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Author Archives: Peter Ruther
Courtney Lee Adams ’96
Courtney Lee Adams ’96 is the new director of technology for Lincolnwood School District 74.
Meg Miner Request
Click the photo to see what exciting memorabilia Meg Miner – University Archivist & Special Collections Librarian – has requested.
Amy McInerney ’96
Amy McInerney currently works as a booth director for DPN Talent in Beverly Hills, and prior to that she spent over sixteen years working as a casting director with Elaine Craig Voice Casting in Hollywood. She also continues to freelance as a private voice coach, guest director & demo consultant. Amy received her BFA in Music Theater from Illinois-Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois and completed her studies with an internship at Miramax Films in Los Angeles.
David Brown ’96
Old news but a good headline. David Brown was one of the first reporters to report when the USS Cole was attacked in Yemen. Jim Plath states, “he was working for one of the Armed Forces newspapers, perhaps Navy Times? Anyway, he was one of the reporters who broke the story that it was an act of terrorism, not what the Navy was saying. He’s now managing editor, I believe, of The Marine Corps Times. ” David indeed is the Managing Editor for the Marine Corps Times. Thank you David.
Sara (Jokisch) Lehmann ’96
Jonathan Daniel Lehmann was born February 7, 2012. He is the third child born to Sara (Jokisch) Lehmann, C.P.A. and Dan Lehmann. Jonathan is a good natured child and very loving. He is also right at 20 lbs and still wearing 6-12 month clothes. Sara and family moved to St. Louis in March 2013 for Dan’s new position with Monsanto.
Edward Thelen ’96
We had our Toastmasters District 35 (state of Wisconsin) conference last weekend. At this conference, we hand out awards for the Toastmasters year (many District do this in the fall after the Toastmasters year has finished, but since the winners of the three Toastmasters recognized awards – Area Governor of the Year, Division Governor of the Year and Toastmaster of the Year used to be published in The Toastmaster magazine over the summer this still created some suspense).
To my excitement and surprise, I was selected by our top District officers as the 2012-2013 Toastmaster of the Year for District 35! I received a nice memento of my achievement. It is one of the proudest accomplishments I have achieved after my college degrees and passing the CPA exam. However, it would not have been possible without the support of many fellow Toastmasters who believe that I could accomplish a lot in the organization.
Jean (Mycynek) Krepps ’96
My husband and I had twins on January 22nd. Both babies were very big and healthy. Garrison was 8 pounds 3 ounces at birth, and Elliot was 8 pounds 10 ounces. Garrison is currently over 10 pounds at 6 weeks old, and Elliot is approaching 10 pounds.
I majored in Math at Wesleyan, and then about 10 years later went back for a second bachelors, a BSN/RN from Loyola University Chicago. They have an accelerated nursing program for individuals already coming in with a bachelors degree. Most recently I have blended the two degrees into developing predictive models for health care fraud, waste, and abuse.
Heather Olt ’96
Hello IWU!!!
Heather Olt, School of Theatres Arts class of ’96 here! I am the co-producer/creator of a brand new, soon to be released comedic web-series called 2 Hopeful Spinsters along with my dear friend, Dellany Peace. The series had its Hollywood Premiere on May 1st at the world famous Arclight Hollywood on Sunset Blvd. Numerous IWU alums (including Christine Moore ’95) were in attendance along with several celebrities, including the one and only Michael Madsen, who also co-stars in the pilot!
My self-starter attitude began at Wesleyan when I co-produced a night of one-acts with a fellow SOTA student as well as a non-required senior recital. Perseverance and a strong work ethic are skills IWU definitely helped me develop and I would love to pay it forward to my fellow Titans!I’ve also attached some photos of the IWU Alums in attendance but click HERE for the Wenn link to exclusive photos shot by Brian To Photography. Additionally, you can CLICK HERE for our trailer (with 32,500+ views!) and HERE for an impromptu “interview.”
Neal Vermillion ’96
Having recently celebrated 10 years as a Foreign Service Officer, I have been living in Beijing since August 2012 studying Chinese full-time. In June I take on my next diplomatic role. I will work in the U.S. Embassy here in Beijing helping manage one of the world’s busiest visa sections. (Over one million Chinese citizens received visas last year to visit, study, and/or do business in the United States.)