Members of the University of Missouri–St. Louis women's soccer team show off T-shirts sporting the new Louie logo for UMSL Athletics. The first-of-its-kind design was unveiled at a special pep rally during UMSL’s Homecoming 2025 celebration in late February.
latest
4| News and achievements from around campus
Our community
6| Amy D'Agrosa, associate teaching professor of Spanish
7| John Ampomah master’s student in criminology and criminal justice
Catching up
8| Angel Recci, market manager for Telemundo St. Louis and founder of APR Entertainment
9| Megan Rapp, executive director of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum
10| Princess Stormm media personality and Will’s Way president
11| David Roither circuit judge in Missouri’s 22nd Judicial Circuit Alumni news
32| Class notes and updates from alumni near and far
FEATURES
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| Returning to her roots: Lúcia Lohmann received training at the Missouri Botanical Garden as she worked toward her PhD in ecology, evolution and systematics at UMSL. More than two decades later, she’s back in St. Louis as the leader of the worldrenowned institution.
16| A new perspective: The College of Optometry helps students see a new side of health care through its humanitarian work across the country.
26| Striking a chord: Past and present interns of the Des Lee Fine Arts Education Collaborative are making an impact in St. Louis and beyond.
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| Reaching for the cosmos: UMSL astronomy faculty members and students conduct cutting-edge comet research.
Intramotev intern Emmanuel Morgan has one year remaining in the UMSL/Washington University Joint Undergraduate Engineering Program.
It’s an exciting time at the University of Missouri–St. Louis as we continue our bold journey of transformation – on campus and across our region.
This spring, we’ve seen accelerated momentum through Transform UMSL, our comprehensive investment in academic and physical infrastructure. This past year, we cleared the way for the future by removing the SSB Tower to make room for a new addition. Construction is also progressing on the Richter Family Welcome and Alumni Center, with major renovations to the libraries, Arts and Administration Building and Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center on track for completion this year.
These projects reflect our enduring commitment to access, excellence and our anchor mission to advance education and economic opportunity throughout the region.
Nowhere is that commitment more evident than in the new UMSL School of Engineering, which will start accepting students in fall 2025. Thanks to critical state and private support, the school will help meet growing workforce demand for trained engineers in St. Louis and across Missouri, strengthening talent pipelines and expanding opportunity for students from all backgrounds.
From supporting workforce pipelines to driving innovation and social mobility, UMSL is playing a leading role in uplifting the St. Louis region and the state of Missouri. A new economic impact study shows that UMSL contributed more than $522 million to the St. Louis economy in 2023, supporting more than 6,500 jobs. Our more than 80,000 alumni who live and work in the region generate an additional $14.3 billion in economic activity –proof that UMSL’s influence is both deep and wide.
Together, we are creating a more vibrant, inclusive and prosperous future – for our students, for our region and for generations to come.
Gratefully forward,
Kristin Sobolik
THE LATEST
A DRAMATIC TRANSFORMATION OF THE UMSL CAMPUS IS UNDERWAY, WHICH WILL SERVE OUR UNIVERSITY, REGION AND FAR BEYOND FOR DECADES. STAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LATEST “TRANSFORM UMSL” NEWS.
TRANSFORMING UMSL
A MARK OF PROGRESS
At the close of last year, UMSL passed an important milestone in its work to reshape and reimagine the 350-acre campus. With all primary contracts finalized, the more than $110 million Transform UMSL initiative is advancing forward with nine key developments and 35 additional maintenance and repair projects.
The ambitious plan covers demolition of the SSB Tower, paving the way for a new annex that will house the College of Education and the Pierre Laclede Honors College when completed. New construction and renovations to the J.C. Penney Building are preparing classroom and academic space for the College of Optometry and the opening of the Richter Family Welcome and Alumni Center. UMSL’s Arts Administration Building is being redesigned to welcome the university’s Music and Fine Arts programs, while renovations are underway at the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center and the University Libraries. The Patient Care Center on South Campus was the first completed project in late 2023.
When finished at the end of 2026, the physical transformation of the campus will create more vibrancy and a cohesive academic core on North Campus, while opening 35 acres on South Campus for private development. The initiative covers more than 268,600 square feet of construction improvements and other work, including replacing and upgrading decades-old HVAC and sewer and water systems as well as electrical and data lines that power the North Quad.
With multiple moving pieces – above and below ground – the Transform UMSL initiative will position the university to serve students, the region and the state for decades to come.
St. Louis County Council directing $10 million to UMSL’s planned North County Business and Workforce District
In January, the St. Louis County Council approved $10 million to support the development of the planned North County Business and Workforce District on UMSL’s South Campus. The funding will add to $80 million the university has received from the state of Missouri over the past three years as it works to transform and modernize its campus while striving to meet the needs of students now and in the future.
Through those efforts, UMSL is establishing an academic core on North Campus and freeing up land for mixed-use redevelopment south of Natural Bridge Road. Plans for the district call for new investments in North St. Louis County that will have a positive impact on surrounding communities by attracting new businesses, employees and eventually amenities and services like a childcare center, grocery store, restaurants and other mixed-use commercial and residential spaces.
“This incredible investment will not only allow UMSL to build a campus for the future that will serve students for decades to come but will create a positive economic impact in the region by providing comprehensive, community-based services and amenities, while welcoming businesses and opportunities to grow Missouri’s workforce,” Chancellor Kristin Sobolik says.
THE POWER OF PHILANTHROPY BY THE NUMBERS
2023-24
$2,746,334 private support for scholarships 424 endowed scholarship funds
204 non-endowed scholarship funds
1,161 students receiving private scholarship support
Donor-supported scholarships are transforming lives, opening doors for UMSL students to achieve their academic and career goals. Every gift makes a difference. “Your generosity motivates me to continue putting in the hard work because it does indeed pay off,” says Kendal White, a senior civil engineering major. “Thank you for your willingness to assist me in reaching my goals. I look forward to inspiring and motivating others as you have for me!”
George Nnanna named founding director of UMSL School of Engineering
After a nationwide search, George Nnanna, a professor of mechanical engineering with more than a decade of administrative experience and a record of research collaboration with government and industry partners, became the founding director of the new UMSL School of Engineering on April 1. Nnanna was the founding dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Texas Permian Basin from 2018 to 2023 and more recently has been the director of its Texas Water and Energy Institute in Midland, Texas. He will be tasked with helping grow the School of Engineering, which this fall will welcome its first cohort of engineering students into Bachelor of Science degree programs in civil, electrical and mechanical engineering.
fuels growth of UMSL’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center
The mission of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center has grown from supporting local businesses to now providing resources to UMSL students across all colleges and academic disciplines. By fostering a culture of innovation, the EIC is helping students develop the skills, mindset and connections needed to launch and grow successful businesses. At the EIC, students learn to embrace a growth mindset and think big, aiming to succeed as individuals and to catalyze large-scale transformation that improves the region and the world.
Thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends, the EIC’s impact is growing. In addition to a $1 million MoExcels grant, $1.6 million in philanthropic support from alumni and friends is driving key capital renovations that will expand the program’s capacity and functionality, ensuring that students and entrepreneurs have
access to an industry-aligned learning environment for years to come. These enhancements will introduce new collaborative workspaces with hybrid and flexible rooms designed to host classes, workshops and
and Lucie Salmo, in addition to other anonymous donors, has helped launch a student pitch competition and new entrepreneurial finance course.
The EIC is equipping students with critical skills in financial forecasting, funding options for new business ventures, valuation methods and strategies to exit business ventures. There are plans to add additional courses this year.
gatherings necessary for entrepreneurs to have access to critical resources. Completion of construction is estimated for late summer 2025.
This expansion comes at a pivotal time as the EIC continues to grow its programming. Donor support, including from Rebecca Boyer, Sheila and Steven Burkett, Michael Deniszczuk, Stan and Terry Freerks, Don and Mary Ann Mueth, Jay and Sarah Plaskett, Peter and Linda Racen, John Sabourin and Brian
Continuing this momentum, Director Scott Morris plans to expand business competitions, increase pitch training and skill development and create more engagement opportunities for volunteers and mentors. This includes adding a noncredit program open to the community that can be taken as individual classes to develop skills in topics such as investor pitches and business financing. Additionally, support continues for the Anchor Accelerator, which welcomed its fourth cohort in 2024.
The university is grateful to alumni and donors, whose contributions will enable the campus to complete the new Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center capital renovations this summer.
THREE QUESTIONS WITH ...
AMY D’AGROSA, associate teaching professor of Spanish
Growing up in Spain, Amy D’Agrosa became captivated by the Camino de Santiago – a centuries-old network of pilgrimage footpaths in the northwest region. For hundreds of years, pilgrims have walked days on end, finding meaning along the way, to reach a holy site in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Last summer, D’Agrosa and Teaching Professor Martha Caeiro launched a three-week study abroad program that integrates a Camino experience with language education at the University of Santiago de Compostela. UMSL students studied in the city for two weeks and then walked the path in the Spanish countryside for six days, traveling 12 to 16 miles a day. –BURK KROHE
1
WHAT’S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CAMINO AND WHY HAS IT CONTINUED TO INTRIGUE PEOPLE
ALL THESE YEARS?
The Camino is an ancient pilgrimage that dates back to the ninth century. One of the beautiful things about this is that it has captured the attention and the hearts of people over the centuries because, legend has it, the remains of St. James, an apostle, are buried where there is now the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The remains were reportedly discovered by King Alfonso II of Asturias, and it was because of him that pilgrims started to go to visit them.
2
YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS WALKED FOR SIX DAYS. WHAT IS IT LIKE TO GO THROUGH THAT PHYSICAL HARDSHIP AND JOURNEY WITH OTHERS?
Every day was different for each one of us. Some days presented more challenges than others, depending on the difficulty of the terrain and the rain. For some, arriving at a warm dry inn at the end of a long day was welcome, while others were focused on being present, walking one step at a time, observing the natural beauty, the people they encountered and the physical demands. But despite any hardship, every day, everyone on the Camino shares a traditional greeting, wishing each other a ¡Buen Camino!, or “good journey.”
3
IN A VERY TECHNOLOGICALLY CONNECTED WORLD, HOW IMPORTANT IS SILENCE AND SELF-REFLECTION TO THE EXPERIENCE?
For me, it’s essential. I believe that disconnecting from technology is one of the most
&
profound ways to witness our experience, both internally and externally with our world. It’s just a way to be present to what’s happening in an unfolding moment.
JOHN AMPOMAH, master’s student in criminology and criminal justice
Before he became an Olympian in the javelin, John Ampomah went into law enforcement, joining the police force in his native Ghana in 2011. He’s now competed internationally for more than 12 years, serving as team captain in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. His athletic prowess also allowed him to continue his education. He was a two-time All-American at Middle Tennessee State while earning his bachelor’s in criminal justice administration, is completing his master’s at UMSL and will transition to the PhD program in the fall. –STEVE WALENTIK
1
WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO ST. LOUIS?
After 2016, I got a scholarship from the International Olympic Committee to train for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Along the way, I got a major injury that required surgery, and it took me three or four years to come back. That’s when COVID-19 hit. It was very tough. I didn’t have funding anymore, so I had to work to raise money to continue my athletics career. I came to the U.S. as an international student, and I had done international recruitment for Middle Tennessee State, so I thought I would work in the international education field. I moved to this area and started working at SIUE. Then I moved to SLU, and now I’m at WashU as an international student advisor.
2
YOUR THESIS IS FOCUSED ON THE TOPIC OF VIGILANTE JUSTICE. WHY WERE YOU INTERESTED IN THAT? Vigilante justice is a form of self-help. This phenomenon is not only endemic in Ghana. But my experience with this phenomenon started when I was working as a rookie police officer. I had an encounter with an angry mob when a colleague and I attempted to rescue a victim of vigilante justice in our precinct. This incident shaped my understanding of vigilante justice; it undermines not only the fundamental rights of victims but also the legitimacy of law enforcement and the Ghanaian justice system as a whole. When people perceive somebody to be criminal or to have violated the social order, instead of reporting the person to the police, they’d rather beat the person up.
3
WHAT CAN POLICE DO TO CHANGE THAT DYNAMIC? I think it’s more about what policymakers can do than the police in this sense. In Ghana, the general notion of vigilante justice is that the police are ineffective. While this may be true, another possible reason could be that the police are not even accessible. The focus of my thesis is how the visibility of the police force shapes people’s attitude toward supporting vigilante justice. My argument is that in communities where there is a police station or police patrol, vigilante justice support will decrease because people will view the police as effective in helping combat crime. If a person lives in a society where the laws are not accessible, it would be reasonable for them to develop their own crime control mechanisms. I believe this is what is happening in Ghana and many African countries.
ANGEL RECCI, ’13
CATCHING UP
HOMETOWN: BAYAMÓN, PUERTO RICO
DEGREE: BS IN MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS, 2013
CURRENT POSITION: MARKET MANAGER, TELEMUNDO
ST. LOUIS; FOUNDER, APR ENTERTAINMENT
FUN FACT: RECCI WAS IN THE SAME BASEBALL PROGRAM AT MONTVERDE ACADEMY AS CURRENT NEW YORK METS SUPERSTAR SHORTSTOP FRANCISCO LINDOR.
BY RYAN FAGAN
Angel Recci came to St. Louis to play baseball, ultimately spending three seasons on the team at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. He stayed after graduation because he had quickly identified ways he could positively impact his adopted city. “I saw St. Louis as a very green market with lots of opportunities to accomplish anything and everything,” Recci says.
Recci’s affection for St. Louis was nurtured by his late uncle, Jaime Torres, a retired Air Force colonel and influential presence in the local Hispanic and Latino communities who invited Recci along to networking events, board meetings and galas. Meeting with so many leaders to see their work – and more importantly, learn what else was possible – left an indelible impression.
“I have to thank my uncle for my passion to serve the community,” says Recci, who grew up in Puerto Rico before moving to Florida to play baseball. “Most of the things I do now are to carry his legacy. He was a pioneer for almost everything that happens here from a Hispanic perspective, and I feel like he passed a baton to me.”
Recci has served as a committee member, officer or on the board of directors of nearly a dozen local organizations, including the St. Louis Sports Commission, Grand Center Arts District and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. When Recci heard that Telemundo was expanding into St. Louis in 2022 – this had been the largest metro area in the United States without an affiliate – he knew he would be perfect for the job. Though he didn’t have TV-specific experience, he had spent years acquiring the variety of skills necessary to lead the Spanish-language station.
He had worked with numerous nonprofits, he had corporate experience – 11 years at Emerson – and most importantly, he understood the uniqueness and potential of the St. Louis market. For example, in 2022 Recci saw an opportunity for his company, APR Entertainment, to help the St. Louis Cardinals elevate their existing Hispanic Day at Busch Stadium, called Fiesta Cardenales. Partnering with Ballpark Village, Recci produced an outdoor postgame Latin concert, bringing in well-known salsa singer Willito Otero and his band from Puerto Rico.
Recci feels his experience prepared him perfectly for the opportunity at Telemundo, and the folks hiring for the role agreed; Recci was brought on as the market manager in April 2023. As he’s worked to grow the affiliate from the ground up, he can’t help but think back on his days at his alma mater.
“It was a foundation, the opportunity UMSL gave me,” Recci says. “It allowed me to work for something, and then little by little I started building my own path.”
BY TIMOTHY WOMBLES
Not far from the west bank of the Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri, the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum’s eight buildings sprawl down Main Street, attracting visitors from over 30 countries every year. Even after two decades working in the historic town, Megan Rapp, the museum’s executive director, is still captivated. “You can walk through these places and see where these people lived,” Rapp says. “Knowing that this is the place that inspired Twain’s stories is just magical.”
Now a driving force behind Hannibal’s thriving tourism industry, Rapp’s connection to the area began while completing her master’s degree at UMSL. Her search for graduate programs in museum studies led her to UMSL, where she became a research assistant under Jay Rounds, then head of the Museum Studies program. As a research assistant, she worked alongside Rounds on a concept master plan for the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum.
“Dr. Rounds was fantastic; it was such a great experience,” Rapp says, discussing the project and highlighting the invaluable hands-on experience that bridged academic study and real-world application.
Shortly before graduating, Rapp was hired as the museum’s marketing and communications manager. Reflecting on her coursework at UMSL, she emphasizes the program’s focus on museum theory and critical thinking.
“It was especially useful learning how to create an experience that’s going to enrich everyone that comes through, not just one type of visitor,” Rapp says.
This foundation has served Rapp well throughout her career in Hannibal. She has held various positions, including assistant director and executive director of the Hannibal Convention and Visitors Bureau, before returning to the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum as executive director in May 2024. Rapp’s work extends beyond preserving history; it involves making Twain’s legacy relevant to modern audiences.
She emphasizes the importance of education in addressing controversial aspects of Twain’s work, such as language in “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” The museum has free lesson plans on many of Twain’s works to provide context and tools for teaching Twain in classrooms. Looking ahead, Rapp is excited about a full-scale reimagining of the museum, and is once again collaborating with Rounds for input. She hopes the changes will bring even more visitors to Hannibal, a place where fact and fiction mingle, and where history lives alongside new creative endeavors.
“If you want to feel Mark Twain’s presence and walk in his footsteps in the place that inspired all the stories,” Rapp says, “you have to come to Hannibal.”
HOMETOWN: FRANKFORD, MISSOURI DEGREE: MA IN MUSEUMS, HERITAGE, AND PUBLIC HISTORY, 2005
CURRENT POSITION: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE MARK TWAIN BOYHOOD HOME AND MUSEUM
FAVORITE ARTIFACT AT THE MUSEUM: MARK TWAIN’S NOTABLE WHITE SUIT, WHICH HE TOOK TO WEARING LATER IN LIFE. IT WAS FIRST WORN TO PETITION CONGRESS FOR COPYRIGHT LAWS TO STAND OUT FROM DRAB COLORED ATTIRE OF THE DAY.
MEGAN RAPP, ’05
PRINCESS STORMM, ’14
HOMETOWN: ST. LOUIS
DEGREE: BA IN COMMUNICATION, 2014
CURRENT POSITION: MEDIA
PERSONALITY AND WILL’S WAY PRESIDENT
FUN FACT: WHEN SHE’S NOT WORKING, STORMM COLLECTS COFFEE MUGS, THOUGH SHE DOESN’T ACTUALLY DRINK COFFEE.
CATCHING UP
BY HEATHER RISKE
Growing up in The Ville, Princess Stormm often heard the narrative that you need to leave St. Louis to make it big. After 15 years in the radio industry, she’s proving that isn’t true.
While studying communication at UMSL, Stormm landed an internship at Hot 104.1 – a local hip-hop and R&B station –where she first saw how her passion for radio could become her career. “I’d go to class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, learning about media, then head straight to work on Friday, putting everything I’d learned into practice,” she recalls.
“It wasn’t just theory – I was actually living it.”
Over the next decade, Stormm worked her way up at Hot 104.1 and its sister station 96.3 R&B, eventually becoming assistant program director. In addition to her own on-air work, Stormm oversaw music, events and giveaways while also collaborating with local talent to shape the station’s content. Here, she found her passion for highlighting emerging local artists – one she’s now translated into her work with the Midwest Music Summit, a day of education and networking for musicians, producers, songwriters and managers. This year’s summit was held on March 15, the same day Stormm was honored with a proclamation from the mayor declaring it “Princess Stormm Day.”
“I saw how much potential there was in our own backyard,” Stormm says. “When I shifted my focus to local talent, my career skyrocketed. I started connecting with producers, studios and artists right here in the city. Giving them a platform helped me grow, and it helped our community thrive. I’m passionate about seeing other artists thrive in this community and giving them a chance to be heard.”
In addition to helping local talent succeed, Stormm is deeply committed to giving back to her community. She hosts an annual drive for the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank and is also the president of Will’s Way, a nonprofit started by her mother that aims to make fitness fun for inner-city youth. She’s also the CEO of A Princess Within, a mentoring program that helps young girls embrace their self-worth and combat negative self-image, and is working to bring back St. Louis Women United, a brunch series that aims to empower women in the workforce.
UMSL provided crucial support as she followed her dreams, from an advisor who helped her find her passion to the many donors who funded scholarships and allowed her to graduate debt-free. Stormm – now an UMSL donor herself – is driven to give back and inspire the next generation of students.
“People who donated to UMSL made it possible for me to graduate without debt,” she says. “That’s why I feel compelled to give back – someone gave me a chance, and now I want to do the same for others. It’s all about paying it forward.”
BY STEVE WALENTIK
David Roither has carved a fairly straight path throughout his 25-year legal career, from law school to an associate position with a small boutique firm, then building his own practice in family and juvenile law and earning an appointment as an associate circuit judge. It culminated last spring when he stood in a courtroom in downtown St. Louis to be sworn in as a circuit judge in Missouri’s 22nd Judicial Circuit. Then-Gov. Mike Parson appointed him to the post.
“I take it as recognition, not just by the governor’s office, but by the local bar and my colleagues that know me and support me, that I’ve done a good job,” Roither says.
His work has changed a lot with his new title. Rather than overseeing a docket with as many as 300 cases, that number has been reduced to perhaps as few as 10 at a given time. But each case is higher profile and with greater stakes.
He’s traded out misdemeanor assaults for murders, name changes for divorce proceedings, and landlord tenant disputes for large-scale civil cases. Roither, who has been excited by the switch, can trace a direct line from where he is now back to his time at UMSL.
“I can’t stress enough that I would not be the human I am, I would not be the professional I am today, without my 5½ years at UMSL,” Roither says. “It was bar none the most impactful experience of my life and really set the tone for so many different dynamics.”
He was looking for direction when he transferred to UMSL after his first college semester. He resumed competitive swimming after the move and quickly developed into an All-American in then-Coach Mary Liston’s program.
The structure that comes with competing in college athletics served him well as he immersed himself in his studies, majoring in political science and philosophy while a member of the Pierre Laclede Honors College. He also was active on campus, serving as vice president of the Student Government Association.
He was considering pursuing a PhD in political science, but then-Assistant Professor Calvin Mouw convinced him to apply to law school. After extending his time at UMSL an extra year to participate in a study abroad program in Debrecen, Hungary, he enrolled at Saint Louis University to begin his legal training.
Roither demonstrated the skills of a natural litigator while in law school. That has served him well in his career as he founded and built the firm Medler & Roither beginning in 2005 and continuing to his appointment as associate judge in 2018. He’s stayed connected to UMSL, including a stint on the board of the Alumni Association. Last year, he joined the Honors College Leadership Council.
DAVID ROITHER, ’96
HOMETOWN: ST. LOUIS
“I will be a champion of UMSL,” Roither says, “until my last breath.”
DEGREE: BA IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY, 1996
CURRENT POSITION: CIRCUIT JUDGE, MISSOURI’S 22ND JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
FUN FACT: ROITHER, A THREE-TIME ALL-AMERICAN SWIMMER, WAS INDUCTED INTO THE UMSL SPORTS HALL OF FAME IN 2004.
Retu R ning tO H e R ROOts
Lúcia Lohmann received training at the Missouri Botanical Garden as she worked toward her PhD in ecology, evolution and systematics at UMSL. More than two decades later, she’s back in St. Louis as the leader of the world-renowned institution.
BY STEVE WALENTIK
LastNovember, about two months after Lúcia Lohmann was announced as the incoming president of the Missouri Botanical Garden, she brought her family from California to St. Louis for a weekend visit.
The trip marked the first chance she had to show her three teenage daughters around the 79 manicured acres that have since become her new “office.”
The visit was also filled with nostalgia because of all the memories Lohmann had of the city from her time as a graduate student pursuing her PhD in biology with an emphasis in ecology, evolution and systematics at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.
“I was always talking about St. Louis to my family,” Lohmann says. “Of course, it’s a topic that would always come up in conversation.”
But her twins had been in strollers and her youngest not yet born in 2009, when she made one of her last visits back to town. So, Lohmann took the opportunity in November to give them a tour of some of the places that helped define her experience two decades earlier.
She brought them by the Bayer Center where she would often work at the library or conduct research in the Herbarium long into the night; the Climatron, which provided her favorite escape whenever she was feeling homesick for her native Brazil; and her old apartment building near the intersection of Maury and Castleman Avenues, about two blocks west of the Garden’s main entrance.
In February, just over a month into her tenure, Lohmann hadn’t lost her sense of wonder at the opportunity she’s been given to come full circle, leading a world-class organization that played such a foundational role in her life and career.
“I would say the first month has been energizing,” she says while sitting in her corner office on the second floor of what was once Henry Shaw’s home along Tower Grove Avenue. “I was here at the Garden for nearly a decade, and coming back and seeing how much the Garden has grown and how dedicated everyone is has been truly heartwarming.”
Her task is straightforward: elevate the Garden, both as a cultural landmark in St. Louis and as a leader in science and conservation around the globe.
Even people who have strolled through the Garden’s lush grounds for decades might not fully understand the scale of the institution’s reach and impact in ecology and conservation across the world. But Lohmann does.
She grew up in Brazil in a family of university professors and teachers and first encountered the Missouri Botanical Garden as an undergraduate student at the Universidade de São Paulo while helping create the first field guide of plants of the central portions of the Amazon basin. She came to St. Louis to make use of the Garden’s famed Herbarium to try to identify different species of trumpet creeper vines, or Bignoniaceae.
“The Garden has the largest collection of that group,” says Lohmann, who majored in botany as an undergrad.
While in St. Louis, Lohmann met Mick Richardson, the Garden’s director of graduate studies, who told her about opportunities to conduct research there while pursuing a degree at one of the region’s universities.
Among them was UMSL, which several years earlier had launched the International Center for Tropical Ecology – now the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center – and had partnered with the Garden to
bring aspiring scientists from around the world, particularly Latin America, to train in the Department of Biology.
The university aligned with her interests.
“I loved that UMSL was so international, and there were students from all over the globe,” she says. “The center was doing a lot of research in the tropics and already had a truly global focus.”
UMSL wound up being the only graduate program to which she applied. A stellar student, she made sure to take advantage of everything the university had to offer – earning a master’s degree, a graduate certificate in tropical biology and conservation and, ultimately, her PhD.
“I always looked up to her,” says Noah Whiteman, now a professor of genetics, genomics, evolution and development at the University of California, Berkeley, who was in UMSL’s doctoral program with Lohmann and lived across the street from her on Castleman.
“She was a couple years ahead of me and just a very intelligent, magnanimous colleague. Very warm, very worldly and a world expert in the Bignoniaceae. It seemed like she knew what she wanted to do, which was inspiring, too.”
Lohmann was still working on her master’s when she was asked to serve as the student representative on the hiring committee that brought noted husband and wife botanists Peter Stevens and Elizabeth “Toby” Kellogg to UMSL from Harvard University in 1998. Lohmann had been following their work in plant systematics for years and, as she transitioned to the PhD program, she became one of the first doctoral students to join their lab at UMSL.
She wound up writing her dissertation on phylogeny, classification, morphological diversification and biogeography of Bignonieae.
“She was a very talented person, very inquisitive with a great work ethic as a student,” says Kellogg, now a principal investigator at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. “She was a really great member of the team and did a lot of very interesting biology.” ***
After graduating with her PhD in 2003, Lohmann remained in St. Louis doing postdoctoral research at the Garden’s Center
“THE GARDEN HAS A VERY IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITY TOWARD THE COMMUNITY OF ST. LOUIS AND THE WORLD, AND THE WORK IT DOES IS REALLY MEANINGFUL FOR THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY.”
Lúcia Lohmann
for Conservation and Sustainable Development. She continued to work on trumpet creepers while starting new research on the uses of Herbarium specimens to establish conservation priorities. While she looked at Latin America as a whole, she displayed a special interest in the Amazon Basin, a region that has remained very dear to her heart and central to her research since her early days as an undergraduate student in Brazil.
“How biodiversity was assembled in the Amazon basin over millions of years has intrigued me for a long time,” Lohmann says. “To understand such an old and complex region, we need to study the region’s biodiversity in light of its past geological and climatic history.”
In 2004, Lohmann landed a position as an assistant professor in the Department of Botany at the Universidade de São Paulo, her alma mater. As she climbed the academic ladder over the next two decades, she also spent significant time working in the Amazon, documenting its flora, studying its history and describing new species of trumpet creepers before they disappeared.
that reaches beyond the scientific community and connects with the general public and policymakers. To that end, she has taken artists, photographers and documentarians with her on field expeditions to the Amazon basin and been stimulated by the thought-provoking interactions that transpired.
She has trained 30 graduate students at the master’s and PhD levels and estimates she’s taught thousands of undergraduates about the importance of biodiversity. She is currently getting ready to close her tenure as the executive director of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, and will continue to serve as the president of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy for several more years.
“These organizations pull together people from throughout the world,” Kellogg says. “They require a substantial administrative ability and energy to take on big administrative tasks at a global scale.”
“I’m not sure everyone realizes that most species in the tropics don’t even have names yet,” she says. “We can only conserve what we know and care about.
It’s important not only to name species, but also to understand their biology, how they formed and how so much diversity in terms of colors, shapes and smells came to life over millions of years. Understanding how species adapted to climate change in the past provides incredibly relevant information as we plan our future.”
Lohmann has always been conscious of trying to communicate her work in a way
of going back to St. Louis, which is a place that is deep in my heart, and lead an institution that promotes botany at a global scale was impossible to pass.”
Garden scientists conduct research and work to promote conservation in 35 countries across six continents. Information they gather on plant diversity is used to enhance planning and decisionmaking by policymakers around the world.
Lohmann’s background gave her a lot of familiarity with that work.
Since assuming her new position on Jan. 2, she’s had a chance to meet with local Garden staff and learn more about its public-facing role in education, sustainability and horticulture. She’s also witnessed the affinity people feel for the institution in St. Louis.
Despite her nonprofit work, Lohmann still never imagined herself leading the Missouri Botanical Garden.
She had taken a new position at Berkeley in August 2023 –reconnecting with Whiteman in the process – and had no plans to leave California anytime soon. But that changed when she was approached about the possibility of replacing outgoing MOBOT President Peter Wyse Jackson.
“It was such a fantastic opportunity that I could not let go,” says Lohmann, who also received an appointment as the George Engelmann professor of botany at Washington University in St. Louis. “The opportunity
“Every person I meet has a story about the Garden,” Lohmann says. “It’s wonderful to hear stories from people who used to come here as kids and understand how the Garden helped shape the appreciation that the community of St. Louis has for plants, nature and the environment.”
As she begins setting the course for the next decade, Lohmann wants to ensure the Garden continues to serve that role for future generations of St. Louisans. She’s also eager to strengthen ties with local universities, including UMSL, as well as the region’s vibrant plant science sector.
“We’ll continue to do strong science,” she says. “We’ll continue to enrich people’s lives. But I would like the exact details of what we do to be co-constructed by the whole community. The Garden has a very important responsibility toward the community of St. Louis and the world, and the work it does is really meaningful for the future of humanity.”
Left, clockwise: An aerial view of the Amazon rainforest; an illustration of Bignoniaceae (trumpet creeper vines); the Linnean House at the Missouri Botanical Garden, the oldest continuously operating greenhouse west of the Mississippi River. Above: Lúcia Lohmann inside the Herbarium at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
As William Sigmund began pointing out details on the trees outside the window, his 9-year-old patient slowly started to realize how much a pair of glasses could change his life. Sigmund, a fourth-year student in UMSL’s College of Optometry, had just performed a refraction as part of an abbreviated eye exam at a summer camp in Fishkill, New York, and found the boy was nearsighted. While he had been able to read a book or look at a phone without a problem, anything in his distance was extremely blurry. Having never had an eye exam before, the boy hadn’t known what he was missing out on until that moment – and he was amazed.
But as Sigmund continued to explain to his patient how his vision would improve with his new glasses, he noticed the boy’s best friend – who hadn’t left his side during the exam – seemed a little confused. A previous exam had demonstrated that this boy had perfect
The UMSL College of Optometry helps students see a new side of health care through its humanitarian work across the country.
By Heather Riske
eyesight, so he didn’t quite understand what his friend was now experiencing.
Sigmund grabbed a few other lenses and was able to mimic what the boy’s friend’s vision had been like without his new glasses. The look of understanding on the child’s face – and the compassion he showed for his friend – was priceless. Sigmund, who was initially a little overwhelmed by his first clinic trip with UMSL’s chapter of Student Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity, found the experience touching, and it reminded him why he volunteered in the first place.
“As long as you can get the courage to take that leap into a new, scary but exciting opportunity, you can practice your skills and use it for something truly good by helping kids and adults get the care they need,” Sigmund says. “It’s a fantastic learning opportunity. You get to see so many patients, and a lot of these patients are people who are
“I just remember realizing how powerful a good set of glasses can be for somebody.”
– Hannah Bollig, fourth-year optometry student
really, truly in need. Health care is for the patients, and this is a great way to get that care to the people who need it most, and in a way where they can actually access it.”
The Fishkill clinic was just one of several hosted in recent years by UMSL’s chapter of SVOSH, a volunteer organization that provides vision care to people in need. After a brief pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UMSL’s SVOSH chapter has gained momentum, now sending students to roughly 25 humanitarian clinics across the country each year. In recent years, students have traveled to elementary, middle and high schools as well as Native American reservations and refugee resettlement institutions in California, Florida, Michigan, Montana, New York, Missouri and Texas, among other states, to administer eye exams and prescribe glasses. Over the course of several days, they see an average of 500 to 1,000 patients, with a need rate for glasses typically around 90-95%.
In order to participate in an SVOSH trip, students must have first received their white coat and completed volunteer work in the local community. Alongside licensed optometrists in each state, they evaluate patients’ ocular health and prescribe glasses, which are typically cut and given to patients right on the spot.
While many universities offer service opportunities for students pursuing a career in health care, UMSL’s SVOSH chapter stands out because students pay nothing out of pocket to participate in these clinic trips – 100% of their travel, accommodations and food expenses are covered by OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation, the largest eye care nonprofit in the world. Dr. Tareq Nabhan, an assistant clinical professor in the College of Optometry and the faculty advisor to UMSL’s SVOSH chapter, helped formalize the relationship, as he was elected to the board of directors of VOSH International in 2022 and has an advisory role with OSELF. UMSL’s partnership with OSELF makes traveling to these humanitarian clinics a reality for students who otherwise might not have the means to afford it.
“There is almost no chance that I would be able to go on a trip like that if I had to come up with the funds myself,” says Sigmund, who served as SVOSH secretary last year.
“We obviously have a lot of time dedicated
to school, so there’s not a lot of time to have a job on the side. The Foundation pays for our flights, hotel, meals, so that us students can just go out there worry-free and provide the best care and get the best learning experience we can. That is an invaluable resource and something that I don’t take for granted. You get the opportunity to go help someone truly in need, and you don’t have to pay for any of those expenses.”
Hannah Bollig, a fourth-year optometry student who served as SVOSH president last year, has always been interested in humanitarian work and was drawn to the community-centered approach in the College of Optometry. As a full-time student and mom of two, she appreciated that the college offered ways to give back that wouldn’t be a financial burden on her family. She had a particularly memorable experience during her first SVOSH trip to Detroit while working with a young patient with myopia, or nearsightedness, who received a new pair of glasses. About an hour after her exam with Bollig, the girl came back over to her station, covering her eyes. At first, Bollig was concerned something was wrong – until the girl, smiling from ear to ear, pulled her hands down for a peekaboostyle reveal of her new bright-pink frames.
“I just remember realizing how powerful a good set of glasses can be for somebody,” Bollig says. “It helped reground me as a practitioner. Someone I had just seen an hour before would already have their glasses on, and you get to see just how much you just impacted their life. We know in our heart if a patient is very nearsighted that that first pair of glasses is going to change their life, but when you actually get to see it, as the clinician, you also realize how powerful it is to give back and what you’re capable of. It works for everybody. It makes the community happy and stronger, and it makes you realize that you can make a difference.”
Volunteering their time during these trips leaves an indelible impact on students, many of whom continue to volunteer at clinics and engage in other humanitarian work after graduation. Current students have even requested that humanitarian work be embedded in the curriculum in the College of Optometry, and it’s also become one of the biggest draws in recruiting new students.
“There’s not one candidate who doesn’t ask about humanitarian opportunities to engage in the community,” Nabhan says.
During SVOSH clinics, students are able to apply what they’ve been learning in the classroom to reallife patients. Since students see a higher volume of patients than they would in a normal clinic – anywhere from 20 to 50 patients a day – they’re exposed to a wider demographic of patients, including some with rare conditions that they might previously have only read about in a textbook. These experiences shape them as practitioners, giving them confidence and a deeper understanding of the profession. Moreover, the clinics provide an immersive cultural experience serving to enhance their humility and understanding of the circumstances of their patients.
“The difference in me as a clinician from before I went on one of these trips to after is almost night and day,” Sigmund says. “It’s great to have the knowledge and the skills on paper and be able to perform those in front of a professor, but doing it with an actual patient is extremely different. You’re learning how to perform your skills more efficiently, and you get to take all that experience of the hundreds of patients you see in a week into your patient encounters back at school and in your career in the future.”
Nabhan feels strongly that, at an operational and proof-ofconcept level, UMSL’s College of Optometry and OSELF have created a model for student engagement in humanitarianism that could scale to optometry schools across the country.
He envisions a partnership with the American Optometric Student Association in which all optometry schools in the U.S. are involved so that clinics in other states can build the local capacity of optometrists. The experience provides life-changing vision care to these communities, of course, but it also leaves a lasting impact on the students.
“These experiences can redefine optometry for a lot of people,” Nabhan says. “Some students may not be comfortable or familiar with what it’s like to do humanitarian work. But once they do it, it’s like a bug. Everyone wants to be part of it. From a pedagogical perspective, students are doing what they’re learning in the classroom in the field, and they’re also learning about the circumstances of the patients that we serve. A pair of quality glasses and proper eye care goes well beyond caring for our most precious sense. By improving eyesight, we also improve nearly every sustainable development goal by better understanding the social determinants of health many of our patients are challenged by, whether at UMSL or at a remote charitable humanitarian clinic for refugees. In the end, we help improve the sight of our patients, but we too are the beneficiaries of better vision. Humanitarian clinics humanize our experiences and our perception.”
REACHING FOR THE COSMOS
UMSL astronomy faculty members and students conduct cutting-edge comet research.
By Burk Krohe
For thousands of years, humans have looked up at the stars in wonder and contemplated not just what’s beyond our world, but Earth itself.
“I think it all comes down to answering one question, and that question is, ‘How did we come to be?’” says Mohi Saki, an assistant teaching professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.
“I think for every person as a human, they want to know how we ended up on this planet.”
Astrophysicists, such as Saki and colleague Erika Gibb, a professor of physics and astronomy at UMSL, are particularly interested in why there is liquid water on the planet.
“If you look at models of the early solar system, the temperatures where planets like the Earth formed were pretty high,” Gibb says. “One thing that we think you need for life is water, but Earth should not have ended up with
water. That’s been a mystery that scientists have been trying to figure out – where did we get our water?”
The far reaches of the solar system and its violent formation may hold the answer. As Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune settled into their orbits, they scattered the pieces left behind during planet formation – asteroids and comets –throughout the solar system.
The prevailing scientific theory is that some of these celestial bodies – rich in water, in the form of ice, and other organic molecules – impacted Earth.
“That is why we are so interested in studying comets, because they may very well be where Earth got the ingredients that it needed to form life,” Gibb says.
The Oort Cloud comet, known as C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, passes over Southeast Louisiana near New Orleans, home of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, on Oct. 13, 2024. The comet is making its first appearance in documented human history; it was last seen in the night sky 80,000 years ago.
(Photo by Eric Bordelon)
“One thing that we think you need for life is water, but Earth should not have ended up with water. That’s been a mystery that scientists have been trying to figure out – where did we get our water?”
– Erika Gibb, a professor of physics and astronomy
Members of UMSL’s Department of Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy and Statistics have been working diligently to contribute to a greater understanding of these building blocks of the early solar system and, hopefully, life itself. Under the leadership of Gibb, who serves as chair of the department, the university has distinguished itself as a national leader in nearinfrared spectroscopy research on comets. Physics and astronomy faculty members, as well as students, have worked on numerous highprofile research projects with preeminent institutions such as NASA and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. These endeavors
have garnered National Science Foundation funding and include studies on the composition of comets via the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in orbit around the Sun. The university is also involved in collaborative research such as protoplanetary disk modeling with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.
“We’re very active,” Saki says. “I don’t recall a day that we did not actively participate in this type of research.”
He adds that their work would not be possible without Gibb’s expertise, passion and experience with NASA.
Gibb traces her interest in comets to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. She was a graduate student at the university when it received a grant from NASA to investigate the origins of life. The interdisciplinary research project sought input from a variety of scientists – biologists, chemists, geologists, physicists and more.
“They would bring in speakers on all these topics, and I was just fascinated by it,” she says. “I wanted to study comets because they are the least processed objects in the solar system. If you want to know where prebiotic molecules were located in the early solar system, comets are the best bet for finding them unprocessed.”
Gibb likens them to fossils, formed and then held in a deep freeze until they get perturbed into an orbit that sends them to the inner part of the solar system. Interested in investigating the subject further, Gibb reached out to Michael Mumma, a NASA astrobiologist renowned for his research on the chemistry of comets. That led to a postdoctoral fellowship with Mumma at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, after which she took a position as a visiting research professor at the University of Notre Dame.
As Gibb’s time at Notre Dame was coming to an end, UMSL happened to be looking for someone who could conduct infrared spectroscopy research and lead community engagement initiatives.
“Basically, the job ad read as my resume,” Gibb recalls.
Since coming to UMSL in 2005, Gibb has succeeded Bruce Wilking, the former chair of the department whose work centered on interstellar clouds and young star clusters. Now, Gibb and Saki primarily focus on studying the composition of comets using high-resolution near-infrared spectroscopy.
They’re especially interested in observing comet comas, the nebulous atmosphere of gas and dust surrounding the nucleus of comets that makes them “glow” in the night sky. With highly advanced tools such as the James Webb Space Telescope, the researchers can discern the infrared spectrum. This
Key Terminology
Comet coma
A glowing cloud of gas and dust that forms around a comet’s solid core when it gets close to the Sun. The heat causes ice in the comet to turn into gas, releasing dust and creating the bright, fuzzy appearance we see at night.
Near-infrared
A portion of the electromagnetic spectrum just past what humans can see with the naked eye.
Spectroscopy
A scientific method to analyze how light interacts with matter – through processes like absorption, emission or reflection – to determine composition of materials.
Sublimation
The process of a substance turning from a solid directly to a gas without first becoming a liquid.
spectrum, which is in the 1-to-30-micron wavelength, is not visible to the human eye, but the telescope can capture it.
During observations, Gibb and Saki are looking for molecular emission lines in the coma. Gibb explains that when a comet enters the inner solar system, the Sun’s radiation starts warming up the comet. In turn, she says, the ice in the nucleus sublimates – goes from a solid to gas without becoming liquid – exciting the molecules present.
“Then we can observe the photons that those excited molecules give off and measure water, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, methanol, methane, carbon monoxide, ethane, lots of molecules,” Gibb says. “We can do about 10 primary molecules in the near-infrared. These are the very ones that can be used to build more complex molecules that are the precursors for life.”
Theoretically, based on the composition of the coma, they can then extrapolate the composition of the solid nucleus.
Comet 238P/Read shows the main belt comet sublimating, its water ice vaporizing as its orbit approaches the Sun. (Illustration courtesy of NASA, ESA)
These observations also serve to create a database of comets and their varying compositions. As each comet is cataloged, they learn more about their assumptions.
“If you want to do science, it’s all about making theories and testing them,” Gibb says. “One of the things we want to understand is the comet population as a whole. Comets individually are very different. We want to make sure we understand whether they are being changed by going around the Sun over and over again. Are we actually measuring what they were originally made of? We want to connect them to not just the early solar system, but to other planetary systems, as well.”
Currently, Saki is leading a project to observe a handful of comets that only come close to Earth approximately every 70 years – a rare opportunity to contribute to this mission.
Last March, Saki secured 13.1 hours of observation time on the James Webb Space Telescope to study the composition of six Halley-type comets, those with orbital periods less than 200 years, over the course of about a year. Research time on the telescope is in high demand, and NASA’s acceptance of the proposal speaks to UMSL’s expertise in this area.
Saki is working on the project with Gibb and UMSL alum Nathan Roth (a research assistant professor of physics at American University), as well as colleagues at other institutions including Auburn University, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Morocco and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
The team’s observations began last summer and continued with an observation period from January to February, one from March to May and will conclude
“I think it all comes down to answering one question, and that question is, ‘How did we come to be?’”
–
Mohi Saki, an assistant teaching professor of physics and astronomy
with one from May to June.
Ultimately, the researchers plan to compare their findings to available data on Jupiterfamily comets, those with short orbital periods, which frequently travel through the inner solar system and are thought to suffer the most from thermal processing. They will also compare the findings to available data on Oort-Cloud comets, which have orbital periods of thousands of years.
Saki says near-infrared research has only been published on about 40 comets, roughly 25 being longperiod and 15 being short-period, but he hopes to add more to the record. One by one, patterns begin to emerge.
“If you do it enough, you would have a larger collection,” he says. “So, you would have a range or a statistically better value for, let’s say, one of the chemicals versus another one. For example, we
know how much volatiles are being released every second in these comets during the time of observations, we can then find the percentage of these with respect to one another. If you do it for over 100 to 200 comets, similar to what has been done in the optical spectrum, then you would have a statistically larger sample size that you can then draw better conclusions about the conditions presented in the early solar system where these comets were formed. So, any new observations are not only meaningful but also with a potential of high impact.”
Thus far, only data on two of the six Halley-type comets from the James Webb Space Telescope project has been processed, but even that is motivating.
“It’s very encouraging, because you see something that you work hard for starting to show the results,” Saki says. “It’s just amazing.”
Gibb’s long-running work with the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility at the Mauna Kea Observatory has brought funding to the university from the likes of the NSF and NASA Missouri Space Grant Consortium, but it’s also been instrumental in providing handson research opportunities to UMSL students.
Her goal is to get as many students involved as possible. Through these experiences, students learn how to process and analyze data, communicate their findings, adapt when things go wrong and collaborate in the lab.
“They see this problem-solving that you just can’t in a lecture, and it exposes them deeply to the scientific process,” she says.
Jesse Bier, a physics major with an astrophysics concentration, is
one such student. Bier is finishing his bachelor’s degree after 20 years in the private sector working in data science and machine learning. He was intent on gaining research experience at UMSL and immediately joined Gibb’s lab as an undergraduate research assistant. Initially, he helped Gibb with recording observation data, but after she learned he had a background and interest in coding and modeling, she connected him with Roth at American University.
Roth, Gibb’s former student, is currently studying the composition of Comet A3, the brightest comet to pass Earth in decades, with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array in the Atacama Desert of Chile. While Gibb and Saki are working in the near-infrared spectrum, which includes primary molecules, Roth is working in the radio spectrum, which includes lower frequency, longer waves that can range from 1 centimeter to 1 kilometer. This portion of the electromagnetic spectrum is different; it contains some primary molecules but also complex molecules such as ethylene glycol. However, the principles of the work are the same.
Bier has learned to code with the CASA toolkit to model blackbody curves, a type of continuous spectrum related to the temperature of an object, and is currently examining the methanol and silicon monoxide levels in A3.
“It’s a dream come true,” he says. “It’s what I wanted to do originally. I didn’t necessarily want to go into data science, machine learning, but I kind of fell into that. I decided now is the time to come back and finish my degree and do what I originally wanted to do. So, it’s a dream come true to be doing astrophysics research.”
Gibb and Saki are proud that UMSL is one of the few institutions in the country where this cutting-edge research is conducted. But it may be even more rewarding to know they are contributing to something that’s bigger than themselves or the university by answering the age-old question: How did we come to be?
“The reason for this type of research and the interest of the public goes back to answering that simple question,” Saki says. “I look at it as a big picture. Every single comet that we observe, every discovery, we just add a piece to the puzzle. We’re just at the beginning of it. Eventually, it will be enough that we can go back and look at the bigger picture.”
Top: An infrared view from NASA's NEOWISE mission of the Oort Cloud comet C/2006 W3 (Christensen). The spacecraft observed this comet on April 20, 2010 as it traveled through the constellation Sagittarius. Comet Christensen was nearly 370 million miles from Earth at the time.
Inset: An artist's concept puts solar system distances in perspective.
Bottom: Comet ISON began its trip from the Oort Cloud region of the solar system. It shines in this five-minute exposure taken at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center on Nov. 8, 2013. At the time of this image, comet ISON was 97 million miles from Earth, moving ever closer toward the sun. (Images courtesy of NASA/MSFC/Aaron Kingery)
Striking
A CHORD
BY RYAN FAGAN
Past
and present interns of the Des Lee Fine Arts Education
Collaborative are making an impact in St. Louis and beyond.
ntering his 10th year at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, lifelong music
educator Michael V. Smith has learned many truths about mentorship and preparing his students for their transition into a career in music.
Up near the top of the list is a simple truth: Food works wonders.
“I have discovered that one of the most important mentorship tools is food,” Smith says with a laugh. “I like to say people break open their lives when you break bread together. It’s just amazing how it creates this wonderful opportunity to open up.”
Smith is the E. Desmond Lee Endowed Professor of Music Education at UMSL and director of the E. Desmond Lee Fine Arts Education Collaborative, a collection of
25 local arts agencies and 15 local school districts dedicated to enhancing fine arts in the St. Louis region.
Smith regularly gathers past and present Des Lee interns – a group of music and music education students who complete an internship with a local fine arts organization through the program – for meals at restaurants around the community. What college student could resist free food?
That’s far from the only draw, though.
“We discuss what our jobs look like, how we’re feeling, how Des Lee can better support partnerships around St. Louis schools,” says Alex Wurl, a December 2024 graduate who landed a full-time job with The St. Louis Children’s Choir through his Des Lee internship. “You add food and everybody’s a lot happier. Seeing my fellow collaborative members and talking with them helps with understanding how big St. Louis is. There are so many minute opportunities in music that you otherwise wouldn’t see, so being able to discuss what other people are going through, what these other interns are experiencing, it’s just incredible.”
Smith personally assesses each internship application and selects students who bring a variety of viewpoints to the program – and the table – whether it’s their focus at school, their career goals or their unique background. The palate of perspectives is refreshing and, for many students, eye-opening. Smith also uses the meetings to further the students’ professional development, talking about topics such as résumé-building, letters of introduction and things of that nature.
Wurl, Allison Schweitzer, Rita Schien and Parker Miller were part of last year’s intern group. This year’s group includes students Cory Simmons, G Schmiedeke and Ryan Scott.
The bonds built – and lessons learned – over these meals are helping UMSL’s music program make an impact in the St. Louis area and beyond. Current and former Des Lee interns have landed internships and full-time positions at local arts agencies, including Jazz St. Louis, The Sheldon Concert Hall, the Bach Society of St. Louis, St. Louis Classical Guitar and The St. Louis Children’s Choir, to name a few.
Service with intention
Smith had long considered himself a bit of an academic nomad. He’s taught music education, marching band, choir and orchestra in Kansas, Illinois and Washington, D.C.
One of the reasons Smith chose to join the UMSL faculty in 2016 was the opportunity to commit himself to serving his students –long a passion of his – with the full support of his university. The Des Lee Collaborative was originally founded in alignment with the vision of philanthropist E. Desmond Lee, who was devoted to helping the St. Louis community.
“I’d never had the opportunity to flourish with service,” he says.
“This was like a call to me, not just to come back to the Midwest, but come to the roots and the core of what I want to do, which is be of service and change the world through music.”
Smith organizes regular meetings for members of the collaborative – food is provided, of course – to create networking opportunities while discussing needs and developments within the music community in St. Louis.
Everything Smith does, and everything he teaches, is done with intention. He’s purposeful in creating an atmosphere of encouragement and excellence by providing structure and offering guidance to students. He’s also intentional with the collaborative, building connections throughout the community that will benefit current and future students while giving local schools and arts agencies the support they need.
“These sorts of opportunities are not just magical,” he says.
“They don’t just happen. You need to be intentional. The myth of mentoring is that it just happens, right? No, you need to be intentional about it and set up guidelines and structures that will help this happen.”
Smith, especially, is intentional
in teaching his students to be intentional.
“That is definitely a big thing he talks about,” says Scott, a senior music education major finishing up his final semester as a student teacher at Seckman Middle School this spring. “It’s so important for us as educators to be intentional with what we’re doing, both in intentionally bringing people together and intentionally spreading some of what we do with everybody else.”
Smith lives out his mission of service every day in his work with students.
“I had him for one class and after that, he was like, ‘I want to help you with the rest of your life,’” says Schweitzer, a spring 2024 graduate who works with Wurl at The St. Louis Children’s Choir.
“And I thought, ‘You’re awesome for doing that!’”
Every Des Lee intern has a similar story.
“Dr. Smith was really a mentor for me throughout college,” says Rachel Morgan, an accomplished classical pianist and 2019 graduate who lives in Nashville and is the director of operations for Open Studio. “If I ever needed anything, he was there. That’s really important to have. College is such a weird place. You start when you’re 18. You think you’re an adult, but you’re really trying to just figure out where you’re going, like a little leaf in the wind. Having a mentor like him was really great.”
Smith has centered the Des Lee program around UMSL’s Department of Music, which is full of professors who, like Smith, put their students first. For Morgan, Alla Voskoboynikova, the director of keyboard studies, was influential. For Schweitzer, it was Jim Henry, the director of choral studies. For Wurl, it was Andy Goodman, the coordinator of music education.
“It’s just incredible how much effort Dr. Goodman puts into ensuring that we find jobs and that we find places where we can survive student teaching,”
Wurl says. “He has provided indispensable feedback about what we should be looking for, what questions we should ask, what red flags we should look out for. And it’s not just that he wants to get me a job; it’s that he wants
me to be supported and to be successful after I get that job.”
Spreading their musical wings
With Smith’s influence, Morgan used her time at UMSL to build the connections that launched her career in the music industry before she even graduated. Smith helped her land an internship at The Sheldon Concert Hall, and she also met Brian Owens, an accomplished American Soul singer and UMSL alum who joined the Fine Arts Collaborative as a community music artist in residence in 2017. Morgan started working with Owens as his assistant.
“I got a lot of wonderful experience working with him, even doing events at UMSL,” Morgan says. “One of the most stressful days of my life was a fundraiser concert with Michael McDonald at the Touhill Center. We sold out the show, and I got to interact with McDonald’s management team, got to handle logistics, assistant stuff, operations, marketing and all the behind-the-scenes things that artists need. I got that experience during college, and that was super pivotal for my career.”
Through Owens, Morgan met jazz pianist Peter Martin, who had started his own company, Open Studio, which provides jazz lessons online. She helped
Left: Michael V. Smith, the E. Desmond Lee Endowed Professor of Music Education at UMSL and director of the E. Desmond Lee Fine Arts Education Collaborative.
Right, clockwise: UMSL students Allison Schweitzer, Parker Miller, Rachel Morgan, Rita Schien and Alexander Wurl.
out with Open Studio’s social media as she finished her final year at UMSL and started with the company full-time just a few days after commencement. Now, she’s the director of operations and member experience and is involved with nearly every aspect of the company.
“One of my favorite parts of my job is getting to talk to the artists, the jazz musicians, to do workshops with Open Studio or to record an entire course, growing that vault of the library of courses we have,” Morgan says. “I manage our weekly mentor session program, where we have a different artist teach a live workshop every Friday for all of our members.”
As the company has grown, adding world-renowned jazz musicians to its roster of instructors and musicians, so has Open Studio’s social platforms. With buy-in from Martin and others at the company, Morgan has helped Open Studio grow from roughly 1,000 Instagram followers when she started to more than 225,000, and from roughly 5,000 YouTube subscribers to more than 550,000.
One of Morgan’s friends and classmates, Maria A. Ellis, is another Des Lee success story. Ellis, who calls Smith “a champion for the students,” has built a reputation as one of the finest gospel choir directors in the nation with her business, Girl Conductor.
“I met her my first year here, and I thought, ‘Oh, my, she is a rock star,’” Smith says. “I set her up again with The St. Louis Children’s Choir with an internship and that lasted only about a month because they hired her full-time. She’s skyrocketed. She continues to work at The Sheldon. She’s parlayed her talent into a career. She travels the country doing honor choirs all over the place.”
Scott has had two internship experiences, with the National Blues Museum and with St. Louis Classical Guitar’s Guitar Horizons program. “(Smith) said, ‘You play guitar. How would you like to be able to teach more people to play guitar?’” Scott says. “I said, ‘Well, that’s what I do, so I would love to do that more.’ He gave me opportunities to teach that I otherwise would not have had.”
With the internships at two different organizations, Scott has had the opportunity to see the scope of the reputation of the Des Lee program.
“The Des Lee Fine Arts Collaborative is a great asset to the fine arts community in St. Louis,” Scott says. “It not only incorporates music groups, but theater groups and other arts groups and brings them together.”
Schweitzer and Wurl work together at SLCC; Wurl is the production manager, and Schweitzer is the program manager and also helps with classes.
“I get to help teach a musicianship class with our artistic director,” Schweitzer says. “For those three hours, we’re really just trying to make music fun for them, letting them do different activities, different games and letting them be creative as well within their own music writing. By the end of our last session, the kids literally get to write their own piece of music using the instruments and all the skills that they’ve learned. It’s really cool to see them grow from Day 1 to Day 5.”
As with most students from UMSL who join SLCC, Wurl and Schweitzer got their starts as ensemble assistants but quickly took on larger roles with the choir.
“Working every day with juniors and seniors at UMSL and graduates of the program, it is awesome,” says Ben Nordstrom, SLCC’s executive director. “The relationship with UMSL and the pipeline of quality talent that comes our way from Des Lee and the music department is amazing. It’s just such a valuable resource for us. Alex and Allison have both instantly become part of the family here, and I think that only happens because they come every day with authenticity and passion for music and music education.”
It isn’t a coincidence all of the UMSL students Nordstrom works with have those same qualities.
“UMSL’s music program might be small, but I don’t think the value of an education is based on the size of the department,”
Wurl says. “I would not trade out any of my teachers. I have loved all of the professors I’ve worked with, and I think having a small discipline allows us to have this group of very dedicated interns.”
Wurl pauses.
“And we have an opportunity to have dinner together,” he says.
“It’s not just ‘Go sit in this room and let’s talk business, and we’re all going to wear suits.’ That’s just not how it is here.”
“
The relationship with UMSL and the PIPELINE of QUALITY TALENT that comes our way from DES LEE and the MUSIC DEPARTMENT is AMAZING. It’s just such a VALUABLE RESOURCE for us.”
– BEN NORDSTROM, The St. Louis Children’s Choir
Des Lee intern Ryan Scott, a senior music education major, completed his student teaching at Seckman Middle School and interned with the National Blues Museum and St. Louis Classical Guitar’s Guitar Horizons program.
You Belong
1980s
Mike Powers, BSBA 1988, began a new position as director of information technology with Edward Jones.
1990s
Simeon Williams, BS 1992, began a new position as branch manager with CMG Financial.
Tim Winters, BA 2003, began a new position as a business development manager with World Wide Technology.
Maria Kerford, BA 2005, MPPA 2014, began a new position as executive director of gift planning with Vanderbilt University.
Chris Ross, BSBA 2005, began a new position as a senior cash accountant with World Wide Technology.
April Mullen, BA 2006, began a new position as director of brand and content with Greenlight Guru.
Chenoa Smith, BSEE 2006, began a new position as an electrical engineer with the Federal Aviation Administration.
Samantha Jordan, BSEd 2007, began a new position as IT manager with Enterprise Mobility.
Maggie SULLIVAN, BSEd 1999, began a new position as executive director of Gratitude House, a nonprofit that supports sober women committed to 12-step recovery. With a background spanning nearly three decades in education – including roles as a teacher, administrator and school president – Sullivan brings a deep passion for mission-driven work to her leadership.
Her own journey in recovery since 1998 fuels her commitment to empowering women to rebuild their lives with confidence. “Watching newly sober women move in, often uncertain and afraid and then witnessing their transformation as they secure jobs, restore relationships and help others is a gift I cherish daily,” she says.
MAGGIE SULLIVAN, BSEd 1999
MY HEART LIES IN EMPOWERING WOMEN TO GAIN CONFIDENCE AND REBUILD THEIR LIVES, REALIZING THEIR ABILITY TO LIVE A LIFE BEYOND WHAT THEY ONCE THOUGHT WAS POSSIBLE. ”
Sullivan’s career shift was a natural one. As a former board member of Gratitude House, she saw the organization’s potential to elevate the sober living model. Her experience in leadership, organizational management and education aligns seamlessly with her new role, where she balances fundraising, programming and operations to create lasting impact.
A lifelong learner, Sullivan also holds an MA in American culture studies from Washington University in St. Louis and a doctorate in leadership and learning from Vanderbilt University. She credits UMSL for shaping her understanding of perseverance and leadership, particularly through lessons from the history faculty who inspired her educational philosophy.
2000s
Antoinette Hayes, BS 2000, began a new position as director of nonclinical toxicology with MapLight Therapeutics, Inc.
Nur Khairiah Muhammad, BSMIS 2000, began a new position as an audit analytics senior advisor with ExxonMobil Business Support Centre Malaysia.
Lina Galinurova, BS 2001, began a new position as a real estate manager with KinderCare Learning Companies.
Luke Coffey, BA 2002, began a new position as a senior fellow with the Hudson Institute.
Lisa Lockett, BSBA 2002, BSAcc 2002, began a new position as vice president of finance with Lutheran Senior Services.
Joshua Miller, BA 2002, began a new position as a quality control analyst with Noble Pharma LLC.
Adriana Nieman, BLS 2007, MEd 2010, began a new position as a training and education design manager with the University of Missouri System.
Courtney Grapperhaus, BSBA 2008, began a new position as senior specialist in marketing, events and promotions with Nestlé Purina North America.
T. Christopher Peoples, BSCIE 2008, began a new position as executive director with Brickline North Community Development Corporation.
Stacey Venegas, BLS 2008, began a new position as a front desk receptionist with Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital.
Jessica Cross, BSBA 2009, was honored as a 40 under 40 recipient by the St. Louis Business Journal.
Chris Paasch, BSBA 2009, began a new position as a senior program leader with Edward Jones.
Nikki Pacheco, BSBA 2009, began a new position as executive director of IT stewardship and communications with Reinsurance Group of America.
Justin RIDDLER, BLS 2009, MEd 2011, has joined Turn 10 Studios as a producer, marking his entry into one of the largest game production studios for which he’s worked. His role allows him to collaborate with senior producers, project managers, engineers and artists while continuing to expand his expertise in game development.
Riddler’s career path has been shaped by passion and adaptability. Initially moving to Seattle in 2011, he started as a part-time game tester and receptionist before transitioning into customer support for Paizo Inc., where he earned his first contributing author credit. He later honed his skills in corporate training and project management before joining Xbox’s World’s Edge studio as a project manager in 2019, later becoming a LiveOps producer. In 2023, he co-founded Rainbow Chicken Games with his husband, publishing indie projects, and in 2024, his experience led him to Turn 10.
At UMSL, Riddler’s involvement in student programming with PRIZM and RHA taught him valuable lessons in communication, leadership and empathy. He credits his professors and mentors for shaping his perspective, particularly in understanding that growth often comes from facilitating the success of others. “The joy of this work is knowing that video games bring entertainment and meaning to players worldwide,” he says. “I never imagined I’d be on the other side, contributing to games that inspired me as a kid and will now inspire the next generation.”
Randi Vasel, MPPA 2005, began a new position as a senior account executive with GLOBO.
Vlad Apresov, BSBA 2003, began a new position as a senior financial analyst with Spire.
Tegan Klevorn, BA 2007, MEd 2009, began a new position as project manager with World Wide Technology.
Mary Kathleen (McCaffrey) Schomaker, BSBA 2009, began a new position as a certified diabetes education specialist with SSM Health.
Jon Hubach, MPPA 2006, began a new position as an associate with Moran Economic Development.
2010s
Eric Higgins, BSEd 2010, MEd 2011, PhD 2018, began a new position as a principal with the Rockwood School District.
David Poger, MPPA 2010, began a new position as director of sales with Information Systems of Maryland.
Catrina Straubinger, BA 2010, began a new position as a commercial procurement manager with Bayer.
Stephanie Korpal, MEd 2011, was honored as a 40 under 40 recipient by the St. Louis Business Journal.
Christine Lifka, BSBA 2011, began a new position as a realtor with Keller Williams Chesterfield.
Adam Moss, BSBA 2011, began a new position as a recruiter with MGM Healthcare.
John Doyle, BA 2012, MBA 2016, began a new position as a data analyst with Mid-America Carpenters Regional Benefit Services.
Tara Hertweck, BSBA 2012, began a new position as a family nurse practitioner with St. Luke’s Hospital.
Katie Jenner, BSBA 2012, was named partner at Husch Blackwell.
Garrett Niksch, MAcc 2012, began a new position as a senior manager, global tax planning with Emerson.
Amanda Agne, MBA 2013, began a new position as vice president and Evernorth chief accounting officer with Evernorth Health Services.
Brett Alexander Evans, BSBA 2013, began a new position as VP of global sales with Leanpath.
Angelia Jones, MEd 2013, MEd 2021, began a new position as a student interventionist with Normandy Schools Collaborative.
Warren Lambert, BA 2013, BFA 2013, MA 2015, began a new position as a digitization specialist with the University of Kansas Libraries.
Daniel Latham, MBA 2013, began a new position as president with Bloomsdale Excavation.
Dina Shabaneh, BA 2013, MEd 2020, began a new position as a hospital access liaison with Compass Health Network.
Carla Jordan, MEd 2014, PhD 2024, began a new position as senior director of the University Advising Center at UMSL.
Blake Miner, BSIS 2014, began a new position as a business intelligence consultant with Elevance Health.
Carmen Stayton, MEd 2014, began a new position as director of Math314 and school leadership programs with the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University in St. Louis.
Zach Stochl, BSBA 2014, began a new position as a sales representative with Sustainable Corrugated.
Jordyn Watson, BS 2014, began a new position as a clinical research coordinator with The Retina Institute.
Sophie Dinh, BSBA 2015, began a new position as a shelf planning specialist with Anheuser-Busch.
Ivy Hartman, MEd 2015, began a new position as co-founder of Mama’s College Knowledge.
Alicia Kemp, BA 2015, began a new position as a business relationship manager with JPMorganChase.
Kevin Lashley, BA 2015, began a new position as head of brand and growth with Romaine Valley Weddings & Events.
Julia Njau, BSBA 2015, began a new position as a senior corporate decision support analyst with the University of Maryland Medical System.
Maggie Rapplean, BSBA 2015, MBA 2024, was honored as a 40 under 40 recipient by the St. Louis Business Journal.
David Rosenkoetter, BS 2015, began a new position as a telecom analyst with Enterprise Mobility.
Kellee Cain, MSW 2016, began a new position as a case manager with SSM Health Day Institute.
Amber Christian, BS 2016, began a new position as a senior account manager with MSS.
Emily Donaldson, BSAcc, BSBA 2016, began a new position as a designated supervisor with Spire Investment Partners.
Allison Ewing, BLS 2016, began a new position as a carrier account representative with INDATEL Services.
Cecelia Frelich, MEd 2016, began a new position as a vendor operations manager with Uber Freight.
Jessica Fricke, BS 2016, began a new position as a technology analyst with State Farm.
Ashley Haddox, BS 2016, began a new position as a staff scientist with NewLeaf Symbiotics.
Hannah Kaloupek, BS 2016, began a new position as regional branch manager with BrightStar Care.
Rosester Morrow, BSBA 2016, began a new position as a principal technical program manager, security solution-data science with Mastercard.
Katie Stahl, MBA 2016, began a new position as a F/A-18 BDS finance manager with Boeing.
Kristin Wyninegar, BA 2016, began a new position as a dispatch operations manager with St. Charles County Government.
Nicole Gaehle, BSIS 2017, MS 2019, began a new position as a ServiceNow business process architect with SkyBridge Resources.
Robert Liebherr, MBA 2017, began a new position as a product manager with Stifel Financial Corporation.
Khalfani Mar’Na, BLS 2017, began a new position as an attorney with the City of St. Louis.
Nicholas O’Brien, BSEE 2017, began a new position as a flight simulator with Boeing.
Sara Ricardez Hernandez, BS 2017, began a new position as a sales and marketing assistant with VectorBuilder.
Chathuri Silva, MS 2017, PhD 2021, began a new position as a research assistant with Washington University in St. Louis.
Natalie Stevenson, BSAcc 2017, began a new position as director of outsourced accounting with Prosper CPAs.
Sherry Thomas, MSW 2017, began a new position as director of development with the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.
Michael Bibbs, BSAcc 2018, began a new position as a financial planning and analysis manager with Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals.
Samantha Brainerd, BA 2018, BS 2018, began a new position as a human resources associate specialist with Mastercard.
Laura Cope, BSBA 2018, began a new position as an area rental manager with Enterprise.
what is your favorite UMSL memory?
ONE STANDOUT MEMORY IS PERFORMING AT THE TOUHILL FOR A PLAY CALLED “THE BIRDS.” IT WAS FUN, EXCITING AND ALLOWED ME TO MEET A LOT OF WONDERFUL LOCAL ACTORS AND TALENT, MANY OF WHOM I AM STILL CONNECTED WITH TO THIS DAY. HOWEVER, IF I HAD TO PICK THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT, IT WOULD BE THE UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER WHEN I GOT CHASED BY A HISSING GOOSE SHORTLY AFTER MOVING TO THE U.S. I HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO EXPECT, AND THAT SURPRISING EXPERIENCE ADDED A HUMOROUS AND UNFORGETTABLE TWIST TO MY UMSL JOURNEY.
Mona Sabau, MBA and Digital Marketing Certificate, 2021
WHERE IN THE WORLD?
GERMANY
with Franziska Hauptmann, BSEE 2023
Growing up in Germany, Franziska Hauptmann knew that to be able to combine studying and swimming at a college level, she’d have to move to the United States. This pursuit brought her to UMSL, where she earned her bachelor’s in electrical engineering in 2023, but she always knew she wanted to return to Germany for her master’s degree. Now living in Stuttgart for graduate school and working as a student quality engineer at Porsche, Hauptmann enjoys the balance between the city’s strong business community and its beautiful landscapes. While she might not stay in Stuttgart forever, she appreciates the opportunities and experiences the city has offered so far. –Erica Falgout
WHERE TO STAY
There’s no wrong place to visit in Germany! would recommend both the northern cities, like Lübeck and Rostock, for their charm and the Southern cities, like Heidelberg, Nürnberg and Stuttgart, for their history and beauty.
MUST-SEE ATTRACTIONS
Stuttgart’s Wasen is a festival like Oktoberfest and a must for experiencing Bavarian traditions. For picturesque scenery and historic architecture, Heidelberg and Lübeck. In my opinion, these are two of the prettiest cities in Germany.
FOOD TO TRY
A visit to Germany isn’t complete without trying käsespätzle, a delicious cheesy noodle dish, and kaiserschmarrn, a fluffy caramelized pancake that’s one of my favorite desserts.
BIGGEST SURPRISE ABOUT LIVING AND WORKING IN STUTTGART
Stuttgart is known for its traditional, somewhat reserved culture, but I was pleasantly surprised by how welcoming the people are. I didn’t know much about the landscape and the area, and this surprised me as well.
Despite being in a major city, you’re surrounded by nature and have easy access to the Alps, which is very comforting.
FAVORITE THING ABOUT STUTTGART
Besides Stuttgart’s great economy and major companies, I love my team at Porsche and the tasks I work on. I have a lot of fun because I’m challenged every day, and it never gets boring.
Built in 1464, Holstentor is a city gate that marks the western boundary of the old center of Lübeck, Germany.
Kyle Hopfer, BSIS 2018, began a new position as a senior software engineer with Bayer.
Erik Wandersee, BSEE 2019, began a new position as an electrical engineer with Bratcher Engineering.
Semir Vajzovic, BSEE 2014
In December 2014, Semir Vajzovic was already managing a trucking and logistics company when he earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri–St. Louis and Washington University in St. Louis. Still, he was eager to pivot into a career in engineering. Determined to stand out in a competitive job market, he enrolled in an MBA program and passed the Fundamentals of Engineering exam months after graduating.
His strategy paid off. By July 2015, he had joined Ameren, deepened his technical knowledge, earned his Professional Engineer license and took on increasing leadership responsibilities. Now, as director of asset, investment and risk management, he oversees planning and budgeting to keep the region's electric and gas infrastructure safe and reliable. He's also an adjunct instructor in the UMSL/WashU Joint Engineering Program and active alum, using every opportunity to invest in the next generation of engineers. –Erica Falgout
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT WORKING IN THE ENERGY
SECTOR RIGHT NOW?
It's one of the most exciting times the industry has seen in decades. With the focus on clean energy transition, I see endless opportunities to think creatively, be innovative and use engineering expertise to execute nontraditional solutions to make the grid more resilient while keeping it safe and reliable.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME AN ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR, AND WHAT DO YOU HOPE STUDENTS TAKE FROM YOUR CLASSES?
Sharing knowledge and experiences has always been a personal passion. When had the opportunity to support my alma mater, couldn't pass it up. I want students to understand that an engineering degree prepares a person for a lifetime of thinking and problem-solving. But that's only the foundation – the best way to build on that is to keep a high level of engagement and to be determined.
HOW HAS STAYING CONNECTED TO UMSL THROUGH ALUMNI NETWORKS IMPACTED YOU?
Serving on the Alumni Association
Governing Board and the Joint Engineering Program Alumni Network has been one of the most rewarding opportunities I've pursued, mainly due to the sheer volume of high-quality people I've met, interacted with and learned from. Most UMSL graduates stay in the area, opening up a tremendous network of people. It has helped me learn more ways to give back, deepen my understanding of the industry and stay up-to-date on all the exciting things engineers do.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU OFFER CURRENT ENGINEERING STUDENTS OR NEW GRADUATES?
Determination, confidence and the ability to effectively communicate with people from various backgrounds are very important in developing your career. The path is not straight, but it will eventually lead you to your goals if you persevere. Surround yourself with positive people, leverage mentors and be reliable in your work. The rewards will follow shortly.
Sara Ivanova, BS 2018, began a new position as an analytics engineer with Sky New Zealand.
Kelsey Janson, BSW 2018, began a new position as a case management social worker with Aging Advantage.
Jordan Konsewicz, BSW 2018, MSW 2021, began a new position as a behavioral health care manager with Centene Corporation.
Kyle Lackey, BSBA 2018, MEd 2020, began a new position as program manager for strategic partnerships with the University of Missouri–St. Louis.
Kristina Medvedeva, MBA 2018, started a new position as an assistant professor of marketing at Otterbein University.
Nicholas O’Hanlon, BSPPA 2018, began a new position as project manager with Easterseals Midwest.
Blake Schliesser, BA 2018, MBA 2024, began a new position as a human resources partner with Central Washington University.
Lee Strande, BSBA 2018, began a new position as an assistant client accounting manager with Cushman & Wakefield.
Gabrielle Appel, BS 2019, began a new position as an engineer 3 with Enterprise Mobility.
Victoria Baker, BSW 2019, began a new position as a patient safety aide with Parkland Health Center.
Michael Dunlop, BLS 2019, began a new position as an outreach and retention coordinator with the University of Kansas.
Marcella Hamilton, BLS 2019, began a new position as a trauma social worker with SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital.
Alieu Sanneh, MA 2019, PhD 2021, began a new position as an assistant professor of political science with Central Methodist University.
Prachi Talwar, BSIS 2019, MS 2020, began a new position as a business systems analyst with DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University.
Andrew Tipping, BA 2019, MA 2019, began a new position as a graduate research fellow with Washington University in St. Louis.
2020s
Kenneth Berry, BSBA 2020, began a new position as a platform strategy specialist with Stifel Financial Corp.
Johne’e Johnson, BS 2020, began a new position as a clinical data analyst with St. Luke’s Hospital.
Tristan Johnson, BA 2020, began a new position as a corporate communications partner with Save A Lot.
Paige Kolb, BSBA 2020, began a new position as a senior salesforce effectiveness specialist with Abbott.
Dominic Mestre, BS 2020, began a position as a team leader in biologics manufacturing and cell culture with Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Madeline Morrison, MSW 2020, began a new position as an associate counselor with Preferred Family Healthcare.
Sharmayne Sanford, BA 2020, began a new position as a health information management technician with SSM Health.
Elizabeth Scherer, BS 2020, began a new position as a consultant with Pluton Biosciences.
Sarah Thomas, BS 2020, began a new position as an account supervisor with FleishmanHillard.
Jack Tracy, BSBA 2020, MBA 2021, began a new position as a contract manager with BJC HealthCare.
Mary Kate Soule, BSBA 2020, began a new position as a procurement specialist with Bunge.
Alana Adams, BSBA 2021, began a new position as a digital marketing executive with APT Travel Group.
Mulugeta Chekol, BLS 2021, began a new position as a system administrator 2 with the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.
Starrletta Covington, BA 2021, began a new position as manager of sterile processing with Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital.
Morgan Foster, DNP 2021, began a new position as an adjunct faculty member with South College.
Gabriela Hernandez, BS 2021, began a new position as a bioinformatics research associate with Aferna Bio.
what is some of the best leadership advice you have received?
Stellyn Moore, BSBA 2021, began a new position as a senior accounts payable coordinator with Enterprise Mobility.
Bishal Nepal, PhD 2021, began a new position as a senior analytical chemist with Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals.
Preashion Peoples, BS 2021, began a new position as a community development coordinator with the City of Ferguson Department of Community Development.
Kristina Pratt, BA 2021, began a new position as an estate specialist with National Rarities.
Mona Sabau, MBA 2021, began a new position as manager of marketing and communications at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.
Emily Schnieders, MBA 2021, began a new position as a systems engineering and integration senior manager with Boeing.
Samantha Scott, BS 2021, began a new position as a school counselor with the De Soto Public School District 73.
THE BEST LEADERSHIP ADVICE I HAVE RECEIVED WAS FROM THE LATE ALIAH MUBARAK THARPE: “YOU ALONE CAN DO IT, BUT YOU CANNOT DO IT ALONE.” IT IS A HEALTHY REMINDER THAT IT IS OKAY TO NEED OTHERS AND IT IS AN HONOR TO BE ASKED AND NEEDED. AM GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF THE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE.
Amy Hunter BA 1993, PhD 2023
Paige Hulahan, BS 2021, began a new position as a category capabilities manager with Anheuser-Busch.
Darriell Johnson, BSIS 2021, began a new position as team lead, service delivery with Clayco.
Jacob Krutzsch, BS 2021, began a new position as an associate data scientist with Post Holdings.
Faye Meissner, BSAcc 2021, MAcc 2022, began a new position as a senior accountant with TricorBraun.
Andrew Shapiro, MEd 2021, began a new position as clinical director with Birch Tree Recovery.
Isaac Simmon, BSBA 2021, MBA 2022, began a new position as a CAPEX procurement expeditor with Bunge.
Chelsea Sommer, BSN 2021, began a new position as a registered nurse with the Office of Dr. Steven Baak.
Rebecca Sosa, BSW 2021, began a new position as a call center intake worker with BJC HealthCare.
Mary Alice Swann, BS 2021, began a new position as a facility manager with Cushman & Wakefield.
Thao Tran, BS 2021, began a new position as a service quality coordinator with Lohr Distributing Company.
Candace Wiley, BLS 2021, began a new position as a tax associate with Block Advisors.
Almetris Wright, BS 2021, began a new position as a quality assurance team lead with Archimedes.
Ahmed Al Moheef, BS 2022, began a new position as a laboratory technician with AIM Laboratories.
Yung Hsin Cheng, MBA 2022, began a new position as logistics analyst with JOMA Logistics.
HOMETOWN: Zagreb, Croatia CURRENT LOCATION: St. Louis
OCCUPATION: Director of asset, investment and risk management at Ameren
Gifts to the arts at UMSL to be doubled by visionary donor
UMSL’s commitment to the arts is reaching new heights. As part of the Transform UMSL initiative, the university is creating a new home for music and art programs while honoring the internationally recognized Arianna String Quartet – Missouri’s only professional string quartet in residence, with all four members serving as full-time faculty members at UMSL. The renovated Arts Administration Building includes
the Arianna String Quartet Recital Hall, a premier venue for student, faculty and community performances. For the first time in UMSL’s history, the Department of Music will now have a central home alongside the Department of Art and Design.
A longtime friend of UMSL and patron of the arts launched a $250,000 matching gift challenge to bring this vision to life. Gifts at all levels will be matched to help transform
this space into a state-of-the-art performance hall, ensuring UMSL remains a hub for artistic excellence. Donors making a gift or pledge of $3,000 or more will be recognized on signage honoring these contributions near the Arianna String Quartet Recital Hall.
Double the impact of your donation and support the future of the arts at UMSL by making a gift at umsl.edu/go/T6m or contact giving@umsl.edu
what advice do you wish you had as a student?
Maja LIETZAU, BSBA 2024, MBA 2024, has joined EY as an audit assistant, a role that combines her interest in numbers with a passion for teamwork. She’s excited to learn from her experienced colleagues while working on projects and gaining a deeper understanding of how different businesses operate.
Lietzau’s career path took shape through hands-on experiences that helped her discover what she valued most in a job. While initially unsure which business area to pursue, she found herself drawn to supply chain management, accounting and marketing. A project management internship at Daimler Truck AG and nearly three years working at UMSL’s Recreation and Wellness Center helped solidify what she enjoyed most – working with diverse teams toward a shared goal. That realization led her to auditing, where she could combine analytical thinking with collaboration.
“Supporting the arts at UMSL means creating A SPACE FOR STUDENTS TO THRIVE, A SPACE FOR COLLABORATION AND COMMUNITY.”
— Joanna Mendoza, department chair and professor of music, viola
IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE AN EXPANSIVE NETWORK OF CONNECTORS, SUCH AS BUSINESS, POLITICAL AND PERSONAL, WHO KNOW AND BELIEVE IN YOU. AND LEARN TO PLAY GOLF EARLY IN LIFE; IT’S A SPORT AND BUSINESS SKILL NECESSARY FOR NETWORKING AND CONDUCTING BUSINESS.
Gloria Carter-Hicks BSAJ 1997
Nick Classen, BSAcc 2022, MBA 2023, began a new position as a senior client accountant with Cushman & Wakefield.
Sara Fredrickson, BSAcc 2022, MBA 2023, began a new position as an accounting associate with Baker Tilly US.
Naresh Kshetri, PhD 2022, began a new position as a faculty member in the Department of Cybersecurity at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Mallory Mason, BLS 2022, began a new position as a behavioral health technician with Sunnyhill Inc. Hunter Moore, BSPPA 2023, began a new position as a clinical research coordinator with Washington University in St. Louis.
As a student-athlete on UMSL’s tennis team, Lietzau developed strong time management and teamwork skills, but what impacted her most was the resilience of her teammates. As international students far from home, they juggled academics, athletics and career ambitions, inspiring her to stay focused and work hard in everything she pursued.
“What excites me most is the opportunity to collaborate with so many interesting people and embrace a team-oriented mindset,” she says. “It’s rewarding to know that my work contributes to the accuracy and transparency of financial information, which is critical for stakeholders.”
Kait Murphy, BS 2022, began a new position as a regulatory compliance specialist with Engineered Lubricants.
Dieynaba Sam, BSBA 2022, began a new position as a client service receptionist with the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority.
Ryan Clark, BSBA 2023, began a new position as a purchasing agent with Frost Supply.
Sara Gholami Kouhi, MBA 2023, began a new position as community relations coordinator with the International Institute of St. Louis.
Maisoon Hamed, BSBA 2023, began a new position as an IT customer service analyst with Sutter Medical Technologies.
Brady Krile, BS 2023, began a new position as a maintenance worker with the City of Chesterfield Parks, Recreation & Arts Department.
Brandon O’Haver, BS 2023, began a new position as a provisioning support analyst with Forvis Mazars US.
Jon Osa, BSBA 2023, began a new position as a carrier operations representative with RWI Logistics.
Joseph Reddan, BSN 2023, began a new position as a registered nurse with Loyola Medicine.
Rhiannon Robinson, BSAcc 2023, MAcc 2024, began a new position as a tax associate with CliftonLarsonAllen.
Ben Sathi, BSBA 2023, began a new position as an inside sales coordinator with Rubycon Capacitors. Princess-Abigail Timothy, BS 2023, began a new position as a business support specialist II with the University of Missouri–St. Louis.
Taylor Tusinski, PhD 2023, began a new position as an assistant professor with the Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College.
Iker Vazquez Escalante, BSBA 2023, began a new position as an area manager with Amazon.
Jackson Zamora, BSBA 2023, began a new position as a logistics specialist with Bunzl Distribution NA.
Jake Zickrick, BSBA 2023, began a new position as a senior transaction coordinator with Cushman & Wakefield.
Keagan Bland, BSIS 2024, began a new position as a business systems analyst with Emerson.
Mason Clynes, BS 2024, began a new position as an account executive with the Chicago Fire FC.
Mandy Dunn, BA 2024, began a new position as a unit mental health case manager with Mercy.
Manikanta Grandhe, MS 2024, began a new position as a transportation coordinator with Metal Exchange.
Kristin Hagopian, DNP 2024, began a new position as a psychiatric nurse practitioner with Southern Illinois Associates.
Carla Jordan, MEd 2014, PhD 2024, began a new position as senior director of the University Advising Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.
Bob Madden, BFA 2024, began a new position as a special initiatives coordinator with the Missouri Arts Council.
Guillem Masjuan, BSBA 2024, began a new position as a planning and scheduling specialist II/planning analyst with MilliporeSigma.
Sujan Neupane, BS 2024, began a position as a healthcare professional with Allegheny Health Network.
In Memoriam
— 1960s Paul Van Horn, MEd 1968, on Oct. 4, 2024
— 1990s Kurt Hougland, BSBA 1991 on May 3, 2023
ARIANNA STRING QUARTET RECITAL HALL
Sharing songs
A study break or jam session? These UMSL students took a moment to unwind and connect on campus, sharing melodies and making memories with their guitars. Have a favorite photo from your days at UMSL? Share it with us at magazine@umsl.edu.
