2011 Fall ’23 Class Letter
Dear Ripon College Class of 2011:
I hope everyone had a wonderful summer. It truly is the best time of year in Wisconsin – so much so that I feel like the whole state tries to pack in as much as they can while we have those short months of blissful warmth. I had a busy summer knocking a few things off my bucket list, traveling (both for work and for pleasure) and generally trying to stay afloat. As much as I dread winter, I’m looking forward to a slower pace of life for a bit.
There have been both exciting and sorrowful things going on at Ripon, recently. Hopp Stadium had its soft opening on September 30 when the Ripon football team hosted Cornell College. The grand opening celebration is scheduled for October 21, 2023. In other construction related news, the renovation of the Franzen Science Center began in early August and is scheduled to be complete in December of 2024.
As I’m sure you remember hearing, Professor Vance Cope-Kasten passed away in March of this year. He had a major impact on me, personally, and from reading the memories and tributes shared on social media I can tell that he impacted the Ripon Community at large in a way that is hard to put into words. However, his family did their absolute best to capture something incredibly complex; you can read his obituary here.
On a happier note, I’d like to remind everyone that Alumni Weekend 2024 is scheduled for June 20th to the 23rd. It would be great to see as many people as possible. Along those same lines, if you have any suggestions on the best way to capture class updates, I’m all ears – the more updates I’m provided the less of my writing you have to read through. Please reach out on social media or via email. Thanks to those that provided updates!