R Connections

Class Agents:

Nicole Klaas Hands
[email protected]

Ed Hansen
[email protected]

Andrew Kitslaar
[email protected]

Spring 2019

Greetings Friends!

By the time you receive this letter, hopefully the snow is melting in Ripon or at a minimum, for those of us who live in Wisconsin, are not facing negative degree temperature highs or lows for the foreseeable future.

Since we last wrote, a lot has happened on campus and in our lives. Ripon’s new curriculum, called Catalyst, continues to receive accolades and grant funding to change the way Ripon’s students learn and implement their education. A variety of speakers and events continue to flow through campus: poets, sustainability and health panels and even hosting a congressional debate this past fall. Events and classes did stop, however, in January when the College closed for a few days due to the weather and cold temperatures. We cannot remember if there was ever a school closure during our time on campus, can you? Well, maybe the one time a squirrel chewed threw the transformer and canceled evening classes, but other than that?

It’s easy to stay informed, and we hope you are following along with Ripon’s story through their Instagram, Facebook or Twitter account. Of course, there is the good old ripon.edu as well. You can also see what Ripon’s up to this summer at this year’s Alumni Weekend June 27-30 (it’s not our reunion yet).

While there are things happening on Ripon’s campus, we know there are activities or accomplishments in your life that you’d like to share. We only have a few updates this spring, so enjoy them, but please reach out and let us know what’s going on in your life.

RACHEL FISCHER ’06 has been named dean of students at Silver Lake College of the Holy Family. “I’m looking forward to expanding opportunities for students to grow and be involved,” said Dr. Fischer. “Silver Lake College continues to be an environment that encourages students to learn and develop, in and out of the classroom.” She joined the college in July 2009 as director of residence life and student activities. She was promoted to registrar in 2012 and assistant dean of student development in 2016. Dr. Fischer earned her Doctor of Education in educational leadership from Edgewood College in Madison and her Master of Arts in communication from the University of Dubuque in Iowa.

NATHAN POLUM ’06 of Houston, Texas, writes, “Started a new job as Regulatory and Transactional Counsel at AIG in Houston, Texas.”

KELLY SOLBERG WILHELME ’06 shared with us, “My husband and I had a kid in June, her name is Hattie. I took a new role at work this fall — marketing manager at Weidert Group, an inbound marketing agency in Appleton.”

NICOLE KAPLAN SHOLES ’06 wanted this added to our van segment, “I crashed my coworker’s van in the parking garage at work at 5 mph.” Our collective van saga continues…

Thanks of the updates and all of your support for Ripon. Enjoy your summer!

Ed, Andy and Nicole

Submitted by: Nicole Klaas Hands

 Co-Class Agents:

Lindsey Kreye Heil

[email protected]

Adam Krueger

[email protected]

Stacy Krusa Teachout

[email protected]

Liz Leach Morrell

[email protected]

Spring 2019

Hi Everyone!

We hope this letter finds you well…and surviving the long winter season! Ripon College actually cancelled classes more than once this year due to inclimate weather. Campus continues to be a busy place. Amazing renovations have been made to Lane Library, campus enrollment has increased by ten percent, and the Willmore Center continues to be a popular hangout for current students. Attached you will find updates from our classmates. Enjoy!    

MARK DEDINA ’07 of Hampshire, Illinois was promoted to maintenance superintendent at ENCAP. See more details including a personal article written about his achievements on the Ripon College website.

JOHN DUNLAVY ’07: Former Badger, Packer Headlines Awards

By Erik Buchinger

The 26th annual Doug Jirschele Sports Awards Banquet was held at Memory Lanes Bar and Grill in Clilntonville on Saturday, May 19. Former Wisconsin Badger and Green Bay Packer player Bill Ferrario was the guest speaker, and Badgers men’s basketball player Brian Butch earned the Nice Guy Award. Leann Hopp, Jim Polzin and John Dunlavy were recipients of Doug Jirschele Sports Awards. Mark Doornink earned the Forgotten Man Award. Gerry O’Connor was the Master of Ceremonies at the event.

John Dunlavy graduated from Clintonville High School in 2002 where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and baseball.

Dunlavy played baseball at Ripon College and was a member of the Midwest Conference Championship teams for four straight years, and he was named a First Team All-Conference selection three times.

Dunlavy coached varsity baseball at Clintonville and was a hitting coach for Ripon College. He also coached football and baseball at Markesan High School.

Dunlavy thanked his coaches for the time they put in working with him including Bill Kinzinger and his father.

“I feel very lucky and blessed to have been the son of a coach,” Dunlavy said. “I also feel cursed at times when I was younger. Anybody who had to play for their dad, you got coached at practice, you got coached at home, in the car ride and it was nonstop. It probably spilled over a little bit when we got in an argument once or twice, but when you look back on it, how lucky was I to go to the gym every single day? Whatever season it was, that was my favorite sport.”

Dunlavy said he was thankful for his mom when he and his dad would be having arguments during dinner.

“That’s when Mom put the striped shirt on, and she was the referee,” Dunlavy said. “I have to thank my mom for that because she was always on my side.

“Coaches are the reasons why I was able to have some success in sports. The life lessons you learn through all those things are unbelievable and I’ll carry on with me forever. Being a coach myself and having a son, I hope he’s lucky as I was when I was a kid.”

MARA EVANS ’07 and her husband Jordan Shaw of Madison, Wisconsin welcomed their first child, Marion Laurel Shaw on December 2, 2018. She is named after Mara’s Grandmother Marion, and the summer camp where Mara and Jordan met: Camp Laurel.  

DAVE ’07 and TOMISSA PORATH FREISLEBEN ’10 of Madison, Wisconsin were married on October 13, 2018.

KARI JOAS ’07 of Larsen, Wisconsin, writes, “I am a firefighter and first responder for the town of Winchester fire department.”

LINDSEY KREYE HEIL ’07 and her husband, Christopher Heil, welcomed a baby girl, Zoey Mae Heil on December 31, 2018. Lindsey also graduated with her Master’s Degree in special education from Concordia University in St. Paul in May. She completed her capstone research on the effectiveness of co-teaching and the academic success of students with mild to moderate disabilities.   

AMANDA LIETHEN GLASS ’07 and her husband, Michael Glass of Random Lake, Wisconsin, had a baby boy, Theodore Stephen Glass on July 14, 2018.”

ADAM RONCHETTI ’07 of Mundelein, Illinois, writes, “I accepted a new position at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals in Madison, Wisconsin. In May, my wife, Lisa and I will be taking a (rock climbing) trip to Kalymnos, Greece.”

Please save the date for Alumni Weekend 2019! Festivities will be held June 27-30 and we would love to see you there! As always, please continue to share your life updates with us. If you are interested in supporting our alma mater, please visit: www.ripon.edu/give. We hope to hear from you soon!!

Until next time,  

Adam, Liz, Lindsey & Stacy

Submitted by: Liz Leach Morrell

Class Agents:

Stephanie Sommer Faulds

608-630-3369 / [email protected]

Leah Hover-Preiss

608-432-2399 / [email protected]

Zac Schwandt

920-291-5685 / [email protected]

Spring 2019

Greetings Class of 2008!

If you live in the Midwest, we hope you are surviving this intense winter weather we have been experiencing. If you live somewhere else and have not had the joys of living in a real life frozen, ice covered snow globe, we are very jealous! Even though it may be hard to believe, in just a few short months the weather will be beautiful and another class of students will be graduating from Ripon. Even though it is not a reunion year for our class, you may still want to mark your calendars for Alumni Weekend and start making plans for visiting campus this summer. Alumni Weekend will be held June 27-30, 2019. Keep an eye out for more information. If you can’t make it for Alumni Weekend, there are many other great activities happening year round. Check out the Ripon College website for upcoming events and make plans to meet up with some classmates on campus soon!

As usual, our classmates have been up to some amazing thing! Check out the Class Notes listed below. Remember, if you would like your life event (engagements, marriages, births, continuing education, new jobs or promotions, moves, starting a business, and so on…) shared in the class notes, contact one of the class agents at any time during the year. We would love to hear from you! Keep in touch!

One last note- Ripon’s second annual Giving Day, #OneDayRally, will be held on May 1. More information will be coming as the time gets closer. Please consider participating in this great event to show your support!

As always, Go Redhawks!

-Your class agents- Leah, Stephanie, and Zac

CLASS NOTES

MAGGIE HALL ’08 of Spring Green, Wisconsin, is now the sound supervisor at American Players Theater in Spring Green, Wisconsin.

KAREN HANADEL EDMONSON ’08 of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, shared “our second son, Isaiah Kain Edmonson, was born November 23, 2018.

LEAH HOVER-PREISS ’08 of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, successfully defended her dissertation “”Do More Students Graduate?: A Quantitative Intervention Study on Changes in Graduation Rates After the Implementation of Link Crew”” in September to complete the requirements for her Doctorate of Education from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. She was awarded her degree at the commencement ceremony in January 2019. She is in her ninth year of teaching high school mathematics. Leah and her husband Zach have two children, Aiden who is 7 and Harper who is 2.

SARA KUSSMANN SCHMITT ’08 and CURTIS SCHMITT ’09, welcomed a baby boy (Finley John) on October 18, 2017! Curtis and Sara both work from home, which allows them to spend lots of time with Finley.

JULIE NELSON KUKOWSKI ’08 and BRUCE KUKOWSKI ’10 of El Paso, Texas, write, “1LT Kukowski is an EOD Platoon Leader deployed in support of Inherent Resolve in Iraq.  Julie is part of the leadership team for Fort Bliss MOPS.”

ALEX ROYZEN ’08 of Lindenhurst, Illinois was recently promoted to Director of Supply Chain Management for Ecentria, the parent company of two major online retailers- OpticsPlanet.com and CampSaver.com.  

SARAH TIMM SILTANEN ’08 of Cloquet, Minnesota wants to share the news of the birth of her son Emmett Michael, on June 16, 2018.

Submitted by: Zac Schwandt

Class Agents:

Charlotte Lee Wahle

[email protected]

                                                            Lauren Ott

[email protected]

Alexandra Peltier

[email protected]

Spring 2019

Greetings from Minneapolis!

I am hoping that by the time this reaches you, the snow will have thawed here. However, if last year is any indication, that’s just wishful thinking.

With all this lovely subzero weather we have been having, I have found myself on social media more and more (looking at some of the cutest future Redhawks!). The memories section of my Facebook page has been chalk full- basketball games, spring break musings, comprehensive exams, counting down to graduation… things I don’t think about on a regular basis but am glad to be reminded of. One look at a photo of a “pub party” and I am suddenly transported to a time where the most stressful decision was which after party I would attend and at what point in the night would I end up at Millers.

When I am able to take a look back, the memories we made at Ripon and still being connected to you all keep me warm on these chilled days. It is lovely to celebrate homeownership, animal adoption, nuptials, babies and careers with you all. With that, here is my update: I am still living in Downtown Minneapolis (king sized guest bed FYI) with KYLE GREENE ’15 and our perfect dog, Theo. I recently accepted a position I have been working toward for what feels like my whole life- Program Director of YMCA Camp Icaghowan in Amery Wisconsin. I will be spending the next couple of years splitting my time between downtown and a beautiful island on Lake Wapogasset.

As always, it is lovely to hear from you all. Let’s continue to lift each other up while posting cute photos.

Lauren Ott

CHARLOTTE LEE WAHLE ’13 “My son Reece was born on January 10.  Turns out, sleep deprivation as an adult is MUCH harder than it was in College.”

AMY DOEFER ’13 has a new baby kitten named Banjo and she is the cutest thing in New Glarus.

BLAIR REITZNER ’13 is getting married in July!

EMILY KIJEK ’13 is getting married on May 25, 2019 at Ripon College to Zac Schwandt.

KAITIE JO STUMBRIS WEISS ’13 and NICK WEISS ’13 are extremely busy between chasing River Jo around who is almost 2 years old now and their full time job. “I became a Legionnaire Trainer through a company called 1st Phorm and do online personal training on the side. Nick is still coaching football and became head of the science dept at Sussex Hamilton. We also decided, for some reason, to train for a half marathon that will be taking place in April. So any free time we have, we can normally be found running/dying on a treadmill some place.”

ELIZABETH BROWN ’13 “I wrote a book, published some articles, and made Associate Professor. 2018 was a good year.”

ZACHARY WIELAND ’13 “My wife and I decided to play a little game of roulette. We planned a much needed camping trip at the end of July / beginning of August 2019. Then 3 months after booking said camping trip we found out we are expecting baby #2 the week after the camping trip. Should we place bets on whether we make the camping trip or not?”

ANDREA SLOSSER WORTH ’13 got married this past summer (June 23, 2018). I also graduated with my M.S. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Wyoming this December.

ABBY MILBRATH DEBBINK ’13 Had her little guy, Miles in June.

AMY BROWENDER ’13 “In May I said goodbye to my Minneapolis apartment and bought a little house in Saint Paul. I started a three-year term on the Board of Directors at the Hennepin History Museum in June, serve as Chair of the Development Committee, and help out as friendly bartender at exhibition openings.”

RACHEL STAEDT ’13 “In November I was promoted to Project Specialist with the National Criminal Justice Training Center of Fox Valley Technical College. I work primarily on our grant from the Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice, which provides training and technical assistance to Native American tribes across the country to develop and sustain victim service programs.”

TREVOR WARREN ’13 “I am teaching social studies (government and world history) and coaching volleyball at Adrian High School in Adrian, MO. I also finished my time in the Air Force back in December.”

MEGHAN RAEBEL ’13 “Michael and I moved to Appleton, and the kittens are now (mostly) fully grown and have a great fondness for forbidden strings.”

LINDSEY MAE WHITE ’13 “I am now a fully licensed counselor working for the State of Wisconsin helping people with disabilities find employment.”

ERIC SACKETT ’13 Still paying student loans, but should be done by the time my AARP card shows up in the mail.

SHAUNA BETH PICHETTE ’13 “Dan Miles and I are living in Bayview with our dog, Penny and loving it. I started a new position at Rogers Behavioral Health as a primary therapist in the Child and Adolescent residential center for OCD and anxiety.”

DAN MILES ’13 “Shauna Beth and I am working for a company called Right At School as a Program Manager at Eisenhower Elementary in Wauwatosa!”

DAVID FORSETH ’13 and BREANNA GRACZ FORSETH ’13 are expecting their second child, Noelle AnnMarie, any day now!”

BREANA BUTT FELLINGER ’13 Is a resident physician in family medicine in Appleton and she and her husband had their first little one in October!

WALESKA HERNANDEZ RUSS ’13 is still working as a High School Spanish teacher and I had her son in February!

Submitted by: Lauren Ott

Class Agents:

Samantha Kay ’15

[email protected]

Kaylie Longley ’15
[email protected]

Spring 2019

Your best friend from high school gets engaged. In a place so far away, it can’t be real. You debate writing, “congratulations” because then you’ll get all the other notifications from every other commenter, but then you’d also see your former classmates. Think of the creeping potential. Instead… “Love.”

Your colleague shares another political meme. During work hours. For the third time this week. You debate between “Angry” and “Wow” and ultimately, choose neither. You consider a gif, but you know that will fuel their fire. Don’t stoop to their level. Ignore.

Whether it’s videos of fur children peeing in the snow or snapshots of your early AM overnight oats (whatever those are), we’re conditioned to think these are Life Events.

But what happens in between the filters? Have we forgotten about the moments that don’t make Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat (does anybody use that anyway?).

Life is seasonal, and it’s a changing, breathing thing. Because of that, it’s exciting, terrifying. Yet, with so much stimulation, we forget these online moments are probably better (or stranger) in Real Life anyway.

Have we forgotten about the pivoters? Or the quiet ones making change? Instead, the only time we see “before” pictures is when there’s an “after” to go with it. We only see the clickbait, and we can’t help but click. Hook, line, sinker.

Instead of scrolling before bedtime, recognize life is so much more than the pixels. Our classmates, for one, are living their dreams, so go live yours. And then share it with us. We’ll be sure to Like it.

Kaylie and Sam

Classmate News:

MICHEAL ANDERSON ’15 is finalizing his commission with the United States Air Force JAG Corps and will be reporting to his first duty station in May.

BROOKE BEHNKE ’15 of Brillion, Wisconsin got engaged and will be getting married in the fall.

KATIE BIEDLER ’15 of Saint Cloud, Minnesota has enjoyed working as a design graduate assistant for Saint Cloud State University’s College of Liberal Arts & School of the Arts, making their college banners, event ads, etc. She expects to graduate with an MS in Strategic Media Communications in December 2019.

CATHERINE CARBAJAL ’15 just landed her dream career in Hawaii.

ZACHARY CONNERS ’15 and his boyfriend Weston Dixon sold their home in Rockford and moved to  Freeport, Illinois. Zach started a new job at CorTech International Staffing as the branch manager of the Rockford office and recently took over as their account manager for their onsite office in Freeport and Galena Honeywell factories. Planning for the future, he just took his oversized dog, Baron to the veterinarian to be neutered. Baron is expected to make a full recovery, though he laments the loss of his fertility.

EMILY CONNOVICH ’15 of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin has started a family, with twins with her husband! Emily and her husband Elias have identical twin boys.

ELEANOR DAVIS ’15 moved to Madison, Wisconsin and joined Caravel Autism Health as a Human Resources Recruiter. Her family also grew by 4 paws. She and her boyfriend Trevor adopted a kitten from the DCHS named Jax.

EMELIA ERICKSON ’15 has recently made the decision to donate a kidney to someone in need. The surgery will be on April 9 in St. Louis, Missouri. Emelia has also been promoted to run her department at The Lodge Retirement Community. She continues to bike commute through the (mild) Ohio winter and will be glad to get back on her bike a few weeks after surgery. She hopes that others who have the resources to do so will consider saving a life by donating an organ or bone marrow.

PETER HAYES ’15 of Chicago, Illinois is still with Envestnet on the Portfolio Management Consultant team as a Investment Product management specialist. Peter’s high rise apartment offers him a great view of the Chicago skyline. Having a 19th view really helps with his phobia of heights.

JULIA HASHEIDER ’15 is living the beautiful tropical life in Miami with her husband, Victor.

HAYDEN HOERDEMANN ’15 of Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, has made his way back to Ripon. He just completed his first year as an assistant coach at Ripon College for basketball. He couldn’t be more excited for another year! He is also a special education aide at Berlin High School. Last year, Hayden graduated with his Masters in Sports Management from Illinois State. He had a graduate assistant basketball coaching position with Illinois Wesleyan University. Personally, he can’t wait for Game of Thrones Season 8 to begin in April, and he’s ready to watch the Chicago Cubs attempt to win the World Series Title more than once in his lifetime.

SAMANTHA KAY ’15 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin is working as a Program Manager for the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy. She manages educational programming for gene and cell therapy professionals. Right now, she is managing one thousand abstract submissions and presentations for the upcoming Annual Meeting in May. She is also planning four full-day workshops on topics such as gene editing and commercialization of novel therapies. Sam spent the fall campaigning for Governor Tony Evers and Senator Tammy Baldwin who both won, giving her hope for humanity. She plans to visit Portland this summer to see if it’s anything like the show Portlandia.

SAMANTHA KLEIN ’15 is massaging in Denver.

SERGE FEDOROWSKY ’15 is graduating next month (woot woot).

CHRISTIAN KRUEGER ’15 is finishing up the second year of her Ph.D. in Early American History at Marquette University, and she plans to take my Doctoral Qualifying Exams in August. In September, she presented her paper “No Hoof, No Horse: Virtue and the Horseshoe in America’s Early Republic” at the Horses, Moving conference at the Arkeologisk Museum in Stavanger, Norway. She will be presenting additional research at Eastern Kentucky University’s Living with Animals conference at the end of March.

CAROLINE KORDES ’15 began attending Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, Kansas.

HOLLY KORTEMEIER ’15 of Edgerton, Wisconsin is working as a school counselor at Community Elementary School in Edgerton.

ALISON LAPIDUS ’15 graduated with a Master’s degree in public health from Boston University. She started working full time as a research coordinator for a research core at The Program on Regulation, Therapeutics, and Law at Harvard University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

MICHAEL LANPHIER ’15 now lives in Lincoln, Nebraska where JOHANNA BURTON LANPHIER ’13 is a zookeeper, and he is a traveling engineer.

EMILY FISCHER LENSMIRE ’15 of Reedsville, Wisconsin, has been promoted to Assistant Director of Admission and Head Women’s Volleyball Coach. Her daughter Charlotte is also getting a promotion to big sister. Charlotte appears to be preparing for a career in MMA fighting by practicing on her older cousin. Charlotte loves the snow, especially sledding and gets very concerned about their dairy cows and would like to bring them into the house.  

MARK LISOWKSI ’15 is studying hard for his final months of grad school at Marquette. Mark has been reporting on water quality issues in Milwaukee and loves his work. Sometimes, he dreams of rolling down Sadoff Field and wishes he was back at Ripon. He is planning to come back this year for alumni weekend.

KAYLIE LONGLEY ’15 of Milwaukee, WI was recently promoted to manage the content strategy and brand reputation of Bardon Bowling Centers. She markets their fresh eats, events, and entertainment, such as local concerts and comedy shows (with help from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel). She’s also coding and finally published her own website. Inspired by launching a digital space of her own, she is on a mission to help 19 fellow creatives take next steps in their work so they can pitch, publish, and/or produce. If you’re interested in this free 19 for 2019 project, email her. This is one of her admittedly ambitious 19 goals for the year, including mastering her pullup game, reading daily, and exploring downtown every week.

RAQUEL MACSWAIN ’15 of Stillwater, Minnesota is settling into Portland, Oregon. She survived her first year of graduate school at Lewis & Clark ands expects to graduate in May of 2020.

NICOLE MALLI ’15 of Washington, DC is still working for the Slave Wrecks Project. She bought a new couch that is worth a month’s rent. Nicole will be solo backpacking through South America at the end of May through the beginning of June. In July, she will be in St. Croix and Mozambique for work. Her cats have started a cult and now have more Insta followers than she does, and it’s honestly so millenial of them.

KATIE MCGEE ’15  became an ESL Teacher in Nanjing, China, where she now lives. She works for a company called First Leap.

CODY MESSERSCHMIDT ’15 of Madison, Wisconsin has been working as a Project Manager at Epic since summer of 2015.

BRIANNE MILROY ’15 of Shorewood, Wisconsin is graduating from Marquette University with her masters in School Counseling in May. She is planning to work in the Greater Milwaukee Area. After watching some terrifying documentaries about meat, Bri is now a vegetarian.

JESSICA SKIBA MORGAN ’15 of Cedarburg, Wisconsin in enjoying married life with LUKE MORGAN ’14. Jessica is now working with Gorman Co. as their digital marketing manager for the Brewhouse Inn and Suites in Milwaukee and the Stella Ballroom/The 1844 restaurant in Kenosha. She’s excited for this new opportunity because it allows her to continue to do what she loves while adding more stability to her life.

JONATHAN NEWBERY ’15 of Oak Park, Illinois recently completed a cross country move to California. He graduated from flight school and selected F/A-18 super hornets.

ZACHARY NELL ’15 has enjoyed a very snowy winter in Saint Paul with his wife, ERIKA RIEBE NELL ’16. Currently, Zac is looking for a new job.

ALYSSA NYCZ ’15 recently finished a stretch of interviews with a dozen pediatric residency programs across the country. She now considers herself a pro at navigating airports and power walking, thanks to many short layovers. Highlights from her travels include  explaining the concept of ice fishing to fellow applicants and being teased about her pronunciation of the word ‘bagel’.

JONATHAN PETTENGILL ’15 of Medicine Lake, Minnesota will be marrying his girlfriend, Taylor Rush this June.

CHLOE PIEPHO ’15 of Rochester, Minnesota is living in Los Angeles, California. In December, she completed her Master’s in Strategic Public Relations at USC. She works for the LA Galaxy as a Digital Media Associate. Over the holidays, Chloe got engaged to Luke Corey.

MADELINE POULLETTE ’15 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin is working in human resources at a PEO organization, EmPowerHR.

ABIGAIL QUACKENBOSS ’15 continues to serve active duty in the US Navy.

MEGAN RAY ’15 of Delafield, Wisconsin recently accepted a position as Marketing Communication and Events Manager at Habitat for Humanity Waukesha County.

BRISTOLE RYFF ’15 was recently accepted to Purdue University in Indiana’s Master of Special Education program and will be obtaining her teaching license! She is very excited for this new adventure.

LAURA SAVALL ’15 of Ridgeland, Wisconsin has taken up residence in Vermont and is now a Staff Attorney with Have Justice —Will Travel, a nonprofit focused on helping survivors of domestic and sexual violence with various legal issues that may arise while escaping abuse. She is enjoying the mild winter in southern Vermont but is excited to tackle some of the Adirondack 46ers this summer.

KARENA SCHROEDER ’15 of Lakeville, Minnesota is loving life as a new mom. Aiden is almost a year old now, and he is her absolute world. Karena is working in the metro area as a manager at Sam’s Club. It has been challenging but incredibly rewarding to see their metrics improve immensely, at a location that was struggling for a very long time. Karena’s cat Bambi has been great with Aiden, even when he pulls her tail, grabs bunches of fur out, and pushes her face just a little too hard. Bambi puts up with it like a champ, although she still hates every other person.

BRIAN SCHUMACHER ’15 purchased a home in Milwaukee a few months ago with his wife, KATIE DREW SCHUMACHER ’14. They love their new space, and they hosted a housewarming/friendsgiving party with all of his Ripon friends. Brian is working as an R&D Associate Scientist in the materials science group at Millipore Sigma. He is studying emerging technologies and 2-D materials.

ELIZABETH SILVA ’15 of Catalina Island, California is now living in San Francisco, California. She recently started an exciting journey as a loan consultant with Better. Better is a direct lender that provides a fast, transparent digital mortgage experience.

SAMANTHA SEILER ’15 will be doing an ortho rotation in New York and then her final rotation before graduation. She’s planning a well-deserved staycation in NYC.

LAURA SHIVELY ’15 continues to work for Pre/3 Real Estate, a national leader in commercial investment, development, and management. Employed at their corporate headquarters in Brookfield, Laura has most recently succeeded in spearheading the RentCafe initiative, incorporating the nationwide listing service into the company’s now online portfolio. Laura is proud to have been part of an experience that has streamlined the property management process for both management and consumers, along with forging connections between onsite managers and offsite corporate employees. In her personal time, she has enjoyed  reading on the cities of her next travel plans and cooking new dishes. She most recently returned from New Orleans, Louisiana where she enjoyed the history of one of the oldest cities in the United States and all of the local cuisine.

ZACH SPACIEL ’15 moved to Milwaukee after completing law school in December 2017. Zach doesn’t particularly enjoy city life, and he dreams of moving out to the suburbs, where he can have a nice home in Franklin with a white picket fence.

JOHN SPADONI ’15 and KRISTINA OGLESBY SPADONI ’15 were married on November 10, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin surrounded by all of their friends and family. They honeymooned in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They both continue to make strides in their careers and enjoy their current positions. In 2019, they are hoping to travel more. Kristy dreams of going to Italy, and John dreams of becoming a lobster on a beach somewhere.

ANTHONY TAUSIG ’15 of Chicago, Illinois has been working at Broadspire for little over a year now. His pup Tula is growing up enjoying the lakefront. Anthony and his girlfriend, ALLISON MACKNICK ’17 have been together for 4 years now and are loving life in Chicago.

ALEX THILLMAN ’15 of Minneapolis, Minnesota successfully passed the bar exam and is now a licensed attorney in Minnesota, where he works in civil litigation in the Twin Cities area. Recently, Alex traveled to Iceland and has already planned his next trip to Costa Rica in the fall.

SYDNEY CHURCH VAN TREECK ’15 married AUSTIN VAN TREECK ’14 in October in Kohler, Wisconsin. They spent their honeymoon in Anguilla in November. She will graduate from Marquette University in May with her MBA and will continue to work for Johnsonville on the MIS team.

CASEY VERCAUTEREN ’15 of Chicago, Illinois is working as a management consulting analyst at Accelerated Growth Advisors. Casey’s life is abound with stability, nothing has changed, and he likes it that way.

ROB ’15 and KAMELLE VAN DER LEEST WATERS ’15 are living in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. Rob started a new job as a Sales Consultant at Smart Motors Toyota in Madison this past January. Kamelle is still at Dean Health Plan and in November started a new role as a Grievance & Appeals Quality Specialist. They had a great time at the Red Hawks Alumni Track & Field Meet in January! They are enjoying spending their time with their weimaraner Jake who is full of energy.

KAITLYN WELZEN ’15 has a pupdate! Sirius all 95+ pounds of him, can reach her shoulders on his front paws  As you’ll see, Sirius loves the snow!

KEVIN WHITENEIR ’15 will be presenting his performance art and art history research at the UK Art History Association’s annual conference in Brighton. He’ll also be presenting his work on decolonizing academic institutions at the 47th annual conference of the Art Libraries Society of North America. He was awarded their presenters of color award. He’ll be performing a solo piece at Roman Susan Gallery on August 9th. He’s working on a second masters in Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign starting this Fall.

LOGAN SOICH ’15 and Rachel Soich married on June 10, 2017 in Milwaukee Wisconsin. BRIAN SCHUMACHER ’15 and MATTHEW ROHRBECK ’13 were groomsmen. Logan and Rachel currently live in Chicago with their pet, Koko, a Pomeranian mix. They both are active with careers as actuarial analysts and are associates of casualty actuarial society.

Submitted by: Samantha Kay

Class Agents:

Sara Driebel ’16

[email protected] / (262) 439-8124

Zach Peterson ’16

[email protected]

Elizabeth Yamat ’16

[email protected]

Hey Class of 2016! With the new year comes a new letter full of fresh updates, and of course, dogs (my favorite kind of update). Each time the class letter rolls around, I am so grateful to reconnect with everyone and get a perspective on what all of my classmates are doing!

When we reach out to our classmates to see if they have anything to add to the letter, one of the most common answers we see is “nothing important.” It is easy to see our classmates’ updates and think that what we are experiencing is not significant enough to share, but your experiences and growth right now are substantial. Maybe you just finished a book that made an impact on you, or ventured into a new part of town, or started hanging out with your friends more. Whatever you are doing is making you, you – and can be celebrated! Everyone is on a different timeline, and that is totally and 100% cool. I want to hear it all!

We hope to see all of your experiences for the next class letter – no matter how grand! Be sure to let me, ELIZABETH YAMAT ’16 and ZACH PETERSON ’16 know your updates!

Sincerely,

SARA DRIEBEL ’16

ALEX MORIARTY ’16 recently adopted a dog named Jill! She is a 7-year-old rescue from Tennessee and is a terrier supermutt. She gets to go with Alex to work sometimes, enjoys walks through the neighborhood, and has a matching red coat with her owner! With permanent Sara McLachlan shelter dog eyes, Jill is spoiled silly.

ALI LEAVER ’16 is getting her white coat at the end of April and is starting her clinical rotations in the spring! After that she will be graduating from OSU College veterinary medicine in May of 2020.

ALYSSA KENNEDY ’16 is in her third year medical school rotations at Advocate Bromenn Hospital.

COURTNEY BLOOMER ’16 is kicking ass in nursing school one day at a time!

ELIZABETH PETERS ’16 has accepted a part-time 3rd grade teaching position at St. Edward School in Mackville for the 2018-2019 school year. She also teaches Adaptive Aquatics at Neenah High School and is loving both teaching positions! She is currently looking for full time teaching positions for the 2019-2020 school year. Lizzie will be teaching summer school again this year, and is anticipating finding out the subject that she will teach. She stays busy by lifeguarding a few nights a week and teaching swim lessons as well. Lizzie hopes to have more time to teach private swim lessons for students of any age, which she has started herself!

EMILY GARY ’16 is now a service member at the bank where she works! At the end of December, Emily purchased a house and is now taking her time to fix it up and decorate.

ENYA NETT ’16 got a job working as an assistant stage manager for Forward Theater Company at the Overture Center for the Arts. It is the only professional theater in Madison! She also got a second cat, Vivi.  

ERIKA NELL ’16 is living in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her dog still runs her household and she has started watching Dexter on Netflix (#creepydude). She has enjoyed connecting with other Ripon alumni in the Twin Cities!

FRANK STELTER-HOGH ’16 is working for his old elementary school and is coaching.

HOPE BELL ’16 is living in Daegu, South Korea. At the end of March, Hope is going to start at a kindergarten/elementary immersion school. She now has an apartment in Korea, adopted a dog, and is attempting to learn Korean. With the Daegu theater troupe, Hope will be a part of “the Vagina Monologues” at the end of February. Occasionally Hope can be found hanging out with fellow Ripon College Alum NICO PRICE ’16 and enjoying hiking the three mountain ranges that surround her beautiful town.

CAMERON CASS ’16 and his wife Stacey are expecting the arrival of their first baby girl early this summer.

GARRISON ANDERSON ’16 started working as a Management and Program Analyst at the U.S. Small Business Administration and moved to Washington D.C.

JADEE KELLOG ’16 is in the midst of planning her wedding this August with AKASH SEN ’16.

JAMES MARK OOKO OOMBAKA ’16 is a programme assistant at Code for Africa and is based in Kenya. CFA is the continent’s largest network of open data and civic technology labs and has a diversely talented and multicultural team that helps to enact change through providing digital tools that allow fellow citizens to engage with those in positions of power. As the programme assistant, James is part of a team that ultimately helps to create more open data and a more open government in Africa.

JEN KELLER ’16 is lucky to live close to so many of her near and dear Ripon College friends! Things have been great for Jen living in Mequon and working for the Village of Richfield. This year, she is looking forward to some fun trips to North Carolina and California!

JEN NIGGEMEIER ’16 was young, cool, and broke (college was costly!) one minute, and the next is all excited about her new furniture set! She is finally adulting with a new job as a 4K Coordinator and is moving in with SARA DRIEBEL ’16. Also, Jen hopes to buy her own place, so if you know anyone selling a condo in the Waukesha area, willing to give the Ripon alumni discount, hit her up!

JORDAN POLK ’16 is working with Contemporary Services Corporation in Indianapolis.

JOSH LUNA ’16 is finishing up his clinical work.

KARI BROWN ’16 is living with her life partner and they are pursuing real estate together! He and Kari have already invested in one rental property and have many more to come – especially now that Kari has her Real Estate license and is working as a buyer’s agent with Landro Fox Cities Realty, LLC.

KATIE TREDINNICK ’16 was recently accepted to vet school at UW-Madison!!

LANI WINGER ’16 was married in December.

MADESON WALGENBACH ’16 is getting married in April!

MCKALA KIESSLING ’16 has started a new job as the Lab Manager for the City of Oconomowoc Wastewater Treatment Plant!

MINH DO ’16 recently started doing Human Resources for a Vietnamese company.

NICK LUEDTKE ’16 is currently three years into his doctorate degree in chemistry and is working full time at Integrated DNA Technologies as a Research Scientist Intern in molecular genetics studying CRISPR.

NICK MASTERSON ’16 has been busy finding new adventures! He is currently reigning as Mr. Madison Gay Pride, which he is proud to have won in July 2018. Recently he competed in the Northern Star All American Gent pageant and won First Alternate. He is heading to Daytona Florida at the end of March to compete for the National All American Gent title. According to Nick, “Being a male performer and becoming a face in the LGBT community has been beyond rewarding. It’s rewarding when kids come up and say you’re like a ‘hero’ to them. In today’s world kids are scared to express themselves and be who they really are. It’s rewarding to be someone they can look up to.”

RACHEL ROKUSEK ’16 has recently left her employment as a legal assistant to move to Chesapeake, Virginia, and has found employment as a legal assistant at a law firm in downtown Norfolk. She has also earned her Paralegal Certificate in December 2018.

RACHELLA BENNETT ’16 just took a management position for her company running an entire remote team on the east coast. This new position works under the CEO in the company after the restructure. She is graduating in December with her MBA with a Human Resources emphasis!

RAE BRIXIUS-FAHNRICH ’16 moved to Arlington, Virginia with Nick Fahnrich. They hiked a mountain there and got married at the summit! Rae spent last fall at Army Basic Training and then started Army Officer School in Georgia during December. In March, Rae will commission as a US Army Military Intelligence Officer. She is headed to Fort Huachuca, Arizona sometime in the coming year for more training!

SAM CARES ’16 got engaged to GABRIELLE HORSTMEIER ’17!

SARA DRIEBEL ’16 has been promoted to the role of Human Resources Generalist with the City of New Berlin and works at the Milwaukee County Zoo on the weekends teaching kiddos about creatures! She gets to play with all sorts of odd animals, including chickens, snakes, turtles, bugs, and even a really rad groundhog! She just adopted a new lizard named Boris and purchased a condo in Pewaukee where she will be living with the amazing JENNIFER NIGGEMEIER ’16.

STEPHANIE ROSENOW ’16 is keeping busy with plenty of work and coaching!

TY KETZ ’16 is teaching and coaching at St. Croix Central High School. He is the Head Girls Basketball Coach and teaches high school physical education and health!

ZACHARY PETERSON ’16 has been accepted into East Carolina University’s PHD Program in Rhetoric, Writing and Professional Communication in Greenville, North Carolina. He will be moving there after completing his Master of Arts in English at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in May.

SAM CANNING ’16 ran her first marathon in Disney to celebrate her birthday.

KATLYN TROISI ’16 graduated from Boston University School of Social Work in May 2018 and began working as an Integrated Team Clinician through Advocates, a non profit agency. She also became professionally licensed as a Licensed Certified Social Worker.

ELIZABETH YAMAT ’16 recently purchased a house in Glendale with her husband, Brady.

Submitted by: Sara Driebel

Class Agents:

KONNER FELDHUS ’17

303-280-5835 / [email protected]

WINONA HOLMES ROBBINS ’17

650-274-9231 / [email protected]

ERIN CANON ’17

414-469-5945 / [email protected]

Spring 2019

Class Letter:

It’s that time of year again that everyone hates winter (unless they live in a warm place…). It feels as though winter will never be over and the snow will never stop falling. But, spring will be here soon and then before you know it, Alumni Weekend 2019! It’s now been several years since we’ve graduated so it’s about time the Class of 2017 starts partying together once again as Alumni. Maybe play a game of Slip and Slide in the quad like we did during graduation week before we get too old and stiff…

We also wanted to congratulate and wish those luck that are finishing up their Master’s Programs and preparing for their final exams to get their second degree!

Konner, Erin and Winona

Class Notes:

KONNER FELDHUS ’17 of Des Moines, Iowa is somehow surviving medical school and recently joined the Advisory Council for the Iowa Chapter of The American College of Physicians.

SYDNEY RADANDT ’17 has been working as a secondary math educator for Peace Corps. She will be in Africa until 2020!

WINONA HOLMES ROBBINS ’17 of Conway, Arkansas, is learning what it takes to be a cat mother and is loving every second of being an aunt! She is continuing to personal train and coach at Hendrix College. Winona rang in 2019 as the Maid of Honor for HANNAH MACKENZIE GALLIMORE ’17!

AMY FELS ’17 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin writes,  “I am in year two of three of my History and Library and Information Studies graduate program at UW-Milwaukee. I have a wonderfully fun and challenging job working as a research assistant for a digital humanities project called the Encyclopedia of Milwaukee. I’m looking forward to the summer because I’ll get to spend more time in Ripon completing a fieldwork experience in the college archives.”

ANGELA PAMPERIN ’17 of Ripon, Wisconsin recently began a journey as a worship leader at Immanuel Methodist Church in Ripon. They will be starting a new contemporary service that she will help lead. She also launched a blog in early January “kind of telling my story in a way” the blog is called “Heartbeat’s Echo.” She writes, “[It is] all fun stuff that is challenging me as a person to be who I am.”

ALLISON MACKNICK ’17 of Chicago, Illinois continues to work as a professional actress in Chicago, appearing most recently in Empire (Fox), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (St. Sebastian Players), and MADELINE ’17 and BRENDAN MCCOY’S ’17 wedding. She will be touring this summer with AlphaBet Soup Production, Chicagoland’s Premiere Professional Children’s Theatre. Find her searching for great tacos with ANTHONY TAUSIG ‘15 or taking too many photos of her dog, Tula.

HANNAH MACKENZIE GALLIMORE ’17 of Oshkosh, Wisconsin is wrapping up her second year as an Internal Auditor for Oshkosh Corporation. She also recently got married and held her wedding reception at Great Hall!

DANAE TESCH ’17 bought a house in Covington, Washington, and is expecting a baby boy in April!

HANNAH METZ ’17 of Naperville, Illinois will be a School Psychology Intern for the 2019-2020 school year in the Valley View District in Romeoville, Illinois. She is done with her graduate school classes in June 2019! Hannah and FRANK STELTER-HOGH ’16 got engaged and set the wedding date for June 13, 2020!

HANNAH DAVIDSON ’17 of Madison, Wisconsin, recently moved to Madison and is now working as a baker and cake/pie decorator at Hubbard Avenue Diner in Middleton, Wisconsin. She is the proud new cat owner to Kitkat! She is looking forward to taking culinary/hospitality classes at Madison Area Technical College!

NOELLE KORZENIEWSKI ’17 of St Paul, Minnesota says she is “Graduating from Luther Seminary in May with a Master of Arts in Bible (literally I’ll be a master of the Bible ha). I have been working on my two theses for my degree. One is called “Who Do You Say That I Am?” And it looks at how the character of Jesus is depicted in each of the gospels (I lectured on this in Brian Smith’s Christian Scripture class last spring) and the other is “Joseph and Judah: Two Brothers, Two Stories, One Faith” and it is about the Joseph Narrative in Genesis as well as Judah’s narrative within it- looking the themes of each brother’s transformative story in their own light. Moving back to Ripon actually in June! – I can’t say yet what for but good things! Still working with dogs- my absolute passion. I have been a Team Lead and Dog Handler at Dog Days in St Paul, Minnesota for a year now and still aspire to open my own dog daycare/hotel business…. That’s kinda it. I’m just really looking forward to being back in WI soon. ❤️ Grace, our dog, and Marcus, my S/O, are just trying to bury ourselves out of the snow here in Minnesota.”

EMMA BRONSON ’17 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, says she is, “killing it at work, moving to the third ward in April, and still enjoys beer.”

Submitted by: Konner Feldhus

Class Agents:

Lauren Hince ’18

763.706.7473/ [email protected]

Holly Erickson ’18

262.497.7796 / [email protected]

Eleanore Mueller ’18

920.539.2935 / [email protected]

Spring 2019

Hey, Class of 2018!

It is hard to believe that almost a year has passed since we received our diplomas on graduation day! Since then Millers has closed, new stores have opened up on Watson Street, and unfamiliar faces now cover the campus. As cliche as it sounds, the first year out of school truly goes by fast.

Right now a lot of our lives are filled with exciting, and terrifying, firsts. For many of us life post-college means the first time renting our own place, the first time cooking a meal, and the first time not returning to Ripon College in August.

Life after Ripon has meant finding new ways to fill our days. For those of us not continuing our education it may mean we’re adjusting to a 9 to 5 work schedule. I still hear my professors lecturing about the importance of 8:00 AM classes: “the real world starts at eight and so should you.” Now I know what they meant.  Those still in school are learning a new way to study and are adjusting to life probably at a much bigger campus.

Life is only going to continue to go faster and faster the longer we are away from Ripon. So make time to see the people or visit the places that keep you connected to your time at Ripon. Also, make sure to mark Alumni Weekend 2019 (June 27-30) on your calendars!

Holly, Lauren and Eleanore

Class of 2018 life updates:

DANIEL ZIPPERER ’18 has obtained his real estate license and is now a licensed realtor in Wausau, WI. He is currently working for a company called Amaximmo.

JACOB BAUS ’18 is currently attending graduate school at UW-Madison in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program.

CARYSSA WAITE ’18 works as the Website & Marketing Manager at Gysbers Jewelry.

COLLEEN ELZINGA ’18 has started school at the University of Illinois in the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program. In her very limited free time, she volunteers at the Wildlife Medical Clinic.

DAVID DAUGHERTY ’18 ran the Chicago marathon in October to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society charity. In the following month he was hired as an Analyst Programmer at Mayo Clinic.

HAILEY MATTHEISEN ‘18 participated in a summer research internship at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, where she was one of only ten students chosen out of the entire country to conduct scientific research. She will be presenting her findings at the American Chemical Society Conference this March. During her internship she was offered a research associate position at the Center of Musculoskeletal Health. Currently, she is working on multiple research projects that look to identify preventions for cancer induced cachexia. Overall, she is making major steps to turn her dream of becoming a surgeon into a reality.

KATHERINE KULAS ’18 is attending Elmhurst College and is working towards a Masters Entry in Nursing degree with a Clinical Nurse Leader certificate.

MEGAN RINGO ’18 currently is a Master’s student at the University of Nebraska in the Leadership Education program. She is doing data collection and research about the two leadership minors and their effectiveness (which is the first of its kind in her department!) She also is a teaching assistant for a PhD candidate in the program for Dynamics of Leadership in Groups and Teams. Megan lives in Lincoln with her senior chihuahua and hamster.

MOLLY CARLSON ’18 has been working for CDK Global as an Implementation Consultant which has given her the opportunity to travel across North America every week on new projects. She has also rescued a adorable goldendoodle named Bentley.

MICHAEL BAUMHARDT ’18  was accepted into a Masters program at Cardinal Stritch University for Clinical Psychology. He is currently in his second semester.

TENE ROBINSON ’18 is enrolled in a Masters Program at the University of St. Francis. She is actively pursuing a Masters of Social Work degree. Along with fellow alumni JESSICA KOBELT ’18, Tene is coaching a youth traveling softball team. Additionally, she juggles two part-time jobs. “Busy, but worth it!” she says.

HARRISON HILLMAN ’18 moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa and is now an Ordained Minister.

EMILY STANCZAK ’18 currently is a little more than halfway through her first year of her Ph.D. program! Emily is at Indiana University School of Medicine. So far she has studied Coxsackievirus, and Toxoplasma gondii. Her next rotation will be studying Chlamydia trachomatis. Emily also has recently adopted a loving eight year old dog.

JESICA LATTIMER ’18 since graduating has started her career as an Accountant for Columbia County, bought a house, adopted a dog, as well as gotten engaged. She certainly has this whole adulting thing down!

COREY BEECHER ’18 is currently working at Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin as their athletic department intern; he recently accepted a position as their assistant director of athletics and student activities which he will begin this Spring.

AVERY HERBON ’18 is working as a complaint coordinator at Medline. She is currently hoping to move to a Chicago suburb.

BRADLEY DREW ’18 has been studying for the MCAT, which he hopes to take in the spring.

DREW HETZ ’18 over the summer of 2018, married his now wife surrounded by friends and family. Drew and his wife are currently living in Milwaukee with their elderly cat. He is also enrolled in the Physician Assistant program at Marquette University, working towards his Masters degree.

ANDREA WINTERS ’18 is working at Divine Rehabilitation and Nursing in Lodi, Wisconsin. In August, she will be moving to Miami, Florida to begin the Physician Assistant Program at Barry University.

TAYLOR CORKRAN ’18 is currently being deployed to Afghanistan with the 2-127 IN. Once he returns to the United States he will work as a deputy for the Dane County Sheriff’s Department.

RACHEL KOLODZIEJ ’18 has been working as a Chef for Sodexo at Ripon College. She really loves what she cooks and is learning a lot through the leadership of the Executive Chef.

ADRIANNE ANDING ’18 is currently working at Planet Fitness in Madison, Wisconsin and has recently been promoted to Assistant Manager. He will be attending Manchester University of Indiana where he will pursue his Masters in Athletic Training.

ERIKA ISAACSON ’18 worked another summer at Wisconsin Badger Camp in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Now, she is back in Eau Claire, Wisconsin working in a hospital as an anesthesia technician and is absolutely loving it.

TENZIN TSEPHEL ’18 has been working as a Social Media Marketing Coordinator at Beacon Technologies; she also is involved with 360 Magazine.

JONALEE ELLIOTT ABEL ’18 moved to Norfolk, Virginia with her husband Tony and is currently working as a Mental Health Technician. The couple is heading back to Wisconsin in June, 2019.

CLAIRE SCHAIBLE ’18 is attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School with an emphasis in public interest.

ELLIOT HOERDEMANN ’18 recently moved to New Orleans, Louisiana and started a new position with MillerCoors as a Sales Representative.

DAVID KNAPP ’18 is currently attending Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., with an emphasis in international law.

ZACHARY BART ’18 moved back to the Chicagoland area and is currently working as a Field Sales Representative at Burndy LLC.

EMMA MCDONALD ’18 moved to Madison, Wisconsin and is attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison in pursuit of a degree as a doctor of physical therapy.

CORDELL WALKER ’18 started a position with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, as a Graphic Designer in the publications department.

LAUREN HINCE ’18 moved to Chicago in May to start work in sales at Groupon. Since working there she has been promoted to a new position in Groupon’s live events division. She also coaches debate on the side for New Trier High School.

AUSTIN BORCHARDT ’18 is working as a Night Shift Production Supervisor at Menasha Packaging in Hartford, Wisconsin.

JOSHUA SCHUBRING ’18 is working as a Development Manager for the Green Lake Association. In addition, he has teamed up with alumni JORGE GUTIERREZ ’17 to reboot the Green Lake Area Young Professionals.

SAMANTHA RAYGO ’18 is pursing her Juris Doctorate at Marquette University alongside fellow classmate RANDAL FINGER ’18.

LEAH BLAZKOVEC ’18 is currently working at Door County Medical Center as a rehabilitation assistant. She is also working on applying to graduate programs for occupational therapy.

JOSHUA OSWALD ’18 works at Geneva Laboratories. He plans to pursue his masters in business administration.

ROSE HOGMIRE ’18 is a market researcher for early-stage startups at StageThree in Green Bay, Wisconsin. She also adopted a cat who she lovingly calls, “Lunchbox.”

JAMES “JIMMY” AMEDEO ’18 is pursuing his masters at the Institute of World Politics in Washington, D.C.

SOPHIE WIDMAN ’18 moved to Minneapolis where she is pursuing a career in theater. She is also working as a school communications representative at the National Theatre for Children.

EMMA ALLEN ’18 is attending Yale University where she is half way done with her masters in public health.

KATELYN VAN SWOL ’18 is working as a customer service representative at Uline.

NICHOLS HENNING ’18 bought a house and moved to Washington state where he is an engineer officer with the United States army. He is currently serving as a medical officer.

Submitted by: Lauren Hince

Class Agents

Katlyn Lee Schumacher

608.558.9073 / [email protected]

Erin Schaick

920.312.3825 / [email protected]

Brandon Taylor

406.274.4708 / [email protected]

Spring 2019

Greetings, Class of 2012!

We hope you are all doing well! Based on the updates we received, it sounds like many of you are up to all kinds of fun things and fulfilling jobs. We always love reading your comments! Like these updates, it seems that our lovely Alma Mater has many updates and happenings going on, including important discussions on student mental health, politics, snow days (?!) and numerous exciting stories of graduates! Be sure to check out ripon.edu/news to see what else is new.

Here is what you shared with us:

SHARON KLAPPERICH DOLL ’12 of Oconto, Wisconsin is doing her second year of long-term subbing at Preble High School in Green Bay, and is now the Youth Leader at her church.

AMY SONIER FOELSKE ’12 of Green Lake, Wisconsin, is teaching at Sabish Middle School in the Fond du Lac school district. She gave birth to her first child (photo below), Leah Marie Foelske, on December 18, 2018 who was born premature at 35.5 weeks, weighing 5 lbs 15 oz. and was 18 inches. They are all doing very well!

STACEY HAMILTON ’12 of Groton, New York, writes, “In February, I started my new position as a Financial Aid Associate at Cornell University. My husband and I also just moved into a home we purchased in Groton, New York with our two rescue pups.”

MARY “KATE” HAMM ’12 of West Allis, Wisconsin got engaged and will be married 8/21/2020. She just started a new job as a business systems analyst with Bostik Inc.

KURTIS HARDY ’12 of Minneapolis, Minnesota was promoted to Manager of Project Management at Ackmann & Dickenson, specializing in website and mobile application development.

ANDREA ZAK KAMIN ’12 of Ripon, Wisconsin got married to Brian Kamin in October 2018. She also has a new role at Princeton Public School, where she teaches a little and is now the athletic director for the middle and high schools.

JESSICA BRUNGARDT LARSON ’12 of Peyton, Colorado and her husband will be welcoming their first child in August. They already have three spoiled fur babies running around the house. She still works at the County Attorney’s office in Colorado Springs doing child advocacy and delinquency cases. She loves her job and hopes it’s making a difference in at least one child’s life.

MATT MAGINNIS ’12 of Polo, Illinois says, “Since graduation I have done my fair share of odd jobs, starting as a substitute teacher then working as a manager of the local Culvers. After getting married and my first child I found a position with a local manufacturing facility. I am proud to say I just had my five-year anniversary with E.D. Etnyre Co where I work as a product Engineer. While working full time I have also started my own business as a wedding DJ. Perhaps the most exciting news is that my wife and I will be expecting our fourth child later this year!”

KRISTIN MERKER ’12 of Chicago, Illinois started a new teaching position in Glenview District 34 and will be getting married to Matthew Greenberg in April.

MEGAN MCGEE NORRIS ’12 of Kenosha, Wisconsin had a baby with Adam Norris 10/8/18. Colton is now 4 months old (photo below) and our little munchkin; his dog brothers and sister love him so much. She is still running her own law practice in Kenosha, and is still on the board of STEPHANIE JENISCH RHEINGRUBER’S ’12 animal rescue, Wish Upon A Rescue.

GISELA ORTEGA ’12 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin got married to Zach Vornholt ’12 in July of 2018 after 7 years together. She is currently at the City of Milwaukee Department of City Development working on addressing housing issues and getting to help shape future development. Zack has been working at G-Strategies for the past 5 years doing political and nonprofit consulting nationwide. They love living in Milwaukee and giving back to their City!

MATT SEITZ-PAQUETTE ’12 of Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the quality assurance supervisor at Fagron, a world-leader in compounding, which creates custom medicine. He married Kevin Seitz-Paquette on September 2, 2017 in St. Paul, Minnesota. They now live in Minneapolis with their dog, Angel.

BRANDON TAYLOR ’12 from Arlee, Montana recently moved to San Francisco, a block from the beach and Golden Gate Park. He will be celebrating his six-year anniversary with Accenture in June 2019.

Thank you to all the people who sent us their life updates on Facebook or via email! Feel free to contact the college (or us) throughout the year and we will be sure to include them in our class updates.

Cheers!

Brandon, Erin and Katlyn

Submitted by: Erin Schaick

Robert (Bob) Bradbury ’12, age 30, passed away unexpectedly in his home on Thursday, April 4, 2019. He was born January 10, 1989 to Ken Bradbury and Kari Sherman. He attended Oregon schools and graduated from Oregon High School in 2007, where he enjoyed art and Spanish classes and played goalkeeper on the soccer team. His talents on the soccer field earned him a position on the varsity soccer team at Ripon College. While at Ripon he majored in Education and English, graduating in 2012.

Robert was known for his adventurous, energetic, and creative spirit, and translated these qualities into coaching, teaching, music, and art. He had a gift for working with children and made a tremendous impact coaching soccer and snowboarding, guiding hiking and camping trips as a camp counselor, and assisting kids with special needs in the classroom at Monona Grove High School. He was part of a very supportive recovery community in Madison and Fitchburg where he enjoyed sharing his passions for guitar, writing, art, and yoga.

Robert is survived by his parents, Ken and Kari, sister Ann Bradbury (Andrew Navarro), aunts Jeanine Sherman, Laurie Sherman, and Hester Bradbury (Ignacio Navarrete), and cousins Andy Navarrete and Paul Navarrete, as well as many close friends.

A celebration of Robert’s life will be held at Tyrol Basin Ski Area on Sunday April 28 from 1-4 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider donations to a scholarship fund established in Robert’s name at https://recoveryfoundationinc.wildapricot.org/Memorial-Donations in Madison or Millennium Soccer Club, P.O. Box 5171, Madison, WI 53705 Donation envelopes will be available at the celebration.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

Donald was born on April 25, 1936 and passed away on Wednesday, March 13, 2019. Donald was a resident of La Jolla, California.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

Published in Kalamazoo Gazette on Apr. 21, 2019

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

Scott Durnford Barnes, 74, of Auburn, passed away on February 11, 2019 due to complications associated with Parkinson’s disease.

Scott was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin, and grew up on the South Side of Chicago. His mother, Doris, and his father, Bill, pushed him to go to college. At Ripon College he fell in love with economics…and with Sherie Kirshner. After getting married and obtaining his bachelor of arts in economics in that order, he continued his education, receiving a masters degree in economics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Scott was a respected professor at Cayuga Community College in Auburn, where he taught economics and business for thirty years. Generations of students knew him as a teacher who held them to high standards and who cared deeply about their growth. He also served as President of the College Faculty Association for seventeen years. During this time, he was admired throughout the New York State higher education system as a skilled and tenacious negotiator, and the contracts he helped to forge became models for other agreements.

Scott was happy being outdoors – whether in solitude or with family and friends. He was an avid camper, canoeist, snowshoer, hunter, and fly fisherman. He shot skeet weekly for decades.

Scott also loved to collect. He assembled a collection of rare 18th Century New Jersey Copper pennies that became known as the “Scott Barnes Collection.” His son Bill fully endorsed Scott’s addiction to buying boots, as he was the recipient of the generous overflow. Not to be outdone, daughter Carol provided a home for many pieces of furniture her parents acquired as part of their spirited antique business. Antiquing kept Scott and Sherie busy for years in retirement as they happily hunted the next great deal.

Scott will be remembered for the playful twinkle in his eye and his sense of humor, his intellect and his fierce curiosity, and his genuine interest in other people.

He is survived by Sherie, his loving wife of 54 years; his son and daughter-in-law, Bill and Julie Barnes; daughter and son-in-law, Carol and Mark Johnson; and his grandchildren Henry and Frannie Johnson and Scott and Tessa Barnes.

A gathering in his honor will be held at the Springside Inn on Saturday, February 16th, from 11:00-1:30 pm. Please come and share your remembrances of Scott with his family.

In lieu of flowers, please consider contributions to the Cayuga County Community College Foundation, or to the Cayuga County Sportsman’s Association.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

Jack Saunders Parker Jr. November 24, 1945 – February 27, 2019 SAN DIEGO Capt. Jack, as he liked to be called, passed away from a lingering illness in his home in San Diego on February 27, 2019.Born in Boston, MA in 1945; he called California home for over 50 years, residing in Berkeley, Malibu, Van Nuys, and Shelter Island. After graduating from Deerfield Academy and Ripon College, he attended University of California – Berkeley in the field of drama and theater and the Lee Strasbourg Theater and Film Institute in Los Angeles. He registered with the Screen Actors Guild as Jason Parker – the name that stayed with his immediate family.Jack had a curiosity and zest for participating in life; continually learning from the varied people he encountered and seeking experiences and adventures which challenged him. From acting to special effects engineering, to ranching and volunteer fire fighting, to sailing and acquiring his Captains license, to opening a business services store and creating his own photography dark room, he never stopped asking questions and wanting to share/teach others what he learned.

Jack leaves behind loving daughter, Raine and husband, Tony Pushckor and granddaughter, Sky of Issaquah, WA; stepdaughter, Tracey Grady and her beloved family in Shoreline, WA; sister, Diane (Greg Peters) in Shelburne, VT; many caring cousins; and his special friend and caregiver, Vicki Everett. He was recently predeceased by his devoted parents, Jack and Betty Parker of MA. A private family ceremony is planned for April 6 in San Diego. Memorial contributions in Jack’s memory may be made to Disaster Animal Response Team (DART) where he brought animals rescued in fires around Malibu. (5206 W. Jefferson BLVD, Los Angeles, CA 90016 or go to SPCALA.com (“donate”).

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

Madison – On April 14, 2019, Nathan F. Brand passed away quietly, surrounded by the love of his family after bravely battling cancer for nine months. He asked us to thank the many family members and friends whose messages and visits were so important to him as he dealt with his illness. Nate especially wanted to thank his son, Nate; his daughter, Dorothea; and his long-time partner, Regina for their loving support.

Nate was born on October 24, 1935. Raised in Green County, he lived with his parents above a cheese factory and attended a one-room schoolhouse until 1945, when his family moved to the city of Monroe. In Monroe, he earned money for college mowing lawns and delivering papers. Nate attended UW Madison and graduated from Ripon College in 1959. In 1960, he and his wife, Dora Schindler Brand, moved to Madison where they raised their family and he built his businesses.

The most important thing in Nate’s life was his family – immediate and extended. His love of family and of his Swiss heritage was the impetus for many, many trips to Switzerland. Each child and grandchild had a chance to travel with Nate to meet their Swiss relatives and many Swiss friends. These trips provided the grandchildren with an understanding of their own Swiss heritage. Better still, they gained an understanding of Grandpa Nate. Switzerland wasn’t Grandpa’s only treat for them – closer to home were the Bucks, Brewers, Packers, and of course, the Badgers.

Badger football, hockey, volleyball, but especially Badger basketball – Nate was a devoted fan. His tickets for basketball and football span more than 50 years, so obviously not a “fair-weather fan.” Nate’s commitment to UW Madison and the Badgers wasn’t limited to sports. It carried over to academics with generous support of student scholarships.

Although Nate is remembered for a variety of business and real estate interests, most important to him was that his financial knowledge and attention to detail provided security for his many employees and helped create success for his business and investment partners. Just as family was important, so were his business partners. Fred Mohs and Nate have a partnership that spans almost 60 years and is based only on a handshake. Partners John Petersen and John Tye shared office space with Nate for more than 30 years.

In the past two decades, Nate has given generously to the Madison community. Not surprisingly, his pattern of generosity tracks his approach to family and business – thoughtful, pragmatic and targeted to young persons. Examples include the Overture’s Endowment Fund, Madison Children’s Museum, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and UW Madison athletic scholarships. However, Nate’s primary interest has been to Rotary Club of Madison’s scholarship fund. He was the first living donor to that fund and his “first” set a trend that others have followed. Over the past 15 years, many young persons have received generous four-year scholarships.

Nate was preceded in death by his father Franz Brand; his mother, Catharina Baumann Brand; his brother, Franz W. Brand; and his nephew, John Schindler Brand.

Nate is survived by Regina Millner, who has been a loving partner for 20 years; son, Nathan Schindler Brand (Ana Brand, Josie and Dottie); daughter, Dorothea Brand Kennedy (Robert Kennedy, Elena, Peter and Neeve); daughter, Barbara; sister, Edith Smith Leuenberger; and many nieces and nephews. Nate is also survived by wife Dora Schindler Brand. Dora was a support to Nate and a dedicated mother and grandmother, particularly to daughter, Barbara.

The family would like to give a special thanks to Dr. Joshua Lang of the Carbone Cancer Center and caregivers, Edith and Ben Rama.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers please make donations to the Rotary Club of Madison Scholarship Fund or to a charity of your choice.

Visitation will be on April 26, 2019, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Cress Funeral Home, 3610 Speedway Rd., Madison. Funeral services will be at 11:30 a.m., on Saturday, April 27, 2019 at Covenant Presbyterian Church 326 S. Segoe Rd., Madison. Nathan will be laid to rest at the Greenwood Cemetery in Monroe.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

        Class Agent: Jan MacLeod

[email protected]

(630) 920-2450

Spring 2019

Greetings, Classmates!  Is everyone getting excited about our 45th reunion?

Plans are coming along and the fire pit outside the Union has been reserved for us to relax and hang out on what I hope will be a lovely June evening (dinner will be served inside). Be watching for registration materials coming your way soon or visit online at https://www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend/.

This has been a challenging winter for so many of us. I feel very fortunate to be able to say the worst thing I have had to deal with is a mild case of cabin fever. My volunteering duties at the public library have given me ample opportunities to get out of the house, and the new book group I started there keeps me busy reading about new book possibilities. Andy will be retiring in another month, so we will be spending more time with our two grandchildren as well as helping our younger daughter plan her wedding. Time flies when you’re keeping busy, and having fun!

In late November, I met CHRIS OVERLY WALLACE ‘74 of Homer Glen, Illinois and her Green Lake neighbor at Norton’s, and let me say, the old fashioneds we’re just as good as you remember. After dinner we made our way to Thrasher Opera House in downtown Green Lake for a fabulous concert by Judy Collins (photo on the left). We were joined there by DEBRA HORN-PROCHNO ‘74 of Ripon, Wisconsin. We had a lovely evening reminiscing, and listening to many of the songs that made up the soundtrack of our Ripon College years.  Judy’s songs and stories made for a truly magical evening.

In other Wallace news, Chris got a new puppy just before Christmas and named him Rip! Her granddaughters adore him and Chris says he is lots of company. He’s not too fond of going out in the cold, but if you ask me, that’s a sign of intelligence.

GEORGE BOOTHBY SR. ’74 of Montvale, New Jersey,  was selected to be a Scoutmaster for Northern New Jersey Council for the 2019 World Scout Jamboree that will be held in the U.S. and hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

In addition, he was asked to serve as the Contingent Leader for all eight troops and leaders for Area Five in the U.S. Northeast Region. George will be responsible for providing guidance and supervision to a total of 300 scouts and scoutmasters. He was honored to be asked and thrilled to assist everyone. Troop meetings will begin in late fall 2018 and run through June 2019. The 2019 World Scout Jamboree will begin July 22nd at the Bechtel Summit in West Virginia.

Boothby became involved with the Boy Scouts of America in 1992 as an assistant den leader in his hometown, and he was hooked. Volunteer activities run in the family, as his wife, LOUISE RENIER BOOTHBY ’75, volunteered with the Girl Scouts of America for 12 years, his son, George Jr., is an Eagle Scout, and his daughter, Catherine, is a Gold Award recipient.

Thanks to decades of volunteering with Boy Scouts, George is always prepared. While eating lunch with a business friend in New York, he found himself in the midst of a life-or-death situation. George’s associate began choking, his facial color changing with every passing second. While other patrons were frozen in place, he acted quickly, performing the Heimlich maneuver and saving his friend’s life. George was driven to respond quickly after decades of experience working with the Boy Scouts of America.

XAVIER POLANSKI ’74 of La Grange, Illinois, writes, “I turned 65 last December 5, and I retired in the middle of February 2018. I worked as an engineer with Commonwealth Edison’s (now Exelon’s) nuclear power plants for my entire career, most years as a ComEd employee, but the last 15 years as an “outsourced” contractor doing Exelon work. We will continue to live here in our La Grange, IL home, where we have lived since 1987. So far, retirement is very good. Since my wife Joanna is doing very little around the house because she is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, I have taken over all home-care chores, including cooking. This is all fine, since my mom taught her two children, both boys, to cook and clean. Joanna had maintained an extensive garden, and since I have loved plants since Boy Scout days, I enjoy doing that, also. I am doing more at my parish, St. Cletus (where I have joined the Chancel Choir), and I continue to play racquetball twice per week. Add visits with friends, and life is full.

Joanna, who is five years older than me, is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. That means that she still mostly manages by herself, and it is safe for her to be in the house alone. At this stage, she has trouble finding words when she wishes to say something, and she can no longer handle complicated things like the checkbook. The Illinois primary elections in the spring baffled her, so she is no longer voting. She gave up driving a couple of years ago. We enjoy the goodness of each day, as it comes. There is an Alzheimer caretaker support group in La Grange, and they can offer advice as the disease progresses.

Our son Tom, who graduated from Beloit College, is fluent in Spanish and spent his Beloit junior year studying in Quito, Ecuador. (Yes—all classes were in Spanish.) He later married a young lady from Quito that he met while studying there. They live in Quito, where Tom is just completing a successful five-year program in Clinical Psychology. He will be glad to help any of you with psychological issues, but know that the trip to appointments would involve connecting flights and would take a minimum of eight hours of airport travel time. You’d be alright, because he still remembers his English.”

ELIZABETH HENDERSON BARRATT ’74 of Carmel Valley, California, writes, “I’m continuing to devote hours on research and article publishing activities at the Carmel Valley History Center. Dick and I had a fantastic SF Giants Spring Training trip to Scottsdale, AZ this spring! Life is Good!”

DENNIS FRAHMANN ‘74 of Cambria, California, has written a new book which came out a few weeks ago. I ordered it on Amazon and then dropped him a line right after I started it to say how much I was enjoying it. I also asked him if he and husband Robert were planning to come to Ripon for the reunion. Dennis said that sadly they were not planning to join us this year but definitely plan to be back on campus for our 50th. He then added, “Yikes, can’t believe I said that. Graduation only seems like it was yesterday.” How true, Dennis!

So while we will miss Dennis, I hope YOU will be there and that you will contact your Ripon pals and urge them to be there, too. Mark your calendars now to attend Alumni Weekend June 27-30, and call your favorite hotel to reserve yourself a room. I will be looking for you on campus, and we’ll see each other around the fire pit outside the Union. S’mores for everyone!

Jan

Submitted by: Jan MacLeod

Class Agent:

Kevin L. Warmack

(773) 220-5360

[email protected]

[email protected]

Spring 2019

Greetings All,

As I sit at my desk at Bankers Life Securities in Chicago to write this letter, I look at the calendar and note that it’s the day after Valentine’s Day (and Royce Dunbar’s Birthday – Happy B-Day Royce). I note that it’s Friday – a pay day (YAY!!) and that in 4 months and 12 days, we will begin gathering for Alumni Weekend, June 27-30 and celebrate 40 years since we walked out of Ripon. In effect, this is our 100 Days (give or take a few days but who’s counting) till party time – Ripon style. So in that vein, I will start lifting a beer (water) and get the 100 Days Celebration started.  Let’s begin with some Class of 1979 News and Notes.

Class of 1979 News and Notes

Sunday, February 24, should mean a lot to all of us. Our own Producer Extraordinaire, DIANE MOY QUON ‘79 is up for an Academy Award being nominated for being the Producer of the film “Minding the Gap”. Even if she doesn’t win (NOT!!), this shows everyone that there is a great life after age 50!!    

Another great example of life after age 50 is through JENNIFER BRENGLE GIEDD ‘79.  Jenny has begun working towards a PH.D in Education. I think thus far, she has completed 6 courses and has found time to make some Tomato Basil soup! Save me some!!

BOB GRANT ‘79 has sent some dispatches from Daytona Beach, Florida, where the Great American Race is held. But one dispatch that Bob sent continues to play in the theme of life after 50. Bob talked about finding work outdoors and he has – becoming Bob the Builder when he spent 3 days framing an addition in all types of weather.  

JIM GOODRICH ‘79 has entertained all of us with his dispatches from around the world after retiring last year from teaching.

In case you’ve been hiding under a rock, BETH PALMBACH NEMECEK ‘79 celebrated Christmas in a most marvelous way…she got a kidney!! She is doing fantastic and now my Bionic Co-Chair and I (remember I got a pacemaker/defibrillator in August) are ready for you.

40th Reunion Class Gift – Now is the time for all of you to begin to think about making a gift to Ripon College. Any gift will help. And if you give now rather than wait until reunion weekend, that gift counts towards the overall class gift.

40th Reunion – The party starts on Friday, June 27 after the Doc Weiske ‘50 Memorial Golf Scramble. I am planning on playing in the golf scramble and hope that we can get a couple of Class of 1979 foursomes out there. Great time at Lawsonia (tough course but fun). For Friday night, most of us usually go to the 1851 Alumni Awards Dinner, etc. but this year, let’s gather at Norton’s and eat, drink and be merry. The big reunion party is Saturday night at the Willmore Center (f/k/a- Storzer). That is the early line. Let me know your thoughts

Closing

As always, it is a pleasure to write to y’all. Special thanks to BETH PALMBACH NEMECEK ‘79 for those Facebook posts from the college. Let’s plan to get together soon. By the way, I may be in your neighborhoods (work travel). So watch out for a reach out for a beer or 3!!

Also, when you got news, don’t hold on, and drop me a note so I can make your class letter the best!!!

Love Always, 

 Kevin L. Warmack, ‘79

Submitted by: Kevin Warmack

Class Agents:

 Connie Herbon Moser

[email protected]

(847) 548-2732

Vicki Vicha Erickson

[email protected]

(847) 546-2775 

Spring 2019

Happy Spring Everyone,

Looking forward to seeing many of you at our 35^th reunion on June 27 – 30, 2019. We will have a Blues and BBQ dinner on Saturday night celebrating life and sharing stories. Thanks in advance go out to DAVE SHOGREN ‘84 and his blues band who will delight us with music as we enjoy a BBQ dinner. The location for Saturday night is at 220 Elm Street, two houses from the Commons. During Alumni Weekend, other opportunities exist for fun such as the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble where I know VICKI VICHA ERICKSON ‘84, DONNA REARDON GOLDBERG ‘84, LINDA GIUFFRE ANDERSON ‘84, SUE SHEPHERD ‘84 and I will enjoy sun, laughter and golf. At this point, we have heard from SHELLEY ANDERSON BYRNES ‘84 and DESIREE SWENSON STROM ‘84 who will also attend the reunion, with RUTH FEIERABEND ‘84 and ANN WILLIAMS LUNDBERG ‘84 as tentative. Hopefully we will see many others there.

With the opening of the Willmore Center and many upgrade activities across the college campus, I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised by the positive changes that have taken place. These changes must continue and absolutely rely on your gifts to the college. As it is our 35^th, please take a moment to consider increasing your donation to the Ripon Fund as a shout out for our reunion.

Again, we hope you will join us in celebrating life and our 35^th reunion. As always, I have asked one of our classmates to write about themselves so here is MIKE GALVAN ‘84 and his update:

MIKE GALVAN ‘84: Well, I can’t believe our 20th anniversary is finally coming up. We’ve done a lot in these few years….wait. I guess it is a bit longer than that. I don’t think in all these years, I’ve contributed to this grand publication, so here is my story:

After graduation, (yes, I had to take a few classes at UW-Milwaukee the summer of ’84 to graduate), I went off to the Army as an ROTC graduate. I did the Military Police Officer Basic at the former Fort McClellan, Alabama. After completion, I went to my first duty station, 16th MP Brigade (Airborne), at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. There, I did the typical Army officer stuff:  platoon leader, executive officer, etc. Then, I moved into staff positions as the assistant operations officer for the Provost Marshal (base police chief) and logistical officer in a transportation unit coordinating worldwide troop and equipment movements.

Once I was promoted to captain, I went back to MP Officer Advance Course at Ft. McClellan, Alabama. After completion, off to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) where I was the operations officer for the Provost Marshal of the 2nd Infantry Division, just south of the Demilitarized Zone. I took command of the 2nd Military Police Company and was in command during Desert Storm. The normally one year assignment stretched into nearly 2 years in Korea. I was given two options after that:  go back to school for a Master’s and teach at West Point or train and work in a secondary specialty. Since my undergraduate time was not so stellar, I trained to work in psychological operations, which included lots of cultural stuff and language training. I got out of the Army when they enticed me with a bunch of money as they needed to downsize the military.

After returning back to Wisconsin in 1992 after the military, I decided to continue in law enforcement. In 1993, I was hired as a patrol officer in Appleton, Wisconsin. There, I ran into many classmates and fellow alumni. By 1996, I began training as a state trooper. For 15 years, I patrolled the highways of Northeast Wisconsin….in a Ford Crown Victoria, a Harley-Davidson Electra Glide, or in a Dodge Charger. It was fun.  Right after Governor Walker signed Act 10 and all the unrest at the capitol, I was selected for promotion to the Dignitary Protection Unit. Our mission was to protect the Governor and other officials we were assigned to. We accompanied him and transported him everywhere. I was on the detail while he ran for President. I had a front row seat to history. I saw things and went places that “regular” people do not have access to. It was amazing:  oversea trips, White House, NYC, many states in the Union, and just about every city, village and town in Wisconsin…probably every county fair or breakfast on the farm….I think my most favorite place to go was Ripon College. Every June, Badger Boys State is held at Ripon. The Governor, a Supreme Court Justice, and the Adjutant General of the Wisconsin National Guard would land in a US Army Blackhawk helicopter on Upper Sadoff. I would either be on board or as the arrival agent when it landed. Then I’d transport the Governor around to the dining hall, then down to the gym for ceremonies. I was on the detail for nearly 5 years and met more Ripon alumni.

For my last two years in the State Patrol, I supervised operations in 5 NE Wisconsin counties. I retired in July 2018. I did a lot of cruises and other traveling…then I got bored. I got back into transportation and drove motorcoach (and traveled), school bus routes and charter trips, part-time.

Now, I just started my new part-time job. After some training in Fort Lauderdale, I am now the chief security officer on the Norwegian Sun. Right now, I am on a South American itinerary sailing off the coast of Chile, down around Cape Horn. Later next month, we will head up the west coast of South America, traverse through the Panama Canal, and go to Colombia before heading back to Miami. Then off to Havana and the Bahamas…not bad for a part-time job…6 months a year.

Well, that is my life.  If my itinerary supports it, I will be at our “20th” reunion in June. Until then, hasta luego.

Thanks to Mike for the update!

Take Care,

Connie

Submitted by: Connie Herbon Moser

Class Agents:

Nicole Lindberg

[email protected]

(612) 929-2188

Mitch Rosin

[email protected]

(708) 309-8556

Spring 2019

Greetings in the middle of one of the coldest winters on record! It has been another hectic year for Nik and Mitch with travels everywhere, and tons of family obligations. Mitch hit 2 million miles on United (and that’s not counting any other airline) and Nik has been throwing her expertise and energy behind several organizations that all would benefit from your support. Check out her Facebook page for more details.

• We are also working to make our 30th Reunion the best ever! Mark your calendars for Alumni Weekend, June 27-30! Not only is it our reunion but two of our fellow classmates are receiving the Distinguished Alumni Citation Award: COL James E. Czarnik ’89 and Kathryn R. Schultz ’89. They will be honored at the 1851 Awards Dinner Program on Friday, June 28. Our reunion will be on Saturday night (June 29) in The Bovay Terrace from 6:30-8:30 p.m.  Join us for food, drinks and fun! Then head down to The Spot for dessert (complete with a chocolate fountain), live music, and s’mores at the fire pit. Full weekend details and online registration are coming April 1 to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend, but also watch your mailboxes for the official Alumni Weekend brochure. We hope you will join us!

Keep an eye on our class Facebook page for updates, tidbits, and other useless information.

We look forward to seeing you in a thawed out Ripon in June!

Mitch & Nikki

Classmate News:

TONYA BARNETT ALLING ’89 moved to a small town, only to learn that dancing there had been banned. She has worked with small group to help the townspeople rethink their rules, and in doing so revitalized their spirits. She plans to be footloose and fancy free at the reunion this summer.

SARAH ALMQUIST ’89 took in a stranger that was left behind. Though she is not sure where he came from, they are working out a way to phone home. So Barb may have a guest with her at the reunion. TBD

KELLY KORDES ANTON ’89, when not working on communications for MillerCoors, is honing her skiing skills on the slopes. She is working hard to master the K12 slope and has started a Go Fund Me page to make sure she always has two dollars. Summer means no skiing, so she can attend the reunion.

DAVE BARRETT ’89 had an amazing day off in Chicago with his two best friends. They enjoyed the Art Institute, took in a baseball game, encountered a parade, and dined on Rush Street. Just a warm up for the fun of our reunion.

TRICIA POTTER BAUER ’89 spent time over the summer with her family at a resort in the Catskills. She and the dance instructor really clicked, and were the stars of the end-of-the season show. This summer, she can show off her moves at the reunion.

CAL BERGMAN ’89, Associate Dean for the College of Letters and Sciences at UW-Madison, is also in an exclusive club. Club members recite poetry, explore philosophical ideas, and enhance their lives through an appreciation of literature. He also appreciates how fun it is to come back to visit Ripon!

KRIS LARSON BESLER ’89, as a high school counselor, oversees Saturday detention. She observes, that students come in thinking they are so very different from each other, when in fact they have more in common than they realize. A fact she thinks we may also see with our Ripon classmates this summer.

BRETT BORK ’89 once a struggling artist, bounced from one dead-end job to another, until he found love while working in a department store, proving that love is more than window dressing. Learn more about this and more this summer.

CRAIG CASPER ’89 and KRISTA CALHOUN CASPER ’89, having tired of living in the attic and feeling invisible, have finally found a way to cohabitate with their new tenants. Maybe they will all join us this summer!

TOBI CAWTHRA ‘89 continues to work as a dancer and  lives in Berlin. She recently was appointed as lead dancer, but the woman she replaced accused her of witchcraft. She is working with an inquisitive psychotherapist and a member of the troupe to uncover dark and sinister secrets as they probe the depths of the studio’s hidden underground chambers. She will be bringing her dancing skills to Ripon for the 30th Reunion Weekend.

KATHY HANNES CESARIO ’89 and MARK CESARIO ’92, struck an animal with their car while returning from a hunting trip. The animal appeared to be dead, so they added it to their hunting gains, and drove home. But, as you guessed, “it” wasn’t dead. You’ll have to ask them what happened next if you see them at the reunion.

CAROYLN AGACINSKI CLARK ’89 reports that he has become a mysterious force that will decimate the population, and warns — if you see him, you will die. The survivors must now avoid coming face to face with Healy, who takes the form of their worst fears. Searching for hope and a new beginning, women and children have embarked on a dangerous journey through the woods and down a river to find the one place that may offer sanctuary. To make it, they’ll have to cover their eyes from the evil that chases them — and complete the trip blindfolded. He will present on this journey at the Alumni Reunion in June.

LINDA GLAUBITZ DECRAMER ’89 and LAIRD DECRAMER ’77, write, “The Ripon tradition continues. Although our kids are polar opposites, Callista (suave, sophisticated and likes to tango) and Sullivan (overzealous, long-haired and always looking for cash) they both work tirelessly towards their goals.

PAUL DONALDSON ’89 joined Professor Jones in pursuit of the Holy Grail of dressage. This has proven to be harder than expected, and only for the pure of heart. Maybe his quest will be fulfilled at the reunion.

GIGI HICKS DECKER ’89 took a road trip from Chicago to New York, during which she argued with a friend about whether men and women can ever truly be strictly platonic friends. During the reunion, we can try to help her answer the question of whether men and women can stay friends without sex becoming an issue between them. Guess we will find out the truth after he road trip to Ripon in June!

CHERYL FRANZKE FEATHERSTON ‘89 reports that she recently shared a contentious car ride from Chicago to New York, during which she argued with a friend about whether men and women can ever truly be strictly platonic friends. Ten years from now, they plan to meet at a bookstore, and in the company of their respective best friends, in an attempt to stay friends without sex becoming an issue between them. Updates will be provided in June!

DARLENE HONIE-LOYER GERICK ’89, like Tobi, had an adventure in babysitting. Responding to a frantic friend’s call, Darlene with three kids in tow, went to pick her up at the bus station, only to blow a tire on the expressway. Having forgotten her wallet at home, she couldn’t pay for the repair. Long story short, she protected the kids from some unsavory types, rescued her friend, and had everyone tucked in before the parents got home. Fill in the details during the reunion.

JIM GLADE ’89, worried that his wife might be playing Patty-cake with someone else, hired a detective to snoop on her. But what the detective discovered was a plot by an evil developer to take over the community where they live. The three join forces to stop the take-over, and that’s all folks, until the reunion.

JULIE TAYLOR GONDAR ’89 and MICHAEL GONDAR ’88, and their two sons live in a town plagued by bikers and some mysterious activities. Armed with holy water filled squirt guns and a trunk filled with wooden stakes, they are sure they can continue to enjoy this beautiful beach community. If not, at least they can take a break in Ripon this summer.

ELIZABETH NICHOLS “SCOTTIE” GIROUARD ’89, in order to save her home from foreclosure, has set out to find a pirate’s treasure. Find out if she found the booty during the reunion!

GRANT GRUDZINA ‘89 writes that as a German immigrant living in a trailer in Kansas he is the victim of a botched sex-change operation, but continues in his search for stardom and love. He plans to drive his trailer to Ripon in June for alumni weekend.

RAMON GUZMAN ’89 has signed with the Cleveland Indians, despite having poor pitching skills. Meanwhile, RUBEN GUZMAN ’89 is following the voice in his head, and has started construction of a baseball field. Strike up a conversation with the twins at the reunion to learn more.

PHIL HARTY ’89 reports that he is troubled that he has little access to his children, and decided to hatch an elaborate plan. With help from his creative brother, he dressed as an older British woman and convinced his ex-wife to hire him as a nanny. He will not be joining the reunion, as he is working to replace parts of his wardrobe that recently caught fire.

TED HARWOOD ’89, while babysitting, and desperate to quiet the child, wished the child to be taken away, and was shocked it worked. Now guilt ridden, he had to retrieve the boy from a maze. Fortunately she is back in time to join us at the reunion.

KATHY HAYEVSKY ‘89 reports that her kingdom has become trapped in perpetual winter. She is proceeding without fear, and has joined forces with a mountaineer named Kristoff and his reindeer sidekick to find Kathy’s sister, Snow Queen Elsa. They hope to break her icy spell. Her epic journey has led them to encounters with mystical trolls, a comedic snowman, harsh conditions, and magic at every turn, but she continues to bravely push onward in a race to save her kingdom from winter’s cold grip.

DAVE “CHUCK” HILLMAN ’89 has seen his days as a daredevil (some might say maverick) pilot have come to an end. He looks forward to having more time to play volleyball, sing Righteous Brothers tunes, fish, and attend Ripon reunions.

MARC HEALY ’89 was accidentally sent thirty years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist, Michelle Trujillo Brown-Droese ’89. Marc’s wife, Heidi Zwart Healy ’90, seems unfazed, and will assume they will both be back for the reunion.

SUE CLOT-JOSEPH ’89, having just returned from a trip to New York City, is the new owner of a used leather jacket and some Egyptian earrings. She is going to be in the groove at the reunion.

DAVID LUONGO ‘89 writes that he doesn’t have much going for him during the weekdays. He still lives at home and works as a paint store clerk in his Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood. But he lives for the weekends, when he and his friends go to the local disco and dance the night away. When a big dance competition is announced, he convinces his friend to be his partner. The two have started training for the competition, but he thinks there is a romantic element, also. He will demonstrate stayin’ alive at the Reunion in June!

JAMES MADDISON ’89 is proud to announce that his band, the Wyld Stallyns, have gained quite a following. It hasn’t come easy, however. He has had to spend an inordinate amount of time in a phone booth, and with lot of crazy characters. Maybe he will play for us this summer.

JOHN MATHEWS ’89 and MEAGHAN MAHONY MATHEWS ’91 had a typically crazy holiday: the light display wouldn’t light, obnoxious family members pumped sewage into their drain, and his annual bonus turned out to be a jelly of the month club subscription. They hope their plans to drive out West to visit a theme park go more smoothly. Either way, they plan to be back in time for the reunion.

ANNE BURCHMORE MIES ’89, along with seven friends and a saxaphone, are still trying to navigate life after college. Her friends gather nightly at their favorite bar, where relationship and work drama play themselves out. Friendships are tested, and in the end some seem to be adulting better than others. See who navigates their way to the reunion this summer.

DON MCCREATH ’89, has experienced it all in his travels: difficulties getting a taxi, getting bumped from first class, flight cancellations, delayed trains, even a burning car; but rooming with a shower curtain ring salesman pushed his limits. Learn about his escapades this summer.

KRISTIN ADOMEIT MOORE ’89, had her life turned upside down by an inheritance — of a baby. More suited to the board room than the playground, she struggled to find her way. Thinking moving to a Vermont cottage would help, she realized, through batches and batches of applesauce, she hadn’t found that balance. However, she has been able to leverage her sauce making skills into a profitable company, and now indeed does have it all. See what else she can dish up this summer.

BARB THOMPSON PAMPERIN ‘89 reports that she is living in an England of the future, and spends her time getting high at the Korova Milkbar before embarking on “a little of the old ultraviolence,” while jauntily warbling “Singin’ in the Rain.” She has agreed to submit to behavior modification technique to earn her freedom; and is conditioned to abhor violence. She will be at the reunion, but isn’t sure if she will be sane.

MITCH ROSIN ’89 writes that he has been running an art gallery in a small Greenwich Village hotel for many years. The management wants to replace his less-than-thriving gallery with a coffee shop. Always irascible but now increasingly erratic, Mitch is a cause of concern to family given the effect of senility on the family.

AMY ROSNER ’89, along with two others, have started a spirit removal service, housed in a refurbished fire station. She could hold the key to a fun reunion.

PATRICK SCHMIDT ’89, completed his apprenticeship with the notorious sailor, Roberts, and now captains his own ship, complete with a swashbuckler wardrobe of black. It would be inconceivable for him to not make it to the reunion.

KATHRYN SCHULTZ ’89 reports that being a wealthy and uptight person, her children when faced with the prospect of a new nanny, were pleasantly surprised by the arrival of the magical Mary. Her children embarked on a series of fantastical adventures with Mary and her friend, Bert. The children tried to pass on some of their nanny’s sunny attitude to their preoccupied mother. Kathryn will be at the Reunion, complete with her umbrella, which allows her to fly!

DAVID STAPELFELDT ’89, enjoys kickboxing and spending as much time as he can with the beautiful, intelligent valedictorian before she leaves to study in England. Hopefully he, and his boombox, can make it for the reunion!

CHRISTOPHER STOTT ’89 saved Brooke Shields from drowning. Blows reward money hiring Van Halen to play his birthday party. A party to remember, just like our reunion.

TINA MUDGETT TINCHER ’89 drove her crappy blue Chevy Nova to Beverly Hills, where she is involved in an investigation involving bearer bonds. (What? Those again.) Now back in Detroit, she thinks Ripon will be the perfect place to reunite this summer.

JOHNNY VERNON ’89, an entrepreneur, automobile dealer/hustler/bookie, learned his estranged father left him from his will, yet $3 million went into a trust fund to be distributed to someone. That “someone” is Raymond, his unknown autistic brother. Who’s on first? That’s right. See you at the reunion.

MICHAEL WAUGH ’89 owns a pizza parlor in the Bedford-Stuyvesant district of Brooklyn. Do the right thing, and come to the reunion!

TIMOTHY WIEDMEYER ’89 has been hired to help drive an aging widow. He can drive his way to Ripon, too, and join us at our reunion.

Submitted by: Nicole Lindberg

Class Agent:

Kimberly Woolley ’94

[email protected]

www.facebook.com/kimbo.woolley

www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-woolley-a903959

Spring 2019

Greetings, Class of 1994!

I hope you are all doing well. I returned to campus in February during the Polar Vortex for trustee meetings. It was a good reminder that I am a wimpy Californian now unable to withstand killer temperatures (literally). I am really looking forward to returning to campus in June when it should be warmer!  

June 27-30, 2019 is Alumni Weekend and the 25th year reunion for the Class of 1994. I hope you will join me in celebrating this milestone. Here are a few fun reasons to join me:

• I plan to puzzle over the question of how I got this old this quickly while drinking beers and eating Roadhouse – it’s still there and the mozzarella sticks are still delicious. In addition, the town of Ripon has improved since we graduated and now includes J’s BBQ; it has great pulled pork and is run by two cool women. So you won’t go hungry!
• If you eat a lot at Roadhouse and J’s, you then need to visit the newish Willmore Health and Wellness Center (former Storzer Center). Many of our classmates contributed to the fund to build the Willmore Center, which is named after one of Ripon’s very successful female alums, DENA WILLMORE 67. It’s unrecognizable as Storzer and is now a beautiful, airy fitness center.
• Those were the carrots and now the stick.  If you don’t come, CARRIE ROCA- DAWSON ’94 wants me to remind you that you won’t be able to defend yourself against the pictures from the 90s.  There was no social media when we went to school but there’s nothing to stop us loading old photos to websites at the reunion…

If you come to the reunion, please come with an appetite, stories from the good ol’ days and funny photos.  I’ll hit you up for money for our class gift in a separate letter.

Class Notes:

Thank you to the classmates who reached out to me with updates.  Here are what some of our classmates are up to:

MIKE BASILE ’94 retired as the coach for the Pewaukee High School boys basketball team after his twins graduated from Pewaukee and headed off to college.

MICHELLE BENEDICT ’94 of Honolulu Oahu, Hawaii, spends up to 20 hours a week teaching tricks to puffer fish at the Dolphin Quest in Hawaii.  She has taught over 15 species and more than 50 individual fish impressive cognitive games that can take between a few sessions and a few months.  Her video of a trained puffer fish has gone viral with over 13 million views. Read more at: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/any-fin-is-possible-meet-the-reel-y-obedient-fish-who-can-perform-tricks-from-swimming-through-hoops-to-recognising-shapes-and-colours/vi-BBLU3Eb

KATHY BRADY HAUSCHILD ’94 of Tustin California is working as a Senior Environmental Scientist at APTIM, an engineering and construction firm.  Her work includes groundwater and soil remediation reporting, Phase I environmental site assessments, Phase II environmental site assessments, asbestos and lead reporting, soil gas surveys, storm water reporting, compliance, and health and safety.

TODD JOHNSON ’94 was featured in a short documentary film about veterans working in the National Park Service. He works as a park ranger and social media coordinator for the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in Lovell, Wyoming. Todd also wrote a blog titled

“President Trump Needs to make some Huuuge Changes, and Soon.” My favorite line from

the blog is “The Trump decision-making matrix seems to have more in common with an Etch-A-Sketch than a deliberative process”. You can read the full blog at:

https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/335317-president-trump-needs-

o-make-some-huuuge-changes-and

Oscar Nominated Film from Ripon Alumna

This has nothing to do with our class but I think it’s very cool so sharing in case you missed it.  DIANE MOY QUON ‘79 has received an Academy Award nomination as a producer of the independent documentary film “Minding the Gap.” Quon majored in economics at Ripon. By the time you read this, she may have won the Oscar for Feature Documentary. The film portrays three young men who bond together to escape volatile and violent families in their hometown in Illinois. You can watch it on Hulu and hopefully on Netflix soon. We watched it with a group of friends recently and enjoyed it.

All the best,

Kimberly

Submitted by: Kimberly Woolley