Huskie Gaming Soars Above the Pack
Recently, two NIU Esports student athletes got the chance to take to the skies with the Flying Bulls, Red Bull’s fleet of restored vintage planes.
When NIU Esports Director Russ Devereaux reached out to Jillian Thomason and Collen Larsen to ask, “Are you free on July 30, and are you afraid of flying?” little did they know they’d be going up in Red Bull’s restored 1958 Douglas DC-6 aircraft. Russ spoke with Jillian and Collen to learn more about the experience, what makes them leaders in NIU Esports, and how their collegiate esports experience has helped them in their academic and career journeys.
Here’s an excerpt of their conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity.
Russ Devereaux
When Red Bull reached out to invite two NIU Esports student athletes to fly over Chicago’s Lollapalooza, I knew you two were the perfect choice – because of your involvement in esports over many years, your leadership and your commitment during your time here at NIU. You have each been exemplary student athletes, as well as leaders and supporters for your teammates and fellow NIU students. This felt like the perfect way to give back for all you have given to the program.
To start us out, can share a little bit about what the experience was like?
Jillian Thomason
I’m scared of planes, so every time I tell people about this, they think it’s so funny! I tell them, our esports director out of nowhere asked me, are you scared of planes? And I replied, yes, but why? When I heard about this great opportunity with Red Bull, I thought, I’m scared out of my mind, but I’m going to do it anyway!
So I said yes, and it was so cool. We drove to the hangar and got to see all sorts of planes and take pictures. And there were so many interesting people there. There was a Spanish influencer. There was a child – he was maybe 14 – who was among the top players in two different games who was sitting next to us. We were some of the only Americans who got to go up in this plane.
Before we went up, the pilot told us it was normal for this plane to blow smoke! I was really scared. But there was a DJ on board, and when we got up in the air, everyone was up and walking around and talking to people. Even though I was scared, I did stand up and got a picture by the pilots. Then we flew over the Chicago skyline. I’ve never been to Lollapalooza, so my first experience with the festival was to see it from above. Everyone was very nice and welcoming, and it was very fun.
Russ Devereaux
That makes me happy, and I’m very proud of you. I’m realizing I probably should have reframed my question to you a little bit better! Collen, can you share your overall experience as well?
Collen Larsen
One fateful Tuesday afternoon, I got out of work, got in my car, and I saw a Discord message with two questions: Can you get this day off? And are you afraid of flying? Then, when you brought up the opportunity to fly with the Red Bull Flying Bulls, I said, heck yeah. I went there and met up with Jill and Emma, the Red Bull representative. They gave us a little boarding pass and a bag of goodies, like this hat I’m wearing. They gave us a pamphlet with some of the history of the plane. It was made in the 1950s, and this is its first time coming back to the United States since it was made here originally. When we went up, there was a little bit of white smoke.
Jillian Thomason
You were facing backwards. I was like, what the heck are you doing? I could not do it!
Collen Larsen
We got aboard, and the DJ was playing music as we flew over Chicago. The liftoff was really smooth compared to a normal passenger aircraft. We flew over Chicago and took these really tight turns. I remember, Jill and I were talking about how we were surprised we were so low to the ground considering the size of the aircraft. We could see people out on the lake on their boats. It was a fun, fun experience. Thank you, Russ, for allowing me to go.
Russ Devereaux
You two earned it truly because of all the things you’ve done for our NIU Esports community and our campus.
So let’s get into that…can you start by introducing yourselves and telling us a little about your major and activities here at NIU?
Jillian Thomason
My name is Jillian, gamertag HAZE, and I am an NIU graduate student. I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in statistics in 2025, and I’m currently doing my master’s in business analytics and AI. I also have a graduate assistantship with NIU College of Business. Outside of being a student, I have a full-time job at DeKalb School District as the business office administrative assistant. In that role, I deal with grants, purchase orders and basically purchasing everything that the schools need.
Collen Larsen
I’m Collen Larsen, or Lars. I graduated from NIU this year, 2026, with a bachelor’s degree in general studies and a minor in esports industry professions. Now I work at Sun Dog IT here in DeKalb and provide IT services all across northern Illinois.
Russ Devereaux
Can you share a little more about the extracurricular activities and positions you’ve held here at NIU?
Jillian Thomason
I started at NIU because of marching band, but after joining the band I found it wasn’t quite what I expected and wanted to do. I can’t remember exactly how I figured out there was an esports program. I really enjoyed Overwatch, but I had never played it competitively. I went to one of their practices and after their practice was over, I pitched myself to coach Alex Kramer, and he liked my idea because my character worked very well with a character that someone else on the team already was playing. At that point I was still playing on console, so my next big move was switching to PC. At that time, we were still in the previous NIU Esports Arena in Neptune Hall.
Then, I had four years of varsity, grinding, trying to get better. I was definitely picking up a lot more leadership and communication skills, learning what I needed to be communicating to my team for us to be successful.
I also went to a lot of healthy gaming events. Healthy gaming is very important to me, and Healthy Gaming Day is my favorite thing ever! I even got the chance to work with Dr. Levi Harrison. I responded to a post that our previous Esports Director put out asking people to summarize their best healthy gaming tips, and my pitch won. I was able to collaborate with Dr. Levi on a card that went into mental health kits, so people could see my words. I also won the Fierce Gamer Scholarship the second time I applied. I really wanted to get it my first year applying to it, and I didn’t. That pushed me to try even harder the second year.
This year, I’m treasurer of the student club Huskie Gaming, so it’s my job to manage our finances, make sure we’re able to sign up for things, make sure we have enough money from our teams and that people are paying their fees.
Collen Larsen
I started NIU in the fall of 2021 after graduating high school. I think it was spring of 2022 when I joined the NIU Esports Club, which is now Huskie Gaming. In fall of 2023, I joined Huskie Gaming’s NECC Overwatch team. From there, I played for two semesters, and then I became the NECC Overwatch coordinator for Huskie Gaming. Then, in fall semester 2024, I was elected president of Huskie Gaming, and that’s where I served until I graduated in 2026. Along with that, in spring of 2026, I had the privilege of joining NIU Varsity Overwatch for the spring season as a substitute support player.
Russ Devereaux
Now that you’ve both graduated and are beginning your professional careers, can you talk about how your experiences with esports, whether with Huskie Gaming or Varsity, have prepared you for your roles outside academics?
Jillian Thomason
Every interview I’ve ever been to, they see esports on my resume and ask, what is that? Tell me about it. It’s a really interesting talking point that gets people engaged. It lets them see that you’re engaged not only with academics, but with outside activities as well.
My first real job getting me into the data world that I want to be in was at Boys and Girls Club, which is dedicated to afterschool activities for young people. When they saw that I was involved in esports as an extracurricular activity, that was really important to them, and that was kind of my first step into a career.
Russ Devereaux
Collen, how about you?
Collen Larsen
Very similar to what Jill just said, I have esports on my resume. During my interview at Sun Dog, I had about a 15-minute conversation with my now manager about how it is applicable. I think the biggest thing is teamwork, especially in the environment I work in. We’re escalating tickets to different teams. I’m always asking for help, and I’m helping my teammates when I can. It’s very similar to how we play a competitive video game. I think that’s been very helpful in my professional career.
Jillian Thomason
Yes, the communication part of it is definitely very important for employers.
Russ Devereaux
Can you provide any examples of how you personally are a better communicator?
Jillian Thomason
I think what I’ve picked up is it’s really important to know what each person on the team does. That’s something we go over a lot, something we just went over with Jakob, our coach. Just knowing who is supposed to do what is very important. It helps you do your job better. It helps you figure out who you need to go to, who you need to talk to. It also lets you know who needs help if an area is lacking or if someone’s off on paid time off or something.
Collen Larsen
I think both in class and professionally, it also helps you take constructive criticism better. When we’re reviewing game video, your coach is kind of picking you apart, but it’s to build you back up afterward. If you’re working on a group project, you’re probably peer reviewing. You’re going to be receiving constructive criticism from your group mates, and I think that esports experience is going to help.
Jillian Thomason
Also in a group project…I’m going to say what we’re all thinking…we don’t like it because we’re scared of what other people are going to do, or what they’re not going to do. But in a team environment like competitive esports, you’re held accountable and you enjoy working with the team because you’re with them so often. I’m with my team like four days out of seven. That’s a lot!
Russ Devereaux
Yes! I think a lot of people don’t fully understand the commitment that comes with being a varsity player or a crew leader, especially when we talk about our Huskie Gaming crews. Even though they aren’t varsity teams, they’re just as committed and dedicated and working hard.
Tell me…when you started getting into the competitive side of gaming and really investing time in being a team member, did you have to adjust to the commitment that was expected or were you prepared? What was that transition like?
Jillian Thomason
I didn’t know anything about competitive esports coming into it! I was already playing Overwatch basically every day, all day, so the time playing the game wasn’t a big change. What was, was the time learning what I specifically needed to be doing on this character, with this team’s strengths and weaknesses. Learning your specific role and practicing it takes more effort than just playing the game, but it was really fun. I really like to learn, and it was fun to learn something new.
Russ Devereaux
I want to end by asking you, for any of the students who are new to NIU, what advice would you give them? About esports, life, campus, anything like that?
Jillian Thomason
Get involved in something. The best part of my whole school career, college and high school, was being involved in something like marching band, esports, volleyball…just something else that isn’t academic. Academics are very important, but the extracurricular activities are what’s going to build those friendships, that community and that sense of feeling at home.
Collen Larsen
I’m going to agree with Jill. She stole exactly what I was going to say! Get involved. Join Huskie Gaming or NIU Esports. And even if it’s not NIU Esports, NIU has so many different clubs and communities that you’ll find something. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, you can make a club. NIU has a lot of students, and someone is bound to share your interests. It’s a great opportunity, and you’ll make lifelong friends.
Jillian Thomason
