NIU opened the doors of Altgeld Hall to Northern Star alumni Saturday night.

NIU President John Peters gave the opening remarks at the ceremony and said the Star has done a great job of keeping the NIU community and students informed about NIU, DeKalb and the world.

“Every morning I check the Star online to know what is going on,” Peters said.

Nine former Star employees were inducted in the hall of fame for their achievements in journalism, which brings the hall of fame’s total to 47. This is the fifth year the Star has hosted a dinner for Star alumni.

Inductees reminisced about their experiences at the Star and explained how those experiences aided them in their successes today.

For Maria Krull, business adviser of the Star, seeing the alumni come together again is like seeing her grandchildren come home, she said.

Journalist Phil Luciano said his experience at the Star helped him open doors in journalism. Luciano is a columnist for the Peoria Journal Star and a radio host at WNBD, as well as a college instructor at Bradley University.

“It’s great to hear from a lot of people … who all enjoy the fact that Northern Star made them who they are,” Luciano said. “[NIU] has never had a huge journalism faculty with a sterling reputation, but you come here and you learn things at the paper.”