Monmouth College Magazine - Spring 2020

#MonmouthMade Berenice Martinez ’11 Yaneli Martinez ’16 Edy Ramirez ’13

VOL 35 | NO 1 | SPRING 2020

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Only a matter of time...

Rankin with the completed model.

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t took two years for the first building on the Monmouth College campus to be completed, due to interruptions caused by the Civil War and a dispute with contractors. Creating a 1:48 scale-model replica of “Old Main,� which was destroyed by fire in 1907, took nearly twice that long, due to the complexity of rendering

the building parts using 3D-printing technology and the meticulous assembly process. Begun in the summer of 2016 as a student project under the supervision of theatre professor Doug Rankin, the completed model was recently installed in a diorama display in Hewes Library.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

SPRING 2020

PRESIDENT Dr. Clarence R. Wyatt BOARD OF TRUSTEES

10 REMEMBERING TWO PRESIDENTS

Freed and Haywood presided over two important decades in College history.

15 ‘MONMOUTH MADE’: MORE THAN A MOTTO

How devotion to student success is firmly rooted in Scot tradition.

24 RETURNING THE FAVOR

Grateful alumni salute influential faculty during memorable Homecoming.

34 K-J ENTERS INTERNATIONAL PLAY

Kara-Jade Gordon honors her heritage with spot on Jamaica lacrosse team.

ON THE COVER: Three young Chicagoans are among “Monmouth-Made” alumni profiled in this issue who credit their immersive college experience for providing an exceptional foundation for success.

(Photo by Kent Kriegshauser)

campus news 4 academics 7 greek life 8 newsmakers 9 sports 28 alumni news 36 the last word inside back cover

NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATION

Monmouth College does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability, age, military service, marital status, sexual orientation, pregnancy or other factors as prohibited by law.

Monmouth College admits students of any race, religion, color, sex, and national or ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to Monmouth students.

Monmouth College, an Equal Opportunity Employer, is committed to diversity and encourages applications from women and minority candidates.

Any inquiries regarding Title IX or the College’s Policy Prohibiting Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation (www.monmouthcollege.edu/nondiscrimination-policy) should be directed to the Title IX Coordinator identified below. The Coordinator will be available to meet with or talk to students, staff and faculty regarding issues relating to Title IX and this policy.

Michelle Merritt Interim Title IX Coordinator 309-457-2114 titleix@monmouthcollege.edu

Mark Kopinski ’79, Chairman Dr. Ralph Velazquez Jr. ’79, Vice Chairman Douglas R. Carlson ’66 Daniel Cotter ’88 Robert Dahl Rod Davies ’74 Nancy Speer Engquist ’74 Christine Beiermann Farr ’90 William J. Goldsborough ’65 Kevin Goodwin ’80 Augustin Hart III ’68 Mahendran Jawaharlal ’86 F. Austin Jones John Kemp ’82 The Rev. Robert C. McConnell ’72 Michael B. McCulley, Esq. ’70 J. Alex McGehee ’81 Gary Melvin Bradley C. Nahrstadt ’89 Gail Simpson Owen ’74 J. Hunter Peacock J. Stanley Pepper ’76 Anthony J. Perzigian ’66 Dennis M. Plummer ’73 Anita Ridge ’88 Susan Romaine The Hon. John J. Scotillo ’72 Dr. Carlos F. Smith ’90 Sherman Smith ’72 Nancy L. Snowden Mark E. Taylor ’78 Dwight Tierney ’69 George E. Trotter III Beth Bowdoin Tyre ’96 Jean Peters Witty ’88 Jackie Bell Zachmeyer ’89 ALUMNI BOARD REPRESENTATIVES TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Andrew Kerr ’73 Jerri Picha ’75 Roy Sye ’13 ALUMNI BOARD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Andrew Kerr ’73, President Sean Maher ’73, Vice President Eveline Lipecka ’06, Secretary Paula Rundell Brooks ’07, Member at Large EDITORIAL BOARD Duane Bonifer Associate Vice President for Communications and Marketing Kristen English Vice President for Enrollment Management Hannah Maher Vice President for Development and College Relations Barry McNamara Associate Director of College Communications Jeffrey D. Rankin College Editor and Historian

MON MOU TH COLLEGE MAGA ZIN E VOL. 35 | NO. 1 EDITOR AND DESIGNER Jeffrey D. Rankin

CAMPAIGN UPDATE

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Barry McNamara PHOTOGRAPHY Kent Kriegshauser Monmouth College Magazine is published quarterly for alumni, students, parents and friends of Monmouth College. All opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial staff or the College.

CONTACT US: MAGAZINE EDITOR jrankin@monmouthcollege.edu 309-457-2314 ADDRESS CHANGE monmouthcollege.edu/update 888-827-8268 Development & College Relations Monmouth College 700 East Broadway Monmouth, IL 61462-1998 ALUMNI PROGRAMS 309-457-2231 888-827-8268 alumni @monmouthcollege.edu REGISTRAR 309-457-2326 registrar@monmouthcollege.edu ATHLETICS 309-457-2176 athletics@monmouthcollege.edu GIVE TO MONMOUTH 309-457-2231 888-827-8268 monmouthcollege.edu/give ADMISSION 800-747-2687 admission@monmouthcollege.edu

Printed on Cascades Rolland Enviro 100 paper, made with 100 percent post-consumer fiber.

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MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Thy strength, our strength

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here are countless quotations that make the point “we are stronger together,” but our alma mater says it best. If you reread that phrase, you almost can’t help but sing it, along with the rest of “A Flame of White and Crimson.”

Those iconic words, written in 1924, hold true today. As we charge forward in the Light This Candle: The Campaign for Monmouth College, our success will continue to rely on the success and devotion of our alumni, parents and friends.

And as we continue to build momentum and strengthen the College’s endowment, we in return are strengthening the Monmouth experience for our current and future students, and strengthening the value of a Monmouth degree for thousands of alumni.

The Light This Candle Campaign is aimed at raising a minimum of $75 million by Dec. 31, 2022: at least $50 million in outright gift commitments and at least $25 million in new deferred and planned gifts. As we focus our sights on Monmouth’s future, there is no surer way to secure all our tomorrows but through building our endowment.

The campaign focuses on increased endowment for student financial aid and scholarship, faculty support and academic innovation, as well as for our living-learning environment. The fourth area, or “candle,” for support is to enhance the College’s strong culture of philanthropy through building a larger Monmouth Fund and a larger register of deferred and planned gifts.

On March 1, we achieved 76 percent of our goal, or $57 million toward the Light This Candle Campaign. That total includes $43 million in new current gift commitments, and nearly $14 million in new deferred gift commitments.

We are extremely grateful for the “thousands hearts” who have already made Light This Candle a success. That momentum has not let up, and it will continue to carry us forward toward our goal: to ensure Monmouth remains a place of high opportunity and high achievement, now and into the future.

Hannah Maher Vice President for Development and College Relations

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

KEEPING OUR PROMISE TO STUDENTS OF PROMISE

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o matter whether they come from a background that provided great advantages, one filled with challenges, or one comprised of both, all a Monmouth student need bring to the campus is innate ability, a willingness to work hard and a desire to be a contributing member of this community. Monmouth exists to change for the better the arc of each life that comes to its door.

This mission has never been more important. A world filled with equal portions of challenge and opportunity, of peril and promise, cannot afford to leave any talent untapped. Helping young people to realize their full potential, to build lives of accomplishment and contribution, is an essential element of America’s promise.

Often referred to by the shorthand term of “social mobility,” this should also be an essential element of the mission of American higher education. The need for higher education to play this role has never been greater. Yet the ability to deliver on that promise is under great scrutiny, and America’s colleges and universities are increasingly being assessed on how they fulfill it.

We are immensely proud, but little surprised, that Monmouth College more than meets that promise, and that observers of American higher education are taking notice: Monmouth ranks 82nd nationally, up 101 places since 2014, in the Washington Monthly magazine rankings, which focus on the transformation that a college’s experience renders in a young person’s life. Monmouth outperforms expectations in such categories as overall graduation rate, graduation rates for first-generation students and Pell Grant-eligible students, in median earnings 10 years after graduation, and in repayment of student loans, just to name a few.

The College rose another 11 places, to 124, in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges National Liberal Arts Colleges rankings, up 48 places since 2013. Even more impressive, and more to the point of our mission, Monmouth is ranked No. 7 nationally in social mobility—or as I prefer to say it, in

the impact that it has on the trajectory of a life. We rank ahead of the five “work colleges,” like Berea College, where students traditionally work for the institution in lieu of paying tuition.

This third-party affirmation is pleasing and important, but the true impact of Monmouth College is seen in the lives of its alumni. The powerful stories featured in this issue stand in for thousands of others. They are lives made fuller, made more rewarding, because of Monmouth College. And each of those lives has made better hundreds, thousands of other lives. “Monmouth Made,” indeed.

As the products of another outstanding liberal arts and sciences college, Lobie and I know this story well. Lobie has had a successful and varied career in business and the arts.

As many of you know, my parents’ formal educations ended at the eighth grade. Two of the brightest people I’ve ever known, they valued education and knew it was the path to a better life. The direction of my life is fundamentally different because of their encouragement and support, and because of the great education that I received.

That education didn’t happen by accident for me, nor does it for our students. Our faculty and staff come to work every day dedicated to guiding the growth of our students. Our trustees support the College as a place of high opportunity and high achievement. Our donors provide the financial resources that make all of this possible.

Lobie and I, and all of us on campus, are fortunate to be a part of these stories of promise and accomplishment every day. I know that you join us in celebrating them, and in continuing this legacy for generations to come.

My Best,

Dr. Clarence R. Wyatt President

SPRING 2020

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CAMPUS NEWS

Civic engagement entrepreneur to address 2020 grads

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am Vaghar, a social entrepreneur who leads a

Sam Vaghar

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dynamic and growing global non-profit organization with the mission to empower young people to effect change, will deliver the 2020 Monmouth College Commencement address on May 17.

Vaghar is co-founder and executive director of the Boston-based Millennium Campus Network, a global non-profit organization with a mission to bolster students’ civic engagement to tackle poverty, discrimination and climate change.

Founded in 2007 and collaborating with the United Nations Academic Impact, the non-partisan MCN trains students on college and university campuses through the innovative Millennium Fellowship.

“Sam is an impressive young person,” said President Clarence R. Wyatt. “He has identified and is pursuing a cause that mirrors Monmouth College’s goals of empowering young people to see and realize the possibilities before them, and to create positive change in all aspects of their lives of work, service and leadership. He is a compelling speaker, and I know that he will provide an inspiring message to our students and community.”

Vaghar launched MCN from dorm rooms at Brandeis University as a platform to make a difference globally. Part of his inspiration came after reading two books: Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder and The End of Poverty by the renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs.

In Mountains Beyond Mountains, Kidder tells the story of a Boston doctor’s efforts to fight tuberculosis in Haiti, Peru and Russia. In The End of Poverty, Sachs, an economist at Columbia University and a leading expert on economic development and the fight against poverty, argues that extreme poverty can be eliminated globally through carefully planned development aid.

“I put down those two books and cold-called Jeff Sachs … went down to Columbia University two days later and met with his team and said, ‘Look, I’m a 19-year-old college student. I don’t have the answers, but I know our generation can do more, and I want to figure out what role we can play in addressing extreme poverty,’” said Vaghar.

Vaghar started MCN on a small scale by first holding fundraisers in his area to raise awareness about extreme poverty. Then in fall 2007, he held a meeting of student leaders from Boston-area colleges to discuss the issue. In less than six months, Vaghar was helping to lead a conference of more than 1,000 college students from around the world who gathered at Massachusetts Institute of Technology to discuss global development issues.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

The organization is now on college campuses in 15 countries with more than 6,000 alumni. About 75 percent of MCN alumni are now working in social impact careers in the public and private sectors.

“I’m excited to be with members of the Monmouth community at this year’s Commencement, especially because of the College’s values,” said Vaghar, who will also be presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. “I am especially impressed by how Monmouth believes in the ambition of its students and their potential, and their potential to effect change in the world.”

No more textbook sticker shock Monmouth College has taken another step toward making a education more affordable for its students.

Beginning this fall, textbooks will be included as part of tuition.

“We have heard from students and their families that the cost of textbooks can sometimes place an unexpected financial burden on them,” said Vice President for Enrollment Management Kristen English. “This measure will make it more convenient for students to acquire their textbooks and also make it easier for families to budget the cost of a Monmouth education.”

The textbook program will reduce students’ overall annual cost of textbooks because the College will be able to negotiate and lock in more competitive prices with its supplier, Follett Higher Education Group.

“We know that college costs are among the most important and most difficult challenges families face,” English said. “Our families make incredible sacrifices so that their students have access to a Monmouth education, and the textbook program is another way the College continues to assist them.”

Dean of the Faculty Mark Wilhardt said the College’s textbook program will also ensure that all students start each semester with all of the academic resources they need to be successful.

“Our faculty will continue to select high-quality, affordable textbooks that support our academic programs,” he said. “Everyone at the College works hard to manage costs and to assure that our students get the best experience they can. The textbook program is yet one more way Monmouth is working to make sure that students are ready to learn from Day One, while keeping an outstanding education affordable to all families.”

Lux summer institute gets boost from Lilly Monmouth College has received a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to support its Lux Summer Theological Institute for Youth.

The sustainability grant of $225,950 will help the national summer program become self-sufficient over the next five years.

During its first three years of service, the program has attracted 40 exceptional high school students from around the nation. The community-building experience gives high school students an opportunity to study theology and scripture in light of a social justice issue, such as food security, environmentalism or sustainability.

“Churches tell us how excited their students are after they return from the institute,” said Monmouth Chaplain the Rev. Dr. Teri Ott, who runs the institute with Associate Chaplain the Rev. Jessica Hawkinson-Dorow and Associate Professor Dan Ott. “Students are eager to take on new leadership roles in their churches, and they want to help their churches take on social justice initiatives around food security and sustainability. These young people are helping lead the way when they get home, and their churches are very excited about their growth.”

The institute was established in 2016 with a $451,000 grant from Lilly Endowment as part of its High School Youth Theology Institutes initiative, which seeks to encourage young people to explore theological traditions, ask questions about the moral dimensions of contemporary issues, and examine how their faith calls them to lives of service.

During their two weeks on campus, Lux Institute students work at the College’s Educational Garden and Market Farm, take field trips to area businesses that are part of the food economy, and take part in community service projects at local non-profit agencies that focus on food security.

“We’re really proud of this program and all we’ve been able to accomplish through it in just three years,” said Teri Ott. “Lilly Endowment’s faith in us and in our program is deeply appreciated. The first grant enabled us to study how we could best implement a high school theological institute here at Monmouth College. We hired outside consultants and did a lot of assessment. Now we have a finely tuned, national-caliber program that we are excited to see grow and thrive.”

The Lux Institute is one of about 100 high school youth theology institutes in the United States, and it is one of three offered by institutions affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Maher assumes top development post Hannah Maher has been named vice donors achieve their philanthropic goals and president for development and college seeing the impact our alumni and friends are relations at Monmouth College. making on today’s current students is truly Most recently the College’s interim vice inspiring.” president for development and college Maher’s responsibilities include leading the relations, Maher has served the College’s deCollege’s development efforts, which include velopment efforts in a number of capacities alumni relations, major gifts and the annual since 2010, including as associate vice presfund. ident for development and college relations “In my time as a trustee, I have been imand director of alumni engagement. pressed with Hannah’s hard work, dedication “In all of her roles, Hannah has demonand intelligence,” said John Kemp ’82, chair of strated great professionalism, integrity and the Board of Trustees Development Commitvision for the future of the development tee. “I am looking forward to working together and constituent relations programs,” said with her to engage the College’s alumni, President Clarence R. Wyatt. “Under her parents, friends and others in supporting leadership, I am confident that we will build Monmouth even more fully and effectively.” an even stronger resource base that will Monmouth is in the midst of Light This Maher advance the mission of Monmouth College Candle: The Campaign for Monmouth far into the future.”

College, which aims to raise a minimum of $75 million for the Maher said she feels fortunate to be a member of the MonCollege’s endowment by Dec. 31, 2022. mouth community.

“There are still many chapters to be written in our success “It has been a blessing to work for Monmouth College for story, and I’m thrilled to be able to work next to some of the most nearly a decade,” Maher said. “The work I get to share in every ambitious individuals in the College’s history to continue this day is a true joy—seeing our alumni connect back to the pivotal work and ensure Monmouth’s future is even stronger tomorrow,” time in their personal development at Monmouth, helping our Maher said.

SPRING 2020

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CAMPUS NEWS

NATIONAL CONFERENCE INSPIRES LEADERSHIP

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select group of monmouth college students attended the Lead365 National Conference Oct. 31–Nov. 2 in Orlando, Fla., and they returned to campus further motivated to put their leadership skills to work.

Composed of Monmouth College James and Sybil Stockdale Fellows, the group included Emma Johanns ’21, Liam Meyer ’22, Grant Miller ’22 and Kailey Woolard ’22. It was led by

Sharpening their leadership skills at a Florida conference were, from left: Grant Miller, Liam Meyer, Emma Johanns and Kailey Woolard.

Assistant Director of Leadership and Development Jake McLean ’15.

The Monmouth party met several students from small, rural liberal arts colleges, many of them from Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Massachusetts.

Attendees heard from speakers on such topics as finance, diversity, communication and leadership.

Johanns said she appreciated what the networking aspect meant to her personal growth.

“Through the conference, I was able to grow in my communication and interpersonal relationship skills, while also learning a lot about myself and others and building some great friendships,” she said. “We all attended different presentations but left feeling similar levels of motivation and that we’d learned something new.”

Named in honor of the late Medal of Honor recipient Vice Adm. James Stockdale ’46 and his wife, the Stockdale Fellows Program is Monmouth’s most prestigious scholarship, leadership and enrichment program. Students participate in a four-year program that includes retreats, volunteering opportunities and leadership training.

McLean said that the Lead365 benefited both his students and him.

“From a staff perspective, the conference was amazing,” he said. “I had the opportunity to network and engage in conversations with some of the celebrities of the leadership education field. Their good work informs a lot of the processes we use to guide our cocurricular programs at the College.”

McLean said his favorite part of the trip was seeing a light go on for each of the Stockdale Fellows who attended.

“The coolest part for me was seeing the students’ ‘a-ha’ moments,” he said. “Each student had some sort of challenge or opportunity facing them when they returned to campus, and they were able to build a plan of action to implement when they returned.”

Website custom-matches students with employers

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website that dynamically connects students and alumni with potential employers

is now available to Monmouth College students.

Handshake, which bills itself as “the largest career community for students and recent grads,” is being promoted

by Monmouth’s Wackerle Center for Career, Leadership & Fellowships.

“The way I like to describe Handshake is a combination of Facebook and LinkedIn,” said Jenny Erickson Sanberg ’10, assistant director of career development and internship coordinator. “It’s designed to connect students and employers, and make the search process easier for our students.”

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MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Sanberg said Handshake also has a characteristic of another platform.

“After you’ve spent some time on it, it becomes like Netf lix and makes suggestions for you based on your recent history on the site,” she said.

More than 400,000 employers are on Handshake, but the site is more than a job board. It helps students get job and internship recommendations that match their interests and skills, as well as provide a platform to ask for advice from students who found jobs.

Sanberg said those employers run the gamut, from Google and “Big Four” accounting firms such as Deloitte and Ernst & Young, to local employers including Jamieson Com-

munity Center, the Warren County United Way and the Warren County YMCA. “It’s across the board, and one of the things our office is doing is driving to the site other employers we have relationships with,” said Sanberg.

Once on the site, students can search through postings, using filters such as location and keywords. When they find positions that interest them, they can apply instantly and to as many jobs as they choose.

“Handshake is available to our alumni, as well,” Sanberg said. “They just need to use a gmail account to connect with our site, monmouthcollege.joinhandshake.com.”

ACADEMICS

Ukrainian leads new data science major

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ne of Monmouth College’s newest academic majors— data science—has a new faculty member as one of its chief proponents.

Last fall, Yevgeniy Ptukhin joined the College’s newly renamed Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, and he is serving as an assistant professor of statistics for the data science program. Data science joins engineering and neuroscience as the College’s new majors.

“Computer science is a growing field, and data science is one of the extensions of that field,” said Ptukhin. “When you look at the job market in computer science, employers want you to know a little more about other fields like statistics and data science and be more in the analytical mainstream.”

Technology, of course, is playing a major role in that growth.

“Thirty years ago, we worked in kilobytes and megabytes,” he said.

“Right now, we’re talking about terabytes (one terabyte equals one trillion bytes). So data sets are different, and there are different Yevgeniy Ptukhin techniques for collecting that.”

Monmouth’s data science major consists of introductory and intermediate courses in data science, statistics, computer science and mathematics along with advanced work in computer science, applied course work in data science, and studies in another discipline that provides issues and problems for which a data science-based approach makes sense.

Ptukhin initially pursued economics as a college student, earning a bachelor’s degree and specialist certification from Kharkiv State Polytechnical University in his native Ukraine. He switched gears in a major way in his late twenties as he came to the United States to focus on mathematics and statistics, which had held his interest in his younger years.

“I’m kind of a math and stats person,” he said. “When I was younger, I was doing a lot of math-related things,” which included participating in competitions in Ukraine. “I decided to get my master’s, and we’ll see (where it leads).”

Ptukhin holds two degrees from Southern Illinois University—a master’s degree in mathematics and a doctorate in quantitative methods—as well as a master’s degree in general business from Texas Tech University.

The two advanced degrees at Southern Illinois took a combined five years to complete. All the while, Ptukhin was being educated in American culture, too.

“Thirty years ago, we worked in kilobytes and megabytes… now, we’re talking about terabytes.”

“In movies about America, you normally see big-city life,” said Ptukhin. “So when I saw the skyscrapers in Chicago, that’s what I expected to see. Being in a smaller university town like Carbondale or Monmouth is different from the America you see in movies. ... Carbondale’s a bigger city, but the style I see in Monmouth is similar to what I saw in Carbondale. It’s a nice Midwestern town, and people are very nice.”

That includes the students, especially the ones Ptukhin has encountered at Monmouth. “(Monmouth) students tend to want to have conversations, many of which are informal,” said Ptukhin, who appreciates the College’s smaller class sizes after instructing as many as 50 at a time while in graduate school. “They also send emails and are more personal that way, too. In general, you feel that the distance between teacher and student is much less than it is at larger universities.”

—Barry McNamara

SPRING 2020

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GREEK LIFE

Israel trip was life-changing experience for ZBT

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oon after landing in Israel for a 10-day trip, the world changed for Monmouth College student Quentin Bartram ’22.

“The first couple hours I was there, my whole worldview

changed, and it kept changing as I kept learning,” said Bartram, a mathematics and data science major.

Bartram at the Dome of the Rock in the Old City of Jerusalem.

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Bartram’s trip was sponsored through his fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau, and the Anti-Defamation League. The opportunities for such change were plentiful, as Bartram said each of the days was packed with activities, with he and his group of 70 ZBT brothers waking up as early as 5 a.m. and staying busy until as late as midnight.

“One of the really eye-opening experiences was meeting with Lt. Col. Eyal Dror, who is founder and manager of Operation Good Neighbor,” said Bartram. “Their organization helps Syrian victims. He talked to us about what they’d seen and what they’d helped with. They could’ve said, ‘It’s not our problem,’ but they risked their lives to help other people.

That, to me, was eye-opening, that we’re all human at the end of the day. We all want things to end well.

We all want peace. We all want a better way.”

There are times in Israel when that peace seems far away. Bartram remembered one of those moments, when he and his group were instructed that if they heard a specific siren, they had 15 seconds to find cover.

“And if we couldn’t find cover, we were told to drop our head and pray,” said Bartram. “There was one little girl, and when the siren sound went off, she just instinctively raised her arms so that someone could pick her up and carry her.”

Zeta Beta Tau was founded in 1898 as the first Jewish fraternity, and some chapters remain predominantly Jewish to this day. Bartram learned about the opportunity to travel to Israel while attending ZBT’s annual Israel Advocacy Summit, which was held last April in Chicago.

“Brothers from all over the country were there, and I learned as much as I possibly could,” he said of his experience in Chicago.

During the trip, Bartram’s worldview was further

changed by the group’s guide, Amir.

“Amir was firm in his religious beliefs, but he said that even though we may have different views, that just makes us cousins in religion,” said Bartram.

Perhaps the most profound moment for the Monmouth student came at a visit to Yad Vashem— The World Holocaust Remembrance Center. In the center’s Hall of Names, visitors can peer into water and see faces of Holocaust victims along with their own image.

“They tell you, ‘You’re part of the story now. You have the ability to say this won’t happen again,’” said Bartram. “When I looked in that well and saw the faces of victims of the Holocaust, along with the reflection of my own face, it just really hit me.

That’s definitely going to change your view.”

It also helped Bartram definitively answer a question posed by the title of a Global Perspectives class he’s taking at Monmouth—“Can the Dead Speak?”

“I haven’t got my research project figured out just yet, but I want to relate it to something I experienced in Israel,” he said.

Bartram’s experiences leading up to the trip and the trip itself are just further proof to him that he made the right decision to become part of Zeta Beta Tau. “Coming into college, I was not going to go Greek, just because of the way you often see the Greek community portrayed,” he said. “A lot of it is not good stuff. But one of my teammates on the water polo team told me, ‘I think you might like ZBT.’ There was no hazing, and I learned that within 24 hours, you become a full brother with all the rights that everyone else has. They greeted me with open arms. I told my mom about it. She was Greek, and she was all over it. Since I’ve joined, it’s just been amazing.”

Bartram said his experiences with ZBT have also brought to life the networking aspect that is often mentioned as a positive with Greek life.

“I’ve made some lifelong friends,” he said. “I have friends now in Memphis, in California, in Texas, in New York. They’re all people I can call my friend, my brother.”

Now Bartram’s network has expanded to Israel, and his understanding of the world has expanded, as well.

—Barry McNamara

NEWSMAKERS

SCHERPE-LENCIONI JOINS DEVELOPMENT STAFF Jordan Scherpe-Lencioni joined the de-

velopment and college relations staff in September as associate director of reunion and parent giving. A native of Galesburg, Ill., she was a triple major in marketing, SCHERPE-LENCIONI management and entrepreneurship at North Central College. Most recently, she was event coordinator for the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Ill. In addition to helping plan campus alumni events, she will work with the Parent and Family Council.

PRICE ASSISTING WITH MONMOUTH FUND Mac Price has been named assistant director of the Monmouth Fund. He is a graduate of Western Illinois University, where he majored in educational studies.

Among his responsibilities is supervision of the annual phonathon.

Engagement Award. A member of the inaugural class of Monmouth’s prestigious James and Sybil Stockdale Fellows Program, she has also served as president of Rotaract, vice president of Phi Alpha Theta, an editor of the Midwest Journal of Undergraduate Research and a member of the Mount Vernon Leadership SMITHHISLER Fellows Program in Virginia. She was twice named Top Advocate in Monmouth’s annual Moot Court competition. As Lincoln Laureate, she will address her fellow classmates during the 2020 Commencement exercises.

ÁNGELES NOVEL GAINS EXPOSURE

PRICE

ROTC PAIR EARNS PRESTIGIOUS NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS Brock Crippen ’21 and Brandon Graeff ’21 have earned ROTC national scholarships, which cover their full Monmouth College tuition.

Both are members of the Leatherneck Battalion at CRIPPEN GRAEFF Western Illinois University. “To be selected as an ROTC national scholarship recipient is rare,” said Jayne Schreck, associate vice president for financial planning. “To have two recipients in one year is nearly unheard of.” A political science major, Crippen transferred to Monmouth as a sophomore. Graeff is a business and economics major and a member of the football team.

SMITHHISLER ADDS TO AWARDS Hadley Smithhisler ’20 has added to her long list of collegiate accomplishments by being named Monmouth College’s 2019 Student Laureate of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois and the recipient of the Abraham Lincoln Civic

Assistant professor of modern languages literatures and cultures Francisco Ángeles is one of 12 Latin American authors included in the 2020 Mapa de las lenguas (Map of the Languages), an initiative of Penguin Random House that seeks to promote Spanish-language literature by making it available in multiple Spanish-speaking ÁNGELES countries. Although his acclaimed fourth novel, Adiós a la revolución (Goodbye to the Revolution), has sold well in his native Peru since its publication last year, the program will introduce it to readers in a variety of new international markets.

FRESHMAN ARTIST WINS BEST OF SHOW Elliott Grady, a freshman art major, received Best of Show for a sculpture at Monmouth College’s Juried Art Exhibition in November. His first exhibit entry at Monmouth, the small polymer clay piece titled Eli-rat was created as a “self-reflection” portrait for the “Arts and Ideas” foundations course taught by Janis WunGRADY derlich. “He actually broke the rules for the assignment by using clay,” said Wunderlich. “But he did such an exquisite job of breaking the rules that I gave him permission. His projects often go beyond the parameters, but he does it so well, so I encourage him to push the limits.” The exhibit was judged by Cassie Tangney ’08, a designer and illustrator from Des Moines, Iowa.

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IN MEMORIAM:

PRESIDENTS HAYWOOD AND FREED

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onmouth College bade affectionate farewells earlier this year to two of its most influential former leaders, with the passing of President Emeritus Bruce Haywood and former President DeBow Freed, both at the age of 94. Together, their administrations spanned two critical decades in the history of the College—from 1974 to 1994.

As their obituaries make clear, Haywood’s and Freed’s contributions to the stability and growth of Monmouth College—both financially and academically—cannot be overstated. Both were remarkable, brilliant individuals who had led fascinating lives in the years leading to their presidencies. Both took on daunting challenges, pouring their heart and soul into the job of preparing Monmouth to become the nationally recognized liberal arts college it is today.

Because obituaries rarely capture the human side of a great leader, we are also publishing personal reminiscences by two people who knew and admired them. Emeritus professor of history William Urban recalls the five years he served under DeBow Freed, while Harry Bulkeley, a retired judge who got to know Bruce Haywood after his retirement, weighs in on what made him so memorable.

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Haywood was

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ruce Haywood, the 10th president of Monmouth College who helped expand the College’s endowment and lay a foundation for dramatic expansion in the 21st century, died at home in his sleep Jan. 7, 2020.

The longest-serving president in Monmouth’s modern history, Haywood came to Monmouth in 1980, when the College’s endowment was $4.4 million. By the time he retired in 1994, Monmouth’s endowment had grown to $24 million and the College was poised for dramatic growth.

Haywood came to Monmouth from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where he had spent 26 years as a professor, dean and provost. He believed so strongly in the vital role of liberal arts colleges that he had once turned down a deanship at the University of Michigan. He said his goal was to “return Monmouth to being the liberal arts college that it once was, and to revive in it the sense of mission.”

Among Haywood’s early objectives was to develop a challenging general education curriculum at Monmouth that stressed an integrated approach to learning combined with excellence in teaching.

In 1982, a National Endowment for the Humanities grant enabled six of the College’s faculty members to develop new courses in support of a senior capstone requirement. The following year, Monmouth received a second NEH grant to develop new courses in language and literature, history, philosophy and religion.

Haywood also secured funding to honor distinguished teaching and to establish four new endowed faculty chairs.

Concurrent with his academic focus was a determination to pay off debt and renovate a campus that had been neglected as a result of that debt. Monmouth owed the federal government for borrowing money to construct student housing during the College’s boom years of the 1960s.

At a Monmouth class reunion in 1981, Haywood met Walter S. Huff ’56, a former accountant who had revolutionized the health care industry through electronic record keeping.

When Huff heard Haywood speak about his vision for Monmouth, he immediately wrote a $25,000 check for the College. Huff later gave $250,000 to help finish work on the gym.

In 1983, when Haywood was laying the groundwork for Monmouth’s first major campaign since the 1960s, he needed pledges for one-third of the $15 million goal before the campaign could be announced. Huff believed so strongly in Haywood’s vision that he agreed to fund the

tireless liberal arts advocate entire $5 million. It was one of the largest gifts to a U.S. private college that year and effectively doubled Monmouth’s endowment at the time.

Through Huff’s leadership, the campaign raised $18 million, nearly $13 million of which was dedicated to the endowment.

Huff’s generosity also inspired other alumni to make major gifts that helped initiate a transformation of the campus, which had seen no new construction in nearly two decades. A landmark of Haywood’s legacy is Wells Theater, which was dedicated in 1990, replacing an old wooden little theater that dated to 1902.

A native of England, born to a lower-middle class family in Yorkshire, Haywood enlisted in the British Army upon completing grammar school. After serving in the infantry, he was admitted to British Intelligence School and was sent to Germany to serve with the U.S. Counter Intelligence Corps in the American Enclave of the British Zone of Occupation.

Following World War II, Haywood returned to Yorkshire, where he studied French and German at the University of Leeds, before emigrating to Canada, earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree at McGill University. He was then awarded a teaching fellowship at Harvard, where he taught German for three years and earned a

doctorate in German language and literature. In 1954, he went to Kenyon, where he was the first to propose making it coeducational, a step which preceded similar actions at other prestigious men’s colleges. Haywood became a United States citizen in 1957.

Haywood was the author of four books, including The Essential College (2006), in which he wrote: “Liberal education is vital to the future of the Republic. The essential college, its future now threatened, has inspired many generations of Americans to seek a purposeful life, rewarding to themselves and to their society.”

His book Bremerhaven: A Memoir of Germany, 1945-1947, which tells the story of his intelligence work in Germany following World War II, is currently being developed as a film property.

His first wife, Gretchen Haywood, died in 2003. He was also predeceased by their two daughters, Elizabeth Haywood and Margaret Youngquist. Haywood retired to Galesburg, Ill., where in 2008 he married Mary Bailey, a 1976 Monmouth graduate, who survives.

Haywood was presented with Monmouth College’s Distinguished Service Award upon his retirement, and the Haywood Business Wing of the Center for Science and Business was dedicated in his honor in 2013.

Freed applied military-style discipline with a gentle but steady hand

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eBow Freed, the ninth president of Monmouth College, who successfully guided the institution through challenging economic times in the 1970s, died Feb. 8, 2020, at his home in Ada, Ohio.

“Dr. Freed was a powerhouse of a man,” said Monmouth Board of Trustees Chairman Mark Kopinski ’79, who was a student while Freed was president. “He brought military-style rigor to the College administration at a time of great need. He was also a very compassionate man who believed in a divine presence. I had the occasion to exchange letters with him over the last few years. He was extremely interested in the board’s

plans for the College and had high praise for the quality of the College magazine.”

When Freed assumed the presidency in 1974, Monmouth was struggling with enrollment and finances because of debt incurred from federal construction loans. About 20 percent of the faculty had been released.

By the time he left Monmouth in 1979 to become president of Ohio Northern University, Freed had created a new sense of community, stabilized enrollment, balanced the budget and doubled annual giving.

Along with his wife, Catherine “Kitty” Freed, he built an attitude of goodwill in the local community, which extended to the Presbyterian Church, high school counselors and a network of alumni. His administration was also marked by growth in academic, cultural and spiritual opportunities for students as well as greater alumni involvement.

Continued on page 12

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IN MEMORIAM

Bruce Haywood: A most interesting man

By Harry Bulkeley

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ruce Haywood was the most interesting man in the world—at least he was for me. That title has been cheapened by some recent beer commercials and there are lots of interesting people in the world, but for me, Bruce was the one. For several years we had lunch together twice a month, and during that time I was privileged to learn from this brilliant, kind and thoughtful man. Let me tell you a little about him.

Upon meeting Bruce, you could detect the vestige of his English accent. It was almost all gone, but it was an essential part of his story.

Being born in a small coal-mining village in Yorkshire, he said his original accent was so strong that people outside the region would have trouble understanding him.

There were many things about England that he didn’t like, particularly the class system. Had he not gotten an education and come to America, he knew he would have been a bus driver like his father. Bruce was the kind of American we should all try to be. He had chosen to become a citizen, and with his citizenship came his undying loyalty to his adopted country. The freedom that this country represented was the reason for his love of it.

Luckily for all of us, he wrote several books that allow his readers to have a real sense of who he was. His hometown had the quaint name of Allerton Bywater, but in his book by that name, Bruce tells of a place not so quaint. Still, he remembered fondly the coal-blackened miners returning to their coal-blackened houses after long hours underground.

Kent Kriegshauser

Continued on page 14

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DEBOW FREED Continued from page 11 A West Point graduate, Freed spent seven years as an Army officer in Japan, West Germany, Korea, Vietnam and Iran, served as chief of the nuclear branch of the Defense Atomic Support Agency, and taught physics at the U.S. Military Academy.

In addition to fiscal discipline, Freed brought academic rigor to Monmouth College, having left military service in 1969 to become dean of Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio. A nuclear engineer, Freed had written articles on national security policy, energy policy and political science.

During his tenure, he encouraged Monmouth faculty to think outside the traditional teaching confines of the classroom and laboratory and develop learning opportunities linked to government and industry.

As much as they had enjoyed the military lifestyle at West Point, the Freeds believed they could make additional contributions to churchrelated higher education and made the decision in 1969 to accept the position at Methodist-affiliated Mount Union. Content in their new home, the Freeds initially declined the offer to come to Monmouth, but that was before a persistent Peter Bunce, who was a Monmouth trustee, visited Freed during a business trip to Ohio.

After five years at Monmouth, Freed’s announcement in 1978 that he had accepted the presidency of Ohio Northern University in Ada was a surprise to the campus community, but given his military style of leadership, it was apparent that he considered the job “mission accomplished.”

Freed served 20 years as president of Ohio Northern, where he increased its endowment from $7 million to $115 million and built a large fine arts center that was named in honor of Freed and his wife.

At the age when most college presidents were content to retire, in 2003 Freed became president of a troubled nearby institution, the University of Findlay (Ohio). Not surprisingly, he helped turn that institution around as well. Freed retired from Findlay in 2010, following which he and Kitty made Ada their retirement home. Kitty died in 2016, but he continued to visit his office regularly.

Freed was last on the Monmouth campus in 1998 for the inauguration of President Richard Giese. The College presented him with an honorary degree in 1987.

IN MEMORIAM

DeBow Freed: A life of service

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nder normal circumstances DeBow Freed would never have become a college president. In 1974 hostility to the Vietnam War and everything military was at fever pitch, and DeBow was a West Point graduate who had served on Westmoreland’s staff in Vietnam. But 1974 was not a normal year. Monmouth had been badly hit by a deadly trifecta: the end of the draft, steep inflation from OPEC oil policies, and the opening of junior colleges. Enrollment had plummeted, morale had sunk, and there was talk of what to do when the College closed. When Dick Stine resigned, we could hardly get applications to succeed him.

DeBow’s degree in physics was solid, with a concentration on nuclear engineering—a subject that might be very relevant if he had chosen to remain in the army. But he had found a new calling (a carefully chosen word for a devout Presbyterian) in higher education. He had left the army after teaching at West Point to become academic dean at Mount Union.

When he came for the interview, he knew the name of every person on the faculty and staff, and when asked a question, he often point to an individual and say, “Just as I told (fill in the name), this is how I see the situation.” He had memorized everything we had sent him. However, he turned down the initial offer, not believing that he could turn the College around. That was when a number of individuals privately intervened. Eileen Loya, who had been the extremely efficient secretary for the past two presidents, called him to say that it was his Christian duty to come to Monmouth. Others made a similar plea.

His military background served him well. Nobody was better organized than DeBow Freed and his wife, Kitty. His attention to detail was phenomenal, his gracious manner the opposite of the public stereotype of officers, and his concern for others was no act. However, whenever a question was directed to his life experiences, he turned it into a query about the questioner’s interests.

If one can be “modest to a fault,” DeBow was a very flawed man. But the greatest complaint was that he wore a blue suit every day and probably slept in a necktie.

DeBow and Kitty knew the names of spouses and children. They were at every activity—he made a mental check of attendance, and if a faculty member was absent from a concert, DeBow would send a note asking how he could help make participation easier.

Attendance improved. He knew, it seemed, the name of every student.

He ate in the cafeteria almost every day, sitting with students and asking

about how classes were going and about campus life in general.

He was in every building every day, going from office to office.

His desk was always clean. Every matter was sent to the proper administrator with instructions on how to handle it.

Staff meetings were held early in the morning so as not to interfere with the work day. Nobody ever said that working for him was easy! But many admired him, and some came to love his fairness and dedication.

If he came by your office and heard a concern, he would pull a card out of one pocket of his blue suit, jot down what you had said, and put it in the other pocket. The next day you would get a note saying what he had done about it. The day after that you would get a note asking if the concern had been acted upon.

Many did not understand his sly method of distracting complaints. I once asked him why he kept the tree in the middle of the outfield. He smiled and said that if he removed it, the athletic department would ask for something he couldn’t do anything about—people would always complain, so pick out the issues carefully. Similarly, in sending a proposal to a faculty committee, he advised me to leave in some obvious mistake—committees will always want to change something, he said, so give them something that won’t change what you need to do.

DeBow’s prayers at the start of every faculty meeting were so long and so pertinent that one either despaired of living through them or felt totally unworthy of teaching here. Once he responded to a query about salaries with a sly smile—faculty pay was always miserable, but the budget was balanced, thus guaranteeing that we would have jobs.

He said that in the next year we would be paid $60,000 (that was about Continued on page 14

Alvin Trusty

By William Urban

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IN MEMORIAM

A MOST INTERESTING MAN Continued from page 12 In his book Bremerhaven, Bruce recounted his fascinating service in postwar Germany. He helped round up former Nazis who threatened the newly won peace. It was chilling to hear him describe arresting a man who was “the embodiment of evil.” The BBC is planning a series based on Bruce’s book.

It was in Germany that Bruce first met Americans, thus beginning his love affair with our country. He married Gretchen, a “Youper” from Michigan, and they moved here, eventually settling at his beloved Kenyon College. In his book The Essential College, he advocates passionately for liberal arts education. He spoke with a combination of disgust and sadness at the fads and foibles that much of higher education has embraced.

Bruce knew tragedy in his life. Both his daughters died of cancer, and he watched Gretchen’s long struggle with her final illness. His trials rekindled the faith of his youth, and he was teaching a Sunday school class as well as tutoring others in the Bible before he died.

Dark times took away his joy for playing the piano and writing, and he told me he knew he was recovering when he could again play Chopin or continue writing his commentary on the Bible.

A few years after losing his first wife, Bruce was lucky enough to find Mary Bailey, his second wife. Theirs was a wonderful second-time-around love story that wrote a happy new chapter in his life. He couldn’t wait to show me Mary’s new pickup truck or the Flower Power decals with which she decorated it. Last year he bought a new car and although he was initially befuddled by its 21st-century technology, he

FREED’S LIFE OF SERVICE Continued from page 13 three times what we were currently earning). One third would be in the form of living in a town like Monmouth, where we could live within walking distance of campus and housing was affordable, where our children were safe and had good schools, where we liked our neighbors. Another third came from teaching at a good small liberal arts college, doing what we loved, with students who respected us. The rest we got in cash.

After every social event DeBow and Kitty would go over the guest list and write down something that each guest had said or been interested in. They would bring these up the next time they met those people. Kitty was an army brat. She knew how

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drove it until he mastered it.

Becoming thoroughly American included acquiring a love of baseball. We would often have to finish our lunches before the first pitch of a game with our beloved Cubs. As one would expect, Bruce appreciated the complexities and strategies of our national pastime.

At our lunches, he showed his true calling of being a teacher.

I often wondered why he would want to have lunch with me, someone who couldn’t hold a candle to him intellectually. I now realize that teachers are always learning. He was curious about things I saw while traveling in circles different than his.

He was interested in local politics or a recent trip or anything else he could learn from.

Bruce delighted in intricacies and nuances. At one lunch, he explained how subtle differences in German might have changed the real meaning of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the “Ode to Joy.” The next week we would talk of his love for The Beatles. I think he identified with the Fab Four’s climb to success from their English working-class origins.

One hope we all share as we grow older is that we retain our mental faculties. Bruce was blessed to stay sharp until the end.

Shortly before Christmas, Bruce and Mary enjoyed a gift of a harp concert. He wrote me that it felt like 1519. He also said they had been reading so much that the television hadn’t been turned on.

There is a saying that every time an older person dies, a library burns down. When Bruce left us, we lost the Great Library of Alexandria. The last time we spoke, I told him our family was going to be together for the holidays. He said to me, “Treasure every moment!” I will, my friend, I will.

Harry Bulkeley is a retired Knox County (Ill.) judge. Article reprinted by permission of The Register-Mail, Galesburg.

important an officer’s wife was to her husband’s career. She was extremely effective—see We Were Soldiers (2002) again.

Not everyone appreciated this.

He left in 1979 to save another college, saying that we should get a president who could better define the College’s purpose.

That was Bruce Haywood.

DeBow’s reticence to speak about himself was legendary. In 2009 a reporter from Finlay, Ohio, called me to ask for an interview; he had been unable to get DeBow to say anything beyond that he was currently president of his third college.

Even when Kitty became ill and died, he had, literally, soldiered on.

William Urban is the emeritus Lee L. Morgan Professor of History and International Studies. He taught at Monmouth from 1966 to 2017.

COVER STORY

PART PRIDE, PART PREPARATION, PART INSPIRATION

‘MONMOUTH MADE’ IS TRANSFORMING LIVES

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recent study by Georgetown University concludes that the surest guarantee of economic security in today’s economy is a college degree, and that more than half of good jobs require a bachelor’s degree. For many Americans, however, the ladder to social mobility through higher education is becoming increasingly rickety.

An ongoing Chronicle of Higher Education series on social mobility titled “Broken Ladder” notes that “Some of the rungs are missing; others are splintered and weak. Too often people can’t gain even the first toehold. And if they do, they can easily lose their footing, leaving them saddled with student debt but no degree.”

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Chronicle series looks at challenges first-generation students face in climbing the ladder. According to one of its essays, “The campus can be a daunting place Alumni for someone who is unfamiliar Profiles with it, and many low-income students, the first in their family

by Barry McNamara to go to college, have no one to turn to for advice.”

Fortunately for first-generation students at Monmouth College, that is rarely an issue.

In fact, Monmouth’s attentiveness to helping all its students succeed is borne out in the 2020 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings, which place Monmouth seventh in the nation among liberal arts colleges for social mobility—a measure of how well schools graduated students who received federal Pell Grants (typically students from households with family incomes below $50,000).

Part of Monmouth’s success in this area can be attributed to recent measures Continued on page 16 SPRING 2020

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MONMOUTH MADE

identified by a “Retention Moonshot Group” to ensure that no student who has the talent and desire to learn will fall by the wayside. With between 40 and 50 percent of the current student body composed of first-generation students, the importance of that mission is critical—both to the economic future of the students and to the long-term financial stability of the College.

Throughout their entire Monmouth experience, students are provided with tools designed to help them succeed. The Office of Student Success and Accessibility Services, staffed by a director, administrative assistant, tutors and academic coaches, provides workshops to enhance study skills, assistance for graduate school tests and disabilities services.

Tutors in the College’s Writing Center assist students of any ability level with written communication skills, while the Wackerle Career and Leadership Center aids students in mastering the skills required to continue their success beyond Monmouth— from securing internships to helping create professionallooking résumés.

But more impactful than all these support services is the dedication of faculty and staff to work personally with each student to ensure success.

“When we hire faculty, one of things that every search committee emphasizes is the importance of teaching at Monmouth College,” said Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty Mark Willhardt . “Our mission is to transform the lives of undergraduates and we are good at it. Indeed, during my time here I’ve witnessed faculty putting in all the extra efforts it takes to make an undergraduate experience truly exceptional—one-on-one conferences, group study sessions, creative pedagogy, meetings in the office, or the library or walking across the Quad. One of the hallmarks of our faculty is that dedication to taking students’ gifts and amplifying them over the four years they’re here.”

Willhardt should know. His parents were not only Monmouth graduates, but his father, Emeritus Professor Gary Willhardt , taught English at Monmouth from 1966 to 2000. Growing up, he witnessed the longtime tradition of Monmouth professors welcoming students into their homes,

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helping them with housing or visas, providing in-depth academic advising, and assisting with graduate school applications.

Setting the bar for selfless service to Monmouth students was legendary chemistry professor William S. Haldeman, whose career at the College spanned from 1918 to 1954.

During those years, he dispensed more than $20,000 in personal loans to his chemistry students to attend graduate school, every penny of which was repaid. “He teams up with his students for the duration,” a reporter for the Christian Herald wrote, “with possible financial aid in early days; with counsel in later days; and with friendship, always.”

Another spokesperson for Monmouth’s personal touch might himself be a poster child for the term “Monmouth Made.” Lee McGaan ’69, is the son of a Monmouth graduate who valued his undergraduate experience so much that he returned to his alma mater in 1989 to teach communication studies until his retirement in 2017.

McGaan credits one of his Monmouth professors for providing him the boost he needed to become a professor in his own right.

“I didn’t really know how grad school admissions and selection worked, but (Speech Department chair) Tom Fernandez helped me identify goodquality graduate programs and, once I focused on Ohio University, he made one or more phone calls to the graduate department chair at Ohio promoting my application,” McGaan said. “This not only resulted in my admission, but Ohio University’s communication program offered me an NSF Fellowship straight through to my Ph.D. “That kind of help is the sort of thing that is especially important in helping first-generation college students whose families aren’t familiar with the ways of higher education and upscale careers, and who may not be able to provide the insights it takes to find and open the right doors. Not knowing where to start is a big limit on social mobility but as a student at Monmouth that didn’t happen to me. And this sort of thing still goes on today in the Communication Studies Department.”

Willhardt said he has noticed another phenomenon at

COVER STORY

Monmouth that doesn’t so much involve professors helping students as it does students—given the right tools and inspiration—finding ways on their own to thrive.

“Recently, I met with a student who was first attracted to Monmouth because of our strong football program,” he recalled. “Having taught him two years ago in our first-year composition course, I knew that his academic path would probably be hard. Yet when they caught up with me after the new year, he talked about his earning a 3.4 GPA last

semester. When I asked him about it, he said that last year he realized that he did best with study groups. “‘So your professor assigned you to one?’” I asked. “‘Nope. I made them. One for each of my classes.’”

In this issue, we chronicle the stories of nine former students who credit their Monmouth experience for helping them develop the independence, perseverence and confidence to pursue successful lives and careers. They are inspiring examples of “Monmouth Made.”

Mattie Hunter

Professor’s challenge inspired political career

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attie Hunter ’76—better known as “Jackie” to her classmates— was likely on track to a political career even before she followed her brother, star basketball player Donovan Hunter ’74, to

Monmouth College.

But her time at Monmouth helped the future Illinois state senator broaden her horizons and gave her valuable experience.

“I have been involved in politics ever since I was 15,” said Hunter, who is entering her 18th year as a Democratic senator from Illinois’ 3rd District in Chicago. “I worked on campaigns for aldermen, for state representatives, for senators, even for president. I was learning the ropes during those times. I knew I wanted to get involved and make a difference in my community.”

At Monmouth, she followed her mother’s advice, “clamping down and getting serious” about her education.

“Monmouth College allowed me a number of opportunities to expand my knowledge of government and politics,” said Hunter, who later earned a master’s degree in sociology from Jackson State University in Mississippi. “A lot of the classes I took were interactive, and we worked with other students. That taught me to communicate with other people and not stay in my own little nest.”

From her government professor, Roy McClintock, she learned lessons she still carries with her today.

“Dr. McClintock challenged all of his students on a regular basis to get involved,” said Hunter. “He told us, ‘If you believe in something, just step out on faith and get out there.’ You’ll make all kinds of mistakes, but that’s what life is all about. You’ll

make mistakes, but you’ll keep moving forward. And as you make your way, reach back and pull somebody with you. While you’re learning, teach someone as well. That’s what I’ve always done, and here I am today.”

Her classroom experiences were impactful, but so was spending a semester in the nation’s capital, staying in Washington House along with students from two other schools in the Associated Colleges of the Midwest.

“That was such a rewarding experience,” she said. “I met so many wonderful people. It was definitely a highlight of my time in college and really helped launch my political career. It opened up my eyes to how things are done in this country. My focus had always been local, but this was how things got done in Washington, D.C., for the entire country. Walking up and down the halls of the United States Congress was just an amazing experience.”

Hunter used a family connection to secure an internship with her former Third Ward alderman, U.S. Congressman Ralph Continued on page 19

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Helping students belong Alumni panel shares lessons learned at Monmouth and beyond

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Joining forces at last fall’s “Becoming and Belonging” convocation were, from left: ILA coordinator Stephanie Baugh, Frank Clark ’02, Regina Bannan Johnson ’01, Carmen Alvarado ’02 and Ken Morris Jr. ’00.

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erhaps some of the first-year students who heard from a panel of three Monmouth College alumni last October could see an aspect of themselves in one of them. Perhaps all of them could.

That was one of the central ideas behind creating a “Becoming and Belonging” convocation for Monmouth’s “Introduction to Liberal Arts” students. Returning to campus to speak to the group were Carmen Alvarado ’02, Frank Clark ’02 and Ken Morris Jr. ’00. The event was moderated by one of their former classmates, Regina Bannan Johnson ’01, who serves as the College’s director of multicultural student services.

“How does anyone really know where they belong when they don’t even know who they are?” asked Johnson in her opening remarks.

For her, that sense of belonging came through a group of friends, including each of the returning alumni.

“These are three people who helped me change my life forever,” she said.

A former staff member at Monmouth, Morris is the director of equity at Ankeny (Iowa) Community School District. Alvarado is a supervisor at Amita Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Clark, who returned to campus for the first time in 17 years, is a board-certified adult psychiatrist at Prisma Health-Upstate in Greenville, S.C. He also serves as clinical assistant professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine-Greenville and medical director and division chief for adult inpatient and consult-liaison services for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Prisma Health.

In describing where they were in their personal journeys when they matriculated at Monmouth, Clark, Alvarado and Morris said, respectively, “confident but lost,” “not Mexican enough, not white” and “I was at Monmouth College on a hope and a prayer,” after flunking out of community college.

Clark was fairly sure of his plan for college, but there was still some doubt beneath that confidence.

“Even though I knew what I wanted to do, I didn’t want to be a statistic,” he said. “I wanted to prove to myself that I was

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

meant to be here, that I could hack it.”

Said Alvarado, “I wanted to step outside of being a kid from (the Chicago neighborhood of) Pilsen and change my worldview.”

In addition to meeting up with each other and other classmates who became close friends, the three speakers all recalled other pivotal moments during their Monmouth careers. For Morris, it was learning about himself and a gift he didn’t know he had.

“There were lots of tensions with the brothers on campus,” said Morris. “It got to the point where I felt it was a powder keg.

I thought, ‘Brothers need to work it out.’ I got the word out to all the brothers and said be at the Hubbard House at this time, because we’ve got to get this right. ... A lot was revealed in that circle, and a lot of healing took place that day.

“After it was over, I thought, ‘Yo, maybe I do have a gift for being able to bring people together in a disarming fashion.”

Alvarado teared up when recalling the “safe space” that faculty members Trudi Peterson and Ken Cramer provided, driving her to a conference for gay and lesbian students.

“I thought, ‘Holy cow! There are so many gay people in this world,” she said of the conference experience. “I didn’t know I could be gay and be out to the world, and that everybody would be OK with it.”

Through his studies, athletics and involvement with music, Clark had kept himself so busy that he didn’t tend to his emotional health.

“Toward the end of my college career, all the things I had suppressed from my childhood erupted like a volcano,” he said.

“I was diagnosed with clinical depression. It changed my view of things,” including his long-intended goal of becoming a pediatrician. He still kept with his plan of attending medical school but pursued psychiatry instead.

“I’ve now been in remission for nine years,” said Clark.

The alumni guests were asked what advice they would give to their younger selves. Perhaps some of the first-year students related to that advice, as well.

“I didn’t allow myself to really enjoy college,” said Morris. “I was afraid to be off my block. My advice for my younger self would be to study abroad. I didn’t understand then how affordable it could be.”

“I’d tell myself to let your voice be heard,” said Alvarado, who revealed to the students that she didn’t speak her first two weeks on campus. “It took a lot for me to learn how to be vulnerable on campus. I cheated myself out of a lot for that reason.”

Said Clark, “I’d tell myself to have self-compassion and that I don’t have to be perfect.”

MONMOUTH MADE

MATTIE HUNTER Continued from page 17 Metcalfe, who before his political career sprinted to a silver medal while Jesse Owens earned gold at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

“He knew my parents,” said Hunter. “Before I left for Washington, he said, ‘Send me a letter, young lady, and let me see what I can do.’”

Now, Hunter is the experienced veteran, and she has taken on more leadership roles in Springfield. She serves as the majority caucus chair and is the chairwoman of the Executive Committee, which she called “the most powerful committee in the Senate.” She also serves on the Human Services, Public Health, Energy and Appropriations I committees and is vice chair of the Transportation Committee. Hunter is also a member of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus.

She’s been in the news lately for sponsoring a bill that would ban all red light cameras in Illinois.

“It’s one of the biggest pieces of legislation I’ve worked on,” she said. “It’s very high-profile right now.”

While red light cameras were introduced as a way to make certain intersections safer, Hunter says corruption has resulted in various city officials simply “lining their pockets” with the fines.

“We as legislators step in and take action to prevent this type of thing from happening again,” she said.

Last year, legislators stepped in with another type of action, helping to have Gov. J.B. Pritzker sign a $40 billion five-year spending plan called “Build Illinois,” designed to revitalize the Illinois economy and build a workforce for the future.

“There’s all kinds of money in that budget to fix our roads and bridges,” said Hunter. “As you build, you’re hiring people, you’re training people. We have a high unemployment rate, especially among blacks, women and Hispanics. It’s important to go into these minority communities and offer training programs. Workers are aging and retiring, and we need another generation to step in. Illinois has had to look into neighboring states to find union workers for these projects. If you hire from Illinois, they’ll live here and they’ll spend here.”

Although Hunter’s main focus is the entire state of Illinois, she still keeps an eye on the campus she once called home, serving as a mentor to some of Monmouth’s African-American students and reflecting on what her education meant to her.

“The campus is so conducive to learning and living,” said Hunter, who gave the College’s Commencement address in 2008 and received a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from her alma mater. “The environment is so inviting, so surreal.

Functioning in the city is like a rat race. Whenever I got a chance those first several years after I graduated, I’d get back to Monmouth and get a breath of fresh air. ... God bless Monmouth and all my teachers that mentored me, as well as all the wonderful classmates I had.”

Chad Briggs Monmouth opened his eyes to possibilities of digital media

A

s team train rolls into a quaint Texas factory town, circa sometime in the Happy Days era. A friendly local waves

from Ernie’s Diner, and there’s a bit of traffic downtown outside the El Rio movie theatre. A young boy emerges from St. Charles Grocery, a box of Cracker Jack in his hand.

So starts the short film Stop. Watch. Love., an Element X Creative original made up of both live action miniatures and CG animation. The heartwarming film was written, storyboarded, shot, modeled, textured, rigged, animated, composited and edited by EXC staff in just one month.

Chad Briggs ’98 is the executive creative director at Element X, and the short film is one of many highlights in his career, which got its springboard at Monmouth College.

“We made that particular film for an AICP (Association of Independent Commercial Producers) event,” said Briggs, who has lived in the Dallas area since attending the Art Institute of Dallas for graduate school. “We had their undivided attention for several minutes. (With the film) I was able to show off my storytelling chops. It’s about hanging on to part of your childhood, and about how you always wish you had Continued on page 20

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MONMOUTH MADE

Creativity knows no bounds for Chad Briggs, who is as comfortable in his virtual universe as he is in the business world.

20

more time. Everybody loved it. It didn’t have any dialogue, and that just gave it a more universal appeal.”

Stop. Watch. Love. was selected as one of 50 finalists out of more than 15,000 entries from around the world in the Your Film Festival, sponsored by YouTube and filmmaker Ridley Scott.

Started by Briggs in 2004, Element X exists to create original, compelling motion content for agencies and brands.

“We are obsessed with design, storytelling and engagement,” said Briggs, who ran the company until 2015, when it merged with award-winning editorial house Post Asylum. The fully integrated shops are aligned with Pure Evil Music, offering what the company’s website calls “a singlesource creative services powerhouse unlike any other in the Southwest. From beautiful motion design to captivating worlds with animated characters, we are dedicated to superior creative through superior talent.”

“We’re a supergroup, for lack of a better word,” said Briggs.

“We have a nice little overlap between what we all provide.”

In his executive role, Briggs work with clients, outlining what he calls “the big creative vision. From there, it’s about making sure that everyone stays on the same creative path.”

Briggs can track his desire to create to the adventure computer games he played growing up and to the special effects he saw in movies, such as when “bodies start floating” during a scene near the end of the 1985 film The Last Dragon, or almost any scene from the first three Star Wars movies.

“Then I remember being a little bit older and watching movies like Toy Story and Independence Day and thinking, ‘Holy cow, people are actually making a living doing this,’” he said.

But first, he needed to get out of Centerville, a sleepy Iowa town of 6,000 just north of the Missouri border.

“Coming to Monmouth was a good gateway into the rest of the real world,” said Briggs.” I was looking for a place that felt like home, and Monmouth did that in spades. It was a good, safe place to learn and grow.”

A computer science major, he also took his share of art classes. Professors such as Marta Tucker and Stacy Lotz were major influences, as was staff member Paul Schuytema, who

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

had experience as a professional game developer.

“Paul was fantastic,” said Briggs. “He was a huge, huge influence on me.”

So was the class where a professor had his students review and analyze movies, talking about using structure and theme to tell a story.

“That class made me aware that there were people who cared as much about these things as I did,” said Briggs.

From his major area of study, Briggs acquired a solid foundation—despite his regular attempts “to push the status quo”—and he’s also grateful for Monmouth’s interdisciplinary approach.

“The programming and structure I learned there, I use every day,” he said. “Learning the computer languages and learning the art techniques helps you translate. It helps you understand what the artists want and what the programmers want. That was invaluable. I look at it as using art and science to make more art. That’s what Monmouth did for me.”

That, along with the College’s trademark personal touch.

“What I got from Monmouth is twofold: the academics, but also the people you meet,” he said. “That’s a huge, huge component—the friendships I made there. Some of my best friends had a huge impact on the man that I’ve become.”

Joe Pilger Monmouth mentors recognized his principal potential

L

yle Pierce, who worked in the College’s educational studies department and also served as one of Joe Pilger’s Fighting Scots

football coaches, was the first person to see it.

“I was student teaching, and I’d gotten placed in fifth grade at Nielsen Elementary in Galesburg,” said Pilger ’08. “(At the time) I didn’t want to be in elementary school, because I was hoping to teach in high school. Lyle told me, ‘It’s OK. You’re going to a school that hires often. And I think you’re going to be a principal one day.”

Mind. Blown.

“The seed was planted right there,” said Pilger. “I hadn’t even thought of being a principal at all.”

Pierce, a former high school teacher and coach who served as Monmouth’s clinical experience coordinator, was right on both counts. Not only did Pilger ultimately get

COVER STORY

hired full-time at Nielsen, other lessons he learned from Monmouth faculty, but he also became a head particularly former principal in 2017. He’s in his educational studies professor third year leading Lincoln Melinda Grimm.

Early Childhood School in “She had a huge impact, Monmouth. just in general, the way she Before his Lincoln post, taught us how to love on kids Pilger was an assistant and how to make an impact principal at West Central on kids,” said Pilger. “So many Elementary School in times, she would speak about Biggsville, Ill. things that were outside the “That was my first taste of classroom. A lot of the focus working with the pre-K level,” of teacher training is on what said Pilger. “I realized, ‘These to do from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., are my kids.’” but there are other things you Pilger was in his second can do as a teacher, as well, year at West Central when and she taught us a lot about the position became open at that.”

Lincoln, which has students Outside the Monmouth in pre-K through first grade. classroom, Pilger was an The combination of grade All-Midwest Conference level and location made it right tackle, clearing the way “too good to pass up,” he said. for Hall of Fame running “Working with this grade back Dante Daniels and level, we set the foundation protecting Hall of Fame for their future education,” As a student at Monmouth, Joe Pilger’s career plans were initially focused on quarterback Mitch Tanney. said Pilger, who is married to teaching high school. That was before his Monmouth mentors recognized his “I especially remember a Amanda Havens Pilger ’07. potential to become a successful educational administrator. game we had against Illinois “Some of the kids don’t know College my junior year,” he said. “It was a close game, but we how to do school, so we help them with that, teaching lessons were able to put it away in the second half (and win 17–7). On that aren’t necessarily in the textbooks. There’s seldom a time the clinching drive, we literally hammered the ball downfield you walk down the hall and a kid doesn’t give you a hug or on the same running play, either 24-Power or 25-Power. The grab onto your leg. You give them a fist bump or a high five, whole offensive line was dead tired after that game, but Dante and it sends them to the moon.” just ran so hard for us, as he always did.”

That also includes checking in on one of his and Amanda’s That would prove to be Pilger’s final season on the field, four children. Pilger missed working with the couple’s oldest child, Amelia, but he overlapped with Owen and currently has as he was sidelined by a concussion his senior year. But that didn’t stop him from being involved with the squad.

Hudson at his school. Their youngest child, Eloise, will enroll “I remember it was the last day before the season started, and at Lincoln in 2022.

I found out I wouldn’t be able to play,” said Pilger, who had been While at Nielsen, Pilger said his mentor was the school’s elected a co-captain by his teammates. “I went in to see Coach outreach worker, who was taking administration classes (Steve) Bell, and he literally gave me the coaching shirt he was and eventually left to be principal of another Galesburg wearing and told me ‘You’re going to be a part of this team.’” elementary school. Pilger then slid into that outreach role.

Bell helped that difficult moment for Pilger have a happy “All of a sudden, my influence grew from the 25–30 kids ending, and Pilger knows where he can go today when he’s in my classroom to more than 400 in the entire school,” said having a difficult day.

Pilger. “That gave me a taste of administration, and I thought “If I’m ever having a rough day, I know I can walk into any ‘I can do this.’” classroom and even play with the kids if I need a break,” he Pilger, who earned his administrative degree at Western said. “It helps me get refocused.”

Illinois University’s Quad Cities campus, remembers

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From left: Edy Ramirez ’13, Berenice Martinez ’11 and Yaneli Martinez ’16

Taking on the city Small-town college instilled confidence for big-city trio

W

hen Edy Ramirez ’13 teaches STEAM concepts to her students at Lincoln Elementary School in Cicero, Ill.,

she tells them about the 4 C’s: critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity.

Along with two other Chicago-area alumnae, Berenice Martinez ’11 and Yaneli Martinez ’16 (no relation), Ramirez is part of three of the C’s that go into developing a “Monmouth Made” graduate: competence, confidence, conqueror.

Ramirez fits best into the latter category, as she said Monmouth helped her overcome her fear of failure.

“I wasn’t ready for college,” she said. “I struggled for the first two years. Part of it was that I was afraid of failure. I wish I would’ve had the mindset at the start that I eventually gained, which is to learn from mistakes and learn what I need to do.”

A Golden Apple Scholar, Ramirez knew she wanted to become a teacher. But first the teacher needed to master being a student.

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“I had the support of professors who encouraged me, and I also appreciated the support I received from the women in the financial aid office and the business office,” she said. “There are so many things they helped guide me through. They supported me in what you could call the grown-up side of being a student. Today, I’m able to be that for my students—to help them, guide them and facilitate things for them.”

Gaining confidence and her voice Yaneli works at SGA Youth & Family Services in Chicago.

“My goal is to one day run my own program, and I’ve gained the confidence to do that,” she said.

She can trace that belief to her time at Monmouth.

“The professors I had and the activities I did at Monmouth encouraged me to do more than what I was asked,” she said.

“My experience there gave me the confidence to do an excellent job in whatever I encounter regardless of how much knowledge I had. Just like I learned how to study to be successful in my classes, I’ve learned to do so many things in my current position that have led me to doing what I love the most, and

MONMOUTH MADE that’s helping others discover their own potential.”

Initially, Yaneli’s title at SGA was family support specialist, “working with low-income families, and partnering with daycares to help families reach their needs, to help them reach their goals. Some of the parents are in shelters, so we try to help them out of that and be on their own. In some cases, we help them go back to school. It’s truly what I’m passionate about.”

In December, Yaneli was promoted to disability consultant, which has “more of an education component,” she said. “I refer children to early intervention or to special education programs in the Chicago school system.”

As Yaneli’s confidence at Monmouth grew, her voice became heard. “(Communication studies professor) Trudi Peterson was very inspiring and encouraged me to be more outspoken. At my first job after college (with American Family Insurance), I had to talk to people and explain the benefits of our policies. I’m very glad that Monmouth’s classes focused on speaking in public. Talking to those people was a piece of cake for me.”

From psychology professor Kristin Larson, Yaneli gained tips that helped her develop a more effective strategy for studying, but there was still the occasional hurdle. Larson’s colleague, Joan Wertz, stepped in on one such occasion, helping Yaneli overcome a panic attack about a psychology paper she was assigned.

“I told her, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing.’ She suggested several coping mechanisms for me, and one was speaking to a counselor.

I could really see a big difference after that. By my senior year, I was a mentor to other students, and I was able to tell them ‘You’re feeling anxious. It’s OK to see a counselor about it. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Yaneli also enjoyed helping a different type of student—high school students who were making campus visits.

“I loved working in the Admission Office,” she said. “Giving tours was my favorite part, and I liked to brag about Monmouth.”

One of her bragging points was the College’s supportive environment.

“I told them, ‘You’ll feel at home. I’m not kidding when I tell you that. And it also feels like college, getting the chance to be independent and do your own thing.’”

An anchor in Monmouth Berenice experienced that independence at Monmouth, studying in France her junior year. That helped her with one of her two majors, French. The other—political science—is the basis for her current job as a legislative liaison with the Illinois attorney general’s office.

“I always had an idea I wanted to do work involving political science, but this is a much harder job than you see as a kid, watching Schoolhouse Rock and how a bill becomes a bill. You’re constantly talking, constantly thinking, constantly moving.”

And Monmouth prepared her to be successful in that type of work.

“Absolutely,” said Berenice. “In my political science classes, there was always a lot of studying, reading a lot of material.

Then we’d talk about the material and relate it to everyday life. ... Monmouth did a really good job of creating space to grow as far as you wanted to.”

Berenice has been with the attorney general’s office for five years, the past year in her current role.

“During the legislative session, most of my work is done in Springfield,” she said. “Our office receives feedback about legislation being introduced to the General Assembly, and we work with elected officials to support or work against key issues.”

A recent example of the work she does is helping to create and institute policies for alternative energy sources—as opposed to fully regulated utilities—assisting consumers who’ve fallen victim to bait-and-switch sales practices by working to eliminate cancellation fees for unsatisfied customers.

“We keep the best interest of the general public of all of Illinois at heart, helping with consumers’ rights issues like that or with issues involving workers’ rights,” she said.

Berenice’s time in rural west central Illinois has only added to her competency for her role.

“It helps me have a different understanding of Illinois,” she said of her four years at Monmouth. “What’s great for Chicago might not be best for the rest of the state. Monmouth is that I anchor I have to pull me back.”

Skills for the next generation Ramirez has also been pulled back—back to the Chicago suburb where she lived before coming to Monmouth.

“We’re teaching 21st-century skills,” she said of the 4 C’s she uses with her STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) students in Cicero every day. “We’re exposing them to things in grade school that my generation wasn’t exposed to until college. We’re also showing them that all of their subjects are integrated. When you leave your reading class, you don’t stop reading. When you leave your math class, you don’t stop doing math. We’re teaching them things they’ll use in their future jobs.”

Ramirez oversees an impressive STEAM curriculum. In February, her third-graders were working with robots and her fourth-graders were learning about circuits. Fifth-grade students were focused on car safety features, designing vehicles that could keep an “egg passenger” safe, while her sixth-graders were studying prosthetics by creating devices that could be used by an animal.

“Golden Apple played such an important role for me, as well as Monmouth College,” said Ramirez, referring to the scholarship for future teachers that she secured as a high school senior. “I have people ask me if I had to do it all over again, would I go to Monmouth. It definitely shaped who I am today, so the answer is yes. My professors were so invested in my well-being and my education.”

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HOMECOMING ’19

Jeff Draves ’85, a chemistry professor at Graceland University, raises a toast to his former chemistry professor Richard “Doc” Kieft. The Homecoming alumni mixer was dedicated to the memory of the late professor.

For the love of faculty Returning alumni pay tribute to those who taught and inspired

By Barry McNamara

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O

utstanding faculty are at the heart of Monmouth College.

That was a recurring theme during the College’s 2019 Homecoming weekend, October 18–20.

Two professors—Trudi Peterson and Bill Urban—were honored at the Alumni Impact Awards.

Another professor, the late Richard “Doc” Kieft, was celebrated twice—once at the Fraternity and Sorority Life Hall of Fame induction and later that evening at an offcampus mixer in his honor.

Throughout the weekend, non-faculty honorees referred to former professors and coaches when reflecting on how the College had shaped them into high-achieving adults.

“We stand on the shoulders of the people who’ve helped

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

us along the way,” said Don Tanney ’79 while accepting the College’s Family of the Year honor.

It was a big weekend for the Tanney family. Don’s son Mitch Tanney ’06 and Mitch’s wife, Ashley Yeast Tanney ’08, were among four Fighting Scots greats inducted into the M Club Hall of Fame on Saturday.

For Don, the coach he singled out was longtime Monmouth professor and athletic director Terry Glasgow.

“I had the privilege of playing for Coach Glasgow,” he said of his basketball career in the 1970s. “No teacher or coach had a greater positive impact on me than Coach Glasgow did. He was fair and square, with no entitlements, and I’ve carried that sense of fairness and earning your way with me through the years.”

Thompson and Haldeman, too In accepting the College’s Distinguished Alumnus Award, Robert Riley ’70 praised legendary Monmouth philosophy professor Samuel M. Thompson.

“Through Sam Thompson, I discovered a never-ending arc of systems logic,” said Riley, who majored in philosophy and went on to

Riley

a successful career in agribusiness, including president and CEO of Feed Energy Co. At the close of his acceptance speech, Riley announced a $50,000 matching gift challenge to his classmates in advance of their 50-year reunion next year.

During his speech, Urban also referenced Thompson, calling him “a marvelous example of how a distinguished professor could have an impact over many years.” Thompson taught at Urban Monmouth from 1926–72.

Urban’s impact on the College was also significant during his 51-year career, for which he was honored with the Distinguished Service Award.

Jenny Erickson Sanberg ’10 went back farther than

either Urban or Thompson when citing a faculty member who shaped her life.

Among her “thank yous” was one to William S. Haldeman, Sanberg who taught at Monmouth from 1918–54 and famously said, “The bachelor’s degree is not enough.” That helped inspire Sanberg, who serves as Monmouth’s assistant director of career development and internship coordinator, to earn a master’s degree in college student personnel.

“Monmouth College significantly impacted my life,” she said. “It built my confidence, and it challenged me, and it continues to challenge me today.”

Teaching does a life make In accepting the Hatch Award for Teaching Excellence, Peterson debunked advice given to her when she was searching for a faculty position in the late 1990s and expressed an interest in being at a teaching-oriented college.

“One of the people I interviewed with told Peterson me, ‘Teaching does not a life make,’’ said Peterson, who teaches communication studies and is coordinator of the College’s women’s studies minor.

But Peterson believed otherwise.

“I wanted to foster students and create lifelong relationships with them,” she said.

“I chose teaching and service. Sometimes I feel inferior about not publishing, but my relationships with my students are my publications.”

Also honored on Friday evening were 1965 classmates and Monmouth board members

HOMECOMING 2019

William Goldsborough and Karen Barrett Chism,

who were both inducted into the College’s Hall of Achievement, the highest honor Monmouth bestows upon its graduates.

Goldsborough Chism praised the strong science background she acquired at Monmouth, calling it the foundation for her several successful careers.

Goldsborough said the College’s close-knit community provides several advantages.

“My overarching conclusion Chism is that small schools are better,” said Goldsborough, who was chairman of the board from 2012–17. “It’s easy to get lost at a large school, but our faculty and staff at Monmouth will not allow that to happen.”

Joining the M Club Hall of Fame were, from left: Ashley Yeast Tanney ’08, Mitch Tanney ’06, Dante Daniels ’08 and Jaime Jones Goin ’02.

More tributes Other M Club Hall of Fame inductees were two-sport star Dante Daniels ’08 and volleyball record-holder Jaime Jones Goin ’02. Daniels referenced track coach Roger Haynes’s oftenstated maxim, “Either you get better or you get worse—you don’t stay the same.” He said he used that to motivate himself for his senior season.

At the Greek life awards ceremony, the new Order of Omega inductees were Kieft, Dwayne Hughes ’87 and Amy Stark Spong ’99.

Jeff Bakker ’90 accepted on behalf of Kieft, who taught chemistry at Monmouth for 31 years, serving most of that time as adviser to Zeta Beta Tau. Kieft, who died in 2009, was also a College trustee.

“Before today’s ceremony even started, we would have heard his laugh,” said Bakker. “He would have tried to speak with as many attendees today as he could. ... Doc was gregarious. His personality filled any room in which he entered. He had a way of making you feel like you were one of his favorite students or one of his closest friends. People were drawn to Doc because he often seemed to be having so much fun. He would have had fun today.”

Lighting candles at the Order of Omega inductions were (from left): Jeff Bakker ’90, Dwayne Hughes ’87 and Amy Stark Spong ’99.

Alumni and little sisters of Monmouth’s ZBT chapter pose at the Homecoming parade with a cardboard cutout of their late longtime faculty adviser Richard “Doc” Kieft.

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Reunion Classes CLASS OF 1979

Row 1 (from left): Don Tanney, Pam Miller Rakestraw, Cindy Chavez Marsan, Susan Nelson El-Eid, Bonnie Van Rheenen Peevler, Kristine Stone-Rainey and Linda DeBo Jones. Row 2: Terry Dober, Steve Ehrenhart, Ray Bland, John Elliott, Ron Jacobs and Ralph Velazquez. Row 3: Max Kreps, Gerald Palomo, Rod Slover and Mark Kopinski.

CLASS OF 1984

Row 1 (from left): Julie Collins, Jeff Miller, Christine Baysingar and Mark Bennett. Row 2: Kelly Drafke Radzevich, Debby Blatzer, Tracy Clay Blecha and Michael Wolf. Row 3: Henry Schmidt, Kelly Niles Schmidt and Marcene Holverson Farley.

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MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

CLASS OF 1989

CLASS OF 1994 Clockwise, from top left: John Jacobs, Kaori Amaki, Kim Freels, Mark Tupper, Pam Cook Orwig, Kari Freels and Jessica Bunch Butcher.

Row 1 (from left): M.E. Westemeier Fowler, Debra Kachle Casady, Jennifer Stevenson Humphreys, Susan Matthews Wolf, Mary Korte-Decker and Melissa Furrow Burt. Row 2: Janet Workman Haywood, Jacqui White Brown, Lisa Jackson Brown, Pamela Bowman Best, Amy Manning and Michael Jones. Row 3: Kelly Simpson Knitter, Sean Maher, Michelle Perry, Brad Nahrstadt, Michelle Moy and Amy Palmer. Row 4: Cheri Nelson Byers, Danny Mahr, Tracy Clevenger Brennan, Michelle Merritt-Juszczyk, Kelly Rinker Shymanski, Jackie Bell Zachmeyer and Tiffany Mekshes Cole.

HOMECOMING 2019

CLASS OF 2009

Row 1 (from left): Maggie Ramirez and Keshala Halangoda. Row 2: Ankeia Scott, Molly Stewart Graeber, Samantha Briones, Heidi Ruderman, Maddy Ethington, Liane Lopez, Katie Bonafazi and Amy Lang. Row 3: Chris Schwarz, Breanna Webb Schwarz, Hilary Leary-Martin, Katey Vaccarello Flatt, Emily Boleyn Kuczera, Shannon Turczyn Reschke and Luke Reschke.

MORE CLASS OF 2009

Row 1 (from left): First Lady Lobie Stone, Teresa Schryver, Ryan Burns, Alicia Cox, Kelsey Cole Burns, President Clarence Wyatt and Jordan Pless. Row 2: Maggie Ramirez, Lindsey Peterson Van Opdorp, Stephanie Larson Kramp, Tony Kramp, Bridget Ehrhart and Janette Buffardi.

Row 3: Amy Lang, Brittney Miller Tomic, Molly Roderick Short, Sarah Nokes, Katey Vaccarello Flatt, Shannon Turczyn Reschke and Luke Reschke.

CLASS OF 1999

CLASS OF 2014

Row 1 (from left): Alyssa Edwards, Rachel Whitlock, Evan Davis and Jennifer Simmons. Row 2: Tiffany Adams Ouellette, Brandon Oulette and Christina Durante Smith.

Row 1 (from left): Jason Dare, Stephanie Orsi Dare, Tim Mottaz and Nicole Housman Poffinbarger. Row 2: Christina Jesukaitis Podraza, Joanna Davison Triebel, Stacy DeGeer Colgan, Kelly Brandt Wheeler and Kathy Lawrence Hackney.

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SCOTSPORTS SCOT

Teammates rush to congratulate goalkeeper Kensey Arlt, after she made her third straight shootout save against Knox to propel the Fighting Scots to their first-ever NCAA playoff berth.

TEAMWORK TRIUMPHS Women’s and men’s soccer both conclude historic seasons

T

wo of the best seasons in monmouth soccer history

led to plenty of thrills on the pitch, as the women’s team reached the NCAA tournament for the first time and the men ended an 18-year postseason drought.

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MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Perhaps no moment was as thrilling as the penalty kick shootout at Knox in the Midwest Conference women’s championship game. The Scots and Prairie Fire battled to a 0–0 tie through regulation and two overtime periods, but a winner needed to be determined, as an NCAA tournament berth was on the line.

“Most of the game was played at midfield and everyone was exhausted after the last overtime,” said coach Nick Rizzo. “I was most proud of how many warriors we had

on the field. Sarah Poirier gets her first varsity start in the championship game filling in for Aspen Chadderdon, who got injured (in the semifinal). There was Jordyn Gossell and Devin Cross, who put in unbelievable efforts. I could name everyone on the team.”

Entering the final kick of the first five rounds, Knox was in position to win, but junior goalkeeper Kensey Arlt kept the Scots’ season alive with a save, forcing the shootout to an extra round.

Freshman Mikayla McCart buried the Scots’ sixth-round PK to give them the lead, and Arlt then came up with her third straight save, ending the shootout and securing the program’s first NCAA berth.

“Kensey made a huge save in the fifth round,” said Rizzo.

“Had she not made that save, we lose right there. I’ve never coached a goalie who is more confident to win a PK shootout.”

As a freshman, Arlt helped the Scots to a shootout victory over St. Norbert in an MWC semifinal. The Scots had a slightly easier time in this year’s semifinal, avenging an earlier loss to Cornell with a 1–0 victory thanks to a Kara-Jade Gordon penalty kick in the 54th minute. The Scots outshot the Rams 15–5 to extend their season record for wins to 14.

The following weekend, the Scots fell in their firstever NCAA playoff game, dropping a 1–0 decision in Minneapolis to a St. Thomas team that had surrendered only nine goals all season.

Back-to-back losses to Cornell and Knox in early October served as a wake-up call to the Scots, who had started the season 9-1-1 with impressive wins over Concordia-Chicago, Webster and Simpson.

“I knew we had a good team and had a chance to challenge

(Continued on page 30) SPRING 2020

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SCOTSPORTS

SCOTS SOCCER Continued from page 29

Coach Rizzo

for the conference, but this team really exceeded my expectations,” said Rizzo. “If you look at our losses, three of them were to a regionally ranked team, a Top 20 team and a two-time conference champion. I think we’ve proved that we’re now a team to be reckoned with. It’s been really cool to be noticed in the soccer community as a very good program and not a team that just got lucky at the end of the year.”

So what’s gotten the team to this level?

“Aspen Chadderdon said it best in the postgame interview: ‘We truly like each other,’” said Rizzo. “If you watch the team, it’s incredible how they treat each other. It’s something that’s gotten better each year. They’re really a special group. Our junior and senior class has set an incredible standard for future teams to maintain, if not surpass.”

Gordon, who scored a team-high 15 goals, earned her fourth consecutive All-MWC honor, and she was joined on the squad

by Cross, Gosell and senior forward Jacie Reis (12 goals).

Gordon and Reis finished their stellar careers with 53 and 39 goals, respectively—good for third and fourth on the all-time list—and they were each named to the All-North Region team. Rizzo, who guided the team to a 14-5-2 record, was named the MWC’s Coach of the Year. that honor was also received by men’s coach Kooten Johnson, who led his senior-laden team to a 9-7-2 mark and the program’s first MWC playoff berth since 2001.

The Scots’ recipe for success was a hard-nosed Coach Johnson defense, which posted a school-record eight shutouts, and just enough offense, fueled by junior all-conference forward Alvaro Alvarez, who led the team with 10 goals.

Four of those shutouts came in MWC action, where the Scots were 4-3-2. The swing games toward securing a playoff berth were shutouts—a 0–0 tie against sixth-place Cornell and a 3–0 victory over fifth-place Lawrence, with Alvaro scoring the go-

30

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

All-conference forward Alvaro Alvarez led Monmouth in scoring in a season that saw the Scots reach the MWC playoffs for the first time in 18 years.

ahead goal on a second-half header.

“We were optimistic we’d have a good season,” said Johnson.

“You don’t really look at the records when you start the season. You take it one game at a time and the records were just a byproduct of that. The big picture was to make it to the conference tournament. To do that for the first time since 2001 broke a long drought.”

At the conference tournament, which was also hosted by Knox, the Scots fell 2–0 to the Fire, who had also defeated Monmouth by that score during the regular season.

“To finally get in this year was a relief, but we weren’t satisfied with just getting in,” said Johnson. “We wanted to go in and win a game or two. With the rivalry with Knox, close to home and the fans, it was a great atmosphere.”

Johnson will have to replace 10 seniors—six of them starters—from his record-setting season.

“The best thing about the seniors is that they were hard-working and fun to be around,” said Johnson. “They took their leadership roles to heart and took care of some details that I had to handle in the past. They kept the ship going in the right direction. That freed me up to concentrate on the actual game. They checked all the boxes of what you want your players to be.”

One of those seniors, Martin Zafirov, joined Alvarez on the All-MWC team, along with freshman Jaxon Coleman, who was named the league’s Newcomer of the Year.

SCOTSPORTS

FINDING A WAY TO WIN Through determination and good fortune, Braun’s squad reaches playoffs

By Barry McNamara

F

or the first 42 games of Chad Braun’s head coaching career at Monmouth College, the Fighting Scots put up nearly 38 points per game. The Scots didn’t start each game with a couple touchdowns already on the scoreboard, but it often seemed like it.

Braun’s 2019 team deviated from the script of his first four seasons, but it still wound up in a familiar place—the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Scoring only 19.2 points per game this fall gave the Scots a thinner margin for error. Their Midwest Conference championship hinged on a pair of razor-thin moments—the overtime period against the University of Chicago and the final minute of the MWC title game, a rematch with St. Norbert.

The latter wouldn’t have taken place without the former, so the Chicago game is the place to start.

Tied 14–14 with the Maroons after regulation, Monmouth got the ball first in overtime and the Scots’ scoring drive didn’t take long. Quarterback Walker Dycus handed off to Devin Lawrence and the sophomore took it 25 yards to the end zone, giving him three TDs and 165 yards rushing for the day.

Senior Joey Biel booted the extra point and Monmouth led 21–14.

“I knew we had a good play called,” said Braun. “Coach (Joe) Freitag told me what he was going to run. It was something we were

In near storybook fashion, sophomore receiver Jake Uryasz (10) pulls down a last-second touchdown pass from third-string quarterback Carter Boyer to propel the Scots to a victory over St. Norbert and a conference championship.

(Continued on page 33)

SPRING 2020

31

FALL SPORTS SUMMARY VOLLEYBALL

Griff Morrill ’21

CROSS COUNTRY Competing close to home at Oak Run for the Midwest Conference Championships, both Fighting Scots teams posted second-place finishes, with a combined eight runners earning all-league honors.

All five scorers for the women were all-conference, with just 30 seconds separating the pack.

Four sophomores led the way in the 6K race, with Ezzie Baltierra-Chavez placing seventh in 24:47, nine seconds ahead of Caroline Young, who placed eighth. The other All-MWC runners were Mik Moore (12th), Arika Hofmann (13th) and senior Caitlyn Allen (17th). It was Allen’s third all-league finish.

“They ran well as a pack, and that’s all we could ask,” said coach Jon Welty ’12. “We’re looking at this as a learning experience. We had five all-conference runners, but it’s going to take six or seven of those to get us a shot at a conference title. We have a couple more who could move up and perhaps get us there.”

For the men, junior Griff Morrill came within 11 seconds of winning the 8K race, placing second in 27:05. Joining him in the top 20 were sophomore Riley Dulin (seventh) and senior Tate Heiple (14th).

“Going into the race and looking at the other teams, nobody would have expected our men to be a top-two team or have an individual be the runner-up,” said Welty. “I thought a really good day would put us fourth. They exceeded my expectations. We had great performances from top to bottom.”

At the season-ending 36-team NCAA regional meet, Young and Morrill both finished 46th as the women’s team placed 13th and the men took 17th. Morrill improved by more than 100 places from his sophomore-year regional.

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MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Although the season didn’t end with an MWC playoff berth, Emily Thebeau had to consider her first year as Monmouth’s coach a success.

The Scots showed they are force to be reckoned with in the league, taking sets from three of the four playoff teams, including a heartbreaking 18-16 loss in the fifth set against Grinnell.

Along the way, the Scots beat four league teams to tie for fifth place. Their overall mark was 12-16.

Junior Riley Cook was named to the All-MWC team after leading the Scots with 278 kills, 79 blocks and a hitting percentage of .325. Senior Laura Dulee served up a team-high 46 aces to go with an even 800 assists. She finished fourth on the Scots’ all-time assist list and fifth in aces.

For the year, three Scots carded rounds in the 70s, led by 77s for Hoekstra and sophomore Morgan Bemis. That score is one stroke off of Hoekstra’s school record.

Rachael Leifheit ’20 and Alison Bowman ’21

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Riley Cook ’21

WOMEN’S GOLF Competing for the first time in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Scots placed fourth out of 10 teams at the SLIAC meet, carding back-to-back rounds of 341.

Senior Haley Hoekstra contributed a pair of 81s to those rounds, which was good for a sixth-place finish individually, making her just the second golfer in school history to post four straight all-conference finishes.

Once again, the Scots’ deep team put together impressive rounds during the season, carding four sub-330 rounds. They won the Illinois College Fall Invite with a 321, just two strokes off the school record.

The Scots held serve from the previous season, again posting a 4-5 mark to place sixth in the MWC. Overall, the Scots were 6-8.

Senior Rachael Leifheit posted winning records in both singles and doubles. Her seven wins at No. 3 singles trailed only freshman Emily Laughlin, who was 8-9. At No. 2 doubles, Leifheit partnered with junior Alison Bowman for an 8-2 record.

At the Midwest Conference Singles and Doubles Championships, Monmouth reached the consolation finals of six of the nine events.

Leifheit and Laughlin partnered for the first time all season to take the consolation title at No. 2 doubles, and they each won their consolation finals in singles.

MEN’S WATER POLO A lack of depth held the Fighting Scots back in the pool, and the season-ending Collegiate Water Polo Association Western Championships in Erie, Pa., provided a convincing example.

The Scots were tied at halftime in one of their three games there and were ahead by two in their finale but ran out of gas both times, falling 8-7 in the latter contest to end their season at 0-11.

One of three seniors on the team, Jesus Aguirre led the Scots with 31 goals.

SCOTSPORTS FOOTBALL Continued from page 31 saving. The line did a tremendous job giving Devin an opening and he did the rest, breaking tackles when we got him into space.”

The hosts took longer to match that TD on their turn from the 25-yard line, but the Maroons eventually scored, pulling them within a point. Chicago then eschewed a PAT kick, opting to go for the win instead.

“We had to call a timeout when they lined up for two,” said Braun. “We expected them to kick, so we had to get the right personnel on the field.”

The play the Maroons chose was just as surprising as their decision to go for two. They ran play-action to the right, but threw back against the grain to a 6-foot-4, 240-pound eligible-receiver lineman, who caught the pass and rumbled toward the end zone with a head of steam. He shrugged off a would-be tackle and neared the goal line and a Chicago victory.

But junior Connor Graeff closed fast, influencing the play just enough for senior Nick Miyler to come flying in from the middle of the field, dislodging the ball on his hard hit before it crossed the plane of the goal line.

“You never dream of them running that play to a lineman receiver,” said Braun. “It was a gutsy call. We had a mistake on coverage when they went into motion and that probably ate up a blocker that more than likely would have taken Miyler out of the play. We were fortunate. We preach pursuit, running to the ball and never quitting. Miyler did all of those things.”

As thrilling as that play was, it only ranked No. 2 for drama on the season, as it was surpassed two weeks later by a sequence that’s become known around campus simply as “The Drive.”

Trailing 7–3 against St. Norbert, the Scots took over on downs at their own 11-yard line with just 55 seconds to play

and no timeouts.

And oh, by the way, playing quarterback was third-stringer Carter Boyer, whose stats at the time for his freshman season were 13 attempts, with five completions for 65 yards.

Boyer quickly improved those numbers, hitting his first pass, a 50-yarder to sophomore Jake Uryasz.

“We had Carter in the two-minute drill against our No. 2 defense (two days earlier) and he came up with negative 20 yards,” said Braun. “Really, he’s got a great arm and we needed to pick up a big chunk of yards in a hurry to even have a shot. It’s a credit to the type of kids we have. They’re going to fight for you for all 60 minutes. Because of his arm strength, we knew Carter was our best chance to get the ball down the field without any timeouts left. Jake made an incredible catch on that 50-yard completion, and that was the key. We don’t win if we don’t complete that one.”

Boyer then hit junior wide receiver Nathan Graham twice for gains of five and nine yards. The 14 yards were nice, but Graham made an even larger contribution.

“Nathan was relaying the plays to Carter,” said Braun of the Scots’ hurry-up offense. “We had to think things out on the fly. Nathan was instrumental in our success. Carter is a laid-back kind of kid, and that’s just what we needed at the time.”

After an interception in the end zone was negated because of pass interference, Boyer and Uryasz connected on a seven-yard pass to the 5-yard line.

There was time to run two plays, but the Scots needed only one, as Uryasz, though heavily blanketed by a Green Knight defender, snagged Boyer’s pass in

All-American senior right tackle Joe Krall (65) and junior defensive end Aubrey Vaughan (42) lead the celebration of the conferenceclinching victory against St. Norbert

the end zone, scoring the game-winning TD with just two seconds on the clock.

All the freshman QB had done was go 5-for-5 for 76 yards and the Scots’ only touchdown of the game.

“We had the right hashtag this year,” said Braun of the Scots’ #FindAWay motto. “These guys found a way. We weren’t always the most talented, but they competed, played the game the right way and found a way to win. I’m most proud of them for doing that.”

The following week, Monmouth’s season came to an end, as the Scots were defeated 35–10 in the first round of the NCAA playoffs at Wisconsin-Whitewater. Ranked No. 7 nationally at the time, the Warhawks went on to make their 10th national championship game appearance since 2005.

Monmouth finished 7–3, with its other losses to Wheaton and Wartburg, who both made the NCAA playoffs and were ranked No. 3 and No. 22, respectively, at the close of the regular season. Overall, the Scots played six games against teams with winning records, ranking them No. 1 nationally for strength of schedule.

The Scots also had a major national individual honor, as senior right tackle Joe Krall was named to three All-American teams at the end of the year. Also a track and field All-American, Krall was honored by the American Football Coaches Association, the Associated Press and D3Football.com.

SPRING 2020

33

SCOTSPORTS

GORDON GOES GLOBAL

A

funny thing happened to

By Dan Nolan Sports Information Director

Kara-Jade Gordon on her way to earning a psychology degree at Monmouth. On a

whim, the standout senior soccer and lacrosse player took advantage of an opportunity to play international lacrosse and discovered a potential post-college career.

S

elected as a member of Jamaica’s inaugural women’s lacrosse national team, Gordon and her teammates placed third at last November’s Pan-American Lacrosse Association World Qualifiers in Auburndale, Fla., earning a berth in the 2021 World Championships, to be held in Maryland.

“I found out Jamaica was forming a national team and my father said I could qualify to try out,” said Gordon, whose parents are from Jamaica. “He got the paperwork going for my dual citizenship. Apparently they saw my stats and maybe some game film and offered me a spot on the team. It was definitely a surprise.”

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MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Gordon scored 17 goals in four matches to lead the Jamaican team to a third-place finish in the qualifiers.

Gordon surprised herself by leading her team with 17 goals in four games at the qualifiers. “When I got there, we were a ragtag bunch of women who didn’t know each other and who weren’t the most organized team there,” she said. “I got there for the end of the first practice, so I didn’t get on the field, but I did get to meet everyone. We had a dinner that night, then the next day we had our second practice—my first—and a game that afternoon.”

Perhaps surprisingly, Gordon’s team clipped Colombia 10–6 in the opener— just the second time Gordon had even stepped on a field in Auburndale. The next day wasn’t so kind to the Jamaicans, losing 21–3 to Haudenosaunee—a Native

American team and the eventual tournament winner. Gordon’s squad rebounded that afternoon with an 18–4 win over Argentina before falling 15–5 to Puerto Rico the following day. Jamaica pulled out a harrowing 9–8 win on the final day over Mexico to take third place, punching its ticket to the world championships.

“There was some amazing talent there,” said Gordon, who was named Player of the Match against Mexico.

“That was the highlight. I’ve never been that close to women’s lacrosse players who were way above my level.

It was an exciting experience for me to play against so much talent and players who were much older than me.”

Although Gordon hadn’t met her

teammates coming into the event, she had already seen some of her competition.

Monmouth women’s lacrosse coach Elizabeth Demara had shown her team a film documenting the history of lacrosse. That film featured a pair of players from the Haudenosaunee team.

“I was star-struck,” said Gordon, laughing at the experience.

T

of what makes Gordon special.

“Speed and athleticism.

Physically, that’s what sets her apart for us at the Division III level. Mentally, she has a confident, competitive nature and nothing rattles her. She has good field awareness, and with her speed, that really helps her get down the field in transition.

Simply put, she’s just a good athlete.”

he only Jamaican to score “against the really good teams”— Gordon made an impression on the opposition, too, after adjusting to the higher In the critical contest that four-time all-league caliber of play and to her new earned Jamaica a thirdselection and setplace finish and a trip to the teammates. ting the Scots’ career 2021 World Championships, “Although we had never game-winning goal Gordon was named Player met until that week, we record. Gordon, a high of the Match. really bonded as a team,” school state champion in said Gordon. “Everyone was the 100-meter dash, used that breakso supportive and excited to be a part away speed to lead the soccer team of something new for Jamaica. The in scoring last fall and earn its first team chemistry was great. Everyone appearance in the NCAA tournament. was happy when we scored, regardless Unfortunately for Gordon, it was a of who scored.” tournament the gifted athlete had to Gordon knows all about scoring, miss, as the NCAA tourney and the entering her final lacrosse season at lacrosse world qualifiers were held on Monmouth as a three-time all-conthe same weekend in November. Such ference performer and the Scots’ is the life for Gordon, who received record-holder in all offensive categotexted score updates from her soccer ries. That’s not to mention her soccer teammates. accolades, finishing her career as a Demara said that elite speed is part

T

he lacrosse qualifier field included many NCAA Division I student-athletes as well as adults, ranging in age from the teens to players in their 40s. Gordon is building on that experience as she plays her final season at Monmouth this spring.

“I’m really excited about our season at Monmouth,” she said. “I feel like I have a future in lacrosse. That wasn’t something that was even on my radar before the Pan Am Qualifier.”

The numbers appear to support Gordon’s assessment. The speedster did her share of scoring, turning in the second-most goals and third-most points (19) at the tournament. Taking third place just added to the experience, not just for Gordon, but for her Jamaican teammates.

“We’re all pretty excited for the future of lacrosse in Jamaica,” said Gordon. “We’re not quite world class yet, but it’s a start.”

7 T H A N N UA L FIGHTING SCOTS SOCIETY

GOLF OUTING FRIDAY, JUNE 12: Gibson Woods Golf Course www.monmouthcollege.edu/golf-outing

SPRING 2020

35

ALUMNI NEWS WE WELCOME NEWS AND PHOTOS related to your career, awards, reunions or travel with your Monmouth College friends, and any other information of interest to your classmates or alumni. We also welcome announcements and photos of alumni weddings and births, as well as alumni obituaries.

Please see page 38 for submission guidelines.

1956

The Rev. Carolyn Copeland Cammenga of Grand Rapids, Mich., retired in 2012 as pastor of pastoral care for Plymouth Heights Christian Reformed Church. She holds master’s degrees in guidance and counseling, divinity, and theology.

1960

60th

REUNION

JUNE 4–7, 2020

Class secretary Nancy Van Natta Wherry of Pekin, Ill., reminds classmates to mark their calendars for this summer’s reunion and to collect photos for a reunion slide show. More information will be forthcoming in a class letter and a brochure. She may be contacted at njwherry@gmail.com or 309-347-3983.

1964

Carl Demas of San Diego retired in 2008 as president of Sunshine Supply Co. Inc. in San Diego. He and his wife, Margaret Schneider Demas ’62 are the parents of two sons.

1965

55th

REUNION

JUNE 4–7, 2020

Dave Coots was recognized by the Indiana Bar Association for 50 years of work in the profession. He still works full-time at Coots, Henke & Wheeler in Carmel, Ind. Among the “major pieces of litigation” he’s worked were a pair of cases early in his career involving crashes at the Indianapolis 500.

COOTS

1968

Joan Rezner Gundersen received an honorary doctorate at Virginia Theological Seminary’s annual Academic Convocation. She was cited for having served the church faithfully as a scholar of church history and women’s history and for her “dedication to uncovering and telling the whole story of The Episcopal Church.”

HERBSLEB

1969

David Ward of Brooklyn, N.Y., retired in 2019 from the New York City Center, a performing arts center in midtown Manhattan, where he had served as senior director of facilities and capital planning for the past 24 years.

1970 1972 LAWSON

36

50th

REUNION

JUNE 4-7, 2020

Lon Helton received the 2020 Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award from the Country Radio Broadcasters (CRB) in February. The award is given at the discretion of the CRB Board of Directors to recognize an individual in the country radio industry who has displayed a magnanimous spirit of caring and gen-

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Former Gibson Hall dormmates enjoyed a mini-reunion in Indiana in October. Clockwise, from top left: Peter Robertson ’91, Colby Oleson ’91, Dave Hillis ’92, Mary Francis Strachan ’92, Shawn Strachan ’92, Karen Seeman Hillis ’93, Tom Hasson ’91 and Craig Anderson ’91.

erosity in service to their community. Helton is one of the founders of Country Cares for St. Jude Kids radiothon program, a fundraising effort that is quickly approaching the $1 billion mark.

1975

45th

REUNION

JUNE 4–7, 2020

Jim Herbsleb of Pittsburgh has been named director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Institute for Software Research. A faculty member at CMU for 17 years, he holds degrees in computer science, psychology and law, and is best known for his research on collaboration and coordination in large-scale software engineering projects.

1978

Lester Houston of Huntsville, Ala., earned a doctorate in organization and management from Capella

1979 1980 1985 1988

Amy DeVitalis of Monmouth is a cook and baker for Courtyard Estates in Monmouth..

University.

40th 35th

REUNION

REUNION

OCT. 9–11, 2020 OCT. 9–11, 2020

Brig. Gen. Chris Lawson of Chatham, Ill., was the featured speaker at a Veterans Day ceremony held at Monmouth College in November. He currently serves as principal adviser to the National Guard Bureau J5 director on matters of national military strategy, joint strategic plans and international affairs.

Dan Cotter of Chicago has joined the Michigan-based law firm Howard & Howard, expanding the firm’s corporate and business litigation practices. An experienced attorney and inside general counsel who assists clients in dealing with complex insurance regulatory issues and transactions, and substantial reorganizations of holding company systems, he also has substantial experience with internal investigations and employment-related issues. He will continue to practice from Chicago.

ALUMNI NEWS | CLASS NOTES

1989

Brad Nahrstadt of Northbrook, Ill., has been named chief operating officer of Donohue Brown Mathewson & Smyth, a 40-lawyer litigation firm in Chicago. He spent the last 28 years as a trial lawyer, most recently as a managing partner at Lipe Lyons Murphy Nahrstadt & Pontikis in Chicago.

1990 1992

30th

REUNION

OCT. 9–11, 2020

Kaori Amaki is head of brand for EY Advisory and Consulting in Tokyo, Japan. She’s worked in the financial world for much of her career and earned an MBA from IE Business School in Madrid, Spain, in 2007.

Dave and Karen Seeman Hillis ’93 live in Oxford, Miss. Dave is the manufacturing manager at Winchester Ammunition, Centerfire Operations. The facility has just over 1,000 employees and is one of the largest employers in northern Mississippi. He was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association. Karen works for Ole Miss in the admissions department, where she has the responsibility of the admission of all transfer students.

1995 1996

25th

REUNION

OCT. 9–11, 2020

Robert T. Grimm Jr. of Washington, D.C., is the recipient of Indiana University’s 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award. The Levenson Family Chair in Philanthopy and Nonprofit Leadership at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, Grimm is the founder and director of the university’s award-winning Do Good Institute and Maryland’s Do Good Campus, which engages students of all majors and colleges in hands-on educational experiences that empower them to make a social impact. Grimm earned both his master’s degree and Ph.D. from Indiana University.

1998

Josh Oakley completed his first season as head coach of Spring Arbor (Mich.) University’s men’s soccer team. The 2019 season was Oakley’s 18th as a head collegiate coach. He’s also led men’s soccer teams at Alma (Mich.)

College and Asbury College in Kentucky.

2000 2002

20th

REUNION

OCT. 9–11, 2020

Ed Wildermuth of Westfield, Ind., recently passed the certified financial planner exam. He works for Clear Financial Solutions.

Vicki Kunz of Lake in the Hills, Ill., performed a solo and two-person show at the annual Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival in January. Kunz, who started doing impov while a student at Monmouth, trained at Second City, where she got into sketch comedy.

She has been performing and serving as stage manager for the festival for 10 years.

2003 2004

Curtis Lane of Canton, Ill., has been named an associate judge for the Illinois 9th Judicial Circuit.

Ed McCracken made headlines last fall when he overpowered a would-be carjacker in Dyer, Ind., and then pulled a woman out of another vehicle the carjacker was trying to steal. A real estate investor and bodybuilder, McCracken and his wife have started a new business to care for the elderly, breaking ground on Two Hearts Home for Seniors, a resi-

BLENDER

CORBAN

ALEXANDER

Trio of Scots entering coaching hall of fame Three Monmouth alumni will be among the honorees at the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame induction ceremony May 2 at Redbird Arena in Normal.

Jay Blender ’81 and Barry Corban ’69 will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, while Neil Alexander ’76 will receive the Chuck Rolinski Award, which recognizes continued contributions to basketball coaching in the state.

Alexander went over the 800 career-win mark in 2018 and is still on the sidelines, coaching boys basketball at Lincoln High School.

Blender posted 401 victories as a head varsity basketball coach, primarily leading the boys team at his high school alma mater, Southern, and girls teams at Union and West Central.

Corban also coached both boys and girls varsity teams, and his Prairie Central squads had great success, with his daughter and future Fighting Scot, Kaley Corban ’14, playing on some of those teams. He also won 350 boys games at Chatsworth and as Prairie Central’s first coach following a consolidation. dential-style assisted living home in Lowell, Ind. The home, which McCracken expects to open in 2020, will employ nearly 20 people and will also feature a therapy dog to provide comfort to the residents.

2005 2006

15th

REUNION

LANE

OCT. 9-11, 2020

Evy Lipecka of Harwood Heights, Ill., has been named director of development for Meadville Lombard Theological School, a Unitarian Universalist seminary in Chicago. She previously served as director of development for the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Foundation.

LIPECKA

Shane Gordon, superintendent of the Bluford (Ill.) Unit School District, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation at Western Illinois University.

2007

Chris Walljasper of Chicago is one of nine business journalists from around the world participating this spring in the University of Chicago Booth Journalists in Residence Program. An investigative reporter, he covers issues facing rural America and the agriculture industry for the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. He earned his master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

GORDON

SPRING 2020

37

ALUMNI NEWS | CLASS NOTES

2008

Ian Van Anden has accepted the positon of assocate director for leadership, service and civic engagement at the University of Iowa. He spent the past five years leading the office of social justice at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md.

2009 VAN ANDEN

Felicia Roberts Wachob of Tulsa, Okla., has started a new position as marketing and business development director at L&M Office Furniture.

2010

10th

REUNION

OCT. 9-11, 2020

Nick Davis of Terre Haute, Ind., is an assistant football coach at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Noah Emery of Hamilton, Ohio, is the author of a children’s book titled Kevin’s First Flight, about a cardinal’s adventure after first leaving the nest. The book is illustrated by watercolor artist and classmate Lindsay Johnson Cocquit of Peoria, Ill. EMERY

2012 Agency.

Amanda Lehmann Jefferson of Ames, Iowa, is a school social worker for Heartland Area Education

Rod Ojong has been named a defensive quality control assistant for University of Georgia football, after having spent the past two seasons as cornerbacks coach at Furman and Austin Peay, respectively.

He was previously a graduate assistant at North Carolina for two years and at Memphis for one year.

2014 vision.

Patrick Dabbs of Chicago is associate vice president for Swiss Re’s Accident & Health North America di-

Sara Frakes Reinhardt of Irmo, S.C., is an information systems analyst for the department of enrollment management at the University of South Carolina.

2015 MARX

5th

REUNION

OCT. 9-11, 2020

Megan Byrne Gillen of Moline, Ill., is a physical therapist at Athletico Physical Therapy.

Jacob Marx of Kodiak, Alaska, was promoted from ensign to lieutenant junior grade in the Coast Guard.

Claire Griffith has been accepted to the Master’s in International Business program at Hult International Business School in London for fall 2020.

2018

Brittany Bender of Belvidere, Ill., is a teen leadership and career development coordinator at Boys & Girls Club in Elgin, Ill. Cristian Hernandez of Chicago is a bilingual translator for Chicago Public Schools.

2019

Kaitlyn Rule Holland of Davenport, Iowa, is a mental health professional at UnityPoint Health in Rock Island, Ill.

EWALD

38

Tate Heiple of Quincy, Ill. is a news and sports reporter for KHQA televison in Quincy.

Taylor Ewald is an outreach educator for the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, N.Y.

David Blake of Galesburg, Ill. has been promoted to personal banker at Tompkins State Bank in Knoxville, Ill.

2016 2017 GRIFFITH

Jessica Fox ’17 (right), 2019 Miss Quincy, Ill., handed over her crown in January to current Monmouth College student Emma Hildebrand ’20 in January. Hildebrand will compete in June at the Miss Illinois pageant.

Eric Oliphant of Galesburg, Ill., is a wet chemistry analyst for PDC Laboratories in Peoria.

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Submission Guidelines Submit your news online at monmouthcollege. edu/alumni/updates, by email to alumni@ monmouthcollege.edu, or by mail to Monmouth College Magazine, Attn: Alumni Programs, 700 East Broadway, Monmouth IL 61462-1998. Digital photos should have a minimum resolution of 300 pixels per inch. Please include a photo caption with full names that clearly match faces, class years, date and location. We reserve the right to reject images for any reason, especially those with low resolution and those that require purchase from a photo gallery website. Submissions will be published at the discretion of the editors on a space-available basis.

IN THE SCOTLIGHT

ZACK JOHNSON ’15

Personal grief inspires ambitious adventure in filmmaking

By BARRY McNAMAR A

S

itting in the back of venues as his documentary Dirty Laundry is screened, Zack Johnson is able to gauge audiences’ reaction to the film that he made with his cousin, Conor Lewis.

The documentary tells the story of people across the country who lost loved ones to mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer.

But it was when Johnson went to the front of the house to answer questions at one screening that he got perhaps the most important feedback of all.

“We were at the St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase,” said Johnson, a 2015 Monmouth graduate who lives across the Mississippi River from St. Louis in Alton, Ill. “One of the people we interviewed in the film was Julie Gundlach. She was a big part of our story. The St. Louis screening was her first time seeing the film. During the Q & A portion, I looked down into the audience and saw Julie. She was bawling her eyes out. In the film, we’re talking about people’s lives, and it’s a very “So many people serious thing. To see her be so moved was the most opened up their homes important feedback ever to us, cooked for us, to me. She was extremely happy with how it turned welcomed us as family out.” with open arms.”

Johnson visited campus last fall to screen the documentary and share his story with students. He said it was during the editing process that he had a feeling the documentary might be a success.

“It’s tough to be objective when you’re working with the footage every day,” said Johnson, who was the film’s assistant director and sound mixer, as well as one of the camera operators. “You’ve kind of got to remove yourself from the process.

But during editing I remember saying, ‘Guys, I think this is freaking good.’”

Johnson’s and Lewis’s grandmother died of mesothelioma, which Johnson said she got from doing laundry, shaking out the dust from her husband’s coveralls after his days spent as a pipe insulator working with asbestos.

“She died in 2012,” said Johnson, who was in the fall semester of his sophomore year at Monmouth at the time. “It was only three months from her diagnosis to passing.”

The loss hit Johnson and his cousin hard. What moved their documentary project forward was a combination of that grief, plus Lewis’s passion for cycling and the cousins’ constant search for new and different ideas.

“We were just spitballing ideas over coffee one day, and I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be crazy if we tied cycling into meso?’” said Johnson. “There was a brief moment of silence, then we said, ‘Wait, that could be something.’”

That something turned into a 4,200-mile, 78-day quest, using several established bike trails along the way, including the TransAmerica Bike Trail, which starts in Astoria, Ore., the location from which Johnson and Lewis started riding.

“We were within 30 miles of Canada at one point,” said Johnson. “The whole route seemed slightly uphill.”

The biking might have been a struggle at times, but the relationships they forged along the way were well worth the effort.

“So many people opened up their homes to us, cooked for us, welcomed us as family with open arms.”

Typically, Johnson and Lewis would share a meal at a home and relax in the evening, getting to know their interview subject. The next morning, they’d film an interview about the family member who’d been lost to mesothelioma.

One of the sessions that moved Johnson the most was with Latanyata Manuel.

“She loved her husband so much,” said Johnson. “I don’t even know how to articulate how much she loved him. And he was taken away by a completely man-made disease. You could almost feel the pain she was experiencing. It hurt my heart.”

The documentary goes beyond having an impact on those who’ve lost loved ones to mesothelioma. It has been screened at 11 festivals and received two awards, earning the Cultural Spirit Award at the New Hope Film Festival in Pennsylvania and the Alan Reinstein Award from the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization for commitment to education, advocacy, and providing support to countless patients and families.

Johnson (left) and his cousin, Conor Lewis, conceived an unconventional way to film a documentary on the dangers of asbestos by riding their bicycles across the United States and conducting interviews with mesothelioma victims, families and researchers.

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WEDDINGS

2004 Haley Munson and Todd Hochmuth

April 6, 2019 2013 Amanda Zaidel and Joe Testolin ’12

April 27, 2019

Molly Davies and Aaron Bubb November 16, 2019

2015 Erin Wilhite and Ethan Lafary

July 20, 2019 2016 Erin Barnett and Brodie Welker

August 17, 2019 2017 Taylor Welch and James Russo

October 1, 2019 2019 Kaitlyn Rule and Gavin Holland

June 15, 2019

MOLLY DAVIES AND AARON BUBB ’13

ERIN BARNETT ’16 AND BRODIE WELKER ’16

TAYLOR WELCH ’17 AND JAMES RUSSO

HALEY MUNSON AND TODD HOCHMUTH ’04

Have a wedding or birth photo to share?

Email your high-resolution digital image to alumni@monmouthcollege.edu. Be sure to include all pertinent information, including date of wedding or birth, couples and parents’ names and class years (if applicable), and identification of all individuals in photos, if not obvious.

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BIRTHS

EDEN ELAINE NELSON

ELEANOR AND EVELYNN DUFFIELD

HENRY, PAIGE AND ISAAC FRANCIS SMITH (WITH UNCLE GAVIN HALPIN ’12)

HENRY JOHN SCHMIDT

JACOB, HILARY AND HAWK WILDER STOTT

2007 Katie and John Gerrity

a son, Kent Michael

February 4, 2020 Hilary Hawkinson Stott and Jacob ’09 a son, Hawk Wilder January 22, 2020

ZACHARY JOHN MILLER

2010 Katie and Noah Emery

a daughter, Barbara Nancy

January 1, 2020

Lis and Jake Schemerhorn a son, Beau Rex July 10, 2019

2009 Paige Halpin Smith and Henry

a son, Isaac Francis

March 20, 2019

Laura Greenwood Miller and Miles ’08 a son, Zachary John January 23, 2020

Sarah Christensen Nelson and Chris a daughter, Eden Elaine June 3, 2019

2011 Alissa and Henry Schmidt

a son, Henry John

November 30, 2019

Amanda Luedtke Gaulin and Christopher a daughter, Quinn Harper June 18, 2019

2015 Erin Schuch Frye and Justin ’14

a daughter, Olivia Rose

October 5, 2019

Kellie Thomas Wunderlich and David a son, Charles James September 9, 2019

Erin Reynolds Lorenzen and Joe a daughter, Karsyn Jean May 29, 2019

Kelcey Duy Duffield and Adam ’16 twin daughters, Eleanor and Evelyn December 4, 2019

QUINN HARPER GAULIN

BARBARA NANCY EMERY

CHARLES JAMES WUNDERLICH

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OBITUARIES

1933

Dorothy Keck Bouvia Lusby, 108, of Midland, Wash., died June 3, 2019. An English major and a member of the local sorority Theta Chi Mu, she taught high school English in Illinois for five years before moving to Washington, where she taught for 25 years. After retiring from teaching in 1971, she became a world traveler, visiting China, Russia, Europe, Australia and many other locales.

She was preceded in death by two husbands.

1938

Clairus Dew, 103, of Fort Wayne, Ind., died Sept. 19, 2019. He graduated with a degree in business administration and was a member of the basketball and baseball teams and Theta Chi. For three years, he worked for Illinois Bankers’ Life Assurance Co. in Monmouth before he began full-time military service in 1941. Dew was sent to the South Pacific just two months after Pearl Harbor, eventually rising to the rank of technical sergeant and serving with a combat squadron of the Army Air Corps. His distinguished service included six battle stars. In 1953, he moved to Fort Wayne, working at Midwestern United Life Insurance Co. until his retirement as a second vice president. Dew played slow-pitch softball into his 70s and threw out the first pitch at a minor league baseball game in Fort Wayne at the age of 100. Survivors include his wife of 76 years, Elizabeth Johnson Dew ’41, whom he married while on leave from his military duty; nephew Larry Dew ’66, and nieces Mary Bryant ’69 and Lyndea Brown ’71. He was predeceased by brothers J. R. ’32 and Leroy Dew ’34.

Helen McNeel Wiener, 102, a retired librarian of Laurel, Md., died in January 2018. She graduated with a degree in German and was a member of Pi Beta Phi.

1941

Betty Uhler Smith, 99, of Milwaukee, Wis., died April 30, 2019. A member of Pi Beta Phi, she graduated with a degree of music, then received an advanced degree from the University of Northern Iowa. She was a music teacher at Notre Dame High School in Burlington, Iowa. She was preceded in death

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by her husband of 55 years, and survivors include sons Sherm Smith ’72 and Gregory Smith ’75.

1942

Mary Lois Stults McCarnes, 98, of Petersburg, Ill., died Nov. 3, 2019. She studied French, English and Spanish at Monmouth and was a member of the synchronized swim team and Pi Beta Phi. A Monmouth native, she taught Spanish and English at several local schools, finally retiring at age 82 after teaching Spanish for 20 years at Monmouth College. Survivors include grandson Scott Stanton ’03, granddaughter Christine Stanton Lehnen ’95 and son-in-law Chip Stanton ’71.

1943

Reid Keene, 98, of La Motte, Iowa, died Oct. 15, 2019. He completed his undergraduate degree in business management at the University of Illinois. Keene worked in business for various corporations throughout his career, including Brach Candy Company, Wurlitzer Piano, Litton Industries and Texas Refinery Corporation.

Kemp Prugh, 97, of Centerville, Ohio, died July 13, 2019.

He graduated with a degree in mathematics. Prugh taught naval cadets during World War II before Kemp and Frances embarking on a caElliott ’44 Pugh reer in professions relating to teaching and physics. He retired from the National Cash Register Co. in Lancaster, Pa., in 1984, where he conducted research related to semiconductors and solid-state physics. In 2017, Prugh was part of the College’s Family of Year honor, which recognized descendants of music professor T. Merrill Austin. His wife of 75 years, Frances Elliott Prugh ’44, died three months later (see 1944). Surviving members of his family with Monmouth ties include a sister, Marian Prugh Nichol ’52, and numerous cousins.

1944

John Lawson, 95, of Bushnell, Ill., died Dec. 10, 2019.

During World War II, he served as a tail gunner in the Army Air Corps, flying many missions in Italy. At Monmouth, Lawson studied physical education and was a mem-

ber of the football, basketball and track teams and Theta Chi. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Colorado before starting a two-decade career as a teacher, coach and administrator in Bushnell. He retired from teaching in 1969 and worked in insurance and real estate until retiring in 1995. Lawson was preceded in death by his wife of 61 years. Survivors include a daughter, Claudia Lawson Moss ’72, and granddaughters Alison Heaton Clark ’04 and Olivia Heaton Logan ’06.

Frances Elliott Prugh, 99, of Centerville, Ohio, died Oct. 20, 2019. She worked with the PTA in a Kettering, Ohio, for several years and as an education unit secretary for six years before being hired at the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, first working as the secretary to the head of the international affairs division and later for the president.

Forrest Strickler, 97, of Bella Vista, Ark., died July 1, 2019. A member of Theta Chi, he studied accounting. Strickler was a World War II combat veteran, fighting at the Battle of the Bulge and attending the Potsdam Conference as a member of President Truman’s honor guard. He worked as an accountant for the State of Illinois for 28 years. Strickler was preceded in death by his wife of 48 years. Survivors include a stepdaughter, Laurel Martin Krautwurst ’70.

1947

Mae Osborn Dyer, 92, of Naperville, Ill., died March 20, 2019. She and her twin sister, Bonnie Osborn Watson ’47, who survives, attended Monmouth before transferring to Aurora College and becoming home economics teachers.

Elizabeth Gooding Yemm, 94, of Galesburg, Ill., died July 7, 2019. She studied education and was a member of Kappa Delta before completing her degree at the University of Illinois. She taught high school business for six years before raising her family and supporting her husband’s career in the automobile business.

1948

Henry Kappel, 95, of Canton, Ohio, died Dec. 20, 2018. He served as an aerial gunner in the Army Air Corps during World War II, then graduated from Monmouth with a degree

ALUMNI NEWS | OBITUARIES

in physics. He was a member of the football team, the Octopus Club and Alpha Tau Omega. Kappel attended graduate school for business at Northwestern University and DePaul University and became a licensed and registered engineer in Illinois and in Ohio, where he moved he 1964. As an entrepreneur, Kappel enjoyed a long career in business, founding UniValve Corporation in Chicago and serving as executive vice president and chief operating officer at Merit Plastics in East Canton, Ohio. He retired in 1977 and published two adventure novels.

1949

Nancy Turnbull Behm, 92, of Volant, Pa., died Sept. 11, 2019.

She graduated with a degree in English and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Along with her husband, she owned and published the Swanton (Ohio) Enterprise newspaper prior to moving to New Wilmington, Pa., in 1965, where she lived for the next half-century. Among her jobs there were high school English teacher and medical clinic activities director, as well owner and operator with her husband of a car dealership and a bed-andbreakfast. Survivors include her husband of more than 60 years, Robert Behm ’52, and a sister, Cathryn Turnbull Mongiat ’52.

1950

Katie Goddard Fritz, 90, of Naperville, Ill., died Nov. 15, 2019. She graduated with a degree in English and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years, Roger Fritz ’50.

Joseph Geiger, 93, of Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., died June 1, 2019. A World War II Navy veteran, he received 10 battle stars fighting in the South Pacific. Geiger graduated with a degree in business administration and was a member of Theta Chi before obtaining a graduate degree in gemology. He worked for Costigane and Galloway Fine Jewelers in Chicago before buying out the business at age 35. In 1988, he moved the company to the suburb of Westmont and opened as Geiger & Co. Jewelers, working there until his retirement in 2003. He was preceded in death by a son, Mark Geiger ’79 (see page 47). Survivors include a brother, Kenneth Geiger ’53, a daughter, Elizabeth Geiger Fry ’74, and a grandson, Joseph Geiger ’08.

James Hastings, 91, of Palatine, Ill., died May 28, 2019. He graduated with a degree in mathematics.

IN MEMORIA M

Juanita Winbigler Reinhard ’42 Juanita Winbigler Reinhard, a trustee emerita, died Oct. 11, 2019. The Arlington Heights, Ill., resident was 98.

A graduate of Monmouth High School, it was a natural that Reinhard would attend her hometown college, the same one that eight of her siblings, her parents, her grandfather and two great-grandparents attended.

She studied English and was a member of Pi Beta Phi before graduating and becoming a teacher. In 1944, she joined the Navy WAVES, serving through 1948. She was stationed in Washington, D.C., where she worked for officers of the Naval Barracks, ensuring that the enlisted personnel had housing and food.

Reinhard served on the Monmouth College Board of Trustees for 16 years. Her active volunteer career also included the First Presbyterian Church of Arlington Heights, where she was a member for well over half a century, and the Northwest Community Hospital Auxiliary.

In 2005, she was among those honored when the Winbiglers received the College’s Family of the Year award.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Saunders Reinhard, who served as executive vice president and controller for General Finance Corp. Her siblings who attended Monmouth were Don Winbigler ’31, Elizabeth Winbigler ’31, John Winbigler ’32, Gordon Winbigler ’34, Mary Winbigler Coriden ’38, Maxine Winbigler Meneley ’40, Ted Winbigler ’41 and Marjorie Winbigler ’46. Survivors include a daughter, Lucy Reinhard ’77. Her son, Thomas Reinhard ’82, died two months following her death (see page 47). She was a niece of legendary Monmouth professor and dean Alice Winbigler, for whom Winbigler Hall was named, and lived with her while attending Monmouth.

Jane Warnecke Kuntz, 90, of Arlington Heights, Ill., died Nov. 11, 2019. She graduated with a degree in psychology and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Kuntz was a bookkeeper for the Amidon Company and for A-Z Rental.

Bonnie Bailey Ricketts, 90, of Aledo, Ill., died in July of 2019. She studied business education.

1951

Corrine Charlson, 89, of Eau Claire, Wis., died Feb. 26, 2019. After attending the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire for a year, she completed her undergraduate degree in economics at Monmouth. In her 50s, Charlson returned to the workforce, serving the Girl Scouts of America and, for

more than 25 years, UWEC, from which she retired at the age of 84. Her grandparents emigrated from Norway in the 1800s, and Charlson was both a keeper of her family’s history and Norwegian heritage, as well as an active member of Eau Claire’s historical society.

Irene Webster McGann, 90, of Arvada, Calif., died, July 24, 2019. She graduated with a degree in history and was a member of Pi Beta Phi. Merton Messmore, 93, of Rock Island, Ill., died July 31, 2019. He joined the Navy in 1944, serving as a radioman on LST-672 in the Pacific Theater. Upon his discharge in 1946, he enrolled at Monmouth, where he majored in physical education and was a member of the base-

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IN MEMORIA M

Raymond Brooks ’53 Raymond R. Brooks, 88, of Las Vegas, died Jan. 5, 2020. A physics major, he was also a standout athlete in football, basketball and track.

One of 13 charter members of the M Club Hall of Fame in 1984, Brooks twice earned All-Midwest Conference honors in basketball and was conference champion three times in track. His senior year he was named a Little All-American at running back.

For his leadership abilities, Brooks was inducted into the Octopus Society, an organization recognizing eight of the most promising senior men. On the occasion of his 15th college reunion in 1968, he was honored as grand marshal of the Homecoming parade.

After serving with the Army Security Agency in Japan, Brooks taught mathematics in the Monmouth public school system before beginning a career with the Navy. Later transferring to the private sector, he became an engineer with Honeywell, Inc. in Minneapolis.

Brooks and his family were honored in 2016 as Monmouth College Family of the Year. His parents, the late Charles and Daisy Brooks, worked for the College as, respectively, a groundskeeper and cook, but they managed to put eight children through Monmouth College. Besides Ray, they were: Paul Brooks ’51, Don Brooks ’51, Ira Brooks Walsh ’57, Marjorie Brooks ’58, Ada Brooks Groff ’59 (all deceased), and Glenn Brooks ’61 and Chris Brooks ’72. ball and basketball teams and Tau Kappa Epsilon. Messmore spent most of his career in education, sandwiched around time in the 1960s as an insurance agent for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. During his second stint, he earned a master’s degree in education from Sangamon State University and eventually became principal at Auburn (Ill.) High School, retiring in 1988.

The Rev. Nancy Beernink Scott, 89, of Urbana, Ill., died Jan. 6, 2020. A biology major, she taught science for two years before raising three children. In 1986, she completed her master’s degree at McCormick Theological Seminary and was ordained by the Presbytery of Southeastern Illinois. She served churches in the Illinois cities of Jacksonville, Morton, Pontiac and Rantoul.

Mary Moffat Woodley Shields of Vacaville, Calif., died June 21, 2019. Survivors include her second husband, to whom she was married 44 years.

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Barbara “Bobbie” Walton, 89, of Scottsdale, Ariz., died Dec. 10, 2019. A magna cum laude graduate with a degree in psychology, she was a member of Kappa Delta sorority.

She met her husband, Bill Walton ’51, when she sought out the quarterback to sign a Homecoming football she won in a raff le. During the Korean War, she taught elementary school in California and Hawaii, where Bill was stationed in the Marine Corps. She later taught fourth grade at Story City, Iowa, and started a preschool on the Iowa State University campus for the children of married students. Later moving to Arizona, she earned a master’s degree in elementary education and a doctorate of education administration and supervision, while teaching school. After retiring, she became a business consultant.

1952

Dr. Charles Josephson, 91, of San Diego, Calif., died Sept. 14, 2019. He graduated with a degree in biology and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon. Prior to attending Monmouth, he served in the U.S. Army as a staff sergeant stationed in Kumamoto, Japan. Josephson studied veterinary medicine at the University of Illinois and opened a practice in his childhood hometown of Roseville, Ill. That practice eventually became the Roseville Veterinary Clinic, and many of the veterinarians he mentored are still in practice today in west central Illinois. He was preceded in death by his wife of 61 years, Mary Castle Josephson ’51.

Patricia Walker Downes, 89, of Oak Ridge, Tenn., died Dec. 8, 2019.

1953

Marlene Forsyth McGirk, 88, of Medinah, Ill., died Dec. 13, 2019. She graduated with a degree in sociology and was a member of Alpha Xi Delta. An elementary school teacher, McGirk spent most of her career in the Medinah School District.

Robert Peregoy, 88, of Lisle, Ill., died Nov. 17, 2019. He was a steel salesman and broker for various companies before starting his own steel brokerage business and property management company.

Lois Myers Keating, 88, of Monmouth, died Jan. 7, 2020. A biology major, she was a member of Pi Beta Phi. She taught at Warren School near Monmouth for many years.

1954

Mary Wood Bond, 86, of Troy, Mo., died Jan. 27, 2019.

She graduated with a degree in biology.

Paul Holbrook, 87, of Wheaton, Ill., died Oct. 29, 2019. He graduated with a degree in government and was a member of Alpha Tau Omega. Holbrook worked for Travelers Insurance Company for 37 years, winning a record number of sales contests and serving as a regional vice president. He was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years.

Survivors include two grandchildren who graduated from Monmouth, Melissa Holbrook ’05 and Jessica Holbrook ’09.

1955

Linda Rouch Galyon, 86, of Ames, Iowa, died Oct. 2, 2019.

She completed her undergraduate degree in English at Indiana University, then received a master’s degree from IU in 1962. She taught at Iowa State University for nearly 40 years, earning a Ph.D. in English from Iowa State along the way. She specialized in the works of Shakespeare and Edmund Spenser.

ALUMNI NEWS | OBITUARIES

She was also instrumental in forming ISU’s women’s studies program, and chaired that department for seven years.

James Todd McKellar, 85, of Vandalia, Ill., died Feb. 25, 2019. He graduated with a degree in business administration and was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. A Navy veteran, he was the founder of an insurance agency and a longtime bank director. Survivors include his wife of 61 years, Barbara Rahn McKellar ’57, a son, Michael McKellar ’85, and a daughter, Meg Marquardt.

1956

Jama Windish Bickford, 84, of Arlington Heights, Ill., died Sept. 12, 2019. She graduated with a degree in elementary education and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. After raising two daughters, she worked at the information desk of the Arlington Heights Memorial Library.

Douglas Dittmar, 85, of Pensacola, Fla., died Nov. 15, 2019. He graduated with a degree in sociology and was a member of Alpha Tau Omega. Following graduation, he served three years in the Army, where he was a member of the National Security Agency as a Russian language specialist.

He then worked for insurance agencies in Milwaukee and Des Moines, Iowa.

James Effland, 85, of Green Bay, Wis., died Dec. 15, 2019. He graduated with a degree in business administration and was a member of the basketball and baseball team and Alpha Tau Omega.

Following graduation, Effland attended Officer Candidate School and served as a navigation officer on the USS Paul Jones.

He retired from the Navy Reserve as a lieutenant commander. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, Effland’s career was in trusts and estates, banking and business law.

Charles Goetz of Glenview, Ill., died Jan. 17, 2019. He studied business administration and was a member of Theta Chi. Thomas Johnson, 83, of Pittsburgh died March 10, 2017. He graduated with a degree in geology and was a member of the baseball team and Theta Chi. Suzanne Koepp-Baker Hall, 84, of Cullo-

whee, N.C., died Oct. 23, 2018. She was a teacher’s aide for children with special needs for many years at Highlands School in North Carolina.

Diana Payne Romine, 84, of Farmington, N.M., died July 17, 2018. She studied music. Survivors include her husband of 64 years, John Romine ’55.

1957

William B o e h m, 83, of Venice, Fla., died Sept. 15, 2019. He studied chemistry and was a member of the golf team and Alpha Tau Omega.

He earned master’s degrees from Western Illinois University in chemistry and counseling. After teaching at Bushnell-Prairie City (Ill.) High School, he went to work for the Bell System in Springfield, Ill., and worked for Bell or AT&T until his retirement in 1989. An avid golfer who volunteered for the United States Golf Association, he also started a golf-related company in his retirement.

Dr. William Greene, 82, of Tucson, Ariz., died July 6, 2019. He graduated with a degree in psychology and was a member of the track team and Alpha Tau Omega. A retired optometrist, Greene graduated from the Illinois College of Optometry in 1960.

Audrey Veit Hands, 84, of Cincinnati, Ohio, died Sept. 6, 2019. She graduated with a degree in sociology and was a member of the synchronized swim team and Pi Beta Phi. Survivors include her husband, James Hands Jr. ’55.

John McLaughlin, 84, of Galesburg, Ill., died May 30, 2019. He graduated with a degree in business administration and worked in business for many years until his retirement. Survivors include a sister, Grace McLaughlin Jones ’51.

Roy Palmer, 85, of West Richland, Wash., died Sept. 17, 2019. He served in the Army in Germany from 1959-63, then completed his undergraduate degree in industrial arts at Western Illinois University. He worked at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in radiation controls until his retirement in 1994.

1958

Harriet Stillwell Reimers of Hilton Head, S.C., has died.

She studied psychology and was a member of Pi Beta Phi. Survivors include her husband, Tom Reimers ’58.

Thomas Sulzbach of Minneapolis died in

September 2019. He graduated with a degree in chemistry and was a member of the swim team and Alpha Tau Omega John M. Kriegsman, 78, of Pekin, Ill., died Feb. 3, 2019, after battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma. An economics major and a member of Alpha Tau Omega and Pi Alpha Nu music fraternity, he was also active in the band as a trombonist. He enlisted in the Army, where he played with the bands at Fort Sheridan (Ill.) and Fort Collins (Colo.) and served in Southeast Asia. After working for the family moving and transfer business, he opened a new branch office in Hong Kong and later became the U.S. liaison for Crown Pacific, Ltd., traveling extensively throughout the U.S., Europe, Southeast Asia and South America. In the 1980s, he returned to Illinois, where he joined Polar Supply Corporation and served on the board of First Federal Savings and Loan of Pekin. He later rejoined the family moving company, serving as chairman of the board.

1959

Bartholomew Blinstrup, 81, of Chaska, Minn., died July 27, 2019. A member of Theta Chi, he graduated with a degree in biology.

Herbert Salisbury, 81, of Rockingham, Va., died Sept. 5, 2019. He graduated with a degree in psychology. Salisbury had a 27-year career with the Navy, receiving multiple citations and earning a master’s degree from American University. Survivors include his wife of 68 years, Betty McClure Salisbury ’61.

Marianne Gaw Schulze, 81, of Washington, D.C., died Oct. 25, 2019. After Monmouth, she attended Lake Forest College. Schulze had a long career in counseling, both in Minneapolis and in the Chicago suburb of Waukegan.

Frank Wendling Jr., 81, of Surprise, Ariz., died Nov. 21, 2018. He studied business administration and economics and was a member of the tennis team and Sigma Phi Epsilon. An Army veteran, he had a 35-year career in account management.

1960

Robert Cooper, 81, of Mendota, Ill., died Nov. 28, 2019.

He graduated with a degree in physical education and was a member of the baseball and football teams and Theta Chi. A teacher, coach and administrator, he spent the bulk of his career as principal at Mendota High School, retiring in 1994. The gymnasium at MHS was named in his honor,

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ALUMNI NEWS | OBITUARIES

and the school’s conference renamed its sportsmanship award for him. Cooper was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2015.

1961

Gerald A. “Jerry” Parsons, 80, of Normal, Ill., died Jan. 6, 2020. An English major, he earned his master’s degree from Northwestern University and taught high school math at Normal, where he was also a counselor and coach. He was a volunteer and official for Special Olympics and an official at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

1962

Jane Robb Davis, 79, of Moreland Hills, Ohio, died in late October 2019. She graduated with a degree in English and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She was known for her outstanding volunteer work and her prolific letter writing to family and friends.

For three years, she lived in the Netherlands, where her husband, Tom Davis ’62, was serving as senior vice president of Philips Lighting Company.

Mervyn H. Loya, 79, of Eugene, Ore., died Jan. 22, 2020 after a battle with Alzheimer’s. The son of the late Monmouth College music professor Heimo “Hal” Loya and the late administrative assistant to the president Eileen Loya, he was a music major and a member of Blue Key, Pi Alpha Nu and Tau Kappa Epsilon.

He studied a year abroad in Finland, the native country of his grandparents. Loya earned a master’s degree in political science from Columbia University and a J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law. He worked for Legal Aid in Portland and Eugene, a private law firm in Eugene, and retired from the University of Oregon School of Law, where he served as an assistant dean and director of career services for 22 years. Loya commuted by bicycle most of his career, and at the age of 75 he completed the TransAmerica bike route from Virginia to Oregon with his son. Survivors include his sister, Karin Loya ’63, and his brother, Alan Loya ’66.

Judith Hill Young, 79, of St. Louis, died Sept. 28, 2019. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois, majoring in chemistry. Years later, she earned a master’s degree in biology from the University of Missouri. Young was a chemist for the Food and Drug Administration for 23 years.

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1963

Bedford. She was named Bedford’s Citizen of the Year in 2003.

1965

Rusty Stanton, 73, of Monmouth, died Nov. 23, 2019. He got his feet wet in the insurance industry in the Chicago area, then returned to his native Monmouth to work at the family business, Stanton Insurance Agency. He eventually became the sole owner and operator of the business.

Ronald Ikan, 78, of Solon, Iowa, died Jan. 1, 2020. He graduated with a degree in English and was a member of Alpha Tau Omega. A poet, Ikan attended the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop in 1965. He worked at Amana Refrigeration, ACT and Pearson.

David Simpson, 76, of Lee Center, Ill., died Aug. 20, 2019. He graduated with a degree in biology and was a member of the baseball team and Sigma Phi Epsilon. His career in education including serving as principal at Lee Center School.

Jack P. Phelan of Wellington, Fla., died Nov. 7, 2019. An English major, he was active in the college radio station and student newspaper, and was a member of Sigma Tau Delta.

1966

Richard Andrews, 71, of Brookfield, Wis., died June 20, 2016. A member of Theta Chi, he graduated with a degree in economics. Andrews was known to be “funny, engaging and, at times, completely inappropriate.”

Donald Roseboom, 75, of Peoria, Ill., died May 25, 2019. A veteran of the Vietnam War, he followed his Monmouth degree in biology with a master’s degree from Bradley University. Roseboom worked for the Illinois State Water Survey Dept. until retiring in 2001, then worked 14 years for the U.S. Geological Survey Dept.

1967

S a n d r a W a d e Kershaw, 73, of Peoria, Ill., died July 6, 2019.

A member of Kappa Delta, she graduated with a degree in English.

Kershaw was a teacher and also a writer, co-authoring At the Feet of Ordinary Women: Finding Yourself in Titus 2:4-5. Survivors include her husband of 50 years, Stephen Kershaw ’68.

William Mammen, 74, of Bloomington, Ill., died Sept. 15, 2019. He graduated with a degree in physics, then earned a master’s degree from Kansas State University. He worked as a physicist for companies doing work for the Navy.

1968

Sarah Frear, 71, of Bedford, Ill., died May 24, 2017. She studied English. Frear was known for her work in restoring the Bedford Historic Memorial Park and for her preservation work on the Civil War Soldiers Monument in

Marjorie Long, 83, of Cameron, Ill., died Oct. 12, 2019. For many years, she taught fourth grade at Warren School outside of Monmouth.

John Washburn, 72, of Eden Prairie, Minn., died Jan. 2, 2019, after a long battle with prostate cancer. He graduated with a degree in biology and was a member of the swim team and Sigma Phi Epsilon.

Nancy Koresko Watkins, 73, of Aledo, Ill., died Dec. 17, 2019. A speech/ communications/theater major, she was a teacher for many years, primarily at Aledo High School, where she taught English until 2007. Survivors include her husband of 51 years, Tom Watkins ’68, and her children, Deborah Watkins McGrath ’94 and Sam Watkins ’00.

Cecile “Arlene” Stone Morgan, 73, of Canton, Ill., died Jan. 28, 2020. An English and education major, she taught high school English and was a substitute teacher before becoming Christian education director for her church for more than 20 years.

1969

David Lynch, 71, of Dunlap, Ill., died Aug. 17, 2019. A veteran of the Vietnam War, he graduated with a degree in government and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon.

Edward “Ned” Parrish III, 73, of Washington, D.C., died Sept. 7, 2019. His time at Monmouth was interrupted by military service in 1966, which saw him stationed in Germany for two years. He was a manager at Sears, worked in the Correspondence Office during the Carter administration and was a bookkeeper and office administrator for a doctor. Parrish also bought and sold antiques.

Joyce Quinlivan, 72, of Perrysburg, Ohio, died May 11, 2019. A member of Kappa

ALUMNI NEWS | OBITUARIES

Kappa Gamma, she majored in psychology before earning a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Toledo. She worked for 34 years in management and fundraising positions in northwest Ohio. Her efforts helped to bring millions of public and private dollars to the benefit of low-income people and people with disabilities in her region.

1970

John Slater, 71, of Albuquerque, N.M., died June 12, 2019. He graduated with a degree in physics and was a member of the golf team and Sigma Phi Epsilon. In 1976, he earned a Ph.D. in atomic physics from the University of Colorado, and he had a distinguished career in that field, primarily with lasers, at Mathematical Sciences Northwest in Bellevue, Wash., at Idaho National Laboratory and at Schafer Corporation in Albuquerque. Over his long career, Slater was invited to serve on various Department of Defense committees and was awarded four patents. In 2009, he received the Directed Energy Professional Society Fellowship Award for his significant contributions in the field of high energy lasers.

1971

S t e v e n Ehrlich, 71, of Bedford, Texas, died Dec. 21, 2019. Born in Kansas City, Mo., he completed high school in London, then attended the University of Missouri before graduating with a degree in speech/ communications/theater from Monmouth.

A Vietnam veteran, he was an Army helicopter pilot, achieving the rank of first lieutenant. Ehrlich went on to do logistics for Roadway Corporation from 1977 to 2001.

Wendy Miller Slater of Roseville, Calif., died in May of 2019. A member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, she graduated with a degree in business administration. She was a buyer, a store manager and a teacher before making a major career change in 1991, founding Aspen TypoGraphix Services, where she published custom projects until her retirement in 2018.

1972

Thomas Farmer, 69, of Syracuse, N.Y., died Jan. 1, 2020.

He graduated with a degree in religious studies and, while playing lead guitar in one of his many bands, opened for REO Speedwagon while a student at Monmouth.

Farmer worked for Dixon Fisheries in Peoria, Ill., for 10 years, then opened Fins and Tails Seafood in Syracuse, where he worked for 32 years.

Chris Oney, 62, of Havana, Ill., died June 25, 2019. A member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, he graduated with a degree in business. He worked for Oney’s Foods for many years.

Michael Center, 69, of New Orleans died Jan. 4, 2020. A geology major, he spent his 38-year career as a paleontologist, primarily with Paleo-Data, Inc., and was active in several professional societies. He was a member of Zeta Beta Tau.

1980

1973

Susan Stanley Barber, 68, of Highland Park, Ill., died Aug. 18, 2019. A member of Pi Beta Phi, she is survived by her husband, Peter Barber ’74.

Daniel Sperry, 68, of Aurora, Ill., died June 25, 2019. He graduated with a degree in business administration and was a member of Alpha Tau Omega. Sperry worked for 34 years at Keller Heartt Co. in Chicago.

1975

Kerry Willis of Indian Head Park, Ill., died June 30, 2019.

He graduated with a degree in art and was a member of the wrestling team and Theta Chi.

1976

Gregory Ford of Galesburg, Ill., died Aug. 29, 2019. He graduated with a degree in speech/communication/theater.

1977

Audie Durand McBride, 81, of Gilson, Ill., died Dec. 8, 2019. She graduated with a degree in education and was a special education teacher for many years in Monmouth and Galesburg, interspersed with living abroad in Brazil and the Marshall Islands.

1978

James Galbreath, 63, of La Grange, Ill., died Dec. 29, 2019.

A chemistry major, Galbreath spent virtually his entire career at UOP, a petroleum technology company now owned

by Honeywell that uses breakthrough chemistry and engineering to power global growth. He worked in the company’s online lab for his first 10 years there before taking on a project engineer role, which included travel to London and to Azerbaijan. Galbreath retired in 2015.

Charles Nelson, 68, of Galva, Ill., died May 11, 2019. A Navy veteran, he studied religion at Monmouth.

1979

Mark Geiger, 62, of Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., died in 2015. He graduated with a degree in English.

Samuel Graf, 62, of Mascoutah, Ill., died Oct. 7, 2019. He studied business administration and was a member of the baseball and soccer teams.

After serving three years in the Navy, he completed his undergraduate degree at Southern Illinois University and became a teacher at Mascoutah High School, where he taught for 32 years. Graf coached seven MHS sports and also wrote for the local newspaper. He was preceded in death by his father, George Graf ’50.

Survivors include a brother, Timothy Graf ’78, and three children who attended Monmouth—Samuel Graf ’11, Julianna Graf ’16 and Thomas Graf ’18.

1981

Steven Baker, 60, of Wilton, Iowa, died July 12, 2019. He graduated with a degree in physical education and was a member of the football team and Theta Chi. He retired from the HON Company in Muscatine, Iowa, in 2015 after nearly 30 years of service. Survivors include a brother, Ron Baker ’76.

1982

Thomas Reinhard, 60, of Jacksonville, Fla., died Dec. 24, 2019. A member of Sigma Phi Epsilon at Monmouth, he completed his undergraduate degree at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. After working in aeronautics and field engineering, Reinhard became a police officer in 1989 and had a distinguished 25-year career in law enforcement, including 10 on the mounted unit with his partner, Chocolate. He was preceded in death by his mother, Juanita Winbigler Reinhard ’42 (see page 43). Survivors include a sister, Lucy Reinhard ’77.

1984

Irene DeMorlie Schlobohm, 57, of Round Lake Beach, Ill., died Oct. 4, 2019. Survivors include her husband, Kenneth Schlobohm ’83, and a daughter, Kristin Schlobohm ’07.

Sandra Stinson, 73, of Westchester, Ill., died June 28, 2019. She was a physical education major.

2013

Jeremiah Kenney, 28, of Alexis, Ill., died Sept. 3, 2019.

He was a partner with his father in the family painting business.

SPRING 2020

47

Faculty and Staff:

and also taught at Georgia College. Survivors include his wife of 50 years, Alice Noël, and a daughter, Anouk Noël Hoecker ’93.

Marty Feeney, 71, of Pella, Iowa, a former communications professor at Monmouth, died Jan. 3, 2020. Feeney also taught at Central College in Pella and Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa.

Barbara Perrin Owens, 83, of Monmouth, a bookkeeper for the College from 19631967, died Dec. 9, 2019.

Roger Noël of Milledgeville, Ga., a former professor of modern foreign languages, died July 18, 2019. He came to Monmouth from the University of Missouri-St. Louis

Bill Pieper, 74, of Monmouth, died June 24, 2019. Pieper, who coached the Monmouth High School golf team to seven state championships (six consecutive), also coached the Fighting Scots women’s golfers for two seasons. Survivors include a sister, Terri Pieper Van Hagen ’83.

Word has also been received of the following deaths: Barbara Danielson Vogel ’43 of Woodridge, Ill., died in November 2019.

Arlyn Verploeg Cox ’49 of San Francisco.

She graduated with a degree in history.

Survivors include her sister, Marilyn Verploeg Hay ’54.

Mary Von Ach Snowden ’49 of Rock Island, Ill. Survivors include her daughter D. Malinda Arvesen ’77.

Classes celebrating reunions are: 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975

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48

MONMOUTH COLLEGE MAGAZINE

THE LAST WORD

CASE CLOSED: MONMOUTH MADE ME READY BRAD NAHRSTADT ’89

T

he hashtag #MonmouthMade has a very personal meaning to me, for Monmouth College literally made me who I am today. Monmouth College fundamentally changed who I was as a person and provided me with the tools necessary to thrive in graduate school, in my profession and in life.

What I didn’t know (or even think about) when I selected Monmouth, but have since come to realize, is that this college is a truly transformative place. I decided to attend Monmouth not because I believed it would change me and make me a better person, but because it was small (roughly twice the size of my high school) and I remembered from a visit how friendly the students seemed to be. That’s what got me here—the small size and the friendliness of the people—both very important to a painfully shy farm kid who did not make friends easily.

When I arrived on campus in the fall of 1985, I had been away from home a sum total of 13 days in my entire life.

Although my family was decidedly middle class, I was a first-generation college student, unsure of myself and unsure of how I was going to survive hours away from home in a place where I didn’t know a single person.

Once I got here, that’s when the “Monmouth magic” took hold. Enthusiastic and engaging professors such as Gary Willhardt , Jeremy McNamara, Ira Smolensky, Farhat Haq and Craig Watson helped me realize that my thoughts and my ideas and my opinions were worthy of expression. Smaller class sizes, where hiding was not an option, helped transform me into a talker instead of a listener (although I also learned that sometimes listening is more important than talking!).

Involvement in Sigma Phi Epsilon, student government, Blue Key, Mortar Board and other organizations provided me with an opportunity to first develop—and then hone—my leadership skills.

This transformation, from a shy farm kid into a confident, outgoing, self-assured leader, served me well once I graduated from Monmouth. I attended a Top 20 law school and,

upon graduating, began my career as a trial lawyer. The kid who was originally afraid to speak up in class now made his living standing up in front of 12 people trying to convince them to find in favor of his clients!

I served two separate stints on the management committee of the law firm that hired me once I graduated from law school and, after 20 years, applied all of my skills toward founding and managing a new law firm. What started as a five-person firm grew, over the course of seven years, into a 17-lawyer firm. Along the way, I served as the president of three different legal organizations: the Chicago Lincoln Inn of Court, The Primerus Defense Institute and the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel (the largest organization of civil defense attorneys in the state of Illinois). I attribute these successes to what I learned at Monmouth College: don’t hesitate to share your ideas with others; don’t ever be afraid to voice your opinion; use each and every failure as a learning opportunity; and, perhaps most importantly, don’t just show up, lead.

Here is something else that I have come to realize in the three decades since my graduation: my experience at Monmouth was not unique. All of us—each and every one of us—was transformed by our experiences at this small, liberal arts college in the heart of western Illinois—even those of us who refuse to admit it. None of us is the same person we were when we sat in the auditorium or walked across the Wallace Hall Plaza for matriculation. No matter where we came from, no matter how we got here, no matter why we attended, we are all better, wiser, more well-rounded, more open-minded, more successful and more engaged because of our experiences here. And that, my friends, is the true magic of Monmouth College.

Brad Nahrstadt ’89 is chief operating officer at Donohue

Brown Mathewson & Smith LLC, a 40-lawyer litigation firm in Chicago. A member of the Monmouth College Board of Trustees since 2002, he previously had 30 years experience as a trial lawyer.

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THE PIPES ARE CALLING US HOME to honor the people and places that make Monmouth College extraordinary—you, our students, and future Fighting Scots.

Ways to Participate in Scots Day 2020:

1. Make a Gift

2. Support a Challenge

3. Spread the Word

• Make a gift on April 16, 2020 at

• To increase your gift’s impact, participate in one of the many challenges on Scots Day,

• Be an advocate!

Visit the Advocacy Dashboard to sign up at monmouthcollege.edu/scotsday

monmouthcollege.edu/scotsday • Write a check to Monmouth College (with Scots Day 20 in the memo line) and mail to: Office of Development and College Relations, Monmouth College, 700 E. Broadway, Monmouth IL 61462 • Any amount has immediate impact on the lives of today’s Monmouth students.

April 16, 2020.

• Challenges will be released throughout the day.

• Create your own challenge and inspire gifts from your fellow Fighting Scots!

• Use Scots Day images on social media.

• Tag your friends with your favorite Monmouth moment and inspire them to make a gift, too.