2017–Spring ’18 Class Letter
Class Agents:
Konner Feldhus ’17
303-280-5835 / [email protected]
Winona Holmes Robbins ’17
650-274-9231 / [email protected]
Erin Canon ’17
414-469-5945 / [email protected]
Spring 2018
Greetings, Class of 2017!
January through April always seem to be terrible months. Snowstorms weekly, school and work ramping back up after the holidays, and wind that feels like it is ripping your skin away are not exactly a dream combination. But if I learned anything from Professor Joe Hatcher’s introductory psychology class, it’s that humans can frameshift and distract themselves from bad situations. That’s why, whenever I think about how bad this winter is going for me, I think to June 21st. June 21st is not only the first day of summer this year, but it is also the start of alumni weekend at Ripon College. We hope all of you can make it and that this letter helps you keep something positive in mind throughout the rest of this winter!
It’s been close to a year since we graduated, many of us are settled into our jobs or graduate school and are realizing that adult life isn’t as hard as we thought it would be. So naturally, the next item on people’s to do list was getting engaged… It was fun to finally experience engagement season, I’ve always heard of it but until this year never really believed in it. But it is true as we can see from many of our classmates. And to all of them CONGRATS! We are all rooting for your happiness and success for your future family. Also, congrats to all the single classmates as well, dealing with engagement season takes a lot of self-reflection. Whatever stage of post-graduation feels you’re at…remember that your Ripon family is always here for you. Whether you have found happiness and success or you’re currently searching for them both, we are here, rooting for you.
Konnor, Winona, and Erin
Class Notes:
JORDAN BRABAND ’17 of Bolingbrook, Illinois, recently took a much-needed vacation in Mexico, moved to an apartment in Batavia, Illinois, and still loves her job.
EMMA BRONSON ’17 of Harrow, United Kingdom, is working on her dissertation on public relations crisis communication and is slated to finish her master’s program this September. Keep it up, Emma!
NOAH DEBRUYN ’17 of Appleton, Wisconsin, got accepted to Adler University’s PsyD program in Clinical Psychology and will be attending in the fall. Congratulations!
RYAN EDQUIST ’17 of Phoenix, Arizona, has since graduation moved to Arizona. He’s adopted a German shepherd named Athena. He started a career in business operations with a staffing firm and is up for promotion at the end of the quarter. When not at work he takes his dog on camping adventures out of the back of his car.
ELIZABETH ERDMANN ’17 of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and NICHOLAS JULIAN ‘17 of Woodstock, Illinois got engaged to be married in November of 2017 and are planning a wedding for October of 2019. Congratulations to them!
KONNER FELDHUS ’17 of Madison, Wisconsin, has recently committed to Des Moines University, where he begins medical school in July of this year.
WINONA HOLMES ROBBINS ’17 of Conway, Arkansas, just completed her first season as the Assistant Swimming & Diving Coach at Hendrix College. She is also continuing her work with SAAC as the advisor at Hendrix.
BRENDEN MCCOY ’17 of Ripon, Wisconsin, is working as the Assistant Director of Annual Giving at Ripon and getting married to MADDIE VANDENHOUTEN ‘17 in the fall of 2018.
HANNAH METZ ’17 of Naperville, Illinois, is in her second semester at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology working on her Ed.S degree for School Psychology! She is working part time at a local cafe as a barista on the side. She is insanely busy, but loves every minute of it. Ripon prepared her well for her graduate work.
MHERETE MHERETE ’17 of Silver Springs, Maryland, works as a financial professional at Transamerica Agency Network in Northern Virginia.
ZACH RINEHART ’17 of Grand Haven, Michigan, is currently working at Grand Haven High School working with children with Autism. He is coaching wrestling and the Offensive Coordinator for freshman football.
TARA SCHULTZ ’17 of Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, is currently the Curator & Arts Education Coordinator at the Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. This fall she will be moving to Washington, D.C. to start working on her master’s degree in Arts Management from American University.
DANAE TESCH ’17 of Seattle, Washington, recently moved to Seattle from California
ALLY WILBER ’17 of Appleton, Wisconsin, has an artist residency at The Refuge Foundation for the Arts in Appleton, Wisconsin. She also works at The Draw, a local gallery in Appleton where she organizes a twice-monthly, invite-only non-traditional figure drawing session with amazing local artists, among other things.
Since graduation she’s been in two shows, with four upcoming opportunities to publicly display her work coming in the next three months. She’s curated a Refuge Arts show at the Feather and Bone gallery in Appleton, and was featured in the Fox Cities’ Magazine 2018 Artists to watch issue. Recently she was invited to Lawrence University to talk to a senior art class about being an artist post-graduation. www.allywilber.com insta: smokenouveau
ALLISON MACKNICK ’17 of Chicago, Illinois, is a professional actor in Chicago, performing in productions all over the city and has been featured in several music videos. When she has the time she and ANTHONY TAUSIG ’15 hunt for the best burgers in the city!
JUSTIN WIERSMA ’17 of Rice Lake, Wisconsin, recently moved to Rice Lake and works for Bank of the West as a relationship banker.