Adam Blackburn's long journey home

ECE freshman Adam Blackburn's journey to engineering started like many other ECE students’. He was talented in math and science in grade school. He started playing Thomas the Tank Engine computer games at a young age. So young, in fact, that they were running on MS DOS. And his father graduated from Illinois with a degree in chemical engineering--so you could say it runs in the family.

But, Adam Blackburn’s physical journey to Everitt Lab is anything but typical. A native of Peoria, Blackburn was born in the United States but was raised on three different continents.

“I was born in Peoria, though at the time my parents were living in Mexico. I lived in Mexico for the first two years of my life and then moved back to a town close to Peoria for a couple of years,” said Blackburn. “I started school in England, came back to the U.S. for first grade, and moved to Japan in the middle of fourth grade. I was in Japan until the 10th grade and then we moved to Beijing for the last two years of high school. I’ve been all over, really.”

Blackburn’s globe-trotting upbringing was the result of his father Paul’s job with construction equipment giant Caterpillar, which kept the Blackburns on the move. When not in the United States or England, Blackburn attended American schools with English language instruction.

“My high school in Japan, for instance, was probably about sixty percent Americans and forty percent Japanese. But, it was taught in English and offered AP credits and whatnot,” said Blackburn.

Blackburn kept strong ties to his native country, returning every summer for a few months to visit family in Peoria and Galesburg. So, when the decision about where to go for college began to approach, returning to his native Illinois seemed like a natural fit.

“I knew I was interested in computer science or engineering, and obviously U of I has great programs in engineering and computer science. And, most of my family, my grandparents and cousins live in Illinois, so I knew I would be close to family,” said Blackburn. “So far, the transition back to America hasn’t been too bad. I definitely thought it would be worse than it was.”

Since starting school, Blackburn was involved with the Illini Union Board’s production of “Cinderella,” getting involved in set construction and backstage work. He was able to visit his father who came to Peoria on business, and his parents and sister returned to Illinois over winter break. Blackburn’s sister Andrea, a senior in high school who still lives in China, is looking into schools in Ohio where she is interested in studying animal or environmental science. Blackburn is also looking forward to his taking his first ECE class, ECE 110, this semester.

“I was a bit disappointed I couldn’t start my engineering course work when I got here, but I’m very excited for 110,” said Blackburn.

All in all, Blackburn can’t really say whether he liked his international upbringing better than the more typical experience of Illinois teens. It’s really all he knows.

“There were lots of advantages. Getting to see all those countries and cultures. But, sometimes I do wish I had a more regular high school experience. I suppose it had its disadvantages, too,” said Blackburn.

Blackburn has considered the possibility of moving back abroad after graduation, but knows that his location is largely contingent on what sort of job he finds after school ends.

“Right now, I’m just going to try to get through ECE 110,” he said.