Tag Archive for: alumni

Alumni Awards SOU Ashland

SOU alumni receive awards for their work and service

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(Ashland, Ore.) — A Colorado State University professor who is helping develop the Periodic Table of Food; the founder and executive director of a nonprofit that protects Siskiyou backcountry trails; a former La Clinica CFO and current equity policy strategist with the Oregon Health Authority; and the CEO of a Beaverton-based computer software company and his wife, the president of a property investment and management firm, have been recognized as this year’s Southern Oregon University alumni award winners.

The award recipients who were chosen by the SOU Alumni Association Board of Directors are Matt and Ella Essieh for the Distinguished Alumni Award; Jessica Prenni, Ph.D., for the Alumni Excellence in Education Award; Angelica Ruppe for the Stan Smith Alumni Service Award; and Gabe Howe for the Outstanding Young Alumni Award.

The five SOU alumni will be presented their awards at an 11:30 a.m. luncheon on Thursday, Oct. 10, in the Stevenson Union’s Rogue River Room. The event is part of this year’s homecoming celebration.

Essieh
The Distinguished Alumni Award is presented annually by the university and the SOU Alumni Association to recognize someone whose personal and professional achievements have significantly benefited humankind and brought distinction to the university. This year’s honorees are Emmanuella Essieh, who earned her bachelor’s degree at SOU in 1982, and her husband Matt Essieh, who earned his bachelor’s degree in 1982 and his Master’s in Business Administration in 1983. Emmanuella is cofounder and president of KMJ Asset Management in Portland, a residential property investment and management firm. Matt is the CEO of Beaverton’s EAI Information Systems, a financial services company that helps banks, brokers and insurance companies track and manage their investments. The couple’s professional success is balanced by their personal commitment to support youth from Sampa, Ghana, through their nonprofit foundation. They also work to assist students in Ghana and Nigeria to obtain a university education in Africa or the U.S.

Prenni
The Alumni Excellence in Education Award recognizes career achievement in education, service to community and commitment to SOU. This year’s winner of the award, Jessica Prenni, received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from SOU in 1998 and her Ph.D. in analytical chemistry in 2002 from the University of Colorado-Boulder. She is a professor in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Colorado State University, where her research focuses on using mass spectrometry to address issues in food and crop safety, and to answer questions about the environmental factors that impact food composition. She is part of a global initiative to develop the Periodic Table of Food, a reference database on the composition and function of the most important foods worldwide.

Ruppe
The Stan Smith Alumni Service Award recognizes alumni who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to the community and service to people. The award this year goes to Angelica Ruppe, who received her master’s degree at SOU in 1986. Angelica attended SOU in the 1980s as part of the Amistad student exchange program after earned her bachelor’s degree at the Universidad de Guanajuato in Mexico. She landed a position after graduating from SOU as the chief financial officer of La Clinica, a nonprofit health care provider in southern Oregon. She left the organization in 2017 and spent two years in Tanzania, working with women and children who were at-risk or living with disabilities. She is currently an equity policy strategist with the Oregon Health Authority, assuring healthcare access to those in need.

Howe
The Distinguished Young Alumni Award is presented to a recent university graduate who has demonstrated distinction in career, civic involvement or both. This year’s recipient of the award is Gabriel Howe, who received his bachelor’s degree in English at SOU in 2012. Gabe is founder and executive director of Siskiyou Mountain Club, a nonprofit organization that grew out of his capstone project at SOU. The organization seeks to restore, maintain and promote primitive trails in the Siskiyou backcountry. Gabe and the organization’s volunteers have restored 250 miles of trails and managed another 400 miles since 2010. He is committed to keeping trails from disappearing from the remote corners of southwest Oregon and northwest California.

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Kelly Taylor, a volunteer with Court Appointed Special Advocates

SOU alumni working as Court Appointed Special Advocates

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Several SOU alumni are volunteering this year as Court Appointed Special Advocates – a national organization that provides volunteer support and aid for children that have experienced abuse or neglect, and are struggling within the court system. The Jackson County division of CASA has welcomed many past and present SOU students as volunteers in recent years.

Kelly Taylor got his master of arts in teaching degree at SOU in 2006, and began teaching kindergarten shortly after. He had contact with CASA volunteers as part of that job, and eventually began volunteering himself, alongside his wife.

He currently works with two children, whom he visits at least once a month – developing personal relationships with them and their families, and offering a friendly figure to connect with. After spending time with the children, he writes court reports on their cases to help a judge make decisions for the children in a court of law.

“I got involved with CASA because I fervently believe that it takes every one of us to somehow do our part to make the Rogue Valley the best place it can be,” Kelly said, recounting why he decided to join CASA.

He enjoyed being able to get involved in the community, and the volunteer work has been very fulfilling. In general, he encourages help in the community in many different ways. CASA has been a great way for him to give back, along with activities such as nature maintenance crews, feeding the less fortunate and donating to charities.

Another SOU alum making strides with CASA is Alicia Linton Ambrocio, who majored in criminal justice with a minor in psychology at SOU. She started as an intern for CASA during her senior year of college, became a full-fledged volunteer shortly after and has now moved up to the position of case supervisor for the organization.

Alicia became inspired to work for CASA through her studies of the justice system, and realizing the potential for prejudice against people of color and other minority groups.

“Working for CASA is honestly some of the most rewarding work I have ever done,” she said. “Working with the families, putting a face to these court cases, and amplifying the children’s voices is so important, real differences can be made (in) the process.”

Alicia has found that the work done for CASA-supported children and families can have a long-lasting result on the community as a whole.

There are at least 10 current or former SOU students involved with CASA in Jackson County. The program provides its volunteers the opportunity to support children in need and foster a better overall environment for them and the communities in which they live. More information for those interested in getting involved with CASA and making a difference in children’s lives is available at this link.

Story by Nash Bennett, SOU Marketing and Communications student writer

Distinguished alumni to be recognized at SOU commencement event

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NEWS RELEASE (available online at https://goo.gl/Bm1oLu)

(Ashland, Ore.) — Nearly 40,000 graduates have earned degrees at Southern Oregon University since its founding in 1872, and four of them will be singled out as part of Saturday’s 2017 commencement activities for the merit they have brought to SOU.

This year’s SOU alumni award recipients are Victoria Kelly, for Distinguished Alumni; Ryan Wines, for Distinguished Young Alumni; James Van Delden, M.D., for Distinguished Service; and Kathleen Thomas, for Excellence in Education. The awards will be presented at the Pre-Commencement Alumni Breakfast on Saturday morning.
Kelly, who earned her SOU bachelor’s degree in social science and human services in 2005, experienced a parent’s worst nightmare when her 17-year-old son disappeared in January 1999, and his body was discovered 18 months later. She turned her grief into advocacy and education, cofounding the Tommy Foundation, serving as a member of the Southern Oregon Child Abduction Response Team and acting as a senior consultant for Team Hope/National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Her efforts have helped extend support to more than 14,000 families.
Wines, a 2001 marketing graduate at SOU, is the founder and CEO of Marmoset, a boutique music agency in Portland. He and his team craft original music for film, advertising and television, and curate rare, vintage and emerging artists for music licensing. Wines first recognized his passion for music as a radio DJ at SOU, and has since has pursued creative work while also advising record labels and artists including Beat the World Records, The Dandy Warhols, Dolorean and The Dimes.
Van Delden, who emigrated with his family from the Netherlands to Grants Pass in 1961, became a U.S. citizen while attending SOU and received his bachelor’s degree in biology in 1970. He attended medical school at Creighton University in Nebraska and joined the U.S. Army in 1971. After retiring from active duty in 1971, he joined the Army National Guard and the Indian Health Service as a civilian.
He has delivered babies in war-torn nations, cared for children on Native American reservations of the Great Plains, and served on medical missions in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Van Delden retired from the Army in 2001 at the the rank of brigadier general, and he continues to volunteer with veterans’ organizations and the Omaha Nation tribal clinic in Nebraska.
Thomas entered SOU as a non-traditional student – holding off on her higher education until her youngest child entered elementary school – then earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2004 and her master’s degree in teaching in 2008. Her path toward teaching began with an active role in her children’s education, regularly volunteering in programs including German kindergarten; international schools in Belgium, Holland, and Norway; British primary school; parochial school; and public schools in Florida and Oregon.
She discovered a passion for chemistry while at SOU, and has taught at North Medford High School for the past eight years and served as science department head for the past four years.
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About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power. It is the first university in the nation to balance 100 percent of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.