Recent Alumni Notes

• Nicole Stachura '06

  Nicole Stachura and Jordan Olive welcomed their second child, Noa Margot Olive, on December 11, 2022. Big brother Everett is thrilled to have a sister! The family lives in Chicago, IL where Nicole works as VP, Group Account Director at TBWA\WorldHealth.

  Posted: January 25, 2023
• Dale Nowlin '75

  After 43 years in public education with 35 of them with Bartholomew Consolidated Schools (BCSC) in Columbus, Indiana, Dale has been elected to serve on the the BCSC Board of School Trustees. As a former teacher and administrator, he looks forward to serving his community, kids, and teachers in this new role.

  Posted: January 18, 2023
• Richard Douglass '68

  Most of 2022 was devoted to finishing a book, “The Evolution of the U.S. Healthcare System: A Legacy of Opportunism and Greed in High Places” which is currently in typesetting stage in the U.K. at Cambridge Scholars. Hopefully it will be published in the early Spring of 2023. Richard was able to hold two memorial services for his deceased wife Marian which were postponed in Ghana due to the COVID pandemic. You can catch up on these on YouTube: “Marian Horowitz in Africa Memorial” and “Marian Horowitz 13 Days in Ghana Memorial” Richard now looks forward to another book, sailing and sculling in Tawas Bay when the ice breaks up!

  Posted: January 13, 2023
• Matthew (Yettaw) Yuill '15

  Matt is excited to share that he will be stepping into the new role of Chief of Staff at Planned Parenthood of Michigan while also continuing to serve in his current role as PPMI’s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. From political science to DE&I, he is continually reminded of the power and enduring value of a liberal arts education from Alma College.

  Posted: January 04, 2023
• Melissa (Weber) Kelley '91

  Melissa’s husband Eric, retired in 2021. She continues to build Kelley Resumes and Wordsmithing. They are looking forward to welcoming their 9th and 10th grandchildren this summer, and we celebrated their 10th anniversary in 2022. Melissa has lived with severe long COVID since early 2020. It is primarily neurological/cognitive. She is being treated at a long COVID clinic and is learning to thrive in her “new normal” while hoping that she eventually returns to “old normal.” She would love to reconnect; Melissa can be reached at melissak@kelres.com or 720-532-7388.

  Posted: January 04, 2023
• Jared Dennis '16 and Nicole (Green) '17

  Alma College alumni Nicole Green (2017) and Jared Dennis (2016) celebrated their wedding with several alumni in attendance. Including, Jack Anderson (2026), Austin Bryan (2016), Maxx Jolls (2016), Brenda Jolls (1987), Emily Hinsman (2017), Kelsey Dennis (2018), Tristan Fox (2018), and Hunter Sharrard (2017).

  Posted: December 22, 2022
• Linda Hall '74

  Linda Hall has the privilege of serving as the Director of the Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health. Since being appointed by Gov. Tony Evers in 2019, she has worked with many mental health leaders and people with lived experience to improve children’s well-being, including through mental health system change.

  Posted: November 06, 2022
• Krista Pennington '08 and Nick Manes

  Krista married Nick Manes in Detroit on October 22, 2022; where they live. Krista and Nick were thrilled to have Alma alums in attendance, along with other friends and family. It was a truly beautiful day.

  Posted: November 01, 2022
• Aleksandr Skully '17

  Aleksandr recently got a job working for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, with the focus of helping underserved folks with disabilities get into the STEM and Trade fields.

  Posted: October 27, 2022
• Charles Mills '69

  Rev. Charles Richard (Rick) Mills died suddenly June 17, 2022 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. During his 48 years of ministry, Rick served as pastor of churches in California, Minnesota, Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, and after “retiring” in 2014, served as a supply pastor in Reno, Nevada. He is survived by his wife, Rev. Linda Sherry of Sulphur, Oklahoma, three children, four stepchildren and seven grandchildren.

  Posted: October 10, 2022
• Linda (Swanson) Mora '83

  After 36 years, I just retired from Fenton Area Public Schools where I was the Principal and Early Childhood Director at World of Wonder Early Learning Center. I was recently awarded the Fenton Area Public Schools Education Foundation’s 2022 Edward H. & Nancy E. Petruska Lifetime Achievement in Education Award. Here is a link to the newspaper story: https://www.tctimes.com/news/black-tie-awards-dinner-is-thursday/article_e54d63b4-2b09-11ed-a5b4-87bcd6263d1c.html 

  Posted: October 07, 2022
• Helen Philips '78

  Helen recently celebrated her 25th anniversary with Macatawa Bank, where she is in commercial lending. She lives in Grand Rapids, MI and also serves as an Elder at Central Reformed Church, where she teaches discipleship, handles all the liturgical decorating and will serve as a shepherd to one of this year’s confirmation class members. She also boasts 10 great nieces & nephews.

  Posted: September 20, 2022
• Krista Ried '94

  I am thrilled to announce I’ve been elected as the Central Regions Director for the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC). As an active member of this association since transitioning from the classroom to the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) nearly 20 years ago, I’m honored to take on this leadership role! NASDTEC has a strong national influence on educator licensure which aligns well with my continued oversight of Michigan certification.

  Posted: September 18, 2022
• Brent Luplow '16 and Mary (Harwood) Luplow '13

  Brent Luplow (’16) and Mary Harwood (’13) were married on July 29, 2022 in South Haven, Michigan in front of family and friends. They currently reside in South Lyon, Michigan. Brent is a Teacher and Coach at Brighton High School and Mary is a Certified Child Life Specialist at Breakthrough Coaching Center.

  Posted: September 16, 2022
• Megan Freeland '02

  October 23rd has become a very important day! My husband Morgan and I were married in a secret Brooklyn Bridge ceremony, attended by our parents, on that day in 2020. In 2021, we invited friends and family to our “wedding” and revealed that secret mid-ceremony. Not to be outdone by last year, we are thrilled to announce that we are expecting a son in October of this year!

  Posted: September 07, 2022
• Kathryn Baily Conant '71

  My husband Jim died suddenly on April 20, 2022. I work remotely as a software engineer with ExoTech Ltd (https://exotech.bm). I live on the Blue Ridge near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. I enjoyed our 50th Reunion in October 2021.

  Posted: September 06, 2022
• Laurie Hamdani '86

  I, along with my partner Keith Kohley, moved to Rockford, Illinois in 2021 and are pursuing our dream of building our life together in a mid-century modern home. I relocated my dad to the area and am getting settled in to semi-retired life. I also became a first time grandma last year!

  Posted: September 06, 2022
• Emily Long '21

  I am working at Texas Children’s Hospital, which is the second ranked children’s hospital in the nation. I am a nurse in the NICU in Houston TX

  Posted: September 02, 2022
• Susan Giesy '70 and John Giesy '70

  John retired from the University of Saskatchewan in September. I was a distinguished professor in the Zoology Department at MSU from 1979 - 2006. I was then professor and Canada Research Chair in the Department of Veterinary Medicine at U of S from 2006 until retirement in 2022. We will continue to live in Saskatoon and I will be a visiting professor at Baylor University.

  Posted: September 01, 2022
• Johnathan Thorndike '83

  Jonathan and Claudia Thorndike completed a 140-mile pilgrimage from Winchester to Canterbury Cathedral in England. You can read about it in “The Long Walk to Canterbury: A Personal Journey” available on Amazon. Jonathan was on a sabbatical as a visiting scholar at the C. S. Lewis Study Centre in Oxford.

  Posted: August 30, 2022
• Skylar McArthur '18 and Aaron Barnes '19

  Skylar McArthur married fellow Alma Alumni Aaron Barnes (’19) on October 23, 2021, with the one and only Scotty in attendance. The wedding was officiated by Alma College Alumni Dr. Stephan Jones.

  Posted: August 28, 2022
• Hilary Barrera Godin '79

  My sister Brenda lives in Williamsburg, VA, and recently discovered that Sue Rappley Strang (’69) lives in her neighborhood. This past Memorial Day weekend, we had a wonderful reunion and dinner at Brenda’s home with Sue, her husband Mark, and my brother Paul who lives nearby in Norfolk. As a Spanish major, Sue had my father, Benjamin Barrera, who taught at Alma College (1962-1977) as a professor and was his assistant for three years.

  Posted: July 22, 2022
• Rick Krueger '83

  In addition to serving as Messiah Lutheran Church’s Parish Assistant, I’ve resumed writing about music on the websites Progarchy and Spirit of Cecilia. I’ve also sung on new albums from the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus and played organ on the latest album by the British progressive rock band The Bardic Depths.

  Posted: July 17, 2022
• Bergen Jome '18

  I have been living in Copenhagen, Denmark for two years now. I am finishing a masters degree in city planning and currently work within communications and copywriting. My interest in city planning stemmed from my time at Alma where I studied history and sociology.

  Posted: July 16, 2022
• Richard Douglass '68

  July 5th was a reunion day for Jim Magee ’68 and Richard Douglass ’68. After not seeing each other for 56 years we got to spend a whole afternoon catching up on life in Fremont. Close friendships created at Alma, even after over a half century of separation, just picked up like it was only yesterday! What a joy.

  Posted: July 06, 2022
• Michael Mulligan '62

  Served 40 years as a Career Pathway Mentor to 3,000 executives and young adults. I developed the Route 5 Career Pathway Plan, a career planning and management model, to help individuals plan their career journey from high school to retirement. Go to www.mulligancareerconsuting.com to obtain my 12 books, 16 assessments and 18 podcasts

  Posted: June 29, 2022
• Stephen Schlaack '12 and Emily Havelka '12

  Stephen Schlaack recently accepted the position of Supply Chain Specialist for Global Operations Excellence & Quality. This new role has allowed him and Emily Havelka ’12 to move back to Michigan. They are looking forward to seeing everyone at their 10 year class reunion at Homecoming this year!

  Posted: June 28, 2022
• Craig Wesley '72

  As proud parents, Maria and I attended our son Charles’ commencement on June 8th when he received the Masters of Public Administration degree from the Evans School of Public Administration and Governance at the University of Washington.

  Posted: June 10, 2022
• Ali (Cnudde) Huntoon '11

  Ali Huntoon (Cnudde) ’11 alongside her husband, Scott recently opened two businesses side by side in Midland MI! Allied HR Solutions is an HR Consulting company and Allied Group Fitness is a fitness studio! Construction is still ongoing throughout the spaces but should be fully up and running soon. Check us out: alliedhrs.com and alliedgroupfitness.com!

  Posted: June 08, 2022
• Daniel Rito '05

  Daniel Rito, DO, MBA, FAAP became Head, Division of Neonatology-Director, NICU at Henry Ford Health System effective June 2022.

  Posted: June 02, 2005