SCS people
Alumni and students Syrola Schaefer Hirsch (61) of Chicago, a retired gerontology clinical nurse practitioner who served in the U.S. Army as a nurse during World War II, was elected commander of Women Veterans American Legion Post 919 in 2004. She is listed in the World War II Registry of Remembrances at the National World War II Memorial. Ola Mae Woolridge Hitt (66) of Chicago, a retired teacher, taught for more than a decade at Betsy Ross Elementary School and loved it. She retired in 1977 — her mission accomplished. Gwen Ihnat (05), a June graduate of the MALS program and winner of the MALS Distinguished Thesis Award, is teaching a class at the Newberry Library called The Golden Age of Radio in Chicago, which addresses the period in the 1930s and 1940s when Chicago stood at the center of the medium, both geographically and creatively. Ihnat is an editor at the Chicago History Museum. Joe Ann Jackson (88) of Chicago was promoted to policy associate at the American Medical Association in July 2004.
Kenneth Kates II (02, GMcC04) of Chicago established the Beverly Pagoda Martial Arts Academy. He is working for the law firm Kirkland & Ellis in preparation for law school.
Jiaqi Nie (05), a September graduate of the MPPA program, has been hired as a senior budget analyst in the Illinois Governor’s Office of Management and Budget in Springfield.
Joe Kendall (05) wrote a play for the Red Tape Theater Company in Chicago called My Richard. The play, performed last summer at the Lakeshore Theater, is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Richard III in which Richard is portrayed by a schizophrenic to fully realize the insanity of the character.
Adam Pasen (MCW program) is having his second play, Butterfinger, published by Brooklyn Publishers. His short story “The Strobe Effect” will appear in the Scrivener Creative Review, and his poetry will be published in The Georgetown Review as well as The Storyteller. His review of the book Choir Boy will appear in Other Voices magazine.
Gene Koprowski (97) of Chicago, a columnist for United Press International, received the 2004 Lilly Foundation/Religion Newswriters Foundation Award for writing about the interface of science and religion. The award funds two semesters of study at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Cynthia LeVan (95) of Milwaukee became vice president of advertising for Roundy’s Inc. in spring 2005. Candice Poston Mathers (97) of Chicago established a project management and high-end interior design firm specializing in commercial medical clinics and doctors’ offices.
Choose Me, the debut novel by Xenia Ruiz (01), was published last year by Walk Worthy Press/Warner Books. She is the first Latina author signed by Walk Worthy Press. She lives in Chicago with her family and is currently editing her second novel, scheduled for release in 2006.
Rodrigo A. Sierra (96) of Chicago is vice president of communications and government relations at Peoples Energy. He and his wife, Elizabeth, are the parents of Vasco Roberto, born in May 2005. Ruth Sinker (98) of Chicago is youth services technology coordinator at the Skokie Public Library. She published an article about the library’s Web Connections program in the December 2004 issue of ALSConnect, the newsletter of the Association for Library Service to Children. She developed Web Connections in 2003 to help students and teachers use the libraries’ web site and online resources for research, reference, and homework help.
Northwestern Alumni Association Northwestern CareerNet, your online, searchable networking resource offered by Northwestern Alumni Association, has more than 11,100 alumni career contacts in its database. This service offers you the benefit of establishing and maintaining valuable connections with fellow alumni in your field of work. You may also volunteer to be an alumni career contact yourself. By volunteering, you are agreeing to be contacted by fellow alumni or students so you can share your career knowledge and experiences with them.
Laura Lynn Smith (99) of Singapore married Steven F. Orpurt in October 2004.
You may access Northwestern CareerNet at www .alumni.northwestern.edu /career. For more information, contact Aspasia Apostolakis, Northwestern Alumni asso-
Lynn Rundhaugen (97, G04) of Gaithersburg, Maryland, became an economic modeling associate in the health economics and outcomes services division of Covance, a drug-development services company, in June 2004. She earned a master of public health degree from Northwestern’s Graduate School in June after participating in a fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda.
ciation, at alumnicareers @alumni.northwestern.edu.
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