Alumni Connections

Eileen Murphy ’69 recently celebrated her commitment ceremony, becoming an Associate Member of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. The ceremony took place in St. Joseph Chapel, on the feast of St. Catherine of Siena. Celebrating with Eileen is (l. to r.) Michelle Horton ’13, Sarah Naughton, O.P., Paula McKenzie MA ’94, (Eileen), Maggie Hopkins, O.P., Margaret O’Brien. O.P., ’70, MA ’94.

Holly Zimmerman ’92 presented to students in a class in the School of Business. In her presentation, she spoke about working at Harley-Davidson and the Willie G. Product Development Center including continuous improvement, project management, Lean and Six Sigma at Harley-Davidson, and the impactful purpose of Harley-Davidson.

Linda Trent ’00 recently moved back to Madison to take a position with the Wisconsin Youth Company as a Group Leader/Coordinator of their after-school program at Thoreau Elementary School and Middle School University during the summer months. Linda volunteers at the Madison Catholic Worker house doing community service and outreach. Linda also continues to use her knowledge and teaching experience with yoga through the organization Breathe for a Change.

Karla Schindel ’04, MS ’09 is merging her local accounting firm, Capital Accounting & Tax, LLC with KBK CPA as of January 2018. Karla will be part owner of KBK CPA with Kenneth Klinzing.

Joshua Biller ‘05, a Research Chemist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, CO, is part of a team recently awarded funding under the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The specific program, “Rhizosphere Observations Optimizing Terrestrial Sequestration (ROOTS)” aims to produce crops that will greatly increase carbon uptake in the soil which helps to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, and improve agricultural productivity. The team is lead by Texas A&M and the Massachusetts General Hospital Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, and supported by NIST and ABQMR, a private R&D firm in New Mexico. The goal of the research is to construct and deploy a portable low-magnetic field MRI instrument which can be used outdoors in the growing field to image root structure directly. The information obtained from the MRI images (phenotype) will be used by plant geneticists at Texas A&M in their studies to determine which genes are important for directing root growth.

Aaron Perzigian ’06, his wife Katie, and three young children are finally feeling settled in the Pacific Northwest after leaving Madison for Bellingham, Washington in 2015. Aaron completed his PhD at UW-Madison and is currently an assistant professor of special education and education leadership at Western Washington University. His research focuses on academic and social outcomes of students with behavior disorders who attend alternative schools. His work is published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including Education and Urban Society, Behavioral Disorders, and The High School Journal. Recently, his research was featured by the London School of Economics. He is grateful for his experiences at Edgewood College and has many fond memories learning from Stefan Hagemann and Jack Vitek.

Derek Rosenstiel ’08 and Rebecca Rosenstiel welcomed Theodore Gene Rosenstiel into their family in September 2017.

Aaron Genthe ’09 began a new position as Trial Attorney at The Law Firm of Aaron Herbert in Dallas, TX.

Bill McCoy, Ed.D. ’10 was named the Director of the Robert J. Rutland Institute for Ethics at Clemson University. (left)

Allison Feldbruegge ’11 was the recipient of the 2018 Waunakee Young Professional Award. This award is given to a business professional between the ages of 25-40 who is an emerging leader in a Chamber business. The awardee is recognized for their professional and personal accomplishments, and for devoting time and energy to the Chamber business community and the community as a whole. (center)

Nina Roth ’12 (left) Becca Hamilton ’14, and Becca’s brother Matt Hamilton represented the U.S.A in the 2018 Winter Olympics. The photo (with a young fan) is from a “send-off” event in their native McFarland. Check out News Briefs in this edition for more on our Olympians! (right)

Robyn Rauman ’13 has started a new position at UW-Madison’s University Health Services as an Access Specialist.   In her role, she serves as a navigator in connecting students who are initiating mental health care with the appropriate campus and community resources.  “There are so many things going on with a college student,” says Rauman. “Whether someone is a traditional or nontraditional student, there is a lot of transition that college students experience. I am grateful for the opportunity to empower and partner with students as they make health, mental health, and wellness choices.”

Kristen Raney, Ed.D. ’14 is now the Vice President of Academic Affairs at Saint Paul College.

Tess (McCulloch) Ferzoco ’15 and Tony Ferzoco celebrated their wedding on December 22, 2017. (left)

Samantha Hopp ’15 is graduating this May with a Masters in Political Management from George Washington University in Washington D.C. and already has a job lined up for after graduation! Samantha will be part of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections in the Bureau of Offender Classification and Movement.

Lora Lee Larson ’15 and Michele (Burton) Nelson ’16 celebrated their wedding on November 13, 2017. (center)

Bethine Ellie, Ed.D ’17 began a position as Manager of Quality and Institution Effectiveness at Mid-State Technical College.

Libby Lee MS ’17 was chosen to be honored with one of this year’s YWCA Madison Women of Distinction Leadership Awards. (right)

Sara Quinn ’18 was hired by Ford Motor Company after graduating in December. She’s living and working in New York and serves as a Zone Manager for the company.

A group of alumni came back to a Social Sciences class for a “Speed Mentoring” activity with current students. Back row (L to R):  Fatou Ceesay ‘10, Elena Aleman ‘13, Lisa (Rice) Lang-Shackett ‘06, Christina (Schmoker) Hastings MS ‘17, Ann Goth ’11. Front row (L to R): Carleigh Tucker, Kassie Widmyer, Autumn Battaglia, Tammie Lepage

Garret Trinrud ‘08 – November 19, 2017
Lois Bennin ‘69 – November 20, 2017
Edwina (Farrell) Campnell ‘58 – December 5, 2017
Stephana Garvey ‘58 – December 28, 2017
Marie (Becker) Marlatt ‘62 – December 29, 2017
Phyllis (Laubmeier) Riordan ‘77 – January 5, 2018
Kathryn (Sherfinski) Petricca ‘71 – January 13, 2018
Caroline (Gray) Hickey ‘13 – January 15, 2018
Susan Ohlis ‘58 – January 18, 2018
Patricia (Klawitter) Abel ‘82 – February 2, 2018
Robert Koskela ‘01 – February 3, 2018
Corinne Heath ‘02 – February 11, 2018
Frank Prestigiacomo ‘01 – March 3, 2018
Patricia (Kilsdonk) Coles ‘75 – March 17, 2018
Barbara (Schmidt) Luebke ‘67 – March 22, 2018
Marilyn (Mackesey) Tiller ‘56 – March 31, 2018
Mary Ann (Crase) Raynoha ‘83 – April 3, 2018