Abby Hagel '06 is a graduate student in sociology at the University of Minnesota.
Alyssa Penner '10 has been serving with the Mennonite Voluntary Service working full time as the College and Career Planning Coordinator at Treehouse, a Seattle non-profit that aims to fill in the gaps in government services and programming offered to foster youth and their families and will begin graduate study for her MSW at the University of Washington in 2011.
Alice Gates '97 "I accepted a position as Assistant Prof. of Social Work at University of Portland. I'm really excited -- it's a small, Catholic, private University -- undergrads. And the social work program is small (two full time faculty), but situated in the social and behavioral sciences, which includes sociology and psychology. They're very interested in community-engaged scholarship -- teaching and research -- so it's a great fit."
Allie Kossoy '09 is starting a DO program at Rocky Vista University in Colorado, and is working hard.
Allison Amphlett '08 has been serving as an AmeriCorps*VISTA in Washington, DC with Playworks (a great organization working to incorporate play, recess, and healthy physical activity into elementary school education, which is great because it involves playing lots of four-square). She first joined Playworks as a Lutheran Volunteer Corps member. She is moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to attend Marquette University to receive a Master's in Public Service with the Trinity Fellows Program.
Allison Brinkhorst '11 is working during 2011-2012 as the Grinnell Corps Fellow in Grinnell at MICA, Mid-Iowa Community Action, the local community action agency.
Ami Freeberg '10 "I am currently working full-time as the Program Assistant at the Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture (KCCUA), where I completed a summer internship in 2008. KCCUA is a non-profit organization focused on growing food, growing farmers, and growing community. We have our own two-acre organic vegetable farm that serves as a demonstration on how to run a farm business in the city. We also run the Juniper Gardens Farm Business Development and Training Farm in partnership with Catholic Charities, which is a training farm for refugee women and residents of the neighborhood."
Amy Rothbaum, '08 "I recently started an AmeriCorps*VISTA position with Oklahoma Campus Compact. Based at the University of Central Oklahoma, I am developing a financial literacy program for both college students and a low-income housing community. After three years away from the Plains states, it has been necessary to reacclimatize myself to country music and tornado warnings!"
Andrew Greenlee '04 is finishing up a PhD in urban planning and policy, got married, and just accepted a tenure track position at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Anne Tillema '99 [From Anne's bio at Mobilize.com]: Anne is the Director of Development at Mobilize.org, in Washington, DC. Prior to joining Mobilize.org, Anne spent six years as a direct marketing fundraiser for consulting firms that provided fundraising and communication services to leading political and non-profit organizations. She created and managed the direct marketing fundraising programs for more than 20 different organizations, including Amnesty International, the Democratic National Committee, Earthjustice, the League of Conservation Voters and NARAL Pro-Choice America.Prior to working in direct marketing fundraising, Anne was the Executive Director of Democrats Abroad, the official Democratic State Party for more than six million Americans living outside the United States.
Anne's first job out of college, from 1999 to 2002, was the Executive Director of the International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY) in Brussels, Belgium. IFLRY is a coalition of over 75 political youth organizations in 55 countries, encompassing 3 million individuals, established in 1979 to help promote freedom, democracy and human rights.
Anthony Weeks '91 Since graduating from Grinnell, Anthony has earned an MSW, worked as a social worker, earned a MFA in documentary film from Stanford in 2010, and switched careers. Anthony was awarded a Silver Medal (a Student Oscar!) in the Documentary Film category for his documentary "Imaginary Circumstances" at the 38th Annual Student Academy Awards.
Bridget Lavelle '04 "I'm in year two of my program [at the University of Michigan] in public policy and sociology, and still developing a focus a bit, but the central topic that ties various projects together is the economic insecurity of families. The project I proposed for NSF [which was funded] examines whether women face an increased likelihood of health insurance loss after divorce, and what factors may moderate this risk. This problem is clearly acknowledged on divorce-help websites, but is a black hole in the social science literature. Mostly all we know at this point is cross-sectional evidence that divorced and other unmarried women are less likely to hold health insurance relative to married women, but of course this doesn't take selection into account. So I am analyzing longitudinal data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, using fixed-effects models, to look at this question. Another project I'm working on right now is a bit more theoretical. I am working with a professor here to prepare for an ASA invited talk on the topic of 'credit rights,' examining on what bases that individuals engaged in the loan process (via credit cards, mortgages, payday lenders, micro credit, etc.) could be thought to have credit rights. It has been really interesting pulling up old congressional testimony on credit legislation, examining in what ways 'rights rhetoric' is utilized."
Brock Webb '09 "I am at Bowling Green State University, pursuing a Masters degree in American Culture Studies. My primary focus is going to be within the realm of cultural sociology; specifically, my proposed thesis research investigates how the Internet, new Media, and new technologies (and the new cultural forms and evolutions of American cultural production) are changing the American social landscape. Additionally, I am a Teaching Assistant for the Ethnicity and Social Movements course in the Ethnic Studies department at BGSU and will be leading two sections of discussion groups every Friday."
Caitlin Brauer '07 "In August 2008 I married Max Brauer '07 with numerous alumni in attendance spanning 1966-2010 Grinnell graduation years. In May 2009 I was named a Distinguished Teaching Assistant by the University of Maryland Center for Teaching Excellence and the Kinesiology Department's F. Daniel Wagner Memorial Outstanding Physical Activity Teaching Assistant for the best physical activity teaching assistant in the department. In December 2011 I finally graduated from the University of Maryland with my Master's of Arts degree in Kinesiology. My concentration was Physical Cultural Studies, which looks to apply cultural studies theories and methods to the study of embodied physicality. I have been coaching high school girls basketball for three years now at one of the Catholic high schools in Washington, DC. This past season we won our league, we won the DC City Title game, and we won the Catholic school post season invitational we were invited to."
Carly Parry '94 has moved to Washington, DC to take the post of program director in the office of cancer survivorship, National Cancer Institute, NIH. Carla had been associated with the University of Colorado School of Medicine's Division of Health Care Policy and Research after being awarded a PhD in social work and medical sociology and an MSW from the University of Michigan.
Carolyn A. Fraker '07 "For the past three years I've been working at MDRC (a social policy research non-profit) primarily conducting qualitative research on the Opportunity NYC: Family Rewards demonstration. I co-authored the MDRC family dynamics report that will be published (!) this spring. In the fall I'll be starting my graduate studies in sociology at the University of Minnesota. I'm looking forward to being a student again and returning to the Midwest!"
Deisy Del Real '07 When Deisy arrived as a Posse scholar at Grinnell, she had been undocumented for 16 years. She learned that she would "age out" of the family's green card application when she turned 21, be deported, and banned from returning to the United States for 10 years. She appealed her case to the media, prompting a New Mexico priest to start a "Saving Miss Deisy" campaign and a lawyer to present her case – successfully – to immigration authorities. Finally able to travel abroad, she promoted educational opportunities for students in Cambodia. In the US, she created two organizations to support both documented and undocumented immigrants. More recently, Deisy has been working at the Asian Pacific American legal center and writing a book about her experiences as an undocumented teen. In the fall of 2011, Deisy will start studying for a PhD in sociology at UCLA, supported by her Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans.
Delphia Shanks '01 has returned to grad school after a very successful early career as a manager in community action agency in Missouri. She is pursuing a PhD program in Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University.
Doug Spitz '78 "I am an academician running a PhD program doing NIH supported research, teaching, and hopefully training the next generation of leaders in our field. I always feel very fortunate to have a degree in sociology to help me understand how to motivate people and institutions to serve the greater good." Doug is currently Professor and Director, Free Radical and Radiation Biology Graduate Program in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, the University of Iowa.
Ellen Gallagher '03 "Professionally, the big good thing that's coming up is a documentary called 'Welcome to Shelbyville' that will be aired on PBS on May 24th at 10 p.m. This documentary features the work of the small (but mighty) national organization I work for called Welcoming America (www.welcomingamerica.org). We work in communities in 14 states to bring people together in thoughtful, structured conversations, helping US-born and immigrant community members meet and learn about each other's values and cultures. In my position as the Director of Programs, I feel really lucky to be helping to frame how the immigrant integration movement talks about receiving communities.In my personal life, I got married almost three years ago to Allyson Goose ('00, Anthropology) and we bought a condo in Cambridge, Massachusetts in December. We love visitors and have a great guest room! The joy and busyness in my life has been tempered by the loss of my father to pancreatic cancer nearly a year ago. The support I received from the Grinnell community during his illness and since then has been incredibly helpful in the healing process."
Emily Francis '11 "I will be attending the Higher Education and Student Affairs graduate program at the University of Iowa, where I will also be working as the Health Sciences Living-Learning Coordinator."
Emily Larson '01 has a Masters in Public Policy from the U. of Minnesota and is a Senior Analyst with the General Accountability Office, in Washington, DC
Emily Reiersgaard '08 "I am a Master's International student (Master's + Peace Corps service)at Michigan State University, currently serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, West Africa. My degree focuses on Community, Food, and Agriculture, and my Peace Corps service will hopefully take a strong turn in my final year toward working with women's associations to create a successful cooperative of shea butter producers, as well as towards working with youth on nutrition and gardening. I will close my PC service next July, and graduate in May 2013, insh'Allah!"
Hilary Clark '11 "I'll be joining the US Army as an Intelligence Analyst in the winter. What a sociological experience it will be! I'm sure there will be all sorts of things for me to think about and informally investigate. :)"
Jamie Golden '06 "I am an English and Spanish teacher at a small public high school in East Oakland."
Jamie Zwiebel '08 is earning an MSc. in Public Health at Harvard's School of Public Health, in the "Society, Human Development, and Health" program, studying the social determinants of health.
Jancey Wickstrom'03 "I live in Chicago and life is pretty good! After graduating with my Master's in Social Work from the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration, and receiving my LCSW, I now work at Timberline Knolls, a residential facility for women with eating disorders, self harm, and addiction issues. In my job as Milieu Manager, I supervise all the direct care staff as well as make sure the units are running smoothly and therapeutically for our residents. I also supervise our dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) program- a type of therapy that uses mindfulness to help individuals more effectively use their emotions. I have a small private practice on the side. And, recently, I co-authored a chapter in a book about eating disorders."
Jessica Halverson '02 completed an MBA at Boston University, with a dual concentration on Public & Nonprofit Management and Strategy & Business Analysis. She was a staff member with, "Our Bodies, Our Selves," also known as the Boston Women's Health Book Collective (BWHBC), a nonprofit, public interest women's health education, advocacy, and consulting organization. Jess now serves on the OBOS board of directors. She has worked since 2007 as the Manager of Development Programs at Ceres, a nonprofit coalition of investors and public interest groups that works with companies on sustainability issues, where she is responsible for the cultivation and stewardship of individual donors, and manages the design and roll-out of special development projects.
Jill Peterson '03 "I'm currently finishing up my dissertation for my PhD in Psychology and Social Behavior at the University of California, Irvine. I've been conducting life history interviews with 150 offenders with serious mental illness in Minneapolis, exploring the relationship between symptoms of mental illness and criminal behavior. I've also been teaching Psychology classes, at St. Catherine University, Normandale College, and Macalaster College."[Though Jill may be tired of people mentioning this, if you haven't see her wedding dance on YouTube—"JK wedding entrance dance"—you should. It features the dance moves of many Grinnellians and has been downloaded over 68 million times.]
John Burrows '10 "After being unemployed for a few months following graduation, I got a job working for the Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, DC. Somehow I landed in their economic policy group, where we examine a wide range of federal spending programs and budget, reform and economic mobility issues in order to advocate for better policies and practices. I think the work sounds more exciting than it actually is, but it's enjoyable and a great learning experience until I figure out what to do next with my life. Living in DC is nice because I'm surrounded by other Grinnellians; even a few Soc majors. My 'real-person' job has also allowed me to travel to see friends around the country, including a New Years trip to Chicago and spending Mardi Gras in New Orleans."
Joanna Winter '05.5, who earned a Masters of Regional Planning in 2009, is working as the Family Self-Sufficiency Coordinator with the City of Napa Housing Authority.
Kari Edwards '90 obtained an MSW, with a concentration in Children's and Family Services, in 1996. Kari, licensed by the State of Wisconsin as an Advanced Placement Social Worker, works at Pauquette Adoption Services in Portage, Wisconsin. Kari's hobbies include gardening, antiquing, and playing with her three children.
Kat Jones '03 "I spent last year in Berlin while my husband, Evan Torner ('04), was working on his dissertation research. I managed to get some writing done while I was there but also spent plenty of time exploring the city. This year I've been finishing research for my dissertation [in sociology from U Mass-Amherst], which examines three groups that promote premarital sexual abstinence among young people. I'm also completing my Certificate in Advanced Feminist Studies (from the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department at UMass) this May. My final project for the certificate is entitled Struggling with Abstinence: Negotiating Gender, Race and Sexuality in an Evangelical Youth Ministry."
Kate Morley '08, who has been working in Panama for Amigos de las Americas, has been accepted to the London School of Economics' MSc program in Health, Community and Development.
Katie Brindley Severn '00, the Chief Academic Officer at DC Prep, works with the principals at all DC Prep campuses to ensure alignment between schools and the highest academic quality across the organization. Ms. Severn served as Principal of DC Prep's award-winning Edgewood Middle Campus from 2008-2011. Previously, she worked at SEED Public Charter School, where she served as Principal, Assistant Principal, and Special Education Coordinator. She began her career as an English teacher in Nambibia with the Center for Global Education. Upon her return to the states, Ms. Severn joined Teach for America in Houston where she was recognized as both the New Teacher of the Year and the Special Education Teacher of the Year. She is a graduate of New Leaders for New Schools and holds master's degrees in special education and education leadership.
Keli Campbell '05 After serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia working as a rural education development worker, Keli began an MAT Art Education program at the School of the Art Institute and Columbia College Chicago, which she will finish in 2012. Meanwhile she has been working at Northwestern University.
Latrisha Chattin '03 "I am concurrently an elementary school teacher in a Philadelphia suburb and an adjunct Education professor at Arcadia University (Glenside, Pennsylvania). In addition, I am pursuing my principal certification while undertaking an ethnographic dissertation study of the implications social class status has on learning disabled African American students' lived experiences in a near-urban school district. The dual intent of this study is to use personal narrative explorations in order to discern whether social class status is a greater contributor to disproportional representation in special education than race alone as well as to observe if social class status influences how the students experience their education."
Leslie Turner '07 "Fun Facts about me:1) I'm currently in Chicago, Illnois, working as a Trainer at the Posse Foundation.
2) I'm also working to complete an MA in Organizational/ Multicultural Communication from DePaul University. Hopefully, I'm set to graduate in December.
3) I helped found the Graduate Communication Association at DePaul, a student-centered, student-led organization to build community amongst the five graduate programs in the College of Communication at DePaul."
Lily Camp '10 "I am currently serving as a Lutheran Volunteer Corps member in Washington, DC. I am the legal assistant for Our Place DC, a non-profit organization that provides social and legal services to DC women who are presently or formerly incarcerated. I help women file for divorce, assist in child custody matters, apply for public benefits, etc. In addition to my work with Our Place DC, I also volunteer with HIPS (Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive), a non-profit that provides harm reduction strategies, safer sex supplies, and needle exchange for individuals in the DC area who are involved in sex work, injection drug use, or hormone injection. It's a lot of fun!"
Liting Cong '11 served as the SGA Vice-President for Academic Affairs her senior year, and plans to attend law school starting in 2011. Liting was chosen as a Wall Scholar in 2010 at Grinnell.
Madeline (Mollie Ruth) Shirman '05 "I received my Masters of Social Work from Eastern Washington University in June 2010 and started working in July 2010 at Seattle Children's Hospital in the Spokane office of the Partnership Access Line program (a mental health consultation service for primary care providers). I got married in July of 2010 and live in Spokane, Washington with my husband, Hillel, and our three cats (Taco, Chalupa, and Bugsy)."
Madison Van Oort '08 Tongue-in-cheek, from Madison: "Abby Hagel and Madison Van Oort have spent the last few years watching cat videos on youtube. In their spare time, they think big things and run too many regressions for the University of Minnesota's PhD program in Sociology."
More seriously, after graduating, Madison worked for a year with Prof. Karla Erikson as a Post-Baccalaureate Research Assistant in a position funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. She has been a graduate student at the University of Minnesota ever since.
Margie Scribner '10 "Since graduating in May 2010, I have taught Financial Literacy, a math enrichment course, to 400 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students at East Feliciana Middle School, a Title 1 school located approximately 40 miles north of Baton Rouge in Clinton, Louisiana, a town of just under 2,000 residents. As a Teach for America Corps Member in South Louisiana, I am committed to teaching at least one more year. You never get used to being asked if you're coming back, when you're leaving, or if you'll 'still be around next year' so it's definitely possible I will be persuaded to teach a third. In February and March, I enjoyed my first Mardi Gras season and I'm now in the process of navigating my first crawfish season. The high last week was 105 degrees. If I can survive my first year of teaching and my first summer in Louisiana, I'll feel very accomplished."
Matt Johnson '08 is still enjoying living in the Twin Cities. He performs at local improv shows, and works as a political data analyst for the progressive movement.
Medora Kealy '08 "I am earning my master's degree at the School of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Iowa. I am concentrating on environmental and land use planning as well as transportation planning. This summer I will be interning for a suburb of St. Louis where I will integrate sustainability concepts into their comprehensive plan.The summer after graduation I taught pesticide safety to migrant farmworkers with Proteus, Inc. In the fall of 2008 I was hired by Proteus to be a case worker, helping migrant and seasonal farmworkers obtain permanent, year-round jobs through training and education. Most of my clients receive a stipend to attend community college. I've especially enjoyed working with individuals one on one and becoming a resource for them for their questions about education and employment. For the past year I have been volunteering once a week at a homeless shelter which has kindled my interest in affordable housing and urban planning. I have always been inclined to use analytical reasoning and I would love to work in a field where I can gather information from disparate sources and work to improve the community's living situation."
Michelle Bruner '01 After Michelle received her Masters in social work with a concentration in child welfare from the University of Denver, she worked as a Family Advocate with the Arapahoe County Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) program, providing home and community-based services to families with open child protection cases. More recently, she has served as the social worker for the Colorado Adolescent Maternity Program (CAMP) at the University of Colorado Hospital, providing mental health and social support services in a prenatal clinic for pregnant teens.Michelle: "On a personal note, Taylor Wheeler '02 and I finally got married in May 2008. We welcomed our son, Jack, on October 15, 2009. We are loving our new roles as mom and dad and cherishing every moment, Jack is doing great and it is amazing how much he grows and changes with each day!"
Melissa Fry Konty '95 After earning a PhD in Sociology from the University of Arizona, Melissa served as a Research and Policy Associate at MACED, the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development. Very recently, Melissa returned to academia, taking a tenure-track position in sociology and the title of Director of the Applied Research and Education Center at Indiana University Southeast.
Molly Dingel '98 "After completing my PhD in 2005 from the University of Kansas, I got a postdoc at the Mayo Clinic Bioethics program. From there, I moved to an assistant professor position at North Dakota State University. In 2009, I moved back to Rochester, Minnesota to help start the newest coordinate campus of the University of Minnesota as an assistant professor of sociology. I'm continuing to collaborate with colleagues at the Mayo Clinic as we explore the social and ethical ramifications of genetic and high-tech medical research on addiction. In essence, our question is: what happens if we reduce addiction to a biological process, instead of one located within a complex web of the social, cultural, and biological? A tenure requirement here at the University of Minnesota Rochester is also doing research on teaching and learning, which I am very new to, but which is interesting and rewarding."
Monique Stone Taylor '04 has been awarded a Masters in Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from Roosevelt University, now works as a high school Mathematics teacher in Metro-Atlanta, and has a four-month-old son.
Murry Nelson '69 "I have retired as Professor Emeritus of Education and American Studies at Penn State, as of July 1, 2008, right after my return from my Fulbright year in Hungary. I still am writing, mostly books. This year (2009) I have published Encyclopedia of Sports in America, A History from Foot Races to Extreme Sports, a two volume work from Greenwood Press, which I edited and contributed to. I just turned in The Rolling Stones, A History of the Band for publication next year. I have a chapter in Tom Greenfield's ('70) Encyclopedia of Broadway which will come out next year."
Rachel Allison '07 "I am starting my dissertation research in Atlanta, and will be adjuncting at Kennesaw State. I'm teaching an Intro course over the summer, and will be using the 6th edition of [Susan Ferguson's] reader! When I think about first learning sociology at Grinnell with an earlier edition, I realize that I've really come full circle. :) Also, my first published article will be coming out in the September 2011 edition of Sociological Forum."[In addition, Rachel won second place in the Midwest Sociological Society Graduate Paper Competition for her co-authored article on "Sexual Double Standards in the 'Hooking Up' Era: Gender and Evaluations of Sexual Behavior."]
Rachel Whitfield '10 "Since July of 2010, I've been teaching English in South Korea on a US Department of State Fulbright Fellowship. I teach weekly conversational English classes at an All Girls High School on Jeju Island. I also act as a cultural ambassador to my Korean host family and school community. When I'm not in the classroom, I have been participating in Korean language classes, training for an international marathon happening in Korea this summer, and most importantly, just enjoying my time in an entirely different part of the world. It's been quite the adventure! Living and teaching in Korea has made me become a more patient and flexible person—you've got to be on your toes and ready for anything, especially as a foreigner and as a teacher. While many days are challenging and filled with ups and downs, other days are extremely eye-opening and fascinating, to the point that I get a lump in my throat thinking about my grant year drawing to a close. When I accepted this position last spring, I never imagined my time here would be such a roller-coaster (in ways both good and bad). But everyday I remind myself that if I love my students, everything else will take care of itself."
Ragnar Thorisson '11 was awarded the President's Medal at the 2011 Commencement. Among other things, Ragnar was a part-time Research Assistant at MICA (Mid-Iowa Community Action) during his senior year, received MICA's volunteer of the year award in 2010, and will join the Lutheran Volunteer Corps in Seattle after graduating.
Rebecca Landor '07 "I just finished my Masters in Elementary Education and have been an assistant teacher at an independent school in Chicago for the past two years. I will be getting married this summer (July 3) and going to Spain for a month for my honeymoon. I am looking for a teaching job right now for next year."
Ruth Manski '09 has accepted a position as research assistant with Ibis Reproductive Health. She completed a Fulbright Research Fellowship in Sri Lanka, where she conducted in-depth interviews and surveys with women about female kitchen culture and cooking practices. Prior to joining Ibis, Ruth interned with Healthy Acadia where she researched pandemic flu preparedness and food insecurity among low-income women.
Sarah ("Midge") Smith '08 Throughout her time at Grinnell, Sarah was active with an interfaith Palestinian solidarity group. In the summer of 2010, Sarah went on a delegation to Palestine and Israel with two Palestinian-American friends. As a Jewish woman and an avid traveler, Sarah was eager to see for herself the living conditions in Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Upon returning to Chicago, Sarah and her friends reported on their trip at Depaul University. In early December, the FBI subpoenaed Sarah and her friends to appear before a grand jury about their trip to Palestine and Israel. Sarah has been speaking about the threat implied in that subpoena since, including a visit to Grinnell in the Spring of 2011.
Shelley Aggeler Harper '87 "I worked for 12 years at a clinical social worker and psychotherapist. I was approaching burnout when I fulfilled a promise I made to myself during my MSW studies: leave the profession before you become a cranky social worker." Since that moment, Shelley returned to graduate school in library science, became a Reference Librarian at Round Rock (Texas) Public Library and has now moved back to Colorado to accept a position as a Reference Librarian at Pikes Peak Community College.
Sollie Flora '07 "I graduated cum laude from Michigan Law in May, 2010. In August, I moved to Lawrence, Kansas to begin a two-year clerkship with Justice Carol Beier of the Kansas Supreme Court in Topeka, Kansas. I was admitted to the Illinois bar in November and will be admitted to the Kansas bar at the end of April. I am also currently serving on the Program Committee for the Kansas Women Attorneys Association's annual conference in July."
Stacie Kossoy '05 moved from being a 1st grade teacher for Teach for America in Camden, New Jersey, to joining KIPP DC's Leap Academy as a literacy teacher. After a year as a KIPP Fisher Fellow, she became the Founding Principal of KIPP DC: Grow Academy, which served pre-kindergarten students initially, and eventually pre-school through kindergarten.
Stephanie Cheung '11 has received a Goldwater Scholarship for graduate study, and was chosen as a Wall Scholar in 2010 at Grinnell.
Stephanie Jaros '99 is a Behavioral Research Specialist with the Office of Internal Affairs, US Customs & Border Protection. Prior to beginning her career with the federal government, she earned an MA in Sociology, a Minor in Social Statistics, and a Certificate in Women Studies from the University of Washington (UW).
Susan Kikuchi '11 "As of right now, I'm not sure what I'm doing next year, but I am in the process of applying for various AmeriCorps jobs and some internships abroad. I'm interested in doing work in the immigrant and refugee services, either in advocacy or policy."
Tai Duncan '04 graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law with Service Honors in 2008. At Iowa, Tai was a student writer and Associate Note and Comment Editor for the Journal of Gender, Race & Justice. During law school, Tai also served as Community Service Chair for the Black Law Student Association, and volunteered with the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County. Tai is in her second year as an Assistant Corporation Counsel with the City of Chicago Department of Law, in the Labor Division. She is also in her first year as the Head Girls' Varsity Basketball Coach at the University of Chicago Laboratory High School.
Tina Wildhagen '02 "I'm wrapping up my third year on the tenure track at Smith. The adjustment has been hectic. Considering that I didn't get a chance to teach much in grad school (one summer course), I really felt like I'd been dunked in a pool of ice water during my first year. But I've got the hang of things now. I teach quantitative research methods and courses in the sociology of education. I love being a faculty member at a liberal arts college like Smith, where I can concentrate on both my research and teaching. I've been able to publish five articles since I started here, so my research really hasn't suffered because I work at a liberal arts college, as many people warned me it would. It really is the best of both worlds for me. My colleagues are very supportive and fun to hang out with, which is more than I could've asked for. My partner and I love living in Northampton for the most part, though we wish it were a little closer to a big city. You can probably relate to that. ;)"
Tobi Klein Marcus '87 "I'm the Director of Resource Development at the Community Foundation for Monterey County. We are the largest grant-maker on the central coast of California ($6M+ in 2010). Our grant-making resources come from over 300 charitable funds at the foundation. My role is literally to inspire and facilitate philanthropy. It's a real joy - working with charitable people to help them achieve their philanthropic goals. Very fun!"
