I’s on the World: Going Dutch

Oh, the places we go … University of Illinois alumni are globetrotters who travel near and far, but never forget their Alma Mater!

Larry Weber and Wes Jaros, wearing Illini t-shirts pose by a river in front of an old windmill. Friends since the sixth grade and roommates at the U of I, Larry Weber and Wes Jaros enjoy a Rhine River cruise from Switzerland to Amsterdam. (Image courtesy of Larry Weber)
Oh, the places we go … University of Illinois alumni are globetrotters who travel near and far, but never forget their Alma Mater!

Larry Weber, ’76 BUS, and Wes Jaros, ’75 MEDIA, have enjoyed a lifelong adventure together since they met in sixth grade in the suburbs of Chicago. A fall 2022 sojourn found the former U of I roommates and their wives on a Viking River Cruise from Basel, Switzerland, to the Netherlands. They broke out their Orange and Blue for a photo op at the Kinderdijk windmills before disembarking in the port of Amsterdam. It was Weber’s first visit to the Dutch capital, a city he describes as “robust,” notable for its many canals and having more bicycles than cars. “If you’re not careful, the bicyclists will run you over!” he warns. Jaros is retired in North Aurora, Ill., and Weber lives in Naperville, Ill., operating Spirit Packaging, a provider of protective packaging. No doubt future adventures await!

For more photos of alumni around the world, check out our Flickr album. Send pictures of yourself clad in orange and blue to IllinoisAlumni@uillinois.edu. You also can post to www.Facebook.com/IllinoisAlumni and twitter.com/uiaa using hashtag #IlliniWorldwide.