Ramona Cheek ’81 is the IWU School of Nursing ’s 2020 recipient of the “Distinguished Alumni Award for Excellence in Nursing.” Read the full article here. Congratulations, Ramona!

Congratulations to Unit 5’s Susy Marcum for being selected as the 2020 School Nurse of the Year by the Illinois Association of School Nurses. Susy embodies the qualities and characteristics of a School Nurse who is engaged in the community, tirelessly advocating for the school nurses in Unit 5, the students, and their families.

A nurse in Unit 5 for 25 years, Susy currently works at Grove Elementary and Field Special Services. She is also the Curriculum Chair for the Nursing Department. Please join us in celebrating Susy on winning this well-deserved award.

Maggie Andersen ’81, received a promotion to the position Senior Director of AMITA Health’s Human Resources department on August 12, 2020. She worked in the position on an interim basis for several months and did an outstanding job. Originally joining AMITA Health as a system director in Human Resources in June 2019, Maggie was responsible for leading the Human Resources business partner function for AMITA’s corporate operations and the AMITA’s medical group. She served with distinction, working as a change management champion, and playing a key role in organizational development and process improvement initiatives.

Please join us in congratulating her and wishing her all the best as she begins this new chapter in her career.

Mike Mason ’80, Chief Security Officer at Verizon and Former Executive Assistant Director at the FBI, presented Gladiator or Spectator…You Decide: The Importance of a Resilient Spirit. Mike discussed his almost life-long philosophy that every situation can be turned into an opportunity with the right attitude engaged. As a former U.S. Marine Corps officer, a seasoned executive with the FBI and for the past 12 years as an SVP and Chief Security Officer at Verizon, Mason has been confronted with countless situations, good and bad, from which he has extracted invaluable lessons. In his opinion, the pandemic is no different. He believes there is no situation from which one cannot grow and develop.

Sue (Snapp) Seibring ’82 was nominated for the Communication Innovation Award, presented at the Association for Women in Communications Bloomington-Normal Chapter’s Crystal Awards, on Feb. 27 2o2o. As Advocate BroMenn’s mananger of volunteer and auxiliary services, Sue manages hundreds of volunteers and oversees several community events, including the biennial Chase for Champions, an innovative event to honor public safety responders. Money raised from the event supports public safety scholarships and facility funding for BroMenn to continue to provide top-quality care. 

Ann Marie Morgan ’82 was appointed Early Music Ensemble interim director at the University of Colorado’s College of Music for the spring 2020 semester. A performer on viola da gamba and baroque cello, Ann Marie has enjoyed a 30-year-career of concertizing, recording and teaching, serving on the faculties of the Peabody institute of Johns Hopkins University and the Interlochen Arts Camp. She has performed as viola da gmba solist with the Cleveland, Philadelphia and Minnesota orchestras in Bachs’s Passions, and internationally at the CRR Hall in Instanbul and tat the Prague Spring Festival. This spring, she served as a judge for the 2020 Indianapolis International Baroque Competition. 

Wendy (Oldenburg) Hall ’78 and Kristin (Schwab) Kroll ’85 are teachers with Allendale Association, a nonprofit organization providing care, treatment and education for youth with emotional, behavioral and mental challenges. Kristin has taught at Allendale for the past 30 years, while Wendy has taught art for the past 10. Wendy has taught art for the past 10. Wendy and Kristin have teamed up to deliver home-based instruction during COVID-19.

Brenda Lessen Knoll ‘89 is featured in the summer/fall issue of the IWU magazine. The work of Brenda and other co-authors such as Victoria Drake ‘18, titled Randomized Controlled Trial of a Prefeeding Oral Motor Therapy and its Effect on Feeding Improvement in a Thai NICU, was nominated for the 2020 Best of Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing Writing Award.

Wow! Very exciting news for you, Brenda!