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February 2013 |
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The e-newsletter for Macalester alumni, parents, and friends. |
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Good Thinkin' wins Mac's first "Hackathon"
Eight student teams competed in Macalester's first-ever "hackathon," a 24-hour contest to invent an innovative tech-enabled product or service. The first-place team was the group Good Thinkin' for their publish-to-tablet app Reazy. Three other teams also won prizes. Students have inside look at Silicon Valley Leland and Kathleen Hansen establish Geography Research Endowed Fund Macalester grants tenure to seven faculty members 10 Macites win Minnesota State Arts Board Grants MacFest applications now being accepted |
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Students have inside look at Silicon Valley
Their interests range from software development to marketing startups, but for 10 Macalester students who traveled to Silicon Valley together in January, the objective was the same: a sneak peek at life after Mac, with wise words from Bay Area alumni. The Mac Connect: Silicon Valley trip, supported by alumni and the college’s Career Development Center (CDC), included a day of job shadowing, Facebook and Google tours, a night out in San Francisco with area young alumni, and networking with tech-sector alumni at an evening reception. Students had to apply for the trip and received career networking tips from CDC associate dean for student services Denise Ward, who accompanied the group. For most of the students, it was their first time seeing the Mac alumni network in action. Meeting alumni away from the Twin Cities made the experience even more memorable. "There’s this connection you automatically have with Mac alumni that makes you more comfortable," says Carina Lei '14, an art major and computer science minor interested in animation. "It felt like an extended family." Leland and Kathleen Hansen establish Geography Research Endowed Fund
Leland and Kathleen Hansen have established a $100,000 research endowed fund at Macalester that will be used to support student research projects in urban geography. Preference will be given to geography majors. Kathleen Lawler Hansen graduated from Macalester in 1963. Her father, Harold Lawler, attended Macalester in the 1930s; Leland and Kathleen's daughter, Laura Hansen Smith, is a 1994 graduate and a faculty member in Macalester's Geography Department. Kathy retired from the University of Minnesota Medical Center after a successful career in laboratory services. Leland, a University of Minnesota graduate, retired from the university's pediatric research division. They became interested in urban geography through living in St. Paul for more than 40 years and through their daughter's studies. "The relationship that our family has had with Macalester began 80 years ago with Kathy's father, Harold, and continues today with our daughter Laura," said the Hansens. "This endowed fund ensures our special bond with this extraordinary college and will help future generations to come." Macalester grants tenure to seven faculty members
Macalester College has granted tenure to the following seven faculty members (left to right in photo): Andrew Beveridge, Mathematics Statistics & Computer Science; Sarah Boyer, Biology; John Cannon, Physics & Astronomy; Devavani Chatterjea, Biology; Kristi Curry Rogers, Biology & Geology; Christina Esposito, Linguistics; and Kathryn Splan, Chemistry. We congratulate our recently tenured faculty.
Macalester's men's and women's tennis teams, both under the direction of Coach Jason Muhl, have begun playing matches after several weeks of preseason training. Both teams are off to a good start. After beginning the winter/spring campaign with a loss to St. Cloud State, the Macalester women bounced back Feb. 9 to topple another Division II team, Southwest Minnesota State, to even their record. The top three players in the singles lineup at this stage are Paige Schaefer '13, Katelyn Glenna '15, and Alisha Roopchand '15. The Macalester men dropped a close match to St. Cloud State to open up and then claimed their initial victory last weekend by rolling past Simpson (Iowa) 8-1. Leading the way in the top half of the singles roster are Brian Utz '16, Stephen Tyndel '13, and Max Edwards '13. 10 Macites win Minnesota State Arts Board Grants
The Minnesota State Arts Board has awarded grants to eight Macalester alumni and two Art and Art History faculty members for 2013. The board provides financial support to artists and organizations throughout the state to ensure that all Minnesotans have the opportunity to participate in the arts. Project grants are for artists at all stages of their careers, to support artistic development, nurture artistic creativity, and recognize the contributions individual artists make to the creative environment of the state of Minnesota. These Macalester alumni received awards: Elisa K. Berry Fonseca '05, Eric J. Dregni '90, Douglas V. Little '91, Brian T. Miller '02, Rachel A. Moritz '95, Wayne E. Potratz '64, Monica E. Rudquist '83, and Jenny R. Schmid '92. Art and art history faculty members receiving grants were Gary A. Erickson and Megan E. Vossler. MacFest applications now being accepted
On Saturday afternoon of Reunion 2013, musical groups and performers will take to the stage on Shaw Field for MacFest. All Macalester alumni, students, faculty, and staff bands and musicians are invited to apply to play. To be considered, complete this form and submit your music samples by Thursday, March 7. Macbassador of the Month: Bernd Verst '09
In recognition of his continuing involvement with the college and commitment to supporting students, Bernd Verst '09 is February's Macbassador of the Month. A math and computer science double major, Verst is now a technical solutions engineer for Google living in the San Francisco Bay area. A chance meeting at an alumni happy hour connected him to the organizers of MacConnect: Silicon Valley, who were looking for local alumni to provide visiting students with job shadowing experiences. Verst not only hosted a tour for the entire Macalester group at Google headquarters, he served as an important resource for local information as staff determined the best way to arrange travel for the 10 participating students. "I was excited to introduce students to the Silicon Valley workstyle and the skills hopeful job applicants need to build for a chance to interview and work at a place like Google, he says. "I'm always happy to connect with current Macalester students, which helps me reconnect to the one-of-a-kind Macalester culture." Verst's positive experience at Mac inspires him to stay connected to the college: "I believe wholeheartedly in Macalester’s commitment to education as a transformative experience. Above all, I love the people who choose Macalester, and volunteering gives me an opportunity to connect with these great people while trying to live according to Macalester’s mission statement." On top of contributing his time and talent, Verst has supported the Annual Fund since his senior year and currently serves as an Annual Fund Class Agent: "It’s important to me to support Macalester financially because Macalester provides generous financial aid to students. Without this aid, I would not have been able to attend Macalester and would have missed out on one of the most powerful experiences of my life," says Verst. "Donating is my way of giving back and making sure that future students can access the great experience I had at Macalester." Please join us in congratulating Bernd Verst, our Macbassador of the Month. These alumni have recently posted class notes in MacDirect, our online community for alumni (login to view): What's your news? Post a note and a link to it will appear in the next edition of Mac Wire.
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Mac Wire is an e-newsletter for alumni, parents, and friends of Macalester College. |