LAUNCHING NEW LIVES

Through Ripon education, Tom Kolpien ’01 ‘learned how to learn’

Thomas A. Kolpien ’01

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Sports brought Tom Kolpien ’01 to Ripon College, but the foundation he gained through the liberal arts impacted the rest of his life.

He didn’t have a distinct plan for his life but wanted to play college sports. He chose Ripon because it was close to his parents’ home in Appleton, Wisconsin, and he wanted them to be able to watch him compete.

“(Football) Coach Ron Ernst was instrumental in my decision by introducing me to the wonderful educational experience that Ripon College has to offer,” Kolpien says. “The small-school atmosphere was instrumental in my college education. As a first-generation student, I had no real understanding of what college would entail and how the level of independent learning would impact me.

“Ripon College provided me with close student-professor relationships, which looking back, allowed me to learn how to learn. It provided a level of accountability to professors that assisted me developing critical-thinking skills, preparedness and organization. After all, there was no hiding in the back of a large lecture hall if I was not prepared for class!”

Kolpien majored in history with an emphasis on historical culture and race relations in the United States. He had a minor in law and society. He received a juris doctor from Marquette University Law School and worked in private practice from 2003 to 2013. He became the assistant corporation counsel for Rock County, Wisconsin, in July 2013 and was appointed as Rock County Family Court Commissioner in August 2014.

He presides over a variety of family law actions from initial divorce and post-divorce hearings, paternity actions, child support hearings, domestic abuse restraining orders and other custody/placement proceedings.

“My parents were extremely supportive of me attending college,” Kolpien says. “Neither of them attended college. My father worked tirelessly for many years as a lead mechanic for Air Wisconsin Airlines, also known as United Express, and is now retired. My mother, who passed away a couple years ago, worked various part-time jobs outside of the home when she was able, however she spent the vast majority of her work life managing a household for our family.

“My parents sacrificed in immeasurable ways to allow their children to pursue their various dreams. I know they felt a sense of comfort sending their youngest to Ripon College because of the wonderful atmosphere it offered.”

Network connections from Ripon College propelled career of Christopher Graham ’93

Jillian Heidenreich ’22, Monroe, Wisconsin

Christopher Graham ’93

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The network he created at Ripon College has positively impacted the career of firstgeneration student Christopher Graham ’93 of Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is now the commissioner of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

The knowledge of the potential of these connections affected Graham's decision to attend Ripon in the first place. He knew he could build better connections here with his professors because of the small class sizes, because of the opportunities the classes he could take at Ripon would provide, and because of how well Ripon’s men’s basketball team was doing.

On top of that, “The welcoming campus community almost always gave me the confidence that I had the support to persist and obtain my degree,” Graham says.

Graham majored in business management and minored in leadership studies. The connections he made at the College helped him to be successful as a student, and they continued to help him past graduation and into his current career.

He has been in collegiate athletics administration for almost 25 years. In his current position, he presides over more than 6,000 student-athletes at the NCAA Division II level and oversees the competition, recognition, health and safety, and athletic experience of all of those student-athletes. Prior to moving to Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Conference in 2013, Graham was executive director of the Midwest Conference for nine years and was headquartered in Ripon.

He says, however, that the largest impact his status as a first-generation student has brought him is the different kinds of assistance he has been able to give his children as they reach college age that his own parents were unable to provide. He knows what kinds of information they are getting and what kinds of questions they are and should be asking.

He wants his children to complete most of their college exploration on their own and so he is remaining fairly hands-off. But he says he does take “seriously the opportunity to provide guidance and experience when possible” to ensure he can help them when necessary in their own educational goals.

Ripon College helped Jake Baus ’17 feel right at home

Jillian Heidenreich ’22, Monroe, Wisconsin

President Zach Messitte presents Jake Baus ’17 with his diploma at Commencement.

Ric Damm

First-generation student Jake Baus ’17 grew up in a small town and hopes to one day work as a licensed physical therapist in a rural area, so Ripon College’s small campus “felt right” to him for his education.

Baus grew up in Mount Calvary, just 35 miles east of Ripon. He and his parents were comforted by the small size of the school that would make it easier for him to reach out for help from professors or classmates since there would not be a larger crowd for him to get lost in, he says.

Ripon also was his most cost-effective choice after reviewing scholarship offers.

The final deciding factor was the fact that Ripon is a small town. “The area reminded me of my home, and the people around town were very kind and accepting,” he says.

Ripon gave Baus the opportunity to explore a variety of career options before finally settling on physical therapy. All of Ripon’s resources, including accessibility of professors, advisors and Student Support Services staff, helped him experience different areas of the medical field by volunteering at the local hospital, working as a summer research intern at a national class children’s hospital, and observing local clinicians in their private practice settings. These led him to physical therapy and helped him build a strong résumé for graduate school applications.

Being a first-generation student gives Baus “a unique world perspective that many people don’t get to experience,” he says. His parents run a family business, which instilled in him responsibility, respect, communication skills and a strong work ethic.

At Ripon, Baus majored in chemistry and minored in biology. Now he is a doctor of physical therapy student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He wants to someday work in a rural area because “this population is under-served and benefits most from the addition of strong healthcare providers,” he says.

“At other universities, I felt like just another application or a name on a list, but Ripon made me feel like more than that,” Baus says. “It felt like I belonged there.”

Ripon professors kept Carey Molinski ’96 on path toward her dream

Carey Molinski ’96

Ric Damm

As a first-generation college student, Carey Molinski ’96 had an idea of what she wanted to do with her life career-wise, but she had no idea how to meet that goal and “I was paralyzed by fear,” she says.

“I didn’t know what questions to even ask or who to ask,” she says. “I didn’t even know how to search for a college or what to look for in a college that would best suit me. My dad had long loved Ripon College, despite having absolutely no connection to a college or education, so my parents and I toured Ripon over the summer before my senior year.”

Their tour guide, Steve Woolley ’92, shared his love for the College in such an authentic and personal way, she says, and that impressed her. Strong support and personal interest by numerous faculty members led her on the path to becoming a licensed counselor.

“Ripon College transformed my life in more ways than I could possibly list,” she says. “Professors were incredibly selfless and generous. They invested in me and poured themselves selflessly into me, meeting me right where I was at, never judging, and challenged me to push myself harder and develop strong skills. They never chastised me for wayward choices but instead helped me pick myself up every single time. In other words, they formed authentic, personal relationships with me that truly changed my life.”

She says her family was always proud of her, “however, the way my dad hugged me on Commencement Day when we were all lining up to proceed to the ceremony was something I’ll never forget.”

She earned a master of arts in professional counseling in 2009, completed her postgraduate supervised hours and now is a licensed professional counselor with Catalpa Health in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

“Ripon College … was the foundation that weathered the storm,” Molinski says. “I couldn’t be prouder of my Ripon College education so I have passed on the legacy. Alexandra Molinski, proud Ripon College Class of 2020 member, is continuing to fan the flame. I now know what my dad felt when he hugged me when I graduated in 1996. It’s that same larger-than-life pride I feel towards Ally’s upcoming graduation in May. Relationships made at Ripon College are lifelong relationships, and nothing and no one can take those relationships away.”