’18 communications grad says UIC led him to the Chicago Bears

Miguel Lemus will never forget that one UIC class that changed his life and helped him land his dream job with the Chicago Bears.

It was a first-year English class that required him to reach out to a local news reporter to learn about their job for a paper. At the time, he was an architecture student, so a career in journalism or marketing was not his plan.

"At the beginning, I was not interested in that," Lemus said.

After reaching out to a Univision reporter who took him under his wing, Lemus realized he loved writing and public speaking and graduated with a marketing degree and worked in the field before joining the Bears.

"Because of that opportunity that I had, that's where I figured out that I wanted to do communication and work in media," Lemus said.

As a corporate communications assistant with the Bears, Lemus weaves his career with what he learned at UIC and his desire to build community. In 2025, Lemus received the UIC Alumni Association's Rising Star Leadership Award.

"It's not just about what I do with the Chicago Bears, it's also, what can I do to give back to my community and to UIC," Lemus said. "Especially the students who are currently attending the school."

Lemus said he's grateful to his professors and others at UIC who believed him. Even though he had earned a full-ride scholarship to any college he wanted, he knew he had made the right choice by attending UIC.

"A lot of credit has to do with my professors at UIC," Lemus said. "They saw that I had the drive and the potential."

He is also grateful to his parents for always emphasizing the importance of education and attending college. Two of his siblings followed his path to UIC and graduated in May.

"Being the oldest of four, I had a responsibility to be a role model, to get into college and to help my siblings," he said. "UIC has helped build confidence in myself and how to use my voice."