Our very own Doug Pietrzak recently returned to Hansen Student Center on November 11, 2021 to address his fellow Titans in a talk entitled: “Resilience and the Value of a Liberal Arts Education.”

Doug is an English Creative Writing alum from ’05 with a Master’s in Technology, Innovation and Education from Harvard. He is currently a Product Manager for Internal Education at Google and is the founder of Freshcognate, an educational media and design company with a passion for storytelling. In his free time, Doug is an avid touring cyclist, beer brewer, and trombone player with the Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Brass Band in Somerville, Massachusetts.

David Varel ’05 is the author of The Scholar and the Struggle: Lawrence Reddick’s Crusade for Black History and Black Power, published by the University of North Carolina Press, which won a 2021 Colorado Book Award, presented by Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book. The work was also recognized by the African American Intellectual History Society as one of its “Best Black History Books of 2020.” In addition, David’s earlier book, The Lost Black Scholar: Resurrecting Allison Davis in American Social Thought, published by the University of Chicago Press, prompted the University of Chicago to organize an annual symposium in honor of Davis, with future plans to endow a professorship and postdoctoral fellowship in his name. The book’s TV and film rights have additionally been purchased by AMC Studios. David, an affiliate faculty member at Metropolitan State University of Denver, has additionally published articles in The American Historian and Perspectives on History reflecting his work in the areas of Black scholarship and history.

Sarah and her husband, Tom Kropski, are thrilled to announce the birth of their daughter, Matilda Wren Kropski on March 9, 2021.

Congratulations, Kropski family!

Clinton Warren ’05 was part of a Sports career panel on March 10, 2021, which gave insight for students interested in working in the sports industry. Our versatile alumni panelists have worked with the Chicago Bulls, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Fire, and more.