2003 – Spring ’23 Class Letter

Happy Spring, Class of 2003!

TWENTY YEARS! Yes…you read that correctly! 20 years ago, we graduated from Ripon College! It feels like just yesterday we were nervously navigating the dorms and new faces as we started our freshman year. So much has happened in all of our lives since then, but how lucky we are to have the foundation that Ripon gave us in our time there! Although I called the campus home 20 years ago, it still has the familiarity of home every time I am back. Which brings me to our first order of business…Alumni Weekend! Join us at Alumni Weekend in June!

Alumni Weekend 2023: We have been busy planning Alumni Weekend over the past few months and we are excited for all the fun we have in store! We already have a good crew coming and hope you will join too!   

1. RESERVE THE WEEKEND: Alumni Weekend is June 22-25, 2023!

2. BOOK YOUR HOTEL: 

   1. Heidel House (Green Lake) – Book online here

   2. Cobblestone Suites (Ripon) – Book by calling 920.748.5500

3. SOCIAL MEDIA: Check out and join the Class of 2003’s Facebook page. As the celebration approaches, more updates on reunion details and how to be involved will be posted at this site.

4. UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFO: Make sure we have your updated information!

5. DONATE: Show your support for Ripon College and your graduating class with a donation this fiscal year. Especially in this, our twenty-year reunion year, it is important to support RC.

Reasons to join Alumni Weekend:

1. Reconnect with your classmates.

2. Meet the new President – Dr. Victoria N. Folse.

3. Meet the new Athletic Director – Christopher Schumacher.

4. Say goodbye to retiring Professor of Psychology, Joe Hatcher.

5. Enjoy the new shops and restaurants in downtown Ripon.

6. See familiar faces from our time on campus.

7. Enjoy the events your reunion team (MITCH SMITH ’03, ELAYNE NORWEB ’03, BRYAN GERRETSEN ’03, LIZ MATELSKI ’03, and AMANDA LUTTENBERGER RIESENBERG ’03) have organized!

Class Notes:

BRENDA BAYARD VAN ROSSUM ’03 of Verona, Wisconsin, says: ”I opened up Kind and Joyful Childcare, a childcare center in Madison, WI, licensed for 120 children ages 6 weeks-12 years, in May of 2017.”

GINA COMPITELLO ’03 became Chief Marketing Officer of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra in 2022, thanks in large part to the fantastic musical and liberal arts education at Ripon. She is step-mama to two amazing boys and still consumes more coffee than is probably a good idea.

RYAN JORN ’03 and JESSICA STOCKTON JORN ’03 says: “Ryan was offered and accepted a term position at the National Science Foundation as a Program Director. He coordinates the review and recommendation of grants requested from the foundation in the chemistry division. He is on a temporary leave of absence from Villanova during this time. We also joyfully welcomed our fifth child, Nikolai, in January.”

HEATHER BRAUND KOTLESKI ’03 shared: “My husband and I recently bought our dream house in Deforest, WI. We’re loving the small-town community.”

AMANDA LUTTENBERGER RIESENBERG ’03 said: “I just completed my Wellcoaches certification to become a certified Health and Wellness Coach. I finished and won the Myvatn marathon in Iceland last year while Sean played in a hockey tournament there. I love my job working with strokes and stroke prevention and am looking forward to graduating in May with an associate’s degree to complement my Ripon degree I have been busy with all the kid’s activities and watching them play football, baseball, volleyball, soccer, sing and perform in the musical. Joey is a junior, starts as a wide receiver and also plays tight end. His football team made it to the Wisconsin State Football Championship game for Division 2 this past fall. We are busy looking at colleges with him and getting ready for baseball season. Brooke is a freshman and is involved with just about everything in school, including singing, musical, soccer, volleyball, and many clubs. I’m looking forward to seeing as many people at our class reunion this summer! My Airbnb with other classmates has already been booked. I hope everybody can make it!”

JEN WHITE ’03 says: “It’s been a very busy year for me with two different new positions that I started. In February 2022, I became the Task Lead for the Flight Dynamics Analysis on the Roman Space Telescope, while continuing as a Flight Dynamics Engineer for the Landsat 8 and 9 spacecraft. As the Task Lead, I’m responsible for leading the software development team for the flight dynamics ground system. Then in May, I was promoted to a manager and a Task Lead for the Conjunction Assessment and Risk Analysis (CARA) team (while also continuing as a Task Lead for the Roman Space Telescope). The CARA team is responsible for ensuring the safety of NASA spacecraft by monitoring conjunctions with space debris and other spacecraft. I’m responsible for ensuring the operations, analysis, and software teams work cohesively and assist with technical questions.”

BRIDGET WHITEHOUSE THOMAS ’03 and her husband added another son to their family. Graham Thomas was born January 6, 2022. Big brother Griffin adores him.

New this year: The College will hold its annual online giving event in conjunction with the Inauguration of Victoria N. Folse. Ripon Rally Days will kick off on April 20 and run through April 23. Our goal is for the Class of 2003 to top the Reunion Class Leaderboard on the event’s giving page that weekend. Make your special 20th Reunion gift today and be counted early toward this celebration. We will add your name as a donor from our class to the Ripon Rally Days totals when the page and leaderboard open.

Elayne ’03
(917) 509-4826

Liz ’03
(920) 475-7415

Posted April 7, 2023 in .

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