1999 – Spring ’21 Class Letter
Greetings, Class of 1999!
Happy 2021! I (CHRISTINE GUY WINGET ’99) am writing to you on this sunny New York afternoon. It is only my second year back in the snow (I spent 13 years in Florida and three in North Carolina), and I wasn’t sure this winter was going to end, snow on April 1 feels like a ridiculous April Fools joke. What a year this has been, wow, I don’t know about you, but I definitely did not think when I left my in-person office last March, that many of my colleagues would still be working from home a year later. And speaking of home, I think we have probably all become pretty well-acquainted with home at this point. In our next Class Letter, we want to share what you want to do post-COVID-19, so send your thoughts to me via email (or Facebook messenger).
Good news regarding this year’s Alumni Weekend. Alumni Weekend 2021 will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen with two distinct summer weekends of Ripon alumni programming for us. No matter how you’d like to connect, virtually or in person, the Office of Constituent Engagement is developing a variety of activities to continue to follow CDC, Fond du Lac County and College guidelines in both June and August. Full schedules, lodging, and programming details will be posted soon to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.
JUNE 2021
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In honor of our June Alumni Weekend traditions, virtual alumni programming will be held Tuesday, June 22 through Saturday, June 26, and will include: an alumni town hall, R Connections webinars, affinity socials, a summer book club, and special recognition of the 2020 and 2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees.
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The only in-person event, the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, will be held off-campus on Friday, June 25.
AUGUST 2021
A combination of virtual and in-person Alumni Weekend programming will be held the first week of August. We will continue to evaluate the state of COVID-19. If circumstances change at the local and national level and we need to cancel in-person programming, that decision will be made and communicated by July 1, 2021.
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Virtual programming will be held Tuesday, August 3 through Saturday, August 7 and will include: a reunion-focused alumni town hall that also previews the new academic year, additional R Connections webinars, the summer book club capstone, and the traditional “That Was Then” storytelling session.
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In-person, on-campus programming will be held Friday, August 6 through Sunday, August 8, and will focus on alumni awards recognition, 2020 and 2021 reunion celebrations, and other outdoor events such as Rally Run and prairie walk.
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Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.
On April 28, Ripon will celebrate #OneDayRally. This is when all of us alumni can come together and give back to the college. I think it would be fun for all of us to post a photo on social media of ourselves from our Ripon memories on this day as well, and even use the hashtag to share with others. Speaking of giving back, I also want to take a moment to thank each of you who were able to continue to give back to our Alma Mater during this year, I know that this helps to fund a variety of initiatives to continue the success of Ripon College.
Class Notes:
ALEX ARIFIANTO ’99 of Singapore, is in his sixth year in the Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, where he works as a Research Fellow. On February 9, 2021, he delivered a virtual lecture “Can Islam Coexist with Democracy?” sponsored by the Center for Politics and the People at Ripon College. The recorded program can be viewed on the Ripon College Live Events YouTube channel or at this link.
AURORA NELSON ’99 moved to Kansas City, Missouri, in September and became the Assistant News Director at KCTV5. Congrats, Rory!
Here’s a fun picture from our Class of ’99 Happy Hour on Zoom from March 5, 2021:
In closing, I hope that you will share with us what you are most looking forward to post-COVID-19. Now that Alumni Weekend is planned for this summer, we hope that you will be able to make it back to our Alma Mater soon.
If you have not heard, the Class of 1999 has a Facebook page and we encourage you to join. If you have any class updates, please send them our way.
Sincerely,
MIKE BERENS ’99
(617) 512-5753
CHRISTINE GUY WINGET ’99
(252) 367-9335
Your 1999 Class Agents