After catching the acting bug in middle school, Alisha Gard ’06 found her calling. “My sister and I used to play softball, but she was always way better than me,” Gard says. “So, I decided to try something different and auditioned for a musical in eighth grade. I got a part in the show, and […]
Clothes can make the man, and also the stage character. Andrea Williams ’04 of West St. Paul, Minn., is a free-lance costume technician for Chicago-area theaters such as Steppenwolf and Goodman Writers Theatre; and Milwaukee-area theaters such as Milwaukee Repertory Theater and First Stage Children’s Theater; among others throughout the Midwest. She also has worked […]
One of Ripon College’s most successful theater alumni is Frances Lee McCain ’66. She has had a steady career in stage, television and film work for more than four decades. At Ripon, she majored in philosophy but also appeared in theater productions. “I started out in the Red Barn,” she says. “Then it burned down, […]
James Bohnen ’70 of Chicago, Ill., had no ambition toward theater, but he got into it at the urging of others. “I was running lines in my dorm room with my college roommate, Rick Dinkel ’70,” Bohnen says. “He had a show he was going to direct and he said to me, ‘You really should […]
The world of the future is developing today through Peter Bock ’62 of Washington, D.C., the fall 2012 Knop speaker at Ripon College. Bock is a former NASA scientist and a professor emeritus of engineering at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he was on the computer science faculty for more than 40 years. […]
Chapter 6: Little Lessons from Ripon (Editor’s Note: Katlyn Lee ’12 and Jeremy Johnson ’12 are writing monthly entries for the Ripon College Newsletter chronicling their own post-graduation experiences. We hope you enjoy their perspectives on Life After Ripon!) December 8, 2012 Dear Journal, Originally I couldn’t think of what I should write about in […]
My Home Away From Home Although one of my jobs as Alumni Relations Intern is to write articles regarding the lives of Ripon alumni, this month I was given a different task; I was asked if I would talk about my own life. At first I thought that a self-reflection piece would be less challenging, […]
Chapter 6: A Busy Month (Editor’s Note: Jeremy Johnson ’12 and Katlyn Lee ’12 are writing monthly entries for the Ripon College Newsletter chronicling their own post-graduation experiences. We hope you enjoy their perspectives on Life After Ripon!) There I was with my classmates from Penn State, just outside of Disney World, at a Waffle […]
Originally published Jan. 31, 2012 With its public phase and final goal still to come, Ripon’s comprehensive campaign has passed the $25 million mark. The milestone was reached through recent leadership gifts from Georgene Koblenz ’60, Bob and Patty (Parker) Francis, Joann Selleck ’73, and Rich (’73) and Ginny Srednicki, along with exceptionally strong support […]
For Autumn Hayes O’Leary ’99, who serves as a military lawyer in the Army, a liberal arts education was an education in society. “Ripon also taught me about people,” she says. “It’s the people who hold an organization together and make it great. Ripon, through its staff, faculty and students, always focused on its people. […]
Lawyers and the law are at the very foundation of American society. Of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, 35 were lawyers. Of the 55 framers of the Constitution, 32 were lawyers. Numerous Ripon alumni have made the law their career. Every day, they weigh the balances of justice, equality and liberty and […]
After receiving his master’s of business administration degree from Emory University in 1981, Michael Gibbs ’79 of San Antonio, Texas, found that working in the business world for 10 years – in both a large corporation and an entrepreneurial venture – paved the way for him to return to law school. He now is vice […]
J. Dykstra Jr. ’69 of Rohnert Park, Calif., who serves as Deputy District Counsel, San Francisco District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He says the law establishes a basic set of governing principles upon which a civilized society operates. “In a perfect world, law provides a process that assures fairness and equality of treatment,” he […]
Andy Voigt ’97 of Portage, Wisconsin was elected to Columbia County’s Branch 2 in the spring of 2011. “My Ripon education has contributed in ways too numerous to count,” Voigt says. “An often overlooked component of being a good attorney is that most of the time good ‘people skills’ are required. This is especially true […]
Circuit Court Judge Guy Dutcher ’87 of Wautoma, Wis., says, “Most professionals maintain an inherent desire to have a positive influence upon others. A legal career provides an abundance of opportunities to advance this noble objective. Judges must follow the law, but while administering its components with sensitivity to the practical impact it will have […]
Nicholas “Chip” Retson ’69 of Centreville, Va., gained early law experience in the Army. He has held wideranging legal leadership positions related to the contracting system. He spent 28 years as an Army Judge Advocate officer, retiring as a Colonel. He taught contract law at the Army JAG School, and was trial team chief and […]
Ripon has had two alumni advance to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in recent years — Jon P. Wilcox ’58 and Michael J. Gableman ’88. Wilcox, of Wautoma, Wis., served 15 years as a Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice (1992 to 2007). He graduated from Ripon with a major in politics and government and a minor in […]
Originally published on Feb. 7, 2011 Gifts totaling $9.5 million have jump-started a new comprehensive campaign at Ripon College, which entered its “silent phase” in July 2010. Major gifts from trustees, Wisconsin-based foundations and a longtime supporter account for most of the sum, along with an Annual Fund that has outpaced recent years. Together they […]