The ELI T-shirt story: legendary lore of the lucky logo

Once upon a time, when ELI was still a fledgling institute at the University of Delaware, its equally young orientation coordinator, Scott Stevens, was responsible for organizing student activities and fostering what Americans call “school spirit.” An ELI T-shirt seemed like an excellent way to help students bond and also give them a memento to take back home. A design contest was announced in the student newspaper, Udeli News.

One T-shirt design easily won out over all the others. Denis Bishogo from Zaire submitted a concept that perfectly expressed what ELI stands for, and his winning design has graced the ELI T-shirt for over 20 years.

Denis Bishogo's original logo design

The central element in Bishogo’s logo is a key, with its teeth composed of the letters “E,” “L” and “I.” Above the key, a rising sun symbolizes the new horizons an ELI education can lead to. This image of ELI as a key to success is surrounded by a circle inscribed with “The English Language Institute” and “University Of Delaware.” Three guiding principles, Communitas (community), Lingue (languages) and Scientia (knowledge) complete Bishogo’s design.

As soon as the first batch of T-shirts was produced, they were available for purchase for $3.00. While they were sold as souvenirs for a short time, the shirts’ symbolic power was soon integrated into a new, more festive graduation ceremony and only given to ELI students graduating from the institute with honors. To this day, the ELI T-shirt must be earned with a grade-point average of A- and 90 percent attendance.

The ELI honors T-shirt, as it is now known, was updated in 2003 by Laurie Fuhrman, ELI’s admissions assistant. The new shirt includes the UD logo to the left of the original design and the words “honor student” below. Fuhrman’s modern version of the ELI emblem was designed on Adobe Photoshop and includes the University’s school colors, blue and gold. The new version is thicker and more colorful, with crisp designs on the front and an inscription of the website www.udel.edu/eli on the back.

The updated ELI logo

The high-tech update, like its predecessor, is coveted by all who have heard Dr. Stevens describe its legendary powers in graduation speeches. Apparently, ELI students who have worn the magical garment have reported amazing success stories. Fame and good fortune seem all but guaranteed to those who wear it!

Thanks to Denis Bishogo, now the proud father of five and a successful businessman in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), ELI can honor its best students with a special T-shirt designed by one of their own. According to Dr. Stevens, “Our students have not just a shirt, but a legend to take back home.”