Greetings, Class of 1992!

It has certainly been a weird year full of challenges in our world. What I (BONNI DEMBROSKI FREDRICK ’92/P’23) would like to share with you today is how, in true resilient Ripon spirit, the College has risen to the occasion. This past fall, while many campuses around the country and across our state remained locked down, Ripon College put in the work to ensure its students could not only return to campus but could have the opportunity to have in-person and hybrid classes. Second semester has the students back on campus again and in the classroom. Did you know Great Hall is now a functional classroom on campus? When the conference canceled the basketball season, Ripon found a way for their teams to continue to play. Spring sports are playing now with baseball, softball, and track back on the field. The proactive response to these unprecedented times by the college administration, staff, professors, and students has filled me with pride to be able to call myself an alumna of Ripon College.

And now our Class Notes!

CATHERINE PARNELL WYLIE ’92 of Appleton, Wisconsin, was appointed to a position as the Lincoln County’s Human Resources Director and Administrative Coordinator.

BRAD ALBERTS ’92 of Southlake, Texas, president and CEO of the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League, was interviewed in September on the Jay Young Show. A Ripon College feature of this news story can be accessed here.

We would love to include additional news of our classmates. It is not only major life events that everyone wants to hear about, but also things as small as what you are up to and how you are spending your time these days. Also, here’s a reminder to start thinking about your summer plans for 2022 as we are looking forward to our 30-year Class Reunion!

Your donations are extremely important to the College at this time in particular. In the 2019-2020 fiscal year our class had an approximately 18% participation in College giving. We can push that percentage up over 20% if just five more of us choose to give this year. Let’s rise to the challenge to push us over that mark!!

Good news regarding this year’s Alumni Weekend. Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.

• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.

• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition, 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations, and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.

• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

Kind regards,

BONNI DEMBROSKI FREDRICK ’92/P’23
(262) 617-7421

JUDEE STOJSAVLJEVIC FISCHER ’92
(262) 681-8509

ERIN M. MCCORMACK ’92

Submitted by: Class Agent: BONNI DEMBROSKI FREDRICK ’92/P’23

Greetings, Class of 1993!

Wow, what crazy lives we’ve all led lately, right? I hope you are all doing well, staying healthy, and keeping busy. At Ripon, students and faculty are learning and teaching in person, online, or in hybrid formats. Thank you to everyone who supported the College over the past year, and save-the-date for Ripon’s annual giving day, #OneDayRally, which is right around the corner on Wednesday, April 28, 2021.

Check-in on www.ripon.edu and/or social media for the latest College updates. If you’re not part of the Ripon College Class of 1993 Facebook page, please join!

Here’s some news from our class:

CHRIS GRAHAM ’93 of Colorado Springs, Colorado, completed a one-year term on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Board of Governors. The Board of Governors is the highest governance body in the NCAA and is composed of institutional chief executive officers that oversee Association-wide issues. The board is charged with ensuring that each division operates consistently with the basic purposes, fundamental policies and general principles of the Association. He continues to serve as the Commissioner of the Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

I also have some sad news to share with all of you. ERIC PILSL ’93 of Wautoma, Wisconsin, passed away on February 27, 2021. He taught math and was a track coach at Parkside Middle School in Wautoma. He is survived by his wife Jennifer, stepsons Ashton and Hayden Schwartzman, and many, many family and friends. HIs obituary can be viewed here.

Make sure you keep your contact information updated so you don’t miss any Ripon news. Contact the Alumni Office directly with changes at [email protected] or via U.S. mail to Alumni Office, Ripon College, P.O. Box 248, Ripon, WI 54971.

I have good news to share regarding this year’s Alumni Weekend. Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.

• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.

• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition, 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations, and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.

• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

Thank you and stay well!

MELINDA TRAINOR HUTCHINSON ’93
(215) 704-6478
Your 1993 Class Agent

Submitted by: Class Agent: Melinda Trainor Hutchinson

Greetings, Class of 1994!

I hope you are all staying sane during this remarkable time in our lives. I last sat down to write a class letter in February 2020. At that time, I was aware of the COVID-19 pandemic but it was distant – something other countries were dealing with. I never imagined my daughters would come home from school on March 13, 2020 and not return to in-person high school for over a year. I never imagined our dining room table would become a workstation and days spent wearing real pants would count as a notable event.

There have been a few silver linings from the last year. I have reconnected with Ripon classmates over Zoom and made new friends with alums from my sorority, Alpha Delta Pi.  Friends in Alpha Chi Omega also invited a group of us to crash their Zoom party, which was very fun. The pandemic made us all slow down a bit and helped make those connections possible. I’m looking forward to a time when we are all vaccinated and can travel safely again to see each other in person. Until then, reach out if you’d like to meet up on Zoom! I can’t promise I’ll be wearing pants.

Update on the College:

The College has navigated the COVID-19 pandemic extraordinarily well, with students living on campus and taking in-person classes both semesters of this school year.  Most recently, classes started back up on January 25 with a mix of in-person, online, and hybrid formats. The weekend before classes started, the entire campus community (all students, faculty, and staff) were required to take a COVID-19 test, which was administered on campus in Great Hall.  Luckily, there was a less than 1% positivity rate. Since February 1, the College has been doing random weekly testing, where approximately a quarter of the College community are tested. There are contingency plans in place for all eventualities but the desire is for all students to be able to safely remain on campus through the end of this semester.

Ripon’s annual giving day, known as #OneDayRally, will be held on Wednesday, April 28th. Please save this date and if you can donate, support the Ripon Fund, and post about it on social media. I know many of you give to the College on an annual basis. Thank you for helping the College during this difficult time. If you cannot help financially, please consider reaching out to the College to volunteer on behalf of the alumni or admissions office, or become a mentor to current students for career and professional development.

Alumni Weekend was cancelled in 2020 but there is hope that the College can once again hold an in-person alumni gathering on campus this year. In fact, Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.
• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.
• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition, 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations, and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.
• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

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

ERIC ATKISSON ’94 of Alexandria, Virginia, was recently hired to serve in the new position of Director of Communications at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, where he started as a public affairs specialist in 2011. In his new job, he leads a division of up to 15 staff responsible for all of the agency’s external and internal communications, including media relations, speechwriting, strategic communication, and more.  He continues to write nonfiction and fiction on the side and hopes to have more essays and short stories published in the years ahead.

KIM CONROY ’94 moved to Green Lake, Wisconsin, with her husband WADE PACKARD ’93 in June. She recently left her job at NBC Universal Business Affairs to support Jeeun Kim, the Co-Head of CBS Studios Business Affairs. Kim previously worked for Jeeun when they were both at NBC and she had a great opportunity to support Jeeun again in this new role. Kim and Wade plan to return to Los Angeles once the schools and offices reopen.

JULIAN GARDNER ’94: As many of you know, in October 2011 Julian went into cardiac arrest but recovered. He then suffered a second heart attack in March 2016. Since that time, Julian’s heart function continued to decline and he was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure at the age of 45. But there is some really good news to share – On February 22, 2021, he received a new heart from a donor and he is doing extremely well in his recovery. According to a post on Facebook,  Julian said he can never have another bad day after the transplant. He is challenging everyone to appreciate the small things because we don’t know when it will potentially be the last. If you would like to help support Julian, please contribute online.

ASHLEIGH HENRICHS ’94 of Kenosha, Wisconsin, has three children: Caroline is a sophomore at Carthage College, Mary is a senior in high school, and Henry is a sophomore in high school. Ashleigh works for the Gateway Technical College Foundation as the Foundation and Alumni Relations Manager, and during a normal year she enjoys running marathons and ultra-marathons, but she reports that many have been canceled. During the recent polar vortex, Ashleigh still managed to run 11 miles wearing a down coat and a 22-miler with no food or water (initially because her fingers were too cold to open anything and then because she just wanted to keep going and get finished). She’s an inspiration!

BROOKE TIREMAN KONOPACKI ’94 of Larsen, Wisconsin, works as the Director, Education for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. There are over 1,000 members, including Caterpillar, John Deere, Volvo, and Komatsu, that manufacture off-road heavy equipment for construction, agriculture, forestry, mining, and utilities. Brooke works in the customer connections area, where she builds positive customer connections for the Association’s members, primarily through trade shows. Her company owns and manages the largest trade show in the Western Hemisphere and Brooke coordinates all the education that occurs at the tradeshows. She also works on the CONEXPO-CON/AGG Tech Talks, a three-part series of on-demand education. Brooke loves her job because she works for a company that treats their employees well, has transparent communication, and has given her new and exciting challenges every year.

LIZ MAHONEY ’94 of New York, New York had been working at the same commercial real estate company in New York City for close to 17 years, but the pandemic and the shift to working from home is having a devastating impact on the commercial market. Like many others, Liz found herself looking for work at the end of 2020. She didn’t have to look very far as a message to a former employer on LinkedIn quickly yielded a job offer. In January, Liz returned to her roots, working for William Vitacco Associates, a building and zoning law consulting firm in Manhattan. As Operations Associate, Liz is a jack-of-all-trades, handling facilities, IT, information management and anything else that comes up as the company navigates the changing construction industry and new work from home culture. Liz has kept her sanity throughout the pandemic with the help of her Ripon friends who join weekly online trivia contests as part of “Liz’s Trivial Friends.” Starting as a group of alumnae who needed a platform to connect with each other in a casual manner, the group has grown to include friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers who pop in for laughs, support, and the rare top-ten finish. They are also using this platform to educate others about Harrison Ford and Ripon College!

Now for some sad news. I am sorry to report that MATTHEW A. MIDDLETON ’94 of Sandwich, Illinois, died in his home on November 10, 2020. At Ripon, he majored in economics. He had worked for Experian and then was a founding member of Launch Digital Marketing/Dealer Inspire. His roles included project manager and DMS support manager. He enjoyed animals, golfing, cooking, sailing, and spending summers in Onekama, Michigan. Survivors include his mother, Betty Middleton; and his partner, Jennifer “Jiffy” Baker.

LISA SPROSTON SUTTER ‘94 will be writing our next class letter in the fall. If you have updates that didn’t make it into this letter, please reach out to her at [email protected].

In the meantime, please stay healthy and safe.

Wishing you all the best,

Kimberly ’94
www.facebook.com/kimbo.woolley /
www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-woolley-a903959

Lisa ’94
(608) 347-6543

Submitted by: Class Agent: Kimberly Woolley

Greetings, Class of 1995!

I sincerely hope you are all doing well, despite the challenges we all faced in 2020. So far, 2021 has been a bit interesting as well. I am writing to you from Galveston, Texas, where we just endured record low temperatures, which caused power and water outages for most of the state. Being without electricity for 72 hours and water for even longer certainly made for an interesting last week. We became full-time RV’ers so we could “chase 70 degrees,” and so far, well, we kind of suck at it! Follow our adventures on Facebook at “We Could Be Lost.”

Reunion Information:
We were so bummed to have our 25th Class Reunion canceled last summer, but it was absolutely the correct approach by the College. We are now scheduled to have a joint reunion with the Class of ’96, which we are extremely excited about!
Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.

• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.

• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition, 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations, and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.

• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

Ripon and COVID-19:
On campus, classes officially started on January 25 with a mix of in-person, online, and hybrid (part online and part in-person) formats. The weekend before classes started, the entire campus community (all students, faculty, and staff) were required to take a COVID-19 test, which was administered on campus in Great Hall, resulting in a less than one percent positivity rate. Beginning on February 1, the College began random weekly surveillance testing where approximately a quarter of the College community will be tested. If you are interested in following the plans and procedures this semester, as well as tracking the COVID-19 positivity rate, you can visit www.ripon.edu/coronavirus-information/ for more information.

The Ripon Fund and #OneDayRally:
A sincere THANK YOU to those of you who have donated to the Ripon Fund. Your donations are so important and help keep the College operating. For the 2019-2020 fiscal year our class donated just over $11,000 with 20% of the class participating. If you have not yet given in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, a great opportunity to do so will be on April 28, when the College holds its annual #OneDayRally. This event has grown to be one of the most active days of virtual engagement for the entire Ripon College family, which means prospective students are taking note of this day, too. All alumni are encouraged to sport their Ripon College attire and post it on their social media platforms. If you are interested in being an official Social Media Advocate, promoting Ripon’s #OneDayRally on all of your social media platforms, email [email protected]. You will receive an official toolkit to use in your social media posts. To donate outside of the #OneDayRally event, you can donate online any time at www.ripon.edu/give/.

Seeking New Class Agents:
After 25 years of serving you, ANGELA KEITH ’95, VINCE PADILLA ’95, and I are retiring from our Class Agent positions. If you are interested in being a Class Agent, please let us know and we will put you in touch with the appropriate Ripon staff members. It is fun to be so closely involved with the College. Duties include writing Class Letters twice a year, and helping plan the Reunion every five years. Who wants to take on this fun and critical role? If it’s you, let us know!

A shout-out to DAN YOST ’95 who is representing our class on the Alumni Board. Thanks, Dan!

We hope to be able to see all of you later this year, when we can share and celebrate the amazing memories we created together in that little town called Ripon.

Class Notes:
DAN YOST ’95 of Antioch, Illinois, ran for election to the Illinois House of Representatives to represent District 61 with the Republican Party. He lost a tough race in the general election on November 3, 2020.

MICHELE CUMMINS KORNET ’95 of San Antonio, Texas, married Michael Kornet on October 10, 2020. Michele works at San Antonio Academy with her mother, CATHY ZENDAR CUMMINS ’65.

Stay healthy,

AMY DEKEYSER PADILLA ’95
(608) 445-1038
Your 1995 Class Agent

Submitted by: Class Agent: Amy Dekeyser Padilla

Greetings, Class of 1996!

After one very unique year, I am hoping that 2021 will shape up to be a better one, with things getting back to a new normal. One of the best reasons is that 2021 is the year that we are celebrating our 25-year anniversary of graduating from Ripon College! (It did hurt me a little stating that it has been THAT many years). It is crazy to think it has been 25 years since we walked through the quads on a daily basis, shared our tables at the commons, or made the weekly trip down to Benders.
This summer we will be celebrating our Class of 1996 25th Class Reunion. Due to having to cancel last year’s Alumni Weekend, we will be combining our Reunion celebration with the Class of 1995. This will be a great opportunity for all of us to reconnect, and I hope that you can join the celebration. Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.
• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.
• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition, 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations, and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.
• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

Thanks to all of you who have supported Ripon College this past year, especially those who have supported the Ripon Fund and #OneDayRally. For those that have not donated yet this year, I am asking you to please consider since we are trying to beat our past years! Just go to www.ripon.edu/give/ and select the “GIVE” page. I know we are a small class but I would love to have a record for us on our 25th anniversary.

Class Notes:

STEVE MARTIN ’96 of Ripon, Wisconsin, professor of communication at Ripon College, participated in a Zoom guest lecture in a political communication class at Fontebonne University in St. Louis, Missouri. The focus was on Martin’s current book, “Game Changers; How Dark Money and Super PACs are Transforming U.S. Campaigns,” co-written with Henrik Schatzinger, associate professor of politics and government and co-director of the Center for Politics and the People at Ripon College. The announcement can be accessed here.

CAREY MOLINSKI ’96 of Arvada, Colorado, recently moved to Arvada, Colorado and is beginning working as a therapist with Alpine Lakes Counseling and Wellness Center in Arvada and also as an Independent Contractor with the Center for Valued Living in October of 2020.

Lastly, thank you to everyone who keeps us posted on Facebook, Instagram, or even taking those Zoom calls. It is always great to see you. Also, I know I have been bad at updating our “Ripon College: Class of 1996” Facebook page, but I promise as we get closer to our reunion over the summer I will be going through even more old photos to see how amazing we looked back then.

Here is to a great summer of 2021, and I really hope to see you in a few months.

Regards,

JASON WOOD ’96
(201) 747-7719
Your 1996 Class Agent

Submitted by: Class Agent: Jason Wood

Greetings, Class of 1997!

I hope this newsletter finds all of you well during these unprecedented times. As you may have seen, Ripon College began classes in person in August and again in January after an extended winter break. They have done an incredible job keeping students and staff safe. Huge kudos to everyone who helped make it happen!

I encourage you to visit https://www.ripon.edu/news/ often to learn about what is happening at our Alma Mater. You can also go to class pages through https://www.ripon.edu/rconnections/ and see updates from alumni from around the world and from every class year. Another wonderful way to stay connected is by subscribing to Ripon’s monthly eNewsletter. You may subscribe here: https://www.ripon.edu/alumni/monthly-newsletter/.

I am looking forward to interacting with you all during #OneDayRally on Wednesday, April 28th. If you haven’t been part of it yet, jump in and engage via email, LinkedIn, Facebook, or whatever your favorite platform is to join in on the fun with the College. I have also set up a virtual happy hour via Zoom for our entire class on Thursday, April 22, at 6:30 p.m. CDT and accessible via https://ripon.zoom.us/j/91987534990. This is planned for just before #OneDayRally, and I hope as many of you join this as possible. It should be a good time!

The College just announced plans for virtual and in-person programming for Alumni Weekend 2021! Although it is not our reunion year, all alumni are welcome to “come home” to Ripon during this special time. Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.
• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.
• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition, 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations, and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.
• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

Don’t forget to send along any news or updates to your contact information to me anytime. You can also connect with our class on Facebook via the closed group “Ripon College Class of 1997.”

Class Notes:

JENNIFER EMMERT HENLEY ’97 of San Francisco, California, earned her doctorate at age 28, taught philosophy briefly, joined the Peace Corps, and met her partner in Cameroon. After spending 15 years building an AAT Program at the San Francisco SPCA, Jennifer is currently studying Creative Writing at UC-Berkeley and may work toward an MFA in Writing.

DAWN STOLLFUS HART ’97 lives in Dalton, Wisconsin, with her husband, Isaac, and their two children. They own and operate Hart Mercantile, a home and gift store, on Watson Street in downtown Ripon. You can follow Hart Mercantile on Facebook and Instagram. More information can be found in a feature story in the 2021 winter edition of the Ripon Magazine.

GREG SCANLON ’97 of Neenah, Wisconsin, started a company called Sun Ray Exhibits. They seek companies that travel to trade events to provide them with unique-looking booths to attract attendees. The company also provides environmental experience enhancements to corporate and point of sale locations.

JULIE WEDDING SCOTT ’97 of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, is the Director of Philanthropy and Communications for Judi’s House/JAG Institute, a Denver-based non-profit dedicated to providing connection and healing to bereaved children and families. Judi’s House was founded by former NFL quarterback Brian Griese and his wife Dr. Brook Griese, a clinical child psychologist.

Wishing you and your families a happy and healthy year ahead!

KRISTIN BAZZOLI PIOTROWSKI ’97
4609 North Marlborough Drive, Shorewood, Wisconsin 53211
(414) 841-8577
Your 1997 Class Agent

Submitted by: Class Agent: Kristin Bazzoli Piotrowski

Greetings, Class of 1998!

Big thanks to those of you who replied to my latest call for updates – especially those of you who didn’t have updates, but just wanted to reach out. I appreciate you all and wish you well!

Classes at Ripon officially started on January 25 with a mix of in-person, online, and hybrid (part online and part in-person) formats. Those who are interested in following the plans and procedures this semester, as well as tracking the College’s COVID-19 positivity rate, can visit www.ripon.edu/coronavirus-information.

About Alumni Weekend – I don’t usually go in non-reunion years, but I may make an exception this summer, safety permitting. Because of the cancelation of last year’s festivities, the 2020 reunion classes will celebrate along with the 2021 reunions. So there’s a good chance of running into friends who graduated in ’95, ’96, ’00, or ’01.

Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees, including for our very own ABIGAIL WILLIAMS BUDZYNSKI ’98, a 2020 Athletic Hall of Fame inductee.
• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.
• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition, 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations, and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.
• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

And now for our Class Notes:

JEN ANSTEE CHAVEZ ’98 of Lombard, Illinois, writes: “I’m still teaching elementary Spanish in Glen Ellyn, IL- but even after 20 years, making the switch to remote teaching has felt a whole lot like my first year all over again! I am thankful for good health, our new dog, and the extra time with my children (10 and 15) during the last year! Looking forward to the good things to come!!”

TRISHA LYNCH ’98 of Flint, Michigan, writes: “Our family (photo right) is enjoying the extra time with my ability to work from home. Thankfully the kids are back in school. This year was a real reset on balancing back out. There was no more before care, no more summer day camp, and a pause for soccer, dance, and violin. We are enjoying the calmer life. I joked with the kids that our most recently purchased car will be theirs in high school, and at this pace it will be! I just finished my 20th year at Kettering University, can’t believe it has been that long.“

LYNNE PHILLIPS ’98 of Appleton, Wisconsin, writes: “MacMurray College–a small, Liberal Arts college founded in 1846–closed permanently in May due to COVID-19, taking my job as their archivist with it. I moved back to Appleton, and recently became the Visitor Services Supervisor at Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass in Neenah.”

IAN STEPLETON ’98 of Ripon, Wisconsin, started a new career as the Public Relations Coordinator for the Fond du Lac Public Library. Ian was the editor of the Ripon Commonwealth Press weekly newspaper and had been with the paper for nearly two decades. He continues to serve as an adjunct instructor of journalism at Ripon College.

For more news from the College, check out www.ripon.edu/publications where you can find the latest issue of the Ripon Magazine as well as a link to R Connections, where you can catch up on even more alumni news (and read letters from other Class Agents!).

Finally, I’d like to take a moment to thank our classmates who supported the College this past year, especially those who supported the Ripon Fund, as well as #OneDayRally. Our giving participation rate was the highest of all classes from the nineties! The Class of 2000 did outperform us, but I’m looking forward to challenging them again.

The next #OneDayRally will be held on Wednesday, April 28. If you’re interested in being a Social Media Advocate for this annual event, email [email protected] for a toolkit with resources in the days leading up to it.

Until next time,

SARAH ENG ’98
(312) 404-6732
Your 1998 Class Agent

Submitted by: Class Agent: Sarah Eng

Greetings, Class of 1999!

Happy 2021! I (CHRISTINE GUY WINGET ’99) am writing to you on this sunny New York afternoon. It is only my second year back in the snow (I spent 13 years in Florida and three in North Carolina), and I wasn’t sure this winter was going to end, snow on April 1 feels like a ridiculous April Fools joke.  What a year this has been, wow, I don’t know about you, but I definitely did not think when I left my in-person office last March, that many of my colleagues would still be working from home a year later.  And speaking of home, I think we have probably all become pretty well-acquainted with home at this point. In our next Class Letter, we want to share what you want to do post-COVID-19, so send your thoughts to me via email (or Facebook messenger).

Good news regarding this year’s Alumni Weekend.  Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.

• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.

• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition, 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations, and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.

• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

On April 28, Ripon will celebrate #OneDayRally.   This is when all of us alumni can come together and give back to the college.  I think it would be fun for all of us to post a photo on social media of ourselves from our Ripon memories on this day as well, and even use the hashtag to share with others.  Speaking of giving back, I also want to take a moment to thank each of you who were able to continue to give back to our Alma Mater during this year, I know that this helps to fund a variety of initiatives to continue the success of Ripon College.
Class Notes:

ALEX ARIFIANTO ’99 of Singapore, is in his sixth year in the Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, where he works as a Research Fellow. On February 9, 2021, he delivered a virtual lecture “Can Islam Coexist with Democracy?” sponsored by the Center for Politics and the People at Ripon College. The recorded program can be viewed on the Ripon College Live Events YouTube channel or at this link.

AURORA NELSON ’99 moved to Kansas City, Missouri, in September and became the Assistant News Director at KCTV5. Congrats, Rory!

Here’s a fun picture from our Class of ’99 Happy Hour on Zoom from March 5, 2021:

Pictured in the screenshot from top left to right: SEBASTIAN FOREMAN ’99, CHRISTINE GUY WINGET ’99, ALEX ARIFIANTO ’99, STACIE HACKEL SNOW ’99, MIKE BERENS ’99, KRIS GOLDSTON WEINAND ’99, and RACHEL THOMPSON CASEY ’99.

In closing, I hope that you will share with us what you are most looking forward to post-COVID-19. Now that Alumni Weekend is planned for this summer, we hope that you will be able to make it back to our Alma Mater soon.

If you have not heard, the Class of 1999 has a Facebook page and we encourage you to join. If you have any class updates, please send them our way.

Sincerely,

MIKE BERENS ’99
(617) 512-5753

CHRISTINE GUY WINGET ’99
(252) 367-9335
Your 1999 Class Agents

Submitted by: Class Agents: Mike Berens & Christine Guy Winget

Greetings, Class of 2000!

Twenty years seems like long enough to wait for a format change to this semi-annual class agent letter. The generosity of our class back to our alma mater has been amazing to watch. Between a great #OneDayRally showing in April 2020 and a tremendous push by our Class Reunion committee to get us fired up, our class managed to have the highest percentage of donorship participation in the Ripon Fund for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, going back to – wait for it – the Class of 1978! That’s quite the showing for our plucky crew.

We have Summer 2021 in our sights for a joint Class Reunion with the Class of 2001. Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.

• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.

• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition, 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations including our 20th Class Reunion, and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.

• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

A nearer target is the #OneDayRally. It’s back again and this year, we have a little unfinished business to which we plan to attend. Last year we came in second place with 52 donors – that is almost HALF of our class! This year we aim to beat it and strive to be the most represented class on #OneDayRally. Will you help us get there? April 28th – mark your calendars! Join the conversation in our Facebook Group “Ripon College Class of 2000″ or feel free to reach out to CAMILLE CARLSON CLEMONS ’00 or KERSTEN HOLM LARSON ’00 with questions!

Some news notes from around the Class:

ELLEN SORENSEN ’00 of Ripon, Wisconsin, moderated a panel discussion via Zoom on September 30, 2020, sponsored by the Center for Politics and the People at Ripon College and the League of Women Voters of the Ripon Area. “The Right to Vote: Past, Present and Future” addressed the historical and contemporary importance of the struggle to expand and protect suffrage in the United States. A recording of the panel discussion can be accessed here or it can be found by searching for Ripon College Live Events on YouTube. Ellen is also the new President of the Ripon Area League of Women Voters. She has been involved with the League both locally and at the state levels since 1990.

CAMILLE CARLSON CLEMONS ’00 of Fox River Grove, Illinois, has joined the Ripon College Board of Trustees as an Alumni Trustee. She started her career in operations at a global bank, then transitioned to sales in 2011. She currently is the director of business development for Cohen & Company, a public accounting firm, and is in charge of sales into the investment industry. The official announcement can be accessed here.

Red Hawks forever,

ANDRE MIKSHA ’00
(317) 219-9275
Your 2000 Class Agent

Submitted by: Class Agent: Andre Miksha

Greetings, Class of 2001!

If you are anything like us, you needed something to look forward to in order to get through the struggle that was 2020. Maybe that thing you were looking forward to was our TWENTIETH Class Reunion! We have good news regarding Alumni Weekend and our Class Reunion! Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees including for our very own NATE KOK ’01.

• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.

• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition,2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations including our 20th Class Reunion, which will also be
  celebrated in conjunction with the Class of 2000, and will feature other outdoor events like Rally Run and prairie walk.

• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

Class Notes:

ERIC HERMAN ’01 of Chandler, Arizona, continues to do wildlife work and is loving the rural, Southwest life.

DANTE HOUSTON ’01 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has accepted a new role with AMN Healthcare as a Senior Client Delivery Manager. AMN is the largest healthcare recruitment firm in the nation.

VICKY NYTES ’01 of Kalispell, Montana, writes, “I began at Superior School District this fall, teaching 7th and 8th grade Social Studies and high school French. I continue to also adjunct at Flathead Valley Community College.”

MAGGIE LEE ’01 of San Francisco, California, is a Social Media Influencer and notes she is “the real reason Kanye and Kim broke up, NOT Jeffree Starr.” She also has two Chihuahua mixes and lives in San Francisco.

DANA DELACH GARCIA ’01 recently relocated to Plainfield, Illinois. She and her husband, Angel, absolutely love their new home. As a bonus, they are expecting at the end of February their three spirited boys will be joined by an Airedale fur baby named Chuey.

MIKE MISSAK ’01 of McHenry, Illinois, continues to run his annual fundraiser, Jeeps on the Run in Lake County, Illinois. It provides donations and support to the CEO Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. In December of 2020, over 600 Jeeps gathered to fill two semi-trucks worth of goodies for boys and girls in the region. This was the eighth year he has led this effort!

Campus Updates:

• COVID-19 Updates

  • Classes officially started on January 25 with a mix of in-person, online, and hybrid (part online and part in-person) formats. The weekend before classes started, the entire campus community (all students, faculty, and staff) was required to take a COVID-19 test, which was administered on campus in Great Hall, resulting in a less than one percent positivity rate.

  • Beginning on February 1, the College began random weekly surveillance testing where approximately a quarter of the College community is tested.

  • If you would like to know more about the plans and procedures this semester, as well as tracking the COVID-19 positivity rate, please visit www.ripon.edu/coronavirus-information/ for more information.

#OneDayRally and Ripon Fund Updates:

• Last fiscal year, 27 of you donated monetarily to Ripon College and/or the Ripon Fund, totaling about $13,000. THANK YOU!!!!

• We all know that our class is small but mighty. We can show it by absolutely rocking our Class Reunion gift-giving! Please consider donating what you can, and let’s aim for a goal of $20,000!!!!

• SAVE THE DATE! Ripon’s annual giving day, known as #OneDayRally, will be held on Wednesday, April 28.

  • All alumni are encouraged to sport their Ripon College attire and post it on their social media platforms.

  • If you are interested in being a Social Media Advocate to promote #OneDayRally, please email [email protected] to receive a toolkit with resources in the days leading up to #OneDayRally.

We can’t wait to see you soon, whether it be in person or virtually. Our Class Reunion will be a great time to catch up with each other, and as a bonus, we’ll have the Class of 2000 joining us for their 20th Class Reunion celebration, as well! Keep sending us your updates or drop us a note/text just to say “hi.” And please continue to stay safe, healthy, and happy!

Your 2001 Co-Class Agents:

NICOLE BAUMANN-BLACKMORE ’01
(608) 513-9078

DANTE A. C. HOUSTON ’01
(414) 378-4937

Submitted by: Class Agents: Nicole Baumann-Blackmore and Dante Houston

Greetings, Class of 2002!

We hope this letter finds you well and thriving despite the challenges over the last year. BIG NEWS!! Can you believe summer 2022 will be our TWENTY YEAR Reunion?!

Here are some updates that were shared with us. We would love to hear from you if we haven’t in a while.

KRISTI BRAUN ATTWOOD ’02 of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, shared that she worked in a COVID-19 clinic and saw people in their cars. Got vaccinated. Went to Hawaii.

BOBBY BANNASCH ’02 of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, is getting married on May 8th. Bobby also finished his second master’s degree, the most recent as a clinical therapist. Besides teaching, he is running a private practice as a clinical therapist in West Bend, Wisconsin.

BLAKE BAKKEN ’04 asked “should the ending of the college hosted Pearl Harbor “let’s get bombed” parties be a part of what’s written about?”

CG note- I checked with the college, and was told party themes need to be approved in advance, and violations of planned themes is a punishable offense.

JOSH MASON-BARKIN ’02 of Phoenix, Arizona, and his wife welcomed their third child in December 2019, Milo Mason-Barkin. He also had a blueberry muffin for breakfast on March 18, 2021. Josh has been working as a real estate photographer in Phoenix, where one of his clients is (former Brewers catcher) Matt Pagnozzi. Josh recently shot John Smoltz’s parents’ house, and approximately a year ago, he took photos of a garage that had one of Aaron Rodgers’ cars in it. (Josh lives a celebrity-adjacent life.)
JAKE CREECY ’02’s cat, Scipio Ursus Cattus Magnus, fondly referred to as “The Meester” was the subject of a recent painting.

JAMES DAHM JR. ’02 and KAITLYN HENG DAHM ’10 of Chicago, Illinois, write, “We had a baby girl in January of 2020. Her name is Lucy. She joins big brother Charlie who will turn four this spring.”

MARTHA DOBKE NETZLOFF ’02 of Madison, Wisconsin, recently moved to a new place, just down the street. She has been teaching kindergarten from home, and she shares it is way more difficult than anything she has done before.

HEIDI FOSTER DUSEK ’02 of New London, Wisconsin, added juggler to her resume in 2020. She also added podcast and business founder to her title in 2020 with the launch of her podcast, Ordinary Sherpa. Ordinary Sherpa is designed to inspire families to connect through simple adventures. In addition to inspiring families, the community of “sherpas” help other families with their adventure goals. Our flagship is untourism, or the art of traveling like a local and helping small businesses throughout the country transform locals to be tourists in their own towns. Through the past decade-plus our family of five has maintained a steady amount of adventure, travel, and outdoor connection and this community inspires others to reconnect. We’ll be adding to the adventures in March 2021 with the one-way ticket to Florida to purchase our traveling office, also known as a Class A RV. We will be testing the concept of a gap year this summer to see if we can handle being together that much. 🙂

CORRYN SIEGEL GREENWOOD ’02 of Orland Park, Illinois, ran her first marathon distance run. As the official Chicago marathon was canceled, she ran on the streets around her town. The snacks were ok and the race support was spotty.

APRIL RYDZ MISSAK ’02 of McHenry, Illinois, says she has been madly in love with MIKE MISSAK ’01 since 1998.

LEIGH MLODZIK ’02 of Indianola, Iowa, is excited to share that he accepted a Vice President for Enrollment position at Simpson College in Iowa. Leigh and his wife, Alissa, are looking forward to a new adventure as they will be moving with their one-year-old, Dekklen, and seven-month-old puppy, Palmer.

ZACHARY MORRIS ’02 of Madison, Wisconsin, is the vice-chairman in the Department of Human Oncology at the University of Wisconsin and he co-led a team of researchers that earned a five-year, $12.5 million National Institutes of Health Research Program (P01) Grant (plus $2 million in institutional matching funds) to study the combined use of immunotherapy and targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT) to treat metastatic cancer.

Dr. Morris reports, “This comprehensive preclinical research program brings together two distinct classes of cancer treatment (radiation and immunotherapy). This work will give us a very good understanding of the principles of how these therapies can work together and what might be the best approach to use them in combination clinically. We hope that combining these therapies will increase the response and cure rates for potentially any cancer.”

MIKE ROHR ’02 of Nekoosa, Wisconsin, celebrated 15 years working at SAP.

Update from September 2020: DOUG WILEY ’02 of Louisville, Kentucky, writes: “In the past twelve months, I’ve kept a relatively consistent level of chaos. A year ago today I was moving into our current house in Louisville with Rebecca, who is now my wife. I kidnapped her from Saint Louis. I got out of the bull-semen business and now I work as an ERP manager for a tobacco company. You know what they say: ‘When in Kentucky….’. My son Torsten continues to grow and is actually thriving in the remote learning environment, which helps me run our dog treat business, which is getting bigger than I ever really expected. We get to meet lots of dogs, which is awesome. I hope everyone is being safe, and if you’re ever in the bluegrass state and want to say hi, I’m very easy to find. Oh yeah, comedy is…. well, mostly dead, but I’ve had a lot more time to work on my writing, which has been fun.”

Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.
• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.
• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition, 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations, and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.
• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

We would love to hear from more of you. Hope to see you in the summer of 2022 for our 20-year Class Reunion! Let us know if you would like to help with our Class Reunion planning!

Keep in touch!

Sincerely,

CORRYN SIEGEL GREENWOOD ’02
(502) 269-5577

LEIGH MLODZIK ’02
(920) 420-0964
Your 2002 Class Agents

Submitted by: Class Agent: Corryn Siegel Greenwood

Greetings, Class of 2003!

Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.

• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.

• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition, 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations, and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.

• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

Campus Updates 

•  COVID-19 Updates

  • Classes officially started on January 25 with a mix of in-person, online, and hybrid (part online and part in-person) formats. The weekend before classes started, the entire campus community (all students, faculty, and staff) were required to take a COVID-19 test, which was administered on campus in Great Hall resulting in a less than one percent positivity rate.

  • Beginning on February 1, the College began random weekly surveillance testing where approximately a quarter of the College community will be tested.

  • Those who are interested in following the plans and procedures this semester, as well as tracking our COVID-19 positivity rate, can visit www.ripon.edu/coronavirus-information/ for more information.

• For additional Campus news, you can visit www.ripon.edu/news/.

#OneDayRally and Ripon Fund Updates

Ripon’s annual giving day, known as #OneDayRally, will be held on Wednesday, April 28! Remember to save-the-date for this exciting day of supporting the Ripon Fund and sharing their Ripon spirit! This event has grown to be one of the most active days of virtual engagement for our entire Ripon College family, which means prospective students are taking note of this day, too. All alumni are encouraged to sport their Ripon College attire and post it on their social media platforms!

Would you like to become a Social Media Advocate for our #OneDayRally to help us spread the word and reach our goal? All those who are interested should email [email protected] to receive a toolkit with resources in the days leading up to #OneDayRally!

Thank you to all who have supported the College this past year, especially those who supported the Ripon Fund, as well as #OneDayRally!

Class of 2003 Updates! 

APRIL MARLEWSKI-HUDZISKI ’03 of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, says “Now that we’re all ‘grown-ups,’ it’s important that we take responsibility for the grown-up things.” At least April thought so. She’s navigated her share of grown-up scenarios the past few years: starting businesses, having babies, loss of life, partnerships, and doing a whole lot of growth and personal development. Recently she realized people close to her, similar to our age, didn’t have an estate plan. Being someone who witnessed first hand the tragedy of unexpected loss and the impacts it could have when there’s no plan in place, especially when a parent of young kids dies (explosion of 2018), she decided to take action and offer a friendly and gentle nudge to anyone who hasn’t created an estate plan. She collaborated with an estate plan attorney, insurance expert, and financial advisor to create an online course to take the fear, overwhelm, and confusion out of estate planning and offer guidance from the comfort of your home. If you haven’t created your estate plan, now’s the time! In other news, April and her husband built a real estate team serving Wisconsin and multiple other states. She became an accredited investor, has a podcast, three kids, two beehives, and a yellow lab, and likes to dabble in the CBD/weed industry from the lens of investing in biotech & teaching about genetics.

ROB LENNOX ’03 writes “Big year last year! In January 2020, we welcomed Archer Lennox. In July, 2020 we purchased a house on ten acres of woods in Indianapolis. Also in July, I started a new job with enVista as the Manager of Operations. At the end of October, my wife and I moved down to Indianapolis (with the kid, obviously) from Chicago. We are currently in the process of renovating and adding on to the house we purchased.”

ELAYNE MONNENS NORWEB ’03 of Coral Gables, Florida, welcomed her third child – a baby boy, Holden, in September of 2020. His big sisters love having a real-life baby doll to play with!

Thank you again to everyone who continues to send updates.

LIZ MATELSKI ’03
(920) 475-7415

ELAYNE MONNENS NORWEB ’03
(917) 509-4826
Your 2003 Class Agents

Submitted by: Class Agents: Liz Matelski and Elayne Monnens Norweb

Greetings, Class of 2004!

Writing this to you a week shy of the one-year anniversary of things shutting down leaves me feeling optimistic for the future. Vaccines are rolling, the Brewers are welcoming fans back to games, and the snow is melting, so let’s focus on the positives! As you’ll see below, some of our classmates have continued to thrive through the insanity of this past year.

A special thanks to AMY GABRIEL GERRETSEN ’04, director of constituent engagement at Ripon College, whose update below provides some excellent insights into how our old home is doing. Given my work, I’ve been intimately aware of how colleges and universities have responded and adapted over this past year. You should be proud of your alma mater; few institutions have managed this all as well as Ripon. There is no playbook for this. It’s messy and controversial. But through my lens, the College is headed in the right direction. Challenges remain, no doubt, but with our continued support, I’m very confident in Ripon’s future.

Class Notes:

JENNY FITZGERALD ’04: I made a career change into the government accounting world and accepted a position as accounting supervisor at the Village of Mount Prospect in October 2019. Shortly after in April 2020 I was promoted to Assistant Director of Finance. It has been really interesting to see how a city operates and learn about property taxes and budgeting.

AMY GABRIEL GERRETSEN ’04: Life is good here is Ripon. We are lucky that the girls (Kenzie -10 and Piper – 9) go to school in person daily – a joy of living in a small town and attending a small school district! Although we were unable to visit family over the holidays, we took a leap of faith and took a family vacation to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico in early December. We were super impressed by all of the safety and cleaning procedures put in place for air travel, and the resort was on top of it too. Plus, we spent most of our time outdoors and away from people, so that helps. I highly recommend getting away!

I continue to work at the College overseeing all alumni, parent and friends communications, programming and volunteers (like Nick!). It is hard to believe that I am coordinating my 15th commencement on campus, one like any other, to say the least. Overall, the College is doing really well given the pandemic. Students are on campus for a mix of in-person, virtual, and hybrid learning options. Although they are Zoomed out (aren’t we all), they are finding unique and creative ways to stay connected and involved with athletics, orgs and Greek life, creating their own unique Ripon experiences. Recruitment remains strong and we are optimistic that when the Class of 2025 (that’s wild) joins us in the fall, they’ll be one of the largest in history.

That isn’t to say that the College doesn’t need our financial support as alumni. Gifts (of all sizes) to the College go a long way, and those before us provided our scholarships, financial aid, and experiences (although I don’t know that we understood that then). I would encourage you all to join me in being a donor to Ripon, so please mark your calendar for April 28, our fourth #OneDayRallly giving day, where your gift can help us reach our goal of 2021 donors in 20 hours and 21 minutes. Even if you’ve already given this fiscal year, making a small gift on #ODR can help move the Class of 2004 up the leaderboard on April 28, while making my co-workers jealous of how great we are!

I truly miss seeing so many of you at regional events or on campus for Alumni Weekend, and I hope to be able to catch up in person later this year!
In fact, Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.
• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.
• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8 and will focus on alumni awards recognition; 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations, and will feature other outdoor events like Rally Run and prairie walk.
• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

KATE HERSEY ’04: Quarantine has meant spending lots of time together as a family. We took full advantage of summer at the cabin and a backyard playset which made our COVID’19 bubble easily bearable until the snow and cold hit. This winter, the girls have channeled Craig and become very familiar with every game system known to man. Our eldest (6) is already a master at procrastination via games, and it’s become painfully clear why I taught college versus elementary students : )

I can most often be found hiding with a novel as the luddite of the house; but even I binged Animal Crossing in an ode to sophomore year.

Work has been super busy for both CRAIG THALACKER ’03 and I. He continues to do the computer thing and ask people whether or not it’s plugged in and if they’ve tried turning it on/off. I’ve been busy engaging volunteers to build desks for distance learners and generally loving my job as Executive Director of the MN Tool Library.

TAMMY JOHNSON ’04: I married my best friend, Rebecca Havens (Busseyville, WI), on July 16, 2020, in a small ceremony here in Antioch, IL with our parents in attendance. We’re also excited to announce that we’ll be parents again with the addition of baby boy Johnson due May 3rd. Big brothers Ryan (8) and Reed (6) cannot wait to meet him and I cannot wait to see my toes again!

BETH WILLIAMS KOEHLER ’04: My family built a house in Chaska, Minnesota, and we moved in January. I am still teaching math – this year at both of the high schools in my district (Chanhassen HS and Chaska HS).

LINDSEY GORSKE MICHELS ’04: A new position was created within our police department. The position is that of a School Resource Officer/Community Liaison Officer, and I officially started in this position in January. I am in the schools during the school year and will be doing community outreach during the summer. It’s been a great change 🙂

SARAH MILLER ’04: I am working as a medical assistant/scribe in Milwaukee and I survived COVID-19!! I spend my free time painting, reading, creating collages and taking photographs, studying healthcare communications, billing, and coding.

RACHEL SCHMIDT PUFALL ’04: In October, I started a new position as a Statewide Coach for the Wisconsin Center for Resilient Schools. The Center uses coaching to help schools and districts build their capacity to implement and sustain trauma-sensitive social-emotional learning and school-based mental health. I am honored to serve all public, private, and charter schools in the state alongside eight other talented educators.
MISSY SKURZEWSKI-SERVANT ’04: My husband, Joe, and I welcomed our first child into the world, a baby girl, Jennifer Jocelyn “JJ” Servant, on January 13, 2021.

ROZ KORF VANDAALWYK ’04: I work as a dental hygienist in Green Bay. My husband JAKE VANDAALWYK ‘06 and I have two children, Beckett (5) and Kinley (2).

ELLEN VOSSEKUIL ’04: I’m finishing up my fourth and final year of serving on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Zoo Keepers. I am the board oversight for Education, which oversees our Resource Committee and our International Outreach Committee (IOC). IOC works with zoos and zookeepers in Mexico and Central America to elevate animal care in developing countries.

Zookeepers have had to work through the pandemic, with the added stresses of making sure we are protecting our animals from COVID-19 as well as our colleagues and guests. It’s been a challenge, but it has also been rewarding to find new ways to connect virtually with visitors while facilities are closed!

Be sure to send updates to [email protected], and as always, be safe and be well.

NICK SPAETH ’04
W173N8462 Robert Ave. Menomonee Falls, WI 53051
(262) 227-6097

Submitted by: Class Agent: Nick Spaeth

Greetings, Class of 2005!

I (AMANDA ZAHN PRZYBYL ’05) just re-read my Class Letter to you all from last year and it was so clearly pre-COVID-19 that I’m blown away by its simplicity. There was no talk of masking up, schooling from home, working from home, restaurant pick up only, quarantine, sourdough starters, Zooming, being scared, missing the family that you can’t see, travel/concerts/everything being cancelled, being tested, testing positive, or any of the other things that came with the last year.
This past year has been different for all of us – so many gains and losses that it’s hard to know where we stand a year later. Did our lives change? Do we feel like we lost a year of our life with nothing to show for it? Did we lose so much more than we were prepared for? Did we gain a deeper appreciation for what we have? Did we sharpen our goals for our future? Did we make significant gains towards our life goals? Did we realize we’ve been doing too much? Not enough? Did we start new adventures in our lives? No matter which of these fits you, I hope you realize that simply surviving the last year is enough. It’s enough to know you can survive the next year because you survived the last one. I truly believe in ten years you’ll look back at this time in your life and realize just how strong you were to survive.

My last year has been a roller coaster of emotions that have rocked me to my very core. I spent the first few months of lockdown in flight or fight mode. I went to work (hard to sort mail/packages from home), my husband went to work (hard to fix cars and tools from home), and my kids went to the sitter (hard to leave an eight and four-year-old home by themselves). Not having a lot of information made it hard to leave everyday not knowing if I was putting myself and my family at risk. Or if my husband was. Or if my kids were. I’m here to tell that we are not meant to stay in flight or fight mode for long, and months at a time is too long. It took a toll on me that I’m still feeling the effects of. *HONESTY ALERT* I’ve suffered from depression/anxiety for many years and have been treated with an anti-depressant for the last seven years. Any emotional and mental reserves that I had stored were completely drained during my extended stay in flight or fight mode. When I finally found some measure of peace in the fact that we all left the house each day and came home safely, I realized I could no longer do the things I used to do to build those reserves up. So, for me, every day is a struggle to look towards the good, find the positives and participate in my life, but I know, because I did actually survive the last year (and all those hard ones before it), that I can survive the next one.

Good news regarding this year’s Alumni Weekend as well as our 15th Class Reunion, which will be celebrated along with the Class of 2006! Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.

• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.

• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition, 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations including our 15th Reunion, and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.

• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

#OneDayRally, Ripon’s day of giving, is scheduled for April 28! Get your best memory and a few pennies ready to share! ☺

Here is what is going on with your classmates:

REBECCA SNITILY ELMENDORF ’05 of El Segundo, California, writes, “My new skill was apparently learning how to get pregnant without IVF. My baby girl is due July 2021.”

JACOB GRAF ’05 of Hortonville, Wisconsin, writes, “In January of 2020, I took a new position as Director of Engineering for a mattress company based out of Florida called GhostBed. I oversee all of the e-commerce for the company. The owner of the company, Marc Werner’s grandfather, started Werner Ladder in the early 1900s and is credited with the original patents on both aluminum and fiberglass ladders! Marc went on to develop and patent some pretty innovative sleep products. They’ve been around for 20+ years and are a great company to work with!”

JUANITA BAATZ GUTBROD ’05 of Sussex, Wisconsin, writes, “I hope everyone is happy and healthy!”

CHARLES JOHNSON ’05 of Minneapolis, Minnesota, writes, “I’m still living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with my fiancé, Raven, and our Daughter, Charli. I am still the owner and operator of my used car financing company here in the suburbs. I recently went from managing partner to CEO and majority shareholder. I was also able to get my daughter involved as a minority silent shareholder in my business as well. We are creeping our way back into the rental housing market, so it looks like landlord may be a job title for me once again, too. Other than that, we are just focused on making it through this pandemic safely and hoping everyone else is able to do so as well!”

PAUL LARSON ’05 and SARAH MCGILL LARSON ’05 of Green Bay, Wisconsin, write, “The kids are doing great and Sarah is teaching at Bay Port High School in Northwest Green Bay. Paul has been an actuary for Humana since March 2020 and is now working from home but hoping to get back in the office.  We have some small trips planned for the summer, but nothing more than one state away.”
RENEA VORPAHL MERTENS ’05 of Green Bay, Wisconsin, writes, “Greetings from Green Bay! Like everyone, staying in and virtual learning has been our life for the last year. We are fortunate to work during this time, and I had to get creative doing my corporate training job virtually. We camped this summer to have some social distanced fun with our kids, Georgia (6) and Sterling (4). We also recently welcomed our son, Reynold (Rex), this past November. Stay safe everyone!”

ASHLEIGH SMITH ’05 of Hohenwald, Tennessee, writes, “I started a new job in December and adopted two rescue ferrets, Kricket and Jaffe.”

A few more thoughts from me: Survival was my theme for this Class Letter and I have to say, your Alma Mater has done more than survive – it has thrived during this last year. Our faculty and staff pulled together to bring our students back to campus in the safest way we could. Our students rallied together to stay on campus for the entire first semester and the second semester is going even better. We’ve found new ways to program, new ways to teach and new ways to learn. I couldn’t be more proud of what Ripon has accomplished, and you should be proud of your Alma Mater too! However, we can’t do all these things without the donations from our alumni. I would encourage you to donate whatever you can to help us not only survive but to thrive. The website is simple: https://www.ripon.edu/give and is open 24/7.

All the best!

AMANDA ZAHN PRZYBYL ’05
W2743 Cherry Lane, Green Lake, WI 54941
(920) 299-1081

DAPHNE MEYERS LEIGH ’05
3620 S. Loretta Lane, New Berlin, WI 53151
(414) 841-7210
Your 2005 Class Agents

Submitted by: Class Agent: Amanda Zahn Przybyl

Greetings, Class of 2006!

Fifteen years? Is that math correct? Technically, yes. It has been 15 years since we all graduated from Ripon on that rainy afternoon in 2006. (Of course, 2020 often felt like it could have accounted for approximately six of those 15 years).

We’ve all faced unique challenges over the past twelve months, and Ripon College has been no different. The College is happy to report though, that Ripon has come through the past year and is in a great position! The incoming freshman class looks to be larger than anticipated, and, against the odds, Ripon has been able to maintain in-person classes throughout the pandemic. For many of us, the small class-environment was one of the most important reasons why we chose Ripon, and not only have they been able to maintain in-person classes, but they’ve done so while avoiding any virus outbreaks, reporting an approximately one percent positivity rate among its population. This is no small feat, but it was accomplished in great part due to the support it has received from alumni like yourself!

There are a few unique ways (in addition to the Ripon Fund) that you can support the College right now, including the virtual #OneDayRally on April 28th, and we are also working to put together a class gift in honor of our Fifteen-Year Class Reunion. Be on the lookout for updates regarding #OneDayRally.
Speaking of updates, we’ve come to the realization that solely using Facebook to collect class updates from you all seems a little dated…how 2011, right? Feel free to continue sharing your updates with us via social media, of course, but we’ve also implemented a shared document that we can all add to whenever the mood strikes us in real-time! We’re looking forward to hearing from you, and we are especially looking forward to seeing you, whether virtually or in-person, for what is sure to be a memorable 15-year Class Reunion celebration during Alumni Weekend.

Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.

• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.

• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition, 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations, and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.

• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

Class Notes:

JILLIAN BURRIS BLAZIEWSKE ’06‘s little peanut turned one in February. Worth celebrating ☺.
POOJA CHAWDA ’06 is a project manager at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Her role is focused on analyzing regulatory landscapes to support the development of policies and strategies mandated by the Climate Law and Community Protection Act, and driving engagement for emerging efficiency, electrification, and carbon valuation policies. As part of her role, she is advancing the New York State decarbonization agenda by contributing to the state’s roadmap to electrification in the built space, a critical element of which is ensuring that low- and moderate-income/disadvantaged communities in New York have access to clean and affordable energy.
JEFFREY DODSON ’06 of Ripon, Wisconsin, is the Pastor of First Congregational UCC Church of Ripon, Wisconsin, as of July of 2019. He bought a home in Ripon in August of 2020.
HAYLEY DOYLE ’06 of Minneapolis, Minnesota, got a second dog and a fish! She also began taking piano lessons.

JEN MILLEN EVEN ’06 of Dubuque, Iowa, won her second 100-mile race in October. Let’s just take a moment to think about how ridiculous of an athletic feat that truly is.
ED HANSEN ’06 of Tallahassee, Florida, and his wife, Megan, welcomed their second child, Nathan Brooks Hansen, into the world in January. It’s been a wild year, but one terrific silver lining has been being able to spend more time at home with the boys and observe their frequent developmental milestones. Here’s hoping that things calm down enough to bring the boys on their first trip to Ripon soon.
VICTOR MAGNUS ’06 of Wautoma, Wisconsin, writes “I returned last August from a deployment to Ukraine where I served as an operations sergeant’s major advisor. I was recognized for my efforts and received a medal from the Ukrainian Land Forces Cross of the Land Forces Commander for my contribution to the development of military cooperation between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the U.S. Armed Forces. It was an interesting mobilization and it allowed me to see parts of Europe and experience a multitude of amazing cultures. You can find more information on the mission by looking up JMTGU on Facebook. I am approaching 21 years in military service and unsure if I am ready for retirement. Civilian profession – I am preparing to start a hiring process for part-time help in my insurance agency! So that means I will grow from having only myself in the office to having additional help which is exciting and a bit scary all at once. JACKI WEISS MAGNUS ’05 and I keep busy with the children’s schedules and our own. This year we will be celebrating our 16th year of marriage!”
TOM HANLON ’06 of Planet Earth says, “After three years in Austria, I moved back to the U.S. in July. Then, I turned around and started a Navy Reserve deployment in October – currently enjoying life under COVID-19 lockdown in Jordan.”
AMBRE NEUSER-GAJEWSKI ’06 of Appleton, Wisconsin, got a new job this year and was promoted after a couple of months to a trainer position. She moved to a larger (beautiful) apartment, got a new car, and is excited that she gets to spend three weeks in Florida for her company to train a new class. 2020 has been good for her!
ALISON NOWAK RISSE ’06 of Slinger, Wisconsin, writes “It has been a crazy year for us all, but one wonderful thing to celebrate and share is that we’re expecting our second child this fall. Also, we will be celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary this summer. I am still happily employed at Amcor in the Fox Valley as a Raw Material Procurement Supervisor where I will be celebrating my eighth year with the company this fall.”
ANDY SHILT ’06 of Appleton, Wisconsin, was envious of TIM PETERS ’06 of Eagle, Wisconsin, and joined the minivan club. He went all-in for the dual TV upgrade.
JAKE VANDAALWYK ’06 of Green Bay, Wisconsin, currently works at Associated Bank as the Director of Enterprise Risk Management and is happily married to ROZ KORF VANDAALWYK ’04 with two children, Beckett and Kinley.

COLLIN WEST ’06 of Deforest, Wisconsin, and his wife, Stephanie, welcomed a new addition to the family in November! Looks like someone is enjoying life as a big sister ☺
Take care, be well, and go Red Hawks!

NICOLE KLAAS HANDS ’06

ED HANSEN ’06

ANDY KITSLAAR ’06

Submitted by: Class Agents: Nicole Klaas Hands, Ed Hansen, and Andy Kitslaar

Greetings, Class of 2007!

What a year it has been! We hope you and your families are staying safe during this pandemic. Even with COVID-19, Ripon continues to excel by holding hybrid classes and testing students. Congrats to the faculty and staff for being incredibly flexible and ingenious so that students could continue to thrive.

In mid-February you should have received the Ripon Magazine and if you look at page twelve and 15, you will see two of our classmates, NASIF ROGER ’07 and ASHLEY NUTER RUSS ’07, featured for their work. Way to represent Ripon and the Class of 2007! You can always stay up today on Ripon-related news by visiting ripon.edu/news.

If you haven’t done so already, please consider making a donation to Ripon College. Any amount is impactful and our overall participation percentage is vital in so many ways for Ripon. In 2020 our class participation rate was 19.05%. Let’s all work together to get this above 25% in 2021. Ripon’s annual giving day, known as #OneDayRally, will be held on Wednesday, April 28.

Now it is time for some exciting updates from your classmates:

JODI RABAS BURNS ’07 is are expecting baby #2 in May! She also just built an addition on to her office to be able to hire another doctor and take on an intern this fall. Jodi misses getting an “easy riser” for breakfast from The Pub!

MARA EVANS ’07 of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) at SpectrumHealth.

AMANDA LIETHEN GLASS ’07 of Random Lake, Wisconsin, and her husband Michael are expecting an addition to their family in August, joining big brothers Matthew (14) and Theodore (2). To the disappointment of the boys, this addition is not expected to be either a puppy or a pirate. Amanda is the Associate Director of Advancement Services and Data Analyst at Ripon College and has been working remotely since March 2020. While grateful to not have a nearly three hour commute to the office, she misses seeing people outside of Zoom meetings.

KATIE BRAUN JOHNSTON ’07 was the president of the Racine Lighthouse Brigade Band Boosters where she enjoyed over 100 kids flourishing in the marching band and competitions. She recently got out of social services and found a love for residential painting and furniture refurbishing. Also, she recently started selling cars at Frank Boucher and is hoping to help them study consumer psychology to better their training program. In 2013 she was bilaterally implanted with cochlear implants as she lost her hearing altogether. Her daughters will be 17 this coming July. Both have part-time jobs and are straight-A students. One wants to go into biomedical engineering and the other has a love for music but may go into law. Katie’s husband continues to work into his 12th year as a sous chef for Benchmark Hospitality contracted with the Johnson Foundation. In her spare time, Katie and her family foster mastiffs and she volunteers with the dog rescue. Katie is beyond proud of her daughters!

PATRICK KERSTEIN ’07 of Portland, Oregon, is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Vollum Institute at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Oregon. His recent research has identified a new cell type involved in vision and was published in the journal Cell Reports.

BEN KONECNY ’07 of Greeley, Colorado, transitioned to the head of staff role in December of 2020 at First Congregational Church in Greeley, Colorado.

ADAM KRUEGER ’07 of Providence, Rhode Island, recently transitioned from Uber to Grubhub where he oversees logistics and restaurant operations. He still works with students and faculty at Harvard Business School. Besides work, Adam enjoys spoiling his niece and nephew, gardening, traveling, and theatre marathon weekends in NYC.

TRACY ENGELMANN LACANNE ’07 started her own dental office in May of 2018. She started out only working two days per week but in three short years, she has gotten so busy that she is in the process of buying and remodeling a building to be able to continue expanding the practice.

TYLOR LOEST ’07 and wife Katie added to their family with the birth of their son, Quincy Charles on October 15, 2020.

LIZ LEACH MORRELL ’07 of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, was a recipient of the Fond du Lac Young Professional’s 2020 Future 5 Award. She is currently the Executive Director of The Arc Fond du Lac, a human service organization that empowers adults and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities to become independent and integrated into the community through advocacy, education, training, and support.

MEGAN PIOTROWSKI MANIS ’07 of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, is the Chief Customer Officer at Roydan Enterprises and has been working hard with her husband RYAN MANIS ’08 to transition the business into an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) company this spring. Other than working hard on the business, Megan and Ryan enjoy traveling with both kids for their competitive swim meets and spending more time at their cabin with a flexible work-from-home schedule.

TRACY MATTHIAS ’07 of Green Lake, Wisconsin, is the owner of Lotus Root Yoga LLC (based in Ripon) and is approaching its fifth year! They are now offering online classes in addition to studio classes, special events, and retreats. Navigating the pandemic has been interesting and she is grateful that her small business is located in a tight-knit and supportive community like Ripon! Maintaining or developing a personal wellness practice like yoga has never felt more relevant.

ZACH NORTON ’07 started a new position with Raymond James in November 2019 and Associates as a Senior Registered Client Service Associate. He also passed the FINRA supervisory level Series 9 and 10 examinations late last year. Zach is hoping to purchase a home and resume traveling in earnest later in the year.

CHRIS REED-WADDELL ’07 and spouse, Yuliya, are finishing their tour of service in Shenyang, China in July with the U.S. State Department. They will then be returning to the U.S. for training before their next assignment in Moscow, Russia this fall.

ASHLEY NUTER RUSS ’07 was featured in September on the photoblog Humans of New York and shared on social media. A snippet from a Ripon College news story states, “Russ shared her experience of growing up deaf and the isolation and rejection that she felt. She met her husband, STUART ’07, at Ripon, and in her interview, she tells the poignant story of how they met and communicated by writing notes to each other.”

JORDYN RUSH ’07 of East Norriton, Pennsylvania, left the 9-5 world and now runs The Fussy Cutting Quilt Shop where she creates custom quilts and other sewn creations. Jordyn also serves as Operations Coordinator for Gateway Horseworks, a non-profit organization that provides Equine Assisted Psychotherapy services. She lives outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her partner, Nick, and their puppy, Arlo.

JOLENE RUEDEN SCHATZINGER ’07 of Ripon, Wisconsin, continues to work at the best College with the best alums, which of course is our alma mater, Ripon College, where she is the associate director of engagement. Since this past April, she has been serving on Ripon’s City Council helping to strengthen town-gown relations. She is looking forward to our 15-year Class Reunion next summer, where she hopes as many of you as possible will make it back home to Ripon to celebrate together. Lastly, she is happy to have recently celebrated her spouse, Henrik’s, American citizenship.

HILARY SMITH UYHELJI ’07 is the co-author on the following publication: Davis, J.T. and H.A. Uyhelji. 2020. Aviation and the Microbiome. Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance 91: 651–661.

LINDSAY SPINDLER ANDERSON ’07 of Saint Croix Falls, Wisconsin, recently took a position teaching 6th-grade math and public speaking at St. Croix Falls Middle School in St. Croix Falls, WI. She also coaches Forensics and is the director of the middle school plays/musicals.

We are not sure where the time has gone, but it is time to start planning our 15-year Class Reunion! After all, kids born in 2000 can now legally drink. YIKES! If you are interested in volunteering or have ideas for activities, please reach out to one of us. We are forming a Reunion Volunteer Committee, and we would love to have all interested classmates involved! Please contact one of us, your Class Agents, if you want to be involved. More information will be coming, but get excited for our Class Reunion in June 2022!

Good news regarding Alumni Weekend! Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.

• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.

• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition, 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations, and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.

• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

Thank you for all the updates, classmates! Please keep sending them to one of us at any time throughout the year. We are now very sad to share the news of the passing of one of our classmates who was taken from us much too soon.

MATTHEW R. “NIGEL” KENNY ’07 of Orland Park, Illinois, died Jan. 29, 2021. At Ripon, he majored in politics and government and participated in Student Senate, football, and as president of Phi Delta Theta. He worked at Xtra Lease in Chicago and was a White Sox fan. He enjoyed political debates, yard work, and motorcycles. Survivors include his wife, Kate; one son and one daughter.

This sobering news helps us to realize how important keeping our connections strong really is. We do hope you can join us for next summer’s 15th Class Reunion.

Be well, and we look forward to seeing you all very soon!

ADAM KRUEGER ’07
(857) 389-8617

LINDSEY KREYE HEIL ’07
(952) 944-7528

STACY KRUSA TEACHOUT ’07
(920) 345-1048

LIZ LEACH MORRELL ’07
(920) 279-0779

Submitted by: Class Agents: Adam Krueger, Lindsay Kreye Heil, Stacy Krusa Teachout, and Liz Leach Morrell

Greetings, Class of 2008!

It’s hard to believe that it is spring already. 2020 is in the rear-view mirror and it feels good to know that some are getting back to some normalcy. We wanted to share a few updates about our Alma Mater as well as a few exciting updates from our fellow classmates.

As of January 25th, students are back on campus. The college held campus-wide testing for COVID-19. The results came back with less than 1% being positive cases! It is hard to imagine Ripon without being on campus.

One important date that everyone should put in their calendars is April 28th as this will be the 4th annual One Day Rally! This year the theme is going to revolve around nostalgia and Ripon throughout the years. The goal this year is 2021 donors in 20 hours and 21 minutes. This class really stepped-up last year and put up some amazing numbers as a group to help the cause. Everyone should be receiving save the dates soon from the college. Let’s have another great turnout, and remember every little bit helps.

So many of us have enjoyed Alumni Weekend since we graduated, so I wanted to mention that the College has announced plans for this summer’s Alumni Weekend. Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.

• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.

• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition, 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations, and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.

• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

We would like to congratulate those below on their exciting updates. After such an unprecedented year it was great seeing such fantastic news, and blessings. If you have an update please feel free to share it on the Class of 2008 Facebook page, or reach out to one of the Class Agents.

Here are our Class Notes:

AMANDA BEERS WOJTANOWSKI ’08: I spent the last year in Germany for the U.S. Army with Regional Health Command Europe as the Chief of Current Operations. I spent my time leading a team through navigating operations in a COVID-19 environment, while directing COVID-19 testing, restrictions, and vaccinations for the U.S. Army throughout Europe and Northern Africa.

KEN LEIVISKA ’08: ELIZABETH KUNDE LEIVISKA ’09 and I welcomed our first child, Mason, into the world in October 2020. Our happy family of three lives in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

TYLOR LOEST ’07: Katie and I expanded our family with a baby boy, Quincy Charles, born on October 15, 2020.

ERIN MAGUIRE ’08 of Hot Springs, Arkansas, is employed as a licensed master social worker for LHC Group/Elite Hospice and is prayerfully considering international adoption.

ALISON KRINGS OTTO ’08: I was diagnosed with stage one triple-positive breast cancer on December 16, 2019, at the age of 32. Treatment included a bilateral mastectomy, a year of chemo, and hormone blockers. It has been a long and difficult year, but we made it. I had my last chemo on January 23, 2021, and am now a cancer survivor.

MAC SHUMANN ’08: My wife Stephanie and I welcomed our second child, Rory, on October, 31, 2020, and our son Jack is three-and-a-half years old. I am currently working at JJ Keller in Neenah as a Sr. Sales Manager and coaching baseball at Neenah High School.

ADAM SONNTAG ’08: After serving as the city of Hillsboro, Wisconsin, city administrator since 2011, Adam has been named the new city administrator for the city of Ripon, Wisconsin. He and his spouse, Cari, and their young daughter will be moving to Ripon. (Welcome back home to Ripon, Adam!)

ARLENE TORRES ’08: I’m now a Senior Regional Admissions Counselor for UW-Green Bay serving my seventh year with them. I am a new member of the Education Equity Action Team through the Hispanic Collaborative Network. I have been assisting with local initiatives impacting women and children as a Community Impact Leader.

CARL VEENENDAAL ’08: My wife Ashley and I moved to Franklin, Tennessee, last fall and had twins on October 2nd! They are Cade Knox, 3 pounds, 5 ounces and 16 inches long, and Cruz Jaxson, 3 pounds, 0 ounces and 15.4 inches long.

We hope everyone enjoys their spring and summer, and as always Go Red Hawks.

Leah Hover-Preiss ’08
(608) 432-2399

Zac Schwandt ’08
(414) 312-3531

Stephanie Sommer Faulds ’08

Submitted by: Class Agents: Leah Hover-Preiss, Zac Schwandt, Stephanie Sommer Faulds

Greetings, Class of 2009!

We hope this letter finds you, your family, and your friends healthy and safe. We’re excited to bring you some updates (and non-updates) from our classmates later in this letter. Class Letter time always reminds us of the awesome people we all had the opportunity to meet while at Ripon, and how some of those people have gone on to be integral members of our inner circles, and some we still keep in touch with occasionally. Once you read this Class Letter, we would like to challenge everyone to reach out to three classmates (or other Ripon connections) whom you haven’t been in touch with in a while. Say hello and take some time to catch up. Reminisce about the good times and the challenging times you went through together. Talk about what you miss most about Ripon, and what you’d love to be able to do again (maybe you can at the next Alumni Weekend, which will be this summer!)
Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.

• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.

• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition, 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations, and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.

• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

JOSH LEGREVE ’09 of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, has been busy continuing to teach Spanish in Green Lake, Wisconsin. As we finish this Class Letter, he is attending an IB (International Baccalaureate) training “in” Singapore from the convenience of his dining room table.

EMILY MEYER ’09 of Fargo, North Dakota, has become a Hockey Mom, shuttling her five-year-old daughter to games and practices on the weekends. We’re truly embracing the North Dakota lifestyle!

Watch out for info on #OneDayRally, which will be on Wednesday, April 28. We understand this still may be a hard time for some, but if you are in a position to give we encourage you to give what you can, even if it is a little.

We cannot wait until we can all join together again at Alumni Weekend or other Ripon College event. Until then, stay safe and keep us updated about all the exciting celebrations and news in your lives.

Class Notes:

CHRISTINE ANHALT-DEPIES ’09 of Oregon, Wisconsin, is the DNR Snapshot Wisconsin Project Coordinator, which reached an impressive milestone in November: volunteers have collected 50 million photos since its launch in 2016. Snapshot Wisconsin is a citizen-science program that gets the public involved to help monitor wildlife. Volunteers host a network of trail cameras that take “snapshots” of wildlife as they pass by. Volunteers then classify the species from their trail cameras with help from the public using the Zooniverse crowdsourcing platform. The data helps the DNR understand where certain animal populations are around the state and make important wildlife management decisions.

PERFECTO DIAZ ’09 of Chicago, Illinois, shares that he is starting a new position as a Manager in a new department at the mortgage company he works for. Perfecto would like to credit his theatre professors for helping him pretend he knows what he is doing. Cheers!

MORGAN FLOM ’09 of Barcelona, Spain, is an entrepreneur at Pivot Analysis.

AMANDA KNUTSON ’09 of Gay Mills, Wisconsin, shares that she bought a house and finished her Master’s in Education.

CHRISSY SKODACHEK KORN ’09 and her husband, Ryan, of Ottawa, Illinois, welcomed their Rainbow baby, Bruce, in May of 2020.

ZAC MANS ’09 of Minneapolis, Minnesota, shares that in the last year, he has completed his teaching certification and is currently teaching 6th and 7th grade social studies at DaVinci Academy for the Arts and Sciences.

ALYSSA WRIGHT WOODS ’09 and ADAM WOODS ’08 of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, welcomed a baby boy, William Bennett Woods, on October 17, 2020.

Be well,

EMILY MEYER ’09
(920) 369-8707

JOSH LEGREVE ’09
(414) 839-7222
Your 2009 Class Agents

Submitted by: Class Agents: Emily Meyer and Josh LeGreve

Greetings, Class of 2010!

As we write this Class Letter I look out the window and see the snow falling ever so lightly, reminding me we still have a few more weeks of spring and how much things have changed since our graduation in 2010. While we have made it past 2020 and are hopeful for a better 2021, we also look back on what winter was during our time at Ripon College. I fondly remember days of sledding on Sadoff Hill and some late-night snow shenanigans I know many of you remember. While we were lucky to have a fairly normal four years at Ripon College, many of our peers who are current students have navigated the past year and the pandemic that has affected us all. As a community, Ripon College has done its best to have in-person classes as much as possible and at the time of this writing, students are on campus, taking classes, but also navigating the differences like smaller group sizes as well as campus-wide testing. While it has been a year of changes, it is comforting to know Ripon College has gone above and beyond to try and provide as much of a normal experience to their students as they can.

Good news regarding Alumni Weekend and our Reunion! Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.
• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.
• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8 and will focus on alumni awards recognition, including for our very own SARAH ANDERSON ’10 and LUCY BURGCHARDT ’10, who were the 2020 Outstanding Young Alumni Award recipients; 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations including our 10th Class Reunion; and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.
• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

Having a beer on the hill in front of Johnson Hall is one of the many memories from our 5-year Class Reunion and we all are hoping to be able to make many more memories at our 10-year Class Reunion. Just a reminder that #OneDayRally is coming up on April 28th and we urge you to all give to our alma mater so they can continue to provide a world-class educational experience.

We would also like to take this time to mourn the loss of our classmate, FREDDY SUBIA ’10, who tragically lost his life too soon this past August. FREDDY SUBIA ’10 of Chicago, Illinois, died Aug. 21, 2020, after a car accident. At Ripon, he majored in psychobiology and participated in intramurals, martial arts, Cultural Diversity Club, music, and many other activities. He also served as a resident assistant. Survivors include his mother; and one brother, FABRIZZIO SUBIA ’13. We take this opportunity to remember him and let this serve as a reminder that we need to maintain the bonds of friendship we have built over the years.

Class Notes:

SARAH ANDERSON ’10 and MATT BUSH ’08 of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, purchased their home in January and recently moved in.

NICHOLAS BAKER ’10 of Carol Stream, Illinois, recently received a promotion to Auto Property Damage Specialist III at Farmers Insurance. He still lives at home helping out his parents and enjoys to cook during the week.

EMILY HOFFMAN BRATTON ’10 and ARTHUR BRATTON ’08 of Ripon, Wisconsin, welcomed their son William Dean Bratton on March 26, 2020.

MOLLY BREITBACH MCLAUGHLIN ’10 of Ambler, Pennsylvania, is currently a part-time graduate student working towards her MA in Public History. She also just relocated to Ambler, and started working full-time with Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites as their Director of Outreach and Visitor Experience.

LUCY BURGCHARDT ’10 of Bettendorf, Iowa, is in her third year as Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. She got engaged to Paul Lindsey in July 2020 and is hoping to be vaccinated in time for a small wedding celebration with family in July 2021. 

CADY CUMMINGS CAMPBELL ’10 of Albany, Oregon, and her husband, Jonathan, were blessed to welcome their first child, Patrick Allan Campbell, into the world on November 8, 2020. In such a challenging year, Patrick has been a beautiful light.

LILY HANSCOM ’10 of Chicago, Illinois, started a new position with JCFS Chicago as a Clinical Supervisor managing therapists and working with youth and families in the foster care system specifically as a trauma specialist.

KAITLYN HENG DAHM ’10 and JAMES DAHM JR. ’02 of Chicago, Illinois, writes, “We had a baby girl in January of 2020 – Lucy. She joins big brother Charlie who will turn four this spring.”

ROSS HEINTZKILL ’10 and Dr. CELENA SIMPSON ’10 of Eugene, Oregon, were married on January 20, 2021. The couple lives in Eugene, Oregon, where Celena was awarded her Ph.D. in Philosophy by the University of Oregon in 2019 and to where Ross moved after his six years in the Air Force. They never would have found each other without their FYS with Dr. Cope-Kasten and POL 110 with Dr. Colucci a full 15 years ago, and think only fondly of their shared time at Ripon.

ALICIA RHYNER RYTLEWSKI ’10 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, writes, “I welcomed a baby boy to our family. Clarence Ross (Clay) will be a year old on November 13, 2020.”

Stay safe, and we hope to see you at our Class Reunion celebration in August!
NICHOLAS BAKER ’10
(931) 444-4466

TOMISSA PORATH FREISLEBEN ’10
(715) 853-6104
Your 2010 Class Agents

Submitted by: Class Agents: Nick Baker and Tomissa Porath Freisleben

Greetings, Class of 2011!

I hope this letter finds you all well and healthy. Looking back a year ago, I don’t think any of us thought we’d be in the position we’re in today. I think I can safely speak for everyone when I say that I’m over it. I also want to extend a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to those of you who are working in healthcare, as first responders, in retail, or any other profession where you’re interacting with the general public daily. Thank you for your time and effort and the risk you’re taking to keep the world running.

Some updates from campus: classes started on January 25 with a mix of in-person, online, and hybrid formats. Ripon is currently doing random weekly surveillance testing where about 25% of the College community is being tested for COVID-19 in order to keep everyone as safe as possible.

As you are probably aware, our 10-year Class Reunion is this summer – we will be celebrating together with the class of 2010 who had to postpone their celebration due to COVID-19. All classes who would have celebrated their Reunion last year will also be on campus celebrating their belated Class Reunions during this year’s Alumni Weekend. Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

JUNE 2021

• In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees including for our very own NICK BEAMAN ’11 and SCOTT GILLESPIE ’11.

• The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.

AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.

• Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.

• In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8 and will focus on alumni awards recognition including for our very own SAMUEL SONDALLE ’11; 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations including our 10th Class Reunion, and will feature other outdoor events like Rally Run and prairie walk.

• Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.

As highlighted above, during Alumni Weekend, Outstanding Young Alumni and Athletic Hall of Fame awards will be given out. SAMUEL SONDALLE ’11 will be receiving the Outstanding Young Alumni Award. NICK BEAMAN ’11 and SCOTT GILLESPIE ’11 will both be inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame. Please join me in extending our classmates who are award recipients our congratulations. Hopefully, we can have a great showing at our Reunion, and let me know if you have ideas for how to specifically reach out to encourage our classmates to attend. I plan to get our Ripon College Class of 2011 Facebook page going again so please check that out.

Finally, #OneDayRally will be held on April 28, 2021. Mark your calendars and, if you can, please support the College and the Ripon Fund.

Attached are updates that were provided to me by our classmates. As always, please feel free to connect with me on any of the main social media platforms.

Class Notes:

HOLLY DEVORE ’11: Holly, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in December 2020 and recently passed the NCLEX. She now works as a Registered Nurse. In her spare time, Holly enjoys going to various Best Buys and camping in their parking lots. When an employee tells her there’s no need to camp and she can go inside any time she wants, Holly usually responds with “I know” and offers the employee a s’more.

MATT INGISH ’11: Matt, of Mukwonago, Wisconsin, is in his second year working at Pius XI High School in Milwaukee. He started a powerlifting program at the school last year and had a state champion in their first year. He and ASHLEY KIRST INGISH ’11, also of Mukwonago, Wisconsin, have two children (three and nine months old). Ashley is working at Waterford Union High School and coaching volleyball.

CALLEN MARX ’11: Callen lives in Salem, Oregon and does Oregon things almost every day. He and his roommate recently adopted a dog who is a big fan of David Hasselhoff. He reminds us not to Hassel the Hoff.

NICK OSENBERG ’11: Nick, of Royal Oak, Michigan, is currently wondering how he messed up saying the “A-train” so badly and why it was so funny at the time. He was also too busy doing this to provide a real update.

ABIGAIL RICHESON ILIEV ’11: Abby and her husband, of Lansing, Michigan, are both working as physicians in Michigan. They have a three-and-a-half year old daughter and a six-month-old daughter that they welcomed to their family in August 2020.

JORDAN SALZER O’BRIEN ’11 and BRENDAN O’BRIEN ’11: Jordan and Brendan, of Appleton, Wisconsin, recently welcomed their second daughter, Saoirse, to the world on November 4, 2020.

SARAH HOPKINS STANSBERRY ’11: Sarah currently lives Blue Springs, Missouri, which in the Kansas City area. She has been married to Jacob Stansberry for close to six years and they welcomed their first son this year. She manages a public library branch and just finished her Master’s degree in December 2020. Sarah recently took up the hobby of ant-farming. She manages the largest ant farm in the greater Kansas City area and has a couple of books in the works, all expected to be released in 2023. Her first book will be titled “Ant You Glad You Know Me.”

TIFFANY SEERING WATERS ’11: Tiffany, of Ormond Beach, Florida, married her dearest friend, Mike Waters, last March. They currently live near Daytona Beach, Florida, and are loving life there. She recently started teaching Environmental Science at the local high school and can’t wait to spend all summer on the beach with her bonus kids Lylah and Weston. Coincidentally, the family has befriended a pod of manatees led by a Lylah and a Weston. The Waters and Hallmark are currently in negotiations for a movie titled “Pod of Love – the Story of Lylah and Weston and Lylah and Weston.”

ROBYN ZAJAC-ELSBECKER ’11 and CHASE ZAJAC-ELSBECKER ’11: The Zajac-Elsbeckers of Pulaski, Wisconsin, spend their days with their newly-minted toddler and small family pod. Not to be confused with TIFFANY SEERING WATERS ’11’s pod of manatees. They very often reminisce about the time NICK OSENBERG ’11 said the “Uh-train” instead of the “A-train.” Further, they make a semi-annual offering to the raccoons in their backyard to sate their voracious appetites for baby carrots.

CASSANDRA FRANZ ZUMMALLEN ’11: Cassandra and JAKE ZUMMALLEN ’12 of Neenah, Wisconsin, just welcomed their second child, Hazel, in January. Hazel joins her big brother Graham. They live in Neenah and Cassandra is working as a Pediatric Hospitalist for Children’s Wisconsin.

Cheers,

SHANE ROEBER ’11
M: (262) 617-7707 / H: (262) 695-0555
Your 2011 Class Agent

Submitted by: Class Agent: Shane Roeber