The University of St. Francis (USF) has numerous places across campus where students can go to dine, including the Cafe and Bernie’s Pub. One of these places, the Bistro, is located on the first floor of Motherhouse. Found at the Bistro is one of the local USF celebrities of campus, Lisa Walters, known as Ms. Lisa to the students and staff.  An employee of the university since 2010, Ms. Lisa got her start through her friend and former cafeteria worker Ms. Diane. Since then, she has spent the...

This past weekend, staff from the Encounter attended the annual Illinois College Press Association (ICPA) conference in downtown Chicago. The attendees this year included Editor-in-Chief Rodolfo Flores, Assistant and Sports editor Scarlett LaBuda as well as Head of Public Relations and Feature and Entertainment editor Kathleen Norton.  The ICPA conference features all college press across the state of Illinois coming together for two days to share work, attend sessions run by professional...

One of the fastest rising sports in the United States, softball has had no shortage of success here at the University of St. Francis (USF). They have finished as a top two team in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) the last three seasons, including winning the conference title in 2023 and 2024. Finishing behind St. Xavier University last season under rookie head coach Alyssa Moreno, she will look to lead the team to their first NAIA tournament under her direction, a...