Rollins Magazine Summer 2022

Entrepreneurial Ecosyste m

How Rollins prepares students and graduates to turn ideas into reality

CLEARING A PATH

Thanks to the Pathways to Teaching program, a unique partnership between Rollins and Orange County Public Schools (OCPS), teaching aides now have a direct path to classrooms of their own. With a flexible format and a paid internship, paraprofessionals can earn a bachelor’s degree in education in as little as 2½ years, which creates a pipeline of licensed classroom teachers to Title I schools that need them most. It’s a win for Rollins, OCPS, the next generation of students, and big dreamers like Marybelle Doe ’22, now a varying exceptionalities instructor at Cypress Creek High School who has finally fulfilled her lifelong dream.

DID YOU KNOW?

Supporting innovative programming like Pathways to Teaching is one of the many ways your gifts to The Rollins Annual Fund help our students create lasting change. You can be a part of this transformational impact by making a gift at rollins.college/give.

Attending Rollins has been one of the most transformative experiences of my life. I’ve gained skills and knowledge across disciplines and developed a real passion for research— none of which would’ve been possible without the generous financial support I received and the amazing mentors who’ve guided me along the way.

— Francisco Wang Yu ’22

International business major Francisco Wang Yu ’22 was just accepted into the prestigious master’s of philosophy program in strategy, marketing, and operations at the University of Cambridge, the alma mater of his mentor and now fellow alum, business professor Raghabendra KC ’13. This crowning achievement is a culmination of the diverse opportunities Wang Yu had at Rollins to study everything from art history to global entrepreneurship, to hone skills in leadership and analytics through internships and campus employment, and to conduct research on consumer behavior alongside his mentor.

Visit rollins.college/annual-fund to see how your gifts to The Rollins Annual Fund give students like Francisco the ability to say yes to every opportunity.

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Editor-in-Chief

Audrey St. Clair ’03

Creative Director

Tom May

Chief Photographer

Scott Cook

Graphic Designer

Sarah Hall

Assistant Editor

Stephanie Rizzo ’09

Contributors

Laura J. Cole ’04 ’08 MLS

Adrienne Egolf

Rob Humphreys ’16 MBA

Assistant Vice President of Marketing

Luke Woodling ’17MBA

Produced by the Office of Marketing

All ideas expressed in Rollins magazine are those of the authors or the editors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the College. Letters to the editor are welcome and will be considered for publication in the magazine. Rollins magazine is published twice a year by Rollins College for alumni and friends of the College.

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Visit Rollins magazine online at: rollins.edu/magazine

Thanks to the foundation she received at Rollins—which includes everything from conducting research with faculty to creating programming for local nonprofits— sociology major Emily Curran ’22 has earned a prestigious National Science Foundation fellowship and will begin a PhD program at the University of Pennsylvania this fall.

First, Aid

Rollins President Grant Cornwell discusses why prioritizing scholarships and financial aid is essential not only to extending opportunity to all deserving students but also to advancing the College’s mission and preparing tomorrow’s leaders.

Interview by Luke Woodling ’17MBA | Photo by Scott Cook

Donors have myriad options for their philanthropy. How would you make the case that supporting students at Rollins through financial aid is the best investment they can make? For someone who wants to use their discretionary wealth to create change, there are a lot of contenders out there and they are all worthy, but I don’t think there is any place where someone can invest their philanthropic dollars that will do more good for the future than by investing in the liberal education of the next generation of leaders. When you support Rollins students through financial aid, you are giving them the best possible preparation to guide our nation and our world in addressing our most fundamental issues and opportunities.

How is supporting financial aid and scholarships strategically important to Rollins? How does the ability to support students financially make Rollins better? Financial aid remains a strategic priority for the College because the costs of providing the quality education that we do are going up faster than our families’ ability to pay for it, so we have to continue to fill that gap. We only have two choices. We can maintain

the highest standards, continually strive for excellence in our educational experience, and raise the funds necessary to give every student the opportunity to earn a Rollins education. Or we can make compromises. We never want to make those compromises because they compromise the integrity of our mission.

What does the need for financial aid and scholarship support look like at Rollins? The need has never been greater. More than 95 percent of students received financial aid in fall 2021 to attend Rollins. Some of that support is for academic merit, some is athletic scholarships, and a great deal is based on need. The generosity of our donors is essential to maintaining and increasing that support. Another good indicator of the need for financial support is the percentage of our students who qualify for Pell Grants, which are federal financial aid grants that go to students from the lowest socioeconomic strata. As of fall 2021, more than 20 percent of Rollins students in the College of Liberal Arts were Pell-eligible. That number is nearly 50 percent for students in our Hamilton Holt School. Those numbers demonstrate that Rollins is a place for all students, and we need to serve all students in order to be an outstanding liberal arts college. Why? Because new ideas come out of the collision of

different ideas, and for Rollins to be a hotbed of creative thought, innovation, and rigor, we need to bring together a community of learners from all manner of backgrounds. Every year, we strive to put together the best and brightest class—students who are most hungry for a Rollins education and are ready to engage our mission wholeheartedly. We can only do that if we can deploy aid to help all those deserving students attend.

Can you talk about how aid is also essential to allowing every student to experience the full richness of a Rollins education and why that is critical to our students’ success? One reason that Rollins is distinguished as the No. 1 liberal arts college in Florida and the No. 1 regional university in the South is because we’ve wrapped our curriculum around a set of educational practices that research says have the highest impact on learning. These high-impact practices are our signature programs—collaborative research, study abroad, immersion in service and civic engagement, close mentorship by faculty in small classes— and research shows they are essential to preparing students for meaningful lives and productive careers. They’re also expensive educational experiences, and we need to support them via philanthropy because they are the foundation of our educational excellence and our students’ success.

On Campus

OCTOBER 27

At an event bringing together students, faculty, staff, and donors, Rollins launched its historic Brighter Together campaign to support the people, programs, and places that prepare our students to lead meaningful lives and prosper in productive careers.

FEBRUARY 17

In celebration of Thaddeus & Polly Seymour Acts of Kindness Day, Tars near and far engaged in acts of service—from adorning campus with colorful messages of kindness to assembling meal kits to fight hunger in the local community.

MARCH 7

Communication studies and music double major Elizabeth Smith ’22 ’24MPH partnered with first-year students in Sarah Parsloe’s Disability and Social Change course to plan and launch Rollins’ first-ever Disability Empowerment Week.

FEBRUARY 24

Rollins unveiled a new installation in Kathleen W. Rollins Hall by acclaimed artist Yinka Shonibare, who worked with students, faculty, and staff to memorialize untold stories from the Great Migration.

MARCH 22

The Black Student Union beat out dance teams from dozens of other student organizations to take top honors at SGA’s annual LipSync event.

MARCH 24

Students in Zeynep Teymuroglu’s Industrial Mathematics course experienced firsthand one of the many practical career applications of a math degree: working together to analyze data and find innovative solutions for real problems.

APRIL 6

The beloved fox made his annual appearance on Tars Plaza, kicking off everyone’s favorite day of the year. Tars celebrated Fox Day with fun in the sun before heading back to campus for a picnic on Mills Lawn.

God

gave you a voice. Use it. And no, the irony of a non-speaking autistic encouraging you to use your voice is not lost on me. Because if you can see the worth in

me, then you can see the worth in everyone you meet.

Elizabeth Bonker ’22 hasn’t spoken a word in more than two decades and yet the 2022 valedictorian’s message of inclusion and service has been heard around the world. Bonker, who is affected by non-speaking autism and communicates solely by typing, delivered a stirring valedictory address that has since been amplified by everyone from NPR and CNN to Good Morning America and World News Tonight. At 24, the social innovation major is already an author, activist, and founder of Communication 4 ALL, a nonprofit that aspires to bring communication assistance to the world’s more than 30 million non-speakers. Bonker can now add one more line to her already impressive resume: viral sensation.

on Top

Rollins was named a top producer of Fulbright Students for the 10th time by the U.S. Department of State.

Jacqueline Bengtson ’22 had the uncommon honor of earning two of the world’s most prestigious study abroad awards. The anthropology and religious studies double major received a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in Nepal and a Critical Language Scholarship to study Urdu in India.

Rollins was one of just 171 institutions to land on Phi Theta Kappa’s 2022 Transfer Honor Roll, which honors the nation’s best schools for transfer students.

Rollins was recognized as one of the nation’s greenest colleges by The Princeton Review.

Sociology major Emily Curran ’22 was one of just 2,000 students nationally to earn an award from the National Science Foundation’s ultra-competitive Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

Volleyball star and valedictorian Jessika Linnemeyer ’22 was one of only 42 student-athletes to earn the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, which recognizes academic and athletic excellence, leadership, and service.

Rollins’ three undergrad business programs earned re-accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), an elite distinction held by fewer than 5 percent of the world’s business schools.

To

see someone like me succeed in finance as a woman, figuring it out and building her career here, was amazing.”

Izadora Correa Bongiolo ’22, an economics and international business double major who was part of the inaugural cohort of Rollins’ Women in Finance program. Learn more about the initiative that is helping close the gender gap in the financial field through education, experience, and mentorship at rollins.college/women-in-finance

Experts in Action

Philosophy professor Margaret McLaren received the FulbrightNehru Professional and Academic Excellence Award for her decades of work in human rights and globalization. She spent the spring 2022 semester studying global citizenship education at India’s Visva-Bharati University.

Math professor Zeynep Teymuroglu received a major grant from the Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics that will fund studentfaculty research on opioid use and disease spread.

Anthropology professor ShanEstelle Brown received a national fellowship from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders program to study the experiences of Black women in regard to HIV prevention and preexposure prophylaxis.

71

16,165 16,165 By the

How many new guest rooms will be added to The Alfond Inn when the expansion of the College’s boutique hotel is completed in summer 2023. The two-year project will also include a second pool, spa and wellness center, cafe, and more.

10,000+

The amount of applications for fall 2022 admission Rollins received from first-year and transfer students, the highest number in the College’s history.

The square footage of the Tiedtke Theatre & Dance Centre, a new performing arts venue that will feature the first custom-built black box theater on campus as well as a costume shop, dance studio, and classrooms.

$70

The cost of a subscription to the Annie Russell Theatre’s 90th anniversary season. From Shakespeare to Sondheim, the theater’s landmark season offers something for everyone. Learn more and snag your season pass at rollins.college/annie-90

11 11

The number of consecutive years that Rollins has earned the NCAA President’s Award for Academic Excellence. Rollins is one of only 10 colleges that have earned the award—which is given to DII schools with an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 90 or higher—every year. Rollins’ 96 percent ASR tied for sixth best in the nation.

By Audrey St. Clair ’03 | Photos by Scott Cook

Honor Among Scholars

The Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society has officially installed a new chapter at the College, a historic milestone that affirms the value of a Rollins education and the importance of our mission.

Other than reaching the pinnacle of their life’s work, what do legendary figures like Mark Twain, Bill Clinton, Peyton Manning, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg have in common? They’re all members of Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most prestigious academic honor society in the U.S. Now we can add another name to that esteemed list: Rollins College.

On March 4, the new Theta of Florida chapter inducted 19 students selected for their academic excellence in the arts and sciences as well as eight foundation members who embody the ideals of a liberal arts education.

“The installation of a Phi Beta Kappa chapter at Rollins is a testament to the academic integrity that the College, students, and faculty uphold,” says political science professor Don Davison, who led the application committee and

will serve as president of the Rollins chapter. “Rollins receiving only the 291st chapter in the nearly 250-year history of the society not only underscores our position among the most prestigious academic institutions in the country, but more importantly, empowers us to create more opportunities to further academic excellence and enrichment for years to come.”

The College joins an illustrious set of fewer than 10 percent of U.S. institutions that have Phi Beta Kappa chapters, and Rollins becomes just the eighth college in Florida to shelter a chapter. Phi Beta Kappa counts among its members 17 U.S. presidents, 42 U.S. Supreme Court justices, and more than 150 Nobel laureates.

“Membership in Phi Beta Kappa is a distinction that our students earn during their four years at Rollins but will carry

with them throughout their lives,” says Ashley Kistler, anthropology professor and associate dean of academics, who like Davison was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa as an undergraduate student.

Installations of new chapters occur only every three years and follow an intensive, multiyear application and evaluation process in which Phi Beta Kappa meticulously examines every aspect of the College’s academic program—from the quality of faculty and the centrality of education in the arts and sciences to governance structure and demonstrated commitment to academic freedom.

“I am especially proud of Rollins harboring a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa,” says Rollins President Grant Cornwell, “because it is the strongest external validation possible of our identity as a liberal arts college with a clear sense of our mission.”

2022 Student Phi Beta Kappa Inductees

Isabel Adamus ’22

Jacqueline Bengtson ’22

Edward Broker ’22

Emily Curran ’22

Sofia Frasz ’22

Charlotte Kelly ’22

Griffin Lehrer ’22

Emily Marshall ’22

Michael McNamara ’23

Maria Morales ’22

Beatriz Olivieri ’22

Emily O’Malley ’22

Rebekah Picerno ’22

Gabrielle “Gabby” Quigley ’22

Lauren Rouse ’22

Sierra Short ’22

Yoke Tassent ’22

Matthew Willis ’21

Evangelina Wong ’22

2022 Foundation Member Inductees

Rita Bornstein ’04H ’04HAL, Rollins

president emerita

Shan-Estelle Brown, associate professor of anthropology

Martha Cheng, professor of English

Grant Cornwell, president of Rollins

Daniel Crozier, professor of music, theory, and composition

Sabrice Guerrier, associate professor of biology

Susan Whealler Johnston ’75, chairman of Rollins Board of Trustees

Rosana Diaz-Zambrana, professor of Spanish

By Rob Humphreys ’16MBA | Photos by Scott Cook

The Neighborhood’s Newest Addition

A bronze sculpture honoring Rollins’ most famous alumnus carries his legacy of kindness and service to future generations.

Over 70 years ago, Rollins music major Fred McFeely Rogers ’51 ’74H drew inspiration from a simple marble plaque near Strong Hall that reads “Life is for service.” Those four words helped shape his life and career, and the creator of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood kept a photo of the plaque in his wallet as a constant reminder.

Today’s college students came of age as Mister Rogers’ time on TV neared its end—the final season aired in 2001, with reruns on PBS through 2008—but the timeless nature of his warm, gentle spirit is embodied in a new sculpture designed to resonate with future generations of Tars.

“I make it a point to walk through the rose garden just to see that sculpture,” says Elise Wendelburg ’23, a double major in music and communication. “We’ve done a lot of music compositions by Mister Rogers, including his song ‘It’s You I Like.’ I think of those lyrics every time I walk by.”

Located between the Annie Russell Theatre and Knowles Memorial Chapel, A Beautiful Day for a Neighbor was created by British sculptor Paul Day, best known for his World War II memorial monuments in London.

Unveiled in October, Day’s masterpiece has received national attention and become a favorite spot for students to reflect on how they too can lead a life dedicated to serving others.

Imagining Make-Believe

A cast of Rogers’ iconic characters from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe—from King Friday XIII to X the Owl—enliven the sculpture’s eastern side. It’s within this fantastic landscape, says Day, where Mister Rogers dealt with issues fundamental to the human experience: “I wanted to celebrate the brilliance of using fiction to delve into the very heart of the real.”

Among the Children

Depicting Rogers “communicating very deeply on a one-to-one level with children” was important to Day because “everything he did was about celebrating the young lives of children everywhere.” Wearing his signature sweater and sneakers, Rogers is seen captivating his subjects with the hand puppet Daniel Striped Tiger, a shy, gentle tiger who is equal parts timid and brave.

143 = I Love You

“One of my favorite parts is that on every single shoe it says 143, which was Mister Rogers’ favorite number,” says Wendelburg, “because that’s how many letters are in ‘I love you.’ That’s a nice way of depicting what he stood for—no matter who you are as a person, he really loved you.”

A Grand Undertaking

Standing over 7 feet tall and weighing in excess of 3,000 pounds, the sculpture took nearly a year and more than 4,000 hours to complete. “Although it’s not a relief and in perspective, I tilted the face to an angle and created a slightly raised view onto it,” says Day. “There is some distortion to make it sort of slightly separate from the world around it.”

A Tranquil Complement

The Mister Rogers sculpture isn’t the only new landmark on campus—a beautifully paved labyrinth walk and meditation garden are now just a few steps away. Together, these elements form a peaceful focal point—a new neighborhood, if you will—designed for reflection, meditation, and community.

By Rob Humphreys ’16MBA | Photo by Jay DeRosa ’19

Maestro of Mudita Motorcycle

racer turned conductor Ryo Hasegawa ’19 revels in the ability of music to build community.

Ten years ago, Ryo Hasegawa ’19 was zipping around racetracks on his Honda NSR50, competing at the highest levels of Japan’s amateur motorcycle circuit. Today, he’s one of America’s most promising young symphony conductors, fresh off completing a master’s of music at Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Conservatory.

If that high-octane dichotomy seems jarring—trading one well-tuned machine for another—it was a natural transition for Hasegawa, a piano prodigy who grew exhausted by the demands of motorsports.

“The thing I enjoyed the most about racing motorcycles,” he explains, “was the exact same thing I feel when I conduct orchestra: experiencing the passion and energy of all the people I work with to achieve our goal.”

In the Buddhist tradition, such an emotion is called mudita, “a joy that comes from delighting in the joy of others.” There’s no English equivalent—easier to think of it as the opposite of schadenfreude—but Hasegawa’s new life mission is to spread the ancient concept near and far.

Shortly after graduating from Rollins with his music degree, Hasegawa launched the nonprofit Mudita to create a community where diverse art is accessible to any person, in a judgment-free zone.

Collaborating with musicians and artists from around the world, the organization serves as an antidote to what Hasegawa says he experienced growing up: a stereotype in Japan that art is “formal, wealthy, and stiff,” viewed by young people as just a “secondary subject for their entrance exams.”

So, where did Hasegawa find musical enlightenment and begin to break the mold? Nebraska, of all places, where he spent his junior year of high school studying abroad. Captivated by the joy, diversity, and camaraderie he felt in band, choir, and music history classes, Hasegawa decided to attend college in America.

An advisory service in Japan suggested he pursue a liberal arts degree and provided a list of colleges that offered music majors. Unable to visit Winter Park beforehand, he chose Rollins because of his uplifting phone conversations with music professor Dan Crozier.

Once on campus, that same drive Hasegawa displayed on the racetrack manifested itself in honing his musical chops, from performing with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park to serving as the principal student conductor in Rollins’ music department.

“The professors trusted me,” he says, “and I was able to perform at my best. One of the highlights was when Dr. John Sinclair [department chair and John M. Tiedke Professor of Music] called me after one semester of taking his basic conducting class and said, ‘Ryo, you’ve got to keep doing this.’ That was the beginning of my conducting career.”

Hasegawa credits Rollins for allowing him a great amount of podium time and offering experiential learning opportunities to build his global network, such as attending the Vienna Summer Music Festival and volunteering as a music instructor at the Vanessa Grant Girls School in Kenya.

Among his many accolades, Hasegawa has performed throughout Europe and Asia, made his American conducting debut with the Charleston Symphony, served as guest assistant conductor for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and earned the Peabody Conservatory’s 2021 Champion of Multiculturalism award.

Now he can add Rollins’ 2022 Recent Alumni Achievement Award, which honors the standout achievements of alumni who graduated within the past 10 years.

“I think back on my time at Rollins and how it shaped me as a person,” says Hasegawa, whose next step is auditioning for doctorate programs. “I wouldn’t be who I am without all the support and friendship and professors who believed in me. Gratitude is the biggest feeling I have.”

By Laura J. Cole ’04 ’08MLS | Photos by Scott Cook

Ecosystem Entrepreneurial

From courses and programs to pitch competitions and mentorship, Rollins provides students and alumni a network of resources to transform ideas into successful ventures.

Many kids grow up dreaming of having a unicorn—not necessarily becoming one. And yet, on March 8, that’s what happened for Lyndsey Lang ’14 when Stax, the payment processing platform she helped co-found, was valued at $1 billion.

The unicorn nickname is given to startup businesses that reach the whopping ninefigure threshold. And while about a thousand companies across the world hold the elusive title, Stax (formerly Fattmerchant) is the only one that was completely homegrown in Orlando.

For Lang, the path from making $12 an hour to holding the title of chief strategy officer and being named among the 2020 Most Influential Women in Payments was far from being all rainbows and glitter—but it was filled with a little magic thanks to Rollins.

“Rollins was really the catalyst for everything,” says

Lang. “We won Crummer’s Venture Plan Competition in 2015, which was such a launch pad for us because, by that point, we had been in business for six months and had gone to market. But the prize money that we had won from winning the pitch competition was then matched by venVelo, and then the two other leading institutional partners in Central Florida joined on.”

You could say that Orlando’s success in the entrepreneurial sector has grown with Stax— and Lang. The region was still in its early stages of supporting startups when Lang graduated in 2014 with a degree in communication studies.

Today, there’s a booming entrepreneurial ecosystem geared toward helping businesses and entrepreneurs alike excel. So much so that WalletHub recently ranked Orlando among the top 5 cities

to start a business. Resources include everything from the National Entrepreneur Center and StarterStudio to early stage venture funds such as venVelo and Kirenaga.

“I have 26 years of experience being a serial entrepreneur in this city,” says Pete McAlindon, entrepreneurin-residence at Rollins’ Crummer Graduate School of Business and founder and CEO of Blue Orb. “What I love about starting businesses here is that once you open one of the many doors, you can move very quickly. We’re all willing to help one another and make sure everyone succeeds. That’s what makes Orlando great. As an entrepreneur, you’re welcomed, you’re supported, and you’re guided.”

Rollins—like Orlando—gives students and graduates the knowledge, skills, resources, and support to bring their ideas to market successfully.

Glass

and Andrew Holliday ’13 co-founded Ostrich, a financial literacy app.

Tenacity. Grit. Dedication.

If you ask any entrepreneur the qualities most required to start and run a business, they unanimously come back with some combination of these traits.

“You have to have confidence in yourself as a leader, as a hustler, as a worker, as someone who’s going to roll up your sleeves,” says Lang. “And you have to have a relentless belief in yourself because it takes a tremendous amount of self-accountability.”

It also takes key skills—such as the ability to listen, problem-

solve, and think critically—which are at the heart of Rollins’ liberal arts education and our mission to prepare students for meaningful lives and productive careers.

“A Rollins education prepares students to incorporate innovative approaches to problem solving, creativity, resilience, teamwork, ethical reasoning, cultural awareness—all of which are core to entrepreneurial thinking,” says Tonia Warnecke ’99, George D. and Harriet W. Cornell Professor of Social Entrepreneurship and director of Rollins’ social entrepreneurship program. “The general education curriculum as well as the curriculum in various majors helps students think creatively about solving problems in their world.”

Students can hone their entrepreneurial expertise through any of the three AACSBaccredited undergraduate

business programs, which include business management, international business, and social entrepreneurship. All three provide the acumen needed to launch and run a business, including ethical decision making, global perspectives, and resource management.

But these skills aren’t taught only in Rollins’ business programs. The beauty of a liberal arts education at Rollins is that every major—from art history and English to environmental studies and physics—uniquely prepares students to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom to develop solutions, which is the foundation of starting a business in any sector or field.

It’s a concept referred to as design thinking, which also happens to be a course required of all full-time and professional MBA students at Crummer.

William

’14

“Design thinking is rooted in empathy-based research,” says Mary Conway Dato-on, George D. and Harriet W. Cornell Professor of International Business and Social Entrepreneurship. “For the first half of the six-week class, students aren’t allowed to think of solutions. They have to leave the classroom, gather information about why people behave the way they do regarding the problem they’ve been presented with, and come up with ideations based on those observations.”

The six-step process behind design thinking includes conducting field research, forming insights, focusing the challenge, generating ideas, prototyping, and implementing. The goal is to focus on people, gain empathy, and find the “why” before moving to a solution. For a writer, this is akin to knowing your audience. For an artist or performer, studying your subject. For a business owner, it’s knowing why your customers want or need your product or service.

For art history major Lindsay Muscato ’07, the why for her second business was inspired by being a mom. In 2015, she had two young children, felt like she was constantly washing bottles, and was frustrated with her hair.

“It was survival mode, and I was just sick of my hair tie getting wet while washing bottles,” she says.

“My rubber band just wasn’t holding my hair back, and I figured there had to be a better way.”

She describes creating TELETIES, durable hair ties that also function as stackable bracelets, as a necessity. She wanted something that would hold her hair in place while also being stylish.

“So I solved my own problem,” she says.

And she’s grateful to her professors for setting her up for success.

“They definitely taught me how to think, and to this day, I credit them for making me think outside the box,” she says. “They were always there helping me be successful, which is a key part in any business. Now the first thing I do is make sure that all of my team members have the right tools to succeed.”

Clearly, it’s worked. What started as a company operating out of Muscato’s garage now sells millions of products to customers nationwide and is ranked No. 397 on the 2021 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. Today, TELETIES operates out of a 13,000-squarefoot warehouse in Maitland and has partnerships with major brands like Lilly Pulitzer, Target, and Coca-Cola. With every purchase, the company also donates to FORCE, a nonprofit that provides resources for people and families impacted by hereditary cancers.

My professors taught me how to think, and to this day, I credit them for making me think outside the box. They were always there helping me be successful, which is a key part in any business. Now the first thing I do is make sure that all of my team members have the right tools to succeed.

—

Lindsay Muscato ’07

Lyndsey Lang ’14, co-founder and former chief strategy officer of Stax.

Guiding Purpose

McAlindon is driven by helping people find their ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy). The Japanese concept combines the word “iki,” which means life, with “gai,” or worth.

“It’s the lifelong search for one’s purpose,” says McAlindon, who serves as faculty advisor for Rollins’ Entrepreneurial Scholar of Distinction program. “And there is absolutely nothing more rewarding than watching someone figure out their ikigai right before your eyes. We saw it with the team behind Stax from taking an idea and wondering if it was going to work to seeing the positive impact they now have on our community.”

As a serial entrepreneur, teacher, and co-founder of venVelo, McAlindon has been part of this process for more people than most. In addition to Stax, he has watched Sergie Albino ’10MBA start and build ecoSPEARS, an environmental technology company that is leveraging NASA technology to extract and eliminate highly carcinogenic chemicals known as PCBs from our waterways.

“They’re saving the world,” says McAlindon. “Serg graduated from Crummer, has been part of the Rally Social Enterprise Accelerator [Rally SEA, an international hub for social entrepreneurs], and our Venture Plan Competition, and now he teaches, mentors, and judges. He’s had an amazing journey.”

ecoSPEARS is helping make our planet safer and more sustainable, and Albino credits mentors like McAlindon and Terrance Berland—CEO of Violent Defense, managing

partner at Kirenaga, and technology council member for Forbes—for helping him turn it from an idea into a viable business. They helped shape Albino into the serial entrepreneur and angel investor he is today. But Albino, who was named one of Orlando Business Journal’s 2021 CEOs of the Year, will tell you his own ikigai is bigger than his businesses.

“I believe God put me on this earth to give back,” he says. “Being able to navigate the different stages of a business requires a lot of mentorship, especially if you’re a first-time CEO.”

Recent beneficiaries of that guidance include students in McAlindon’s New Venture Creation course, which preps MBA students on everything from ideation and market validation to how to build and manage a startup team. At the end of every term, students in the course pitch their businesses to a panel of judges, including

The Rollins Advantage

From innovative programming to ongoing support, explore a few of the ways Rollins helps students and alumni launch their dreams.

Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship

From hosting Orlando’s largest business plan competition to providing the Entrepreneurial Growth Series, the Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship provides a variety of workshops, programs, and events to promote successful entrepreneurship.

Social Impact Hub

Students, faculty, staff, and community members gather in Kathleen W. Rollins Hall to develop creative and sustainable solutions to the world’s most pressing issues—from active changemaking in the Design Lab to launching social enterprise ideas through the Impact Incubator and Ideas for Good.

Rally SEA

Located in downtown Orlando, this international hub for social entrepreneurs and Crummer partner cultivates and convenes social entrepreneurs, investors, corporate advocates, and institutions of higher education through a variety of programming.

The Global Links Initiative

Since 2011, The Global Links Initiative has sponsored four scholars from Iraq, India, and Brazil who are developing female entrepreneurs in their native countries. Since its inception, Global Links has mentored over 150 female entrepreneurs and advanced entrepreneurial skills for more than 5,000 students at home and abroad.

Albino, who then evaluates them based on the venture’s viability.

This term’s standout was medical technology company Needles Be Gone, founded by Greg McKie ’22MBA, which eviscerates syringes, scalpel blades, and guide wires used during surgical procedures. Albino asked McAlindon to put the students in contact with him to develop the ideas further and connected McKie with two former NASA colleagues who recently cashed out of their medical technology startup and are looking for their next project.

Paying it forward has propelled Muscato and Lang in much the same way as Albino. Muscato’s business partner Trent Forquer ’12MBA is her CFO and COO, and Mackenzie Carter ’21, her first intern, is now a full-time team member. Most recently, she lent her savvy and insights to Rollins’ Rethinking Fashion Show, which is geared to educate and inspire the community on how to align the fashion and beauty industries with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Lang cites her relationships with professors and extensive involvement on campus while a student as reasons she continues to give back today, whether by mentoring budding entrepreneurs or joining causes she’s passionate about, such as mentoring at-risk youth in Orange County Public Schools.

“My professors at Rollins were instrumental in shaping my leadership style,” says Lang. “The concept of mentoring is now everything to me because I’ve benefited so much from it.”

Every class I have taken at Rollins, every experience I’ve had, every professor is just another validation for me to keep moving forward and make BYOC Refillery even bigger.

— Aida Rico-Arango ’22

Learning By Doing

Rollins provides an array of applied learning opportunities designed for students to engage with meaningful experiences—both in and outside the classroom— and grow as entrepreneurs. Take Aida Rico-Arango ’22, for example. The environmental studies major grew up in Costa Rica and came to Rollins

knowing she wanted to make a difference. Dedicated to sustainability efforts, she has been plastic-free for 15 years but realized not everyone has the access or ability.

The summer between her junior and senior years, she started BYOC (Bring Your Own Container) Refillery, the first fully mobile refillery in Florida that makes it easier for people to reduce the amount of plastics that end up in landfills and our waterways.

The concept is simple: Bring a container—or they’ll provide you with one—and they’ll refill it with green household and personal products from shampoo to laundry detergent.

Before starting her company, Rico-Arango took classes as part of her major on the environmental crisis and native Florida. She participated in a field study to Portland, Oregon, one of the nation’s most sustainable cities, and visited Everglades National Park as part of an Immersion experience aimed at conservation.

“Every class I have taken here, every experience I’ve had, every professor is just another validation for me to keep moving forward and make BYOC Refillery even bigger,” she says.

This past academic year, Rico-Arango took advantage of the Impact Incubator, which provides hands-on workshops

Surge City

Orlando was ranked among the top 5 cities in the U.S. to start a business for a reason. From incubators and investors to co-working spaces and competitions, Orlando offers a robust ecosystem for entrepreneurs to launch and nurture successful businesses.

National Entrepreneur Center

Tucked inside Orlando Fashion Square Mall is a veritable city of resources for entrepreneurs and nonprofits, as well as new and existing businesses. It houses not only one-on-one coaching opportunities, seminars, and working spaces, but a powerful community of investors, business support organizations, and mentors to help businesses develop and grow.

StarterStudio

Tech startups can find everything they need to succeed at this downtown-based accelerator that combines educational programming, industry-specific mentoring, and funding opportunities. Their goal is to help build successful tech companies that start and stay in Central Florida.

venVelo

Anchored by Crummer, venVelo—which recently launched its second fund—aims to help build the startup community in Orlando by funding and providing mentorship to early stage startups. The board is comprised of entrepreneurs with previous exits of over $200 million who connect entrepreneurs with the business resources they need to succeed.

geared at turning ideas into viable business plans and pairs student teams with a professional mentor who helps prepare them for the Ideas for Good pitch competition. Both are part of Rollins’ Social Impact Hub, which provides tools, resources, and a physical space on campus to help students address local and global social issues.

“We help students discover what paths they want to take and then get them to the right spot,” says Melissa Nelson, staff director of the Social Impact Hub. “We use our network to help find students an internship or to get them in front of a professor or community member who has more insight into the next step.”

The Incubator connected Rico-Arango with Ben Hoyer, president and chief operating officer at Rally SEA, and partnered her with mentor Oscar Vargas ’07, executive director of ecoPreserve. Hoyer helped her identify a metric to demonstrate her company’s success, which showed that they had helped save nearly 4,000 plastic containers from the landfill in only three months, while Vargas helped her prepare for the pitch competition. BYOC won first place, earning a total of $1,750 to help grow her business, as well as travel and registration fees to represent Rollins at the Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge in San Diego.

“Oscar made it very clear that your customer has to participate in what you’re doing and they have to be the hero of the story,” says Rico-Arango. “They have to feel like they’re doing something that matters, and that is true.”

A group of social entrepreneurship students created a battery that harnesses renewable energy.

Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts

International relations

major William Glass ’14 and international business major Andrew Holliday ’13 are the most recent Rollins grads to win the Venture Plan Competition that helped propel Stax and Lang’s career seven years ago. The duo co-founded Ostrich, a financial literacy app that leverages

community and gamification to help users reach their personal finance goals.

The idea for the app came to Glass from watching his parents divorce as a result of strain from financial hardship. He wanted a way to help teach people about the benefits of financial literacy—as well as the real consequences of not having a solid foundation in it, such as divorce. He credits Rollins for sparking the desire to start a company driven by purpose.

“We really wanted to focus on the mission behind what we’re doing and not just building another finance app,” says Glass. “That’s definitely something that was instilled in us at Rollins, and the Venture Plan Competition has helped

us simplify our mission and message into something that we can communicate quickly and easily. The $50,000 prize is fantastic, but really what’s going to continue to move our business forward is gaining the connections and support in the community that we formed during the process.”

In the 1990s, author and serial entrepreneur John Elkington coined the concept of the triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit. At Rollins, the entrepreneurial ecosystem is designed to foster all three, but whether through teaching design thinking or nurturing connections, that is achieved by always placing people first—and then helping them transform into unicorns.

By Rob Humphreys ’16MBA | Photo by Scott Cook

Standing Guard Through an eminent career in security, childhood refugee Akmal Ali ’03 devotes each day to keeping us safe.

Akmal Ali ’03 was in the womb when his parents and older brother fled Afghanistan to the U.S. in 1980, shortly after the Soviet invasion. Twenty-one years later, as a philosophy major at Rollins, he watched America go to war over 9/11.

Today, another 21 years past, Ali is one of the nation’s top consultants in counterterrorism, with clients from all four major professional sports leagues and the new World Trade Center campus.

Aluma, the risk management firm he founded in 2019, helps airports, arenas, stadiums, oil refineries, and entertainment venues with everything from sourcing security vendors to preventing car bombs. InOrbit, a company he began in 2021, builds software for clients to manage security programs.

Ali credits a “refugee immigrant mentality” and “years of countless sacrifices and hard work” from his parents for providing the template to excel in life.

He credits Rollins for “kicking my butt in a good way,” refocusing his high-energy, fast-paced approach to be less compulsive and more deliberate—skills that pay off when partnering with iconic sports franchises like the Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees, and Golden State Warriors.

“I was the guy who got an assignment and already had a preconceived notion of what I wanted to write,” says Ali, reflecting on classes with philosophy professors Scott Rubarth and Tom Cook. “They were really instrumental in getting me to focus, pump the brakes, and research more. I needed that. The reading, the analytics, the writing—it all prepared me for the next step.”

After Rollins, Ali enrolled in the Syracuse University College of Law, graduating with special honors from its newly formed Institute for National Security and Terrorism.

From there, it was on to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C., fulfilling a lifelong dream of working for the federal government. Starting out as

a research associate in the SAFETY Act Office, he soon rose to deputy director, overseeing public-private partnerships until leaving to start his first consulting firm, Catalyst Partners, in 2011.

For his outstanding success and professional accomplishments, Ali was recently named the winner of Rollins’ 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award.

“I’m really humbled by it,” he says. “There are a lot of people from Rollins doing cool stuff to highlight. I’m appreciative of this recognition, and I’m hoping it can be part of the narrative that Rollins is a diverse place—even when it comes to launching career pathways like mine.”

Ali recalls growing up with humble means in Jacksonville, then benefitting from a top-notch magnet school, Stanton College Prep. He chose Rollins because he wanted a low student-teacher ratio, and his brother’s buddy played on the soccer team.

The first semester was difficult, and he thought of transferring, but joining Alpha Tau Omega fraternity—and later serving as head of philanthropy—gave him lifelong friends and a newfound purpose.

“What drew me to Rollins was the small classes and what kept me there were the people,” he says. “The campus environment lets you make those types of real connections.”

When 9/11 occurred and Afghanistan was the target of U.S. military action, people on campus immediately reached out to offer their support. Ali was instrumental in reinstating the Muslim Student Association and held educational events attended by a diverse group of students.

“I met some really interesting people at Rollins,” he says, “and those relationships last. You have the ability to engage with professors and get to know your fellow students. You can latch on and create great connections. As small as Rollins is, I travel around the country, and almost everywhere I go, I find a friend from college. That community is really strong.”

The Ripple Effect

When you support financial aid at Rollins, you not only create opportunity for one student but for all the lives and communities that student goes on to impact.

By Adrienne Egolf | Photos by Scott Cook, Matt Furman, & Amy Mikler

Growing up on the island of St. Croix, now-pediatrician Tina Udhwani Fallon ’12 knew she’d likely leave home for college. It was common to go elsewhere for a high-quality education, and she’d had her sights set on this goal for most of her life. But in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the reality of that dream moved further out of reach as her parents struggled financially.

“The island was really suffering,” she remembers. “There was a big concern about if we’d be able to afford to send me to college—just room and board, let alone tuition.”

So when Fallon got word that she’d earned a need-based scholarship from Rollins, plus qualified for a financial aid package that would cover the remainder of her expenses, it was one of her best days yet.

“I am 32 now,” she says, “and I’m managing a five-clinician office in Oceanside, California, where there’s a lot of need for taking care of the community. Our work has such a massive impact on so many people. My scholarship to Rollins was like a ripple effect. Had I not received that money, I wouldn’t have attended UCF medical school and be able to help the people I do today. My whole life would be completely different.”

My scholarship to Rollins allowed me to go to a great college, and I turned around and gave it right back to my community.

— Tina Udhwani Fallon ’12

Fulfilling Need

The question of paying for college was a burden that weighed on Jordan Bartlett ’06 throughout his senior year of high school. A baseball player, he knew Rollins had a strong athletics program and the academic reputation to match—but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to attend even if he was accepted.

“I wasn’t able to afford Rollins outright,” he explains. “For me, access was a huge part of what my scholarship offered. Rollins was the school I wanted to go to, and access to grants and financial aid was the only reason I was able to attend.”

He’s not alone. According to the Office of Financial Aid, more than 95 percent of Rollins students received some sort of financial aid or scholarship in 2021, with the average aid package falling just over $42,000. More than 20 percent of those students received Pell Grants, which are awarded to students who demonstrate exceptional financial need.

“Helping families find the funding needed is a huge relief for them,” says Steve Booker, associate vice president of enrollment and director of financial aid. “You can see the weight coming off their shoulders and they’re able to focus on their academics.”

Booker says that over the past 10 years, he’s seen the number of students applying for financial aid increase by 8 percent, a trend that’s happening not only at Rollins but throughout higher-education institutions across the U.S.

According to research compiled by The College Board, between 1990 and 2020, inequality in family incomes has increased, with income growing fastest for those in the highest brackets. The average income increased by 57 percent for the top quintile of families while increasing only by 12 percent for the lowest quintile. So it’s more essential than ever to narrow the gap in college affordability that will allow deserving students like Bartlett—and the 50 percent of students at the College who receive need-based aid—to attain a Rollins education and carry that investment forward.

Today, Bartlett runs Doing Good Works, a certified B Corp that provides resources and opportunities for young people aging out of foster care. The company operates a full-service print, promotional merchandise, and packaging company based on a 10/20/30 model, where 10 percent of profits fund programs for foster youth, 20 percent of employee hours are in service of the community, and 30 percent of employees have been impacted by the foster system. He says none of it would be possible without his education from Rollins.

“A lot of people who can’t afford a school like Rollins but who receive a scholarship or financial aid are going to go back into those communities after they graduate,” he explains. “Rollins had a huge impact on what I’m doing now. When you give people an opportunity to see things in a different way, it has an exponential impact on the world.”

When you give people an opportunity to see things in a different way, it has an exponential impact on the world.

— Jordan Bartlett ’06

Essential Experience

For Bartlett and many students, a scholarship means more than just tuition. It represents a full, well-rounded college experience where he was able to take advantage of the personalized learning environment and opportunities to forge meaningful relationships.

“It was the first time I lived out of my parents’ house and developed independent skills,” he says. “Having a scholarship meant I didn’t have to work a full-time job while in school so I was able to make friends and experience everything Rollins had to offer.”

Thanks to her academic scholarship through a partnership with the Boys & Girls Club, Ashley Williams ’18 ’22MPH was able to maximize her time at the College through service-based learning and study abroad programs.

“I studied abroad in London, and I did a field study in the Dominican Republic that was all about water sanitation and health,” says Williams, a community health specialist at Walmart Specialty Pharmacy who just graduated from Rollins’ master’s of public health program.

It turns out that these types of immersive experiences are not just enriching in the moment—they prove essential for lifelong success. According to the Association of American Colleges & Universities, liberal-arts-related skills and civic- and community-mindedness are essential to employers. Research by the organization has found activities that deepen students’ four-year experience and encourage mindsets like work ethic and persistence impact their success in the workplace.

Meanwhile, a recent Gallup-Purdue University study found that very few students have access to these deep, valuable experiences that help

prepare them for a successful, impactful career. The poll looked at six key experiences—things like meaningful mentorship, experiential learning, and faculty support—and only 3 percent of students said they’d had all six. The focus on these experiences, and the commitment to providing access to them, is what sets Rollins apart. For example, each year, the Gateway Fellows program gives students access to fully funded internships with some of the world’s most prestigious companies and organizations, funding 47 scholarships to date. And though numbers have dropped in recent years due to COVID-related travel restrictions, up to 80 students a year have received study abroad scholarships in the past. For the 2021-22 academic year, 66 percent of Tars in a study abroad program had scholarship support.

Stewart Parker ’02, a history teacher at Winter Park High School who was named the 2020-21 Teacher of the Year, can see the throughline clearly. As the first Cornell Scholar (now the Alfond Scholars program), he received a full scholarship that allowed him the freedom to complete a yearlong, unpaid teaching internship his senior year.

“The educator I am is definitely a result of my education at Rollins,” he says. “And that is 100 percent a result of the scholarship I received. The focus on service learning and engagement and opportunity are things that I bring into my classroom. I learned to ask, ‘What can we do as citizens to make a better world?’ Still 20 years later, I think about those things. How can I help my students achieve their goals because I was given that scholarship? What can I do to help them—because I was given a lot. The College instills a civic-mindedness that never goes away.”

The educator I am is definitely a result of my education at Rollins, and that is 100 percent a result of the scholarship I received.

— Stewart Parker ’02

Lifelong Impact

When the pandemic was at its height in Central Florida, the Senior Resource Alliance was there to address the needs of the vulnerable. The organization, led by CEO Karla Radka ’12, worked with local restaurateurs to provide meals to more than 600,000 people from April 2020 to January 2021.

“If they were a senior citizen and they were hungry,” says Radka, “then we fed them during the pandemic.”

This is just the latest milestone in her long career of nonprofit work and difference-making in Central Florida. As the founder and executive director of Public Allies, she led a program to place young people in yearlong positions at local nonprofits. As vice president of Community Based Care, she led initiatives supporting foster care, adoption, and mentoring. As chief operating officer of Goodwill Industries, she helped steward a workforce of 1,250 employees alongside a mission to serve the homeless population and help people find jobs. Her impact on the lives of Central Floridians is immeasurable.

“When you heal a family, you heal the world,” she says.

Radka, who attended Rollins thanks to a scholarship from the Edyth Bush Foundation, says her ability to have this impact is directly connected to her education.

“I believe that funding opportunities for scholarships and helping someone with their education is transformational,” she says. “You are equipping future leaders with the right tools so in turn they can better societies.”

The evidence to support Radka’s perspective is clear. Whether it’s through a B Corp dedicated to equitable employment and charitable giving, a commitment to advancing public health, a career educating future leaders and changemakers, a lifetime of nonprofit service, or a medical practice that serves marginalized communities, the lives of Rollins’ scholarship and financial-aid-funded students ripple outward in ways that result in stronger communities, healthier children, and a safer world.

“I love helping parents raise their children and keep their families healthy,” says Fallon, reflecting on her work as a general pediatrician.

She says that though she always saw herself in medicine, it was the Rollins College Conference (RCC) course on chemistry she took her first year that steered her toward community service by giving her the opportunity to do volunteer work for course credit.

And today, it’s the people-focused parts of her job that stand out the most—like helping immigrant families navigate cultural differences and supporting her teenage patients.

“They’ve been struggling,” she says. “There’s a lot of fear of the future right now. Which is something that I felt around the same age—fear of what was going on with the island, where I would end up. Now, my role is to keep people in good spirits and help them be the best version of themselves. My scholarship at Rollins allowed me to go to a great college without putting me into massive debt. And I turned around and gave it right back to my community.”

I believe that funding opportunities for scholarships is transformational. You are equipping future leaders with the right tools so in turn they can better societies.

— Karla Radka ’12

By Rob Humphreys ’16MBA | Photo by Scott Cook

Service Steward

Andrea Massey-Farrell ’98 understands that giving back is what moves communities forward.

A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Philanthropist Andrea Massey-Farrell ’98 knows this proverb to be true—a painting hangs in her office as a constant reminder—and it serves as a guiding philosophy for her work as president and CEO of the Harvey & Carol Massey Foundation.

“From an early age, we were taught you had to give back to your community. It was just our family culture,” she says. “You can’t go through life with two catcher’s mitts on.”

In Orlando, the name Massey is quite literally synonymous with service. Massey Services, founded in 1987 by Andrea’s father, Harvey, has grown into the nation’s fifthlargest pest management company. Its subsidiary, Massey Communications, is a full-service advertising, graphic design, PR, and marketing agency. The family foundation, established in 2014, serves the community in everything from arts and culture to human and health services.

In addition to heading the foundation, Massey-Farrell serves as senior vice president for community relations at Massey Services and is the former president and CEO of Massey Communications.

A fervent advocate for education and the arts, she serves on several boards, including Nemours Florida Board of Managers, the Orlando Shakes Board of Trustees, the One Orlando Alliance Board, The Victory Cup Initiative Board of Directors, and the YMCA of Central Florida.

At Rollins, she sits on the Hamilton Holt School Advisory Board and is a leading member of the Donors Forum of Central Florida, administered by the Edyth Bush Institute for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership. She also oversees the Massey Foundation’s charitable giving, highlighted by the family’s ongoing support of the Hamilton Holt Advisory Board Endowed Scholarship and a recent $2 million donation to help build a new home for Rollins’ Crummer Graduate School of Business.

For her exceptional leadership to the College and community through volunteerism and service initiatives, Massey-Farrell has won Rollins’ 2022 Alumni Service Award.

“I’m honored and humbled,” she says, thinking back to her days as an organizational communications major at the Holt School. “Service was something I saw modeled at Rollins at all levels, from President Rita Bornstein to my professors. It was class projects that involved the community. It was having professors who were involved in nonprofits. It was working as a team to solve a problem. I felt proud to be part of a school that gave back not only to Winter Park but also to Central Florida.”

Prior to her current role, Massey-Farrell had carved out a successful 20-plus years in agency work, helping clients across multiple industries. But eight years ago, her father and brother, Tony Massey ’12MBA, current president and CEO of Massey Services, approached her about running the foundation.

“I loved my career in advertising and PR,” she says. “That was always my dream of where I thought I fit. But the last four years as president and CEO, I was probably on nine boards and committees, so I’d be doing that during the day and my regular work at night and on weekends. Being able to still be a part of the family business but also represent the passions and ideals my parents had has been an amazing transition.”

When it comes to her personal time, treasure, and talent, Massey-Farrell balances it all with a simple philosophy: “Only say yes to things that tug at the heart strings.” Supporting her every step of the way are an “incredible husband and children who are passionate about the community as well.”

As for her family foundation’s strong ties with Rollins, Massey-Farrell is happy to be in a position where she can plant many a metaphorical shade tree.

“To us, investing in Rollins means we’re working to make our community a better place,” she says. “From the bottom of my heart, I love Rollins and what it’s done for me and my family. I feel like my experience at Rollins has made me a better person.”

Transcending Time

Jack Lane ’06H served his country, chronicled the history of Rollins, and touched countless lives as a professor. Now, his planned gift to the College will help the next generation of students leave their mark.

By Jack Lane ’06H, as told to Rob Humphreys ’16MBA |

Photo by Scott Cook

Emeritus history professor Jack Lane—author of Rollins College Centennial History: A Story of Perseverance—recently set up a planned gift of a life insurance policy to create the Jack Lane History Award Fund, which will support superlative history majors at Rollins. The fund has its origins in a $10,000 life insurance policy given to Lane by the VA when he was drafted into the Korean War.

Fast-forward more than 70 years and interest from that policy will eventually pay off in a way no one could have imagined. The College’s preeminent historian sheds light on why he chose to support Rollins in this meaningful way.

Several years ago, I decided if financially possible I would make a significant contribution to Rollins—to reward students who not only major in history but excel at it.

I had started the VA life insurance policy when I was in the Army, and it came to me that I could serve Rollins by donating a portion of the interest accrued over the years as a way to give back to the College that has given so much to me.

That symmetry of serving appealed to me. Plus, I was impressed by former president Hamilton Holt’s phrase in faculty reappointment letters: “I call you to serve Rollins for the coming year.”

I arrived at Rollins in the mid1960s when one era was ending and another was beginning. Hugh McKean was president, and as I try to show in my historical accounts, he was a product of the Holt era. There was a patricianlike social life with gracious entertainment. As I look back, it had an appealing aspect.

But this was the ’60s and ’70s, and the world of higher education was changing and changing fast, and I wanted Rollins to be part of that change. It was an exciting time, and I loved every minute of it.

Shortly after I came to Rollins, several older faculty members retired, and I was appointed

head of the history department with the purpose of rebuilding it. After several fits and starts, I managed to create what was considered one of the College’s best programs.

From that point on, the history department gained a reputation as having high academic standards and quality teaching. So naturally I became and remain very interested in its future and carrying on the tradition of rigor and active learning that I helped start.

When former president Thad Seymour asked me to write the history of the College in 1984 for the centennial, I became aware that even though I had been

at Rollins for 20 years, I knew practically nothing about the College’s history, and it made me realize that the community was losing its institutional memory.

That was a serious matter because, as a historian, I understood that without a knowledge of its past, Rollins could not establish its true identity. What I was able to reveal was a rich and meaningful history that gives the present an anchor from which to grow and develop in the 21st century.

I haven’t thought about my gift in terms of leaving a legacy. But now that you mention it, that does appeal to me. I can say that I do want to be remembered in a favorable way.

Among other things, here’s what I hope I have shown—that you can be a scholar and a fulltime teacher at the same time. Most importantly, though, I hope I was a good mentor to hundreds of young people so they could lead fulfilling lives. And that I left them with a sense that knowledge of the past is critical to that kind of life.

I am thankful this gift will help carry on that type of scholarly tradition, giving outstanding students the opportunity to embark on their own contributions to historical studies, in whatever field that might be. Because, as William Faulkner observed, ‘The past is never dead. It’s not even past.’

BENEFITS OF LIFE INSURANCE GIFTS

FLEXIBILITY

Proceeds can be paid to an individual, estate, charity, or trust. You can name more than one beneficiary and indicate the percentage of proceeds each will receive.

TAX-EXEMPTION

Proceeds paid to a beneficiary are generally exempt from income tax. You can also transfer the ownership to a charity, which could then surrender the policy for cash or borrow against it.

NEW LIFE

If the policy is no longer needed for its original purpose, you would be putting an idle asset to work. You could fund a large future gift on an installment basis.

GUARANTEED MONEY

As long as the premiums are paid, the benefit to the charity is guaranteed. Insurance proceeds are paid promptly, and they are not subject to the delays and costs of the probate process.

For additional information on the benefits of planned giving and to learn more about how to leave a planned gift to Rollins, contact Beth Fontes, senior director of gift planning, at 407-646-2508 or efontes@rollins.edu.

By Rob Humphreys ’16MBA | Photo by Scott Cook

Lessons in Leadership

Margaret Linnane ’76 ’96MBA spent a lifetime nurturing the success of Central Florida’s nonprofit sector.

The leadership journey began at an early age for Margaret Linnane ’76 ’96MBA. Third oldest among 10 siblings, there was always a younger brother or sister who needed extra care or special attention.

In much the same way, throughout a distinguished career spanning 35 years in the nonprofit sector, Linnane guided Central Florida’s charitable efforts to new heights, helping multiple philanthropic organizations—and the executives who run them—reach their full potential.

It started in 1986 when a fledgling community food bank posted an ad for an executive director. Despite having no experience in the field—Linnane was a behavioral science major who oversaw the staffing of nurses at Florida Hospital (now AdventHealth)—she applied anyway.

“What motivated me,” she says, “was I thought it would challenge me on every front: HR, management, finance, marketing, public speaking. I don’t know why they did it, but they hired me, and I stayed there for 18 years.”

Linnane’s little food bank grew to become Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, which today supports 550 feeding partners across six counties, distributing enough food for 73 million meals each year. The road to achieve such widespread impact, however, wasn’t easy—and it ran directly through Rollins’ Crummer Graduate School of Business.

Realizing she needed better managerial skills to scale the food bank’s operations, Linnane returned to Rollins for an MBA. The Martin Bell Scholarship, given annually to one senior nonprofit professional, covered full tuition.

“Second Harvest Food Bank was maturing into such a major nonprofit that either I needed to improve my skills or step away,” recalls Linnane. “I don’t know where I’d be without my experience at Crummer. All I learned in the MBA carried the food bank to another level. It helped me as a manager and leader for the rest of my career.”

In 2004, Linnane returned to Rollins once more, this time as executive director of the Edyth Bush Institute for

Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership. She would stay for the next 15 years, working with all manner of nonprofit leaders to elevate their business acumen and multiply the effectiveness of their organizations. During this time, she also helped found the Florida Nonprofit Alliance, a statewide coalition of nonprofits focused on advocacy, collaboration, and research.

“So many excellent programs were developed there from a highly creative team,” says Linnane of the Edyth Bush Institute. “You can look at many nonprofits that have launched in recent years and know they started as ideas, and we helped them strengthen and perfect those ideas.”

These days, three years into retirement, Linnane has rekindled her childhood calling of helping young people learn and grow. Tutoring first-graders as part of Orange County’s Read to Succeed program is one way she gives back, and she still works independently with developing nonprofits.

For her extraordinary achievements and impact on society, Linnane has won the 2022 Fred Rogers Global Citizenship Award, which recognizes alumni who best exemplify Rollins’ mission of global citizenship and responsible leadership.

“I’m simply very fortunate,” she says. “To be able to direct the food bank and then the Edyth Bush Institute, both with such marvelous missions—to have those opportunities to grow myself and assist others along the way, I was nothing but fortunate.”

Reflecting on her lifelong ties to Rollins, Linnane has seen her alma mater evolve a great deal since enrolling as an undergrad half a century ago, especially when it comes to preparing the next generation of service leaders.

“Service leadership is now ingrained at Rollins and in its value system,” she says. “It’s beautiful to see. From the first day students are on campus, service is an expectation. Life is about others, not just about you. That messaging is superb, and the College is giving students every opportunity to experience what it’s like to engage in the community.”

Historic Collaboration

A record number of donors came together to raise landmark support for Rollins students on Giving Day 2022.

At Rollins, our history, our mission, and our vision for a more brilliant future are all built on the knowledge that we can achieve anything when we work together. Our community’s trademark collaborative ethos was on full display this February 22 when 1,532 Rollins alumni, faculty, staff, students, and friends raised $551,510 for The Rollins Annual Fund on Giving Day 2022. To celebrate, we decided to take a closer look at the collective generosity that made this year’s effort so successful.

1,532 $550k Rollins alumni, faculty, staff, students, and friends gave more than

Matching Gifts

A distinguishing aspect of Rollins Giving Day is the ability to make every gift go further through matching gifts. This year, generous alumni and donors offered up more than $200,000 in matching gifts— all of which were secured as the Rollins community rallied to meet a half-dozen challenges.

SANDEE HILL SMITH ’73 ’74MBA donated $50,000 to The Rollins Annual Fund when Giving Day reached 1,000 donors and gave another $50,000 when 150 people designated gifts to the Crummer Graduate School of Business.

CHRISTOPHER RUSSO ’82 added another $10,000 when 1,250 donors were reached.

SUSAN PORCARO ’78 AND RICK GOINGS ’12H donated $50,000 to the Holt Scholarship Fund when 100 people gave to the Hamilton Holt School.

JEREMY LANG ’68 AND LYNN STERN donated $50,000 to the Rollins Museum of Art when 50 people made a gift to the museum.

RON RACCUIA AND ADPRO

SPORTS donated $10,000 to the athletics department when giving to Rollins’ 21 varsity sports teams reached the 400-donor mark.

By Rob Humphreys ’16MBA | Photos by Scott Cook & Mike Watters

Spontaneous Matching Gifts

Some alumni issued spontaneous matching challenges as well, further amplifying Giving Day’s impact. The biggest came from DANA CONSLER ’72, whose $50,000 matched gifts from the 50th reunion class of 1972. The Holt Advisory Board also provided a matching gift of $28,000, with $1,000 being unlocked for each donor who gave to the Holt Scholarship Fund. REBECCA CHARUK GEDDIO ’07, a political science major who works in alumni and family engagement at Eastern University, donated $150 to match gifts from her graduating class.

“I hope to be able to give more in the future,” she says, “but I gave what I can right now, and every gift counts. I was fortunate enough to receive an academic scholarship to Rollins, and if my gift could help a student attend Rollins when otherwise they couldn’t, then I accomplished something.”

Athletics Bonus Challenge

This year’s athletics bonus challenge was based on yearover-year growth, pitting teams not only against one another but also against themselves. THE WOMEN’S LACROSSE TEAM TOOK THE W BY INCREASING ITS DONOR PARTICIPATION BY 743 PERCENT. In all, 118 donors

gave to women’s lacrosse, raising a total of $8,091 and earning a $2,500 bonus gift.

The rowing team finished with the most donors at 119, while the sailing team raised the most money at $13,381. That level of friendly competition allowed all of athletics to exceed its 400-donor goal by 63 percent.

First-Time Donors

MATTHEW TIRALOSI ’16MBA, a project manager with United Healthcare, was among the firsttime donors who contributed on Giving Day. Six years ago, he received a scholarship to attend Crummer, and now he wants to help others following in his footsteps.

“The way Giving Day promoted donating through competition and unlocking more rewards was a fun way to donate,” says Tiralosi. “Crummer and Rollins have such a supportive and inclusive culture that pushes students to pursue their goals. I am forever grateful for the

education I received there and the relationships I made. They helped me identify strengths, goals, career opportunities, and my value as a leader in the organization.”

Student Donors

Seven percent of donors were students, including computer science major ANGELINA KHOURISADER ’23 ’24MBA, a member of the sailing team. Her donation helped unlock a spontaneous sailing challenge from an anonymous person who gave $100 for each sailing donor, up to $5,000. That money, in part, will go toward recently purchased boats and costs associated with traveling to regattas.

“As a team, we had our best fundraising year ever,” says Khourisader. “I felt like I was part of something bigger than myself, and I got to connect with previous sailing alumni to keep them updated and engaged with our program. You don’t have to give a lot of money, but anything you give will help create positive change.”

Make an Impact Every Day

Missed Giving Day? You don’t have to wait another year to make a difference. You can help make an immediate impact in the lives of Rollins students and brighten every corner of campus every day through a gift to The Rollins Annual Fund. Learn more at rollins.college/annual-fund.

Alumni Weekend 2022 was definitely the best weekend of the year. We’re so glad you came back with us to celebrate your time at Rollins and to look ahead to the brighter future you’re helping us build. We invite you to hop in the time machine one more time to relive memories made with friends old and new.

Alumni Weekend 2023 March 23-26, 2023 Class Reunions

Annual Grove Party

A Toast to Holt

Alumni Convocation

Blast from the Past Picnic

Black Student Union Reunion Panel & Reception

50th Reunion: Order of the Fox Induction & Reception

All-Alumni Dinner

Crummer Cocktail Hour

Rollins Gateway Symposium: Experiential Learning in a Liberal Arts College

CLASS NEWS

Across the Arts

Virginia Roush d’Albert-Lake ’35, who received Rollins’ Decoration of Honor in 1947 for her heroic work as part of the French resistance in World War II, is one of the protagonists in Sisters of Night and Fog, a new novel by national bestselling author Erika Robuck.

Richard Betz ’71 published Bells in the Night, which is available on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble. The book of poetry wrestles with the frailty of life.

This past March, longtime actress Angela Bond Markus ’81 performed an original play, Tennessee Palms, at the SaraSolo Spring Festival at New College in Sarasota, Florida.

Jess Johnson ’83 published the first two books in a children’s series that stars Beacon, a magical dolphin.

A painting of the historic Park Plaza Hotel by artist Abby Ober ’84 graced the cover of the summer 2021 issue of Winter Park Magazine

Gatherings & Milestones

Charlotte Corddry ’61 hosted a reception for Rollins alumni, along with Grant and Peg Cornwell, at her home in Naples, Florida.

Jim Ramsey ’84 retired this past September after a 35-year career in television that included covering the Atlanta Olympics and working in national news during 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.

JoAnne Howley ’86 retired from her career in health care and accepted a full-time role as grandparent to Reagan and Logan in Melbourne, Florida.

Cassie ’09 and Brandon Burns ’08 ’09MBA welcomed their daughter, Georgia, into the world on 1/29/21.

Paul Schetzle ’10 and his wife, Britney, welcomed their baby girl, Molly, on 9/27/21.

Thrilled to come full circle and tie the knot at Rollins, Mary Claire Danowitz ’12 and Ian Wallace ’12 were married at Knowles Memorial Chapel on 5/29/21.

On 9/5/20, Melanie Blake Roth ’14 and Jack Spallone ’16 said “I do” in Goffstown, New Hampshire, with critical media and cultural studies professor Denise Cummings officiating the ceremony.

Rachael Kokomoor ’14 and Micah Purdy ’11 were married on 5/28/21 on the peak of Burnt Rock Mountain in Fayston, Vermont.

Victoria (Coto) ’14 and Michael Cherry ’15 welcomed their first child, Jacob Michael, on 8/20/21.

Honor Roll

Composer Sally Albrecht ’76 received the University of Miami Frost School of Music’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents named Gerald Ladner ’81 its 2021 Company Representative of the Year.

Eleanor “Nellie” Lackman ’00, a partner in the intellectual property practice of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP in New York City, was named one of Billboard’s 2021 Top Music Lawyers.

Return to Rollins

At the end of March, Scott duPont ’87 presented an advanced screening on Mills Lawn of Movie Money

Confidential , a documentary he produced with fellow alum Parker Roy ’86 that investigates the secrets of Hollywood and independent film financing. Prior to the screening, duPont joined entertainment attorney Nicole Weaver ’97 ’06MBA for a panel discussion about the ins and outs of careers in filmmaking.

Onward & Upward

Carolyn “CiCi” Van Tine ’89 has joined the law firm of Davis Malm as a shareholder, establishing the firm’s Divorce & Family Law practice.

Erik Swenk ’03 was promoted to hearing office supervisor at the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Documentarians Nick Capezzera ’08, Evan Mascagni ’08, and Shannon Post ’08 teamed up with the legendary Martin Scorsese to produce Building a Bridge, which debuted at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival last summer to impassioned audiences. The film tells the story of a priest’s journey to make the Catholic Church more accepting and welcoming of other communities.

Theatre and international business double major Isabella Ward ’15 made her big-screen debut as Tere in the Golden Globewinning West Side Story revival directed by Steven Spielberg—an accomplishment she says wouldn’t have been possible without the foundation and mentorship she received at Rollins.

Russell Nauman ’08 was promoted to senior manager of operations and exhibits at the new Angel Island Immigration Museum in San Francisco, where he recently curated three new exhibits.

Bringing over 16 years of expertise in marketing and brand strategy, Scott Nichols ’08 has been appointed director of marketing at Orlandobased RFL Architects.

Michelle Chandler ’10MBA has been named partner at SchenkelShultz Architecture, where she’ll lead efforts for the firm’s strategic business growth across marketing, public relations, and philanthropy.

Colleen Wilkowski ’15 recently graduated from Arizona State University with a PhD in English, writing, rhetorics, and literacies and is now a member of the residential faculty in English composition at Chandler-Gilbert Community College.

Rollins gave me the opportunity to try new things. Through improv, I learned how to run toward fear rather than away from it, which has made me the fearless person I consider myself to be today.

—

Isabella Ward ’15

In Memory

Distinguished historian and former acting Rollins president Fred Hicks III ’79MSCJ ’80H left an indelible mark on the College, most notably at the Rollins Museum of Art through his namesake curatorial fellowship.

Because

of the fellowship

that Fred established, so many students have been able to explore and deepen their passion for art, teaching, and research.

— Ena Heller, Bruce A. Beal Director, Rollins Museum of Art

In tribute to Fred Hicks, Trustee Bill Bieberbach ’70 ’71MBA handed out buttons at Alumni Weekend as a nod to a legendary article that appeared in The Sandspur

Davitt A. Felder ’38

April 16, 2021

Margaret J. Welsh ’44

June 4, 2021

Rosemary Buck Donnelly ’47

August 18, 2021

Ruth Brooks Muir ’47

December 13, 2021

Shirley Fry Irvin ’49

July 13, 2021

Flynn M. Ailene Jr. ’50

January 27, 2022

Oscar M. Griffith ’50

January 16, 2022

Paul A. Howell Sr. ’50

July 7, 2021

Edwin R. Motch III ’51

July 23, 2021

Jacqueline Biggerstaff Smythe ’51

April 15, 2021

Francis H. Barker ’52 ’06H

July 30, 2021

Luisa Clarkson Hope ’53

February 18, 2022

A. Howard Townsend Jr. ’53

November 10, 2021

Barbara Mack Watters ’53

August 16, 2021

David S. Jaffray Jr. ’55 P’83

December 25, 2021

Jane Swicegood ’55

January 8, 2022

Phyllis Taylor Hall ’56

November 24, 2021

Joan Bennett Clayton ’57

August 16, 2021

Karen Serumgard Rizika ’58

July 13, 2021

Judith Adams Schmeling ’58

December 25, 2021

Dolores Sharp Hitner ’59

January 16, 2022

Anita T. Daubenspeck ’60

June 6, 2021

Stanley H. Moress Jr. ’60

September 6, 2021

Louise Wolfe Burris ’61

April 3, 2021

Frank Barker ’52 ’06H passed away just after his 91st birthday. His contributions as a caring graduate, Hall of Fame athlete, and student-focused trustee will endure indefinitely at Rollins and beyond. More than half the students at Rollins are involved in a varsity sport, intramural, or club sport largely because of the Barker Stadium facilities. It’s what Frank had in mind all along.

— Pennie Parker, Director of Athletics

Ann Berry Fitzgerald ’61

November 6, 2021

William F. Kintzing ’61

May 30, 2021

Douglas J. Baxendale ’62

July 18, 2021

Matthew L. Carr ’62 May 23, 2021

Peter P. Pawlack Jr. ’62 April 19, 2021

Roger D. Ray ’62 P’06 April 2, 2021

Robert A. Meyer ’62MBA October 2, 2021

Laurence B. Breckenridge ’63 August 31, 2021

Dennis J. Casey ’63

August 3, 2021

Susan Todd Breckenridge ’64

August 28, 2021

George H. Mettler Jr. ’64

July 16, 2021

John N. Stewart Jr. ’64MBA

February 18, 2022

Patricia A. Maher ’65

March 5, 2021

George F. Daught ’67

June 15, 2021

Gary P. Lavan ’67

August 14, 2021

Charlotte Hellman Geyer ’67 ’69MAT P’76

June 25, 2021

Kenneth A. Myers ’68

May 10, 2021

Janet S. Stokes ’68

August 14, 2021

Joseph F. Lopez ’69

January 8, 2022

Allison M. Masterson ’69MAT

April 15, 2021

Emerson J. Dobbs Jr. ’70

June 8, 2021

John D. Harris ’70

May 28, 2021

Ira L. Kight Jr. ’71

June 20, 2021

Harold B. Frutchey ’71EDS

April 22, 2021

Wilhelmia Muller Unkefer ’71MAT

October 11, 2021

Charles R. Dunlap ’71MBA

June 15, 2021

William M. Lyons ’71MED

November 11, 2021

Mary Hall ’72

April 20, 2021

Michael V. Knox ’72

August 13, 2021

Wayne C. Sullivan ’72

April 29, 2021

Bruce A. Drazen ’72 ’79MSCJ

April 14, 2021

Nadine Stewart Colling ’72MAT P’78 P’82

September 30, 2021

Arthur E. Koski ’72MBA

July 11, 2021

Sharon E. Bateman ’73 ’78MSCJ

November 12, 2021

Thomas J. Capobianco ’73MAT

September 7, 2021

Robert E. Kahl ’73MBA

May 16, 2021

John B. Sammis ’74

September 14, 2021

Lisa Lyle Vimmerstedt ’74

January 14, 2022

Darrell B. Hauck ’75

August 22, 2021

Mardi A. Ramaley-Snider ’75

April 11, 2021

Edward B. Putnam ’75 ’76MBA

April 24, 2021

Elmer D. Swanson ’75MED

October 30, 2021

Gregory J. Ruse ’76

April 11, 2021

Leonard K. Varn ’76 ’85MBA

November 5, 2021

Whitworth W. Cotton Jr. ’76 P’03MED

September 27, 2021

Cleave S. Frink ’77

May 11, 2021

Robert F. Hoogland ’77

November 18, 2021

Linda H. Jones ’77

March 14, 2021

Charlie P. Lewis ’77 April 27, 2021

Joyce Lund ’77 June 2, 2021

Buford L. Euell ’78 August 14, 2021

Ricky L. Poindexter ’78 June 11, 2021

Elizabeth L. Welsh ’78

May 6, 2021

Susan R. Rossman Whittington ’78MED February 12, 2022

David H. Daniels ’79MBA P’04 June 27, 2021

Fred W. Hicks III ’79MSCJ ’80H January 24, 2022

Joye Lang Schafers ’81 February 7, 2022

John L. Gladden ’82 March 1, 2021

Melanie L. Jones ’83 October 3, 2021

Victor C. Davidson II ’83MSCJ July 3, 2021

W. Alan Luce ’84MBA July 16, 2021

Diego I. Garcia ’85 March 17, 2021

James A. Callan ’87 July 28, 2021

Maureen A. Michael ’87MBA July 14, 2021

One of the brightest tennis stars to emerge from the Rollins pantheon, Shirley Fry Irvin ’49 was one of only 10 women in the world to win all four Grand Slam singles titles. Generations of Rollins women’s tennis players have felt a deep sense of pride knowing they’re part of a program associated with Shirley Fry Irvin. It’s an honor to have played and now coach on the very courts where she once played. — Bev Buckley ’75, Women’s Tennis Coach

Bryan A. Molyet ’87MBA

July 26, 2021

Kathryn D. Carlson ’90

June 11, 2021

Mark C. Huaman ’94

August 20, 2021

Marsha Schreur Erickson ’94MA September 22, 2021

Mary A. Baker-Holmes ’95MA July 29, 2021

Martin K. Kerns ’98 January 14, 2022

Michael R. Zinssar ’01MA

September 7, 2021

Luther W. Davis ’00 October 8, 2021

Lori L. Harrington-Couey ’01MBA

December 29, 2021

Carolyn M. Robbins ’02MAC September 26, 2021

Rachel J. Hohenberg ’03 December 6, 2021

Joan C. Angelo ’04

June 16, 2021

John C. Bramblett ’04 June 30, 2021

Ted Greenberg ’07 June 19, 2021

Marissa L. Williams ’07 April 24, 2021

Abigail L. Bosarge ’25 October 28, 2021

HAVE NEWS TO SHARE? Visit rollins.college/classnews to fill out a class news submission form, or mail your news to: Rollins College Class News Office of Alumni Engagement 1000 Holt Ave. – 2736 Winter Park, FL 32789-4409 NEED TO UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION? Visit rollins.college/alumniupdate or notify us at alumni@rollins.edu or 800-799-ALUM

By Rob Humphreys ’16MBA | Photo by Bonnie J Heath Photography

What I’ve Learned: Robiaun Charles ’94

Robiaun Charles ’94, new national co-chair of The Rollins Annual Fund, has a vested interest in the success of higher education.

She’s worked in development for four colleges and universities, earned advanced degrees from two others, and assists many more as vice president of Chicago-based Grenzebach Glier and Associates, a philanthropic management consulting firm.

While it’s been nearly 30 years since her days at Rollins, Charles still holds a special place in her heart for the College—a feeling she knows is shared by countless other alumni.

“I believe deeply in the power of philanthropy,” says Charles, who serves as vice president of the Alumni Advisory Board. “Applying that belief to my alma mater, which had such a profound impact on my life, is a nobrainer. I want to use my voice to encourage others to give and to thank those who have given to Rollins.”

Charles started in nonprofit marketing and PR before joining the development office at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1998. Over the next two decades, she took on similar roles at the University of Evansville, the University of Texas, and Agnes Scott College in Atlanta.

While working full time, Charles earned her master’s in policy/nonprofit administration from Georgia State and a doctorate in higher education from Vanderbilt. In between, she attended the higher education management development program at Harvard’s Graduate School of Business.

At the foundation of her success? A philosophy degree from Rollins.

My philosophy degree has served me well because it taught me critical thinking, and that’s probably one of the most important skills a college degree can offer any person. Critical thinking is applicable to any career, and it helped me become a strong writer too.

There’s great value in engaging with people who hold differing opinions and perspectives. You can have strong beliefs about something but still be respectful about presenting your beliefs in a civil fashion. In our world today, that’s as essential as ever.

Rollins is the embodiment of what a liberal arts education provides to students. You can engage with faculty, staff, and fellow students in an environment where true learning is encouraged and it’s part of the ethos of the place. That’s important because it puts students on a path—their chosen path—post-graduation.

The Rollins Annual Fund is essential to the College because it provides the institution the needed flexibility to fund the various programs, projects, and initiatives that make Rollins great. It’s the first step to giving that alumni should make.

Philanthropy has the power to transform lives. The etymology of that word breaks down to love of humanity. A gift that one person makes can encourage someone else to make a gift and have a multiplier effect. It’s huge to advancing our world, specifically in education.

In some corners, there might be a belief that Rollins doesn’t need philanthropic support from its alumni or that the only way to make a difference is through a big gift. But all gifts matter. I’d like that to be reflected in our alumni giving participation rate. It’s a personal challenge that I want to put forth for all alums to make a gift.

The financial aspect of philanthropy is very important, but philanthropy in general is about giving back. You can give back to others through volunteering and by way of mentoring.

As for personal life lessons, there are two rules I live by: Treat other people how you want to be treated (kindness doesn’t cost anything) and be authentic in all situations and circumstances (show up as who you are).

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Introducing

CONNECT

The official social and professional networking platform for Rollins alumni

Strengthen your connection to your alma mater and the global Rollins alumni network with RollinsConnect, the College’s new official social and professional networking platform.

Reconnect with classmates and forge new friendships and professional partnerships via RollinsConnect’s directory of more than 40,000 alumni, discover opportunities to share your time, connections, and expertise with Rollins students, and so much more.

Get Connected

Visit rollinsconnect.rollins.edu or search “RollinsConnect” in the App Store or on Google Play to get started.