Benjamin Hjertmann ’07

Composer Benjamin Hjertmann ’07 has been appointed assistant professor of composition at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. Earlier this month, he was awarded the $12,000 Barlow Prize from the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition at Brigham Young University. Selected out of 280 composer applications from 30 countries, the award will allow Benjamin to compose a major new work for saxophone quartet.

National Institutes of Health offers loan repayment program

student-loanFrom Sept. 1- Nov. 17, the NIH Division of Loan Repayment will be accepting applications for student loan repayment program for the areas of clinical research, pediatric research, health disparities research, contraception and infertility research, or clinical research for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.

To qualify, an applicant must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, possess a doctoral-level degree (with the exception of the contraception and infertility research LRP), and have educational loan debt equal to or exceeding 20 percent of his/her annual institutional base salary.
In addition, applicants must devote at least 20 hours per week to research that fits within one of five program areas: clinical research, pediatric research, health disparities research, contraception and infertility research, or clinical research for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Steve Groetsema ’07

Director of development and leasing for Bridge Development Partners, Steve Groetsema ’07 has grasped the keys to a successful career in the real estate industry.

“You work on deals for so long, and you ride through so many twists and turns that are inevitable during the process, that it is exciting and gratifying to see how the puzzle eventually fits together,” he told the Illinois Real Estate Journal. “I also often look back and realize what I know now compared to four- five years ago, and even one year ago.”

Read the full article for details.