2001 – Spring ’21 Class Letter
Greetings, Class of 2001!
If you are anything like us, you needed something to look forward to in order to get through the struggle that was 2020. Maybe that thing you were looking forward to was our TWENTIETH Class Reunion! We have good news regarding Alumni Weekend and our Class Reunion! 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-
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 including for our very own NATE KOK ’01.
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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 including our 20th Class Reunion, which will also be
celebrated in conjunction with the Class of 2000, and will feature other outdoor events like Rally Run and prairie walk. -
Additionally, the Class of 2020 will officially be welcomed to our alumni community with a special commencement ceremony.
Class Notes:
ERIC HERMAN ’01 of Chandler, Arizona, continues to do wildlife work and is loving the rural, Southwest life.
DANTE HOUSTON ’01 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has accepted a new role with AMN Healthcare as a Senior Client Delivery Manager. AMN is the largest healthcare recruitment firm in the nation.
VICKY NYTES ’01 of Kalispell, Montana, writes, “I began at Superior School District this fall, teaching 7th and 8th grade Social Studies and high school French. I continue to also adjunct at Flathead Valley Community College.”
MAGGIE LEE ’01 of San Francisco, California, is a Social Media Influencer and notes she is “the real reason Kanye and Kim broke up, NOT Jeffree Starr.” She also has two Chihuahua mixes and lives in San Francisco.
DANA DELACH GARCIA ’01 recently relocated to Plainfield, Illinois. She and her husband, Angel, absolutely love their new home. As a bonus, they are expecting at the end of February their three spirited boys will be joined by an Airedale fur baby named Chuey.
MIKE MISSAK ’01 of McHenry, Illinois, continues to run his annual fundraiser, Jeeps on the Run in Lake County, Illinois. It provides donations and support to the CEO Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. In December of 2020, over 600 Jeeps gathered to fill two semi-trucks worth of goodies for boys and girls in the region. This was the eighth year he has led this effort!
Campus Updates:
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COVID-19 Updates
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Classes officially started on January 25 with a mix of in-person, online, and hybrid (part online and part in-person) formats. The weekend before classes started, the entire campus community (all students, faculty, and staff) was required to take a COVID-19 test, which was administered on campus in Great Hall, resulting in a less than one percent positivity rate.
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Beginning on February 1, the College began random weekly surveillance testing where approximately a quarter of the College community is tested.
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If you would like to know more about the plans and procedures this semester, as well as tracking the COVID-19 positivity rate, please visit www.ripon.edu/coronavirus-
information/ for more information.
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#OneDayRally and Ripon Fund Updates:
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Last fiscal year, 27 of you donated monetarily to Ripon College and/or the Ripon Fund, totaling about $13,000. THANK YOU!!!!
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We all know that our class is small but mighty. We can show it by absolutely rocking our Class Reunion gift-giving! Please consider donating what you can, and let’s aim for a goal of $20,000!!!!
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SAVE THE DATE! Ripon’s annual giving day, known as #OneDayRally, will be held on Wednesday, April 28.
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All alumni are encouraged to sport their Ripon College attire and post it on their social media platforms.
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If you are interested in being a Social Media Advocate to promote #OneDayRally, please email [email protected] to receive a toolkit with resources in the days leading up to #OneDayRally.
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We can’t wait to see you soon, whether it be in person or virtually. Our Class Reunion will be a great time to catch up with each other, and as a bonus, we’ll have the Class of 2000 joining us for their 20th Class Reunion celebration, as well! Keep sending us your updates or drop us a note/text just to say “hi.” And please continue to stay safe, healthy, and happy!
Your 2001 Co-Class Agents:
NICOLE BAUMANN-BLACKMORE ’01
(608) 513-9078
DANTE A. C. HOUSTON ’01
(414) 378-4937