Thank you to Tia Patsavas for your service to the Class of 2016 as Class Newsletter Editor. We appreciate your dedication to your classmates and work to keep your class connected. Tia has stepped down from the position, and we wish her well.

Nicolette Larsen ’16 was recently nominated for Kenosha News Salute to Nurses by her mother who says, “On her off days from working full time at the hospital, she works additional hours administering COVID-19 vaccines, plus she works part-time at a pediatric clinic in Lake County (Ill.) as well.” Nicolette currently works at Lake Forest Hospital in the adult/pediatric unit. See full article here.

Laura Bonds ’16 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.

Since matriculating into Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Meaghan Mormann ’16 has held leadership positions in the American Medical Association, the American Medical Student Association, and the Latino and Native American Medical Association. She has also volunteered with the Care Free Clinic pharmacy assistance program and with Cristo Rey Community Health Center in Lansing providing translation services in their primary care clinic. Her fluency in Spanish and work with underserved, immigrant patient populations led Meaghan to join the College’s Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved certificate program. Through this program she has worked intimately with Flint’s Pediatric Public Health Initiative, engaging with many of the issues left in the wake of the Flint Water Crisis. She has aided in the distribution of food and water to members of the community and assisted on a project to teach children about several health-related topics including physical activity, use of the internet, mental and sexual health. Meaghan has also worked with Flint Public Schools to bring HIV/AIDS and Hands-Only CPR training to those middle-schools and high-school students. She has also helped to develop a curriculum to promote self-efficacy skills to residents of a transitional living residence for runaway youth. Meaghan has also participated in several research projects investigating barriers to reproductive health care amongst Latina patients and surveying the Hispanic/Latino communities in Flint related to their experiences with the Flint Water Crisis. She presented this first project at the 41st Annual Family Medicine Research Day. Meaghan earned Honors in her Surgery I, Surgery II, Psychiatry, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics clerkships. Meaghan was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society Gamma Chapter on November 15, 2019. Meaghan earned her MD and will be completing her residency in pediatrics at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and hopes to build a career working within a critical care environment with patients who are underserved.

Thank-A-Giver Day (TAG Day) is Monday, February 10. This day provides the IWU campus community with the opportunity to thank donors who support Illinois Wesleyan. IWU celebrates each year in mid-February because it marks the symbolic point during the academic year – about 70% of the way through – when we rely on support from alumni and friends, our endowment, and external grants.  

If you would like to be celebrated as a donor today, you can make a gift at iwu.edu/give.