10th Annual Apps & Alums: More Apps, More Alums
by Daniel Graham ’26
As has become tradition here in the Macalester English and Creative Writing department, the first Friday of April this year saw Mac students past and present convene in the Smail Gallery of Olin Rice for Apps & Alums.
This year marked the 10th annual Apps & Alums which our very own Macalester chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honors Society (EHS), produces each spring. As one of your EHS officers along with Leah Wasson ’25 and Natalie Mazey ’26, I am pleased to report that once again, Apps & Alums was a triumph!
For those unfamiliar with our perennial congregations in Smail, Apps & Alums gives current English students a chance to chat with English graduates while they enjoy appetizers. We split the chats into three rounds so that students can meet a wide breadth of alumni.
So, let’s get to some statistics from the event. We had 23 alumni in attendance and roughly 35 students. Our eldest graduates were Don Mackenzie Jr. ’66 and John Mihelic ’66. Our most recent graduate was none other than former English department worker extraordinaire (former worker, still extraordinaire) Charley Eatchel ’24.
Our two best-represented graduation years were 2020 and 2016. Our 2020 graduates featured Zoe Berkovitz, Sophie Hilker (also a former Macalester staff member) and Alyssa Jackson. Our 2016 graduates featured Ella Brakob, Amanda Zimmerman and Nicole Emmanuel.
We’d also be remiss if we didn’t mention some of our special guest stars. Our department chair Matt Burgess’ mentor Charles Baxter ’69 made an appearance. Baxter is a novelist, poet and writer of all varieties. He has authored 12 novels and three nonfiction books while also teaching creative writing in many places across the country, including the University of Iowa, Stanford and the University of Minnesota.
Former (and hopefully future) English department faculty member Kerry Alexander ’12 also paid us a visit. Alexander is a singer-songwriter and one half of Bad Bad Hats, a band that formed when she was a student here at Macalester. Last spring, she taught a course titled “Three Chords and the Truth: Introduction to Songwriting,” and we hope that by mentioning her in this article, we might convince her to do it again soon.
Armed with a breadth and depth of experience and knowledge, our alumni endeavored to share their knowledge and experience with current students on all elements of life with an English degree: how to get a job, where to go to grad school, how to get published, how to maintain a creative practice after college.
Of course, this event would not be possible without a lot of support. Career Exploration and Alumni Engagement both helped finance this event, as well as the ever-bountiful Crichett Fund. Professor Penelope Geng advised EHS all year and helped ensure that all our Apps & Alums dreams came true.
Most importantly, we had the aid and guidance of department coordinator Jan Beebe. The only reason this event continues to happen every year is because of her wisdom and effort. No one knows the department like her, knows how to plan like her or is determined like her. She also took all the photos you see here. We know she’ll read this piece, so thank you, Jan.
We’ve completed our 10th annual Apps & Alums! Here’s to another 10! If you’re an alum or current student who didn’t make it to this year’s event but has made it this far in this article, consider this your formal invitation to attend our event next year. We always want to see more faces — new and old — at all our English events, and we missed you at this one. See you next year.