNI student urges others to look up from their screens and admire the beauty of campus around them By Sam O’Hair Staff Writer Editor’s Note: The Panther Climber is an experienced climber. They strongly advise inexperienced individuals to not attempt to replicate any activities seen on their account. Climbing campus trees is not against the UNI Code of Conduct, but prioritize safety and your well-being first. Per the request of the Panther Climber, their identity will not be revealed, and their identity will remain anonymous. Been scrolling on Instagram Reels recently? If so, you’ve probably seen the @panther_climber account. If not, a mysterious campus figure has made a hobby of climbing trees across, as they put it, the “UniversiTree” of Northern Iowa’s campus. The anonymous account has quickly amassed over 1,200 followers after posting their first climb last spring. “I’ve climbed a lot before I came to UNI. One day I started to look around campus and think, ‘I can climb that!’” the Panther Climber said. These are the moments that first inspired the Panther Climber
to begin their ascent. “I would do it in my free time without even posting it. I started climbing more and more, realizing that since I’m doing this for the fun of it, I might as well post it too.” The Panther Climber believes that one of the rewards of climbing the campus trees is looking at a perspective other students cannot gain from the ground. “These are such beautiful views, and it got to a point where a lot of people were enjoying it. I was getting lots of views, lots of encouragement and engagement. I thought, ‘you know, I might as
well keep posting and keep climbing,’” the Panther Climber added. “Nobody gets the real view that I’m getting when I’m climbing trees. I get to share them through the screen, but for me the beauty is there when I’m really up there.” Soon after, their account began to gain the momentum you see today with a massive following, on top of the thousands of views and likes. One climb, posted on August 26, 2026, marked their second highest climb yet, garnering over 37,800 views. See CLIMB, page 5
Graphic by Holden Fromm The Panther Climber films different climbing spots across campus and ranks them on a 1-10 scale and if they will climb them again.
UNI students succeed in all sorts of summer internships By Alexa Farrell Staff Writer
From well-known corporations to nonprofits and more, UNI students had productive and enjoyable summers working at various internship opportunities. For instance, Sydney Hudson, a senior biology major with an emphasis in zoology interned as an avian handler at the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines. She spent her months off from school feeding, cleaning up after and keeping an eye on the birds all throughout the zoo with birdwatching being one of her favorite parts of the job. She mentions that the internship helped her better see how she wants to move forward professionally. “I think it [doing an internship] helps with not only figuring out what you want to do with your life, but also build[ing] that experience, too, and build[ing] the resume as well,” Hudson said. Ben Eckhoff, a fourth-year student aiming to earn his bachelor’s in art education, art history and fine arts, also speaks highly of his internship at the Waterloo Center for the Arts and the work he got to do with the museum’s largest Haitian collection of artwork outside of Haiti. He has done some work there previously as well and now feels he is better equipped to discuss art. “You can read as many books as you want, but you’re not gonna know the real thing about the job until you actually do it,” Eckhoff said. Vivian Veto, senior biology major with the goal
Vivian Veto/Courtesy Photo Vivian Veto, senior biology major, interned at the Nabi Zoo in Cool Valley, Illinois this past summer.
of becoming an exotic animal veterinarian, certainly learned some real things about the job during her summer internship at Nabi Zoo in Cool Valley, Illinois, cleaning enclosures, preparing food and aiding other zookeepers in their tasks. She got to spend time with the rhino, the giraffe, the turtles, the goats and her particular favorite, all the reptiles. She even got to speak and work with the veterinarian there, gaining a greater understanding about animals as she pursues her dream career.
“I learned that all animals have their own personality, and they all need special things. They’re not just all the same, like people think, especially reptiles, they each have their own personality,” Veto said. At a much different summer experience, Faith Springer also put into practice real skills for her future career. Springer, a senior digital media productions major, was and actually still is a video production intern for Workeva, which she describes as a tech financial reporting company. Essentially, she spent time working with the marketing team, recording interviews and doing audio and video editing. “I feel like [the internship] helped me grow and figure out this is actually how a job is and how it works and this is how you communicate with others,” she said. Alongside any professional growth or career readiness, many students also genuinely enjoy their summer internships. Nadiia Omelchuk, a senior majoring in management information systems, marketing and digital media design, spent her summer as an IT intern in the Enterprise Infrastructure Department at Farm Bureau Financial Services. Her internship has also been extended into the semester, and she speaks highly of her experience even though she was hesitant about interning at first. See INTERNS, page 5