2008 – Fall ’21 Class Letter
2008 – Fall 2021 Class Letter
Class Agents:
LEAH HOVER-PREISS ’08
(608) 432-2399 / [email protected]
ZAC SCHWANDT ’08
(414) 312-3531 / [email protected]
STEPHANIE SOMMER FAULDS ’08
Greetings Class of 2008!
We hope this letter finds you well! As this letter is being written, the newest Red Hawks are starting their first week of classes. This class of 250 students (plus nine transfer students) are having those first-year experiences that we now look back on fondly– figuring out the best meals to get in the cafeteria, learning how to live with someone new in a dorm room, finding organizations and clubs to join, and so much more. Although 71% of the class hails from Wisconsin, students also come from as far away as Alaska, Hawaii, Texas, and Tennessee (along with 19 other states). While COVID-19 restrictions limited the number of foreign students who could join the class, young people from Ethiopia and Myanmar are now Red Hawks. Included in the class of 2025 (how strange is it to think this class will be graduating in 2025 when 2008 doesn’t seem that long ago!) are 159 recruited athletes, 21 legacy students, and 100 first-generation students. We wish this class luck as they begin their journeys at Ripon College!
Before the new academic year began, Ripon College welcomed alumni and guests for the first campus event for over 18 months. During the first-ever August Alumni Weekend, visitors representing 29 states and the classes from 1961-2023 enjoyed coming back to our Alma Mater for celebrating, remembering, and developing new and old connections. Alumni Weekend will be held from June 23-26, 2022. Even though it is not our reunion year, we would still love to see you there so mark your calendars now!
We would also like to take this time to thank everyone who donated during the #OneDayRally and at any other point during the fiscal year. A record-breaking 2,087 donors from all around the world supported Ripon’s fourth annual giving day on April 28, known as #OneDayRally, reminding us all that regardless of the circumstances, Red Hawks come together. The Class of 2008 really supported the institution that gave so much to all of us. Once again, thank you!
As you finish reading, make sure to check out the class updates shared below. As always, if you have any updates you would like to share with the class, please contact your Class Agents listed above anytime throughout the year. You can also post your update on the Class of 2008 Facebook group. Updates can include births, adoptions, new jobs, new pets, continuing education, promotions, moves, run-ins with other Ripon Alums…. your classmates want to hear what you are up to! Please let us know if you have any information to share.
Class Notes:
LEAH HOVER-PREISS ’08 and her family recently moved to Friendship, Wisconsin. Leah is starting her 13th year of teaching high school math and her third year as an Associate Professor for Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota where she teaches master’s level education courses.
TYLOR LOEST ’08 of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, shared, “After three years, I left the John Michael Kohler Art Center. I am now the Associate Vice President of Advancement for Lakeland University.”
RACHEL RESOP ’08 of Washington, D.C., will be moving to Zambia in early 2022 to begin an HIV research fellowship funded by the Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health. She will be based in Lusaka and will be researching preterm birth in women living with HIV.
ALEX ROYZEN ’08 of Lindenhurst, Illinois, has been promoted to Managing Director, Head of Merchandising and Supply Chain at Ecentria after celebrating 12 years with the company. He now leads the Merchandising and Supply Chain Department for all business units.
DAVID CZARNECKI ’08 and JORDAN ANDERSON ’08 of Waukesha, Wisconsin, write, “We welcomed our third child, Hollyn, in October of 2019. Her big brother, Enoch, and big sister, Eadie, absolutely love her!”
Go Red Hawks!
LEAH HOVER-PREISS ’08
STEPHANIE SOMMER FAULDS ’08
ZAC SCHWANDT ’08