Bryant Vande Kolk ’12 will present alumni talks today, Friday

Bryant Vande Kolk ’12 of Ellicott City, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., will be a guest speaker today. His talk will begin at 7 p.m. in the Heritage Room of S.N. Pickard Commons.

At Ripon, he majored in physics with minors in Spanish and mathematics. He now serves on the Alumni Board. He received a master’s degree and Ph.D. in physics from the University of Notre Dame, studying experimental nuclear astrophysics.

In 2019, he served as a fellow at the National Nuclear Security Administration. He now is a principal systems engineer at Northrop Grumman. He facilitates mission engineering studies as the international business lead within his department.

He identifies as a pansexual, cisgendered man who uses he/him pronouns.

Today’s talk will be “A Discussion: Out in Academia, Government and the Workplace.”

On Friday, he also will host a Lunch ‘n Learn, “An Alum’s Perspective on Graduate School” from 12:15 to 1 p.m. in the Center for Career and Professional Development. He will provide students insights and advice for young professionals embarking on their career and/or graduate school.

Students who register in advance on Handshake will receive a free lunch. Walk-ins also will be welcome but should bring their own lunch.

Faculty and staff are welcome to attend both events.

Vande Kolk’s appearance is sponsored by the Center for Career and Professional Development and the Queer Straight Alliance.