Gina Wither ’99

Gina (Schopp) Wither ’99 and Brian Smith ’00 have worked at Steamboat Mountain School, a small, independent boarding school, for 19 and 20 years respectively.  Brian is the Dean of Students and teaches Calculus 1 and 2. They just took kids on a 5 day canoeing trip on the Green River through Labyrinth Canyon for their annual Desert Week trip.

Scott Pluff ’99

Scott Pluff ’99 has accepted a new position as Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Cottleville, MO. With 5300 families, St. Joseph is the largest Catholic parish in the state of Missouri. He will oversee the parish’s worship ministries, direct three choirs, and serve as the principal organist. This year marks 25 years of Scott’s service as a professional church musician. At IWU he studied organ with Dr. David Gehrenbeck, and he holds an M.A. in Theology from the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, MO. Scott lives in south St. Louis with his wife and three daughters.

Congratulations, Scott!

Benjamin Nelson ’99

Benjamin Nelson ’99 co-edited “‘Los cielos se agotaron de prodigios’: Essays in Honor of Frederick A. de Armas” (Juan de la Cuesta Hispanic Monographs, 2018), which includes his essay “Pilgrimaging to the Temple of Diana: Jorge de Montemayor, Merida, and the Septizodium.”

All In for Wesleyan

Tuesday, April 3rd is our day of giving at Illinois Wesleyan and this year’s theme is
Think Bigger! 
Not only is today a day for giving, it’s a day to celebrate IWU and all of the things that make it special.  Last year, our class had an impressive 27 donors, and we contributed $5,260. Let’s think bigger and surpass last year’s donors and dollars contributed! Think of the impact this can make for IWU students and their families!

Click here to learn more and to donate on Tuesday, April 3rd.
Help spread the word using #AllInForWesleyan and take advantage of our social media toolkit.

Jaynanne Calaway-Habeck ’99

Vice President of People Ops at Panera Bread and former triple major at Illinois Wesleyan University Jaynanne Calaway-Habeck ’99, said the key to achieving success in the workplace can be found within a liberal arts education. Habeck returned to her alma mater on Tuesday, Jan. 16 for the Hart Career Center Kickoff Event, to give students what she called “non-traditional advice” on how to achieve breakthrough career success.

Having held multiple positions in Panera including manager, director, and vice president of human resources, Habeck advised students that success in the workplace is not only achieved by showing people how much you know, but it is also about showing people how much you care. “No matter who you are, no matter what you’re doing, be real. Be yourself. Let people see who you really are, and that will grease the wheels for everything else,” Habeck said.

Read the full article about Jaynanne’s time at IWU, her recent achievements, and the advice she gave to students here.

Congratulations, Jaynanne!