Eight members of Albion College’s entering Class of 2020 who attended Albion Public Schools will receive four years of tuition, room and board in exchange for work and service in the community that will become increasingly tied to their career interests. “We have big dreams for our town and we have big dreams for our college,” President Mauri Ditzler said to the group during the April 26 announcement event. “And you’re going to be a part of that.”
During her first year on campus, Albion College’s impressive string of Fulbright recipients inspired Natalie Anderson, ’16, to pursue her own award. And now, Anderson is joining that list with the recent announcement of her Fulbright U.S. Student Award for 2016-17. “Honestly, I cried with happiness when I found out,” said Anderson, who will spend nine months in Mexico as an English instructor. “I have wanted this award for three years, and for it to finally be a reality was overwhelming.”
Extraordinary accomplishments by extraordinary individuals—and a reminder that supporters are important, too—were a big part of Albion College’s 27th Elkin R. Isaac Student Research Symposium, held April 20-21. Former NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous (left) and humanitarian and social entrepreneur Mallory Brown, ’08, brought compelling personal stories to the Joseph S. Calvaruso Keynote and Isaac Alumni Lecture, respectively. In between those talks, more than 130 Albion students presented their research, scholarship and creative activity.
Marilyn Snodgrass lived a life of quiet determination as an elementary school teacher, traveler and lover of genealogy. But her gift to Albion College has shown that even those who live unobtrusively can indeed make the biggest impact.
Rebekah Snyder, ’14, was recognized by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin as one of four 2016 state honorees during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week for her advocacy work. Snyder was commended for her efforts with Day One, a 24-hour help line offering confidential support, information and advocacy services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.
A project that was months in the making came together April 5-6 on campus as a celebration of Canada, Canadians and the intricate, sometimes complicated, relationship America has with its northern neighbors.
Piggybacking on a Michigan Works! career fair, Albion citizens gathered in Washington Gardner School for a public announcement of the City/College recent AmeriCorps VISTA grant. This summer, 11 VISTA members will arrive in Albion to work with City and College departments to boost economic development, education and health initiatives in 2016-17.
Dr. Robert H. Bartlett, ’60, professor emeritus of surgery at the University of Michigan and whose groundbreaking surgical treatment has saved the lives of thousands of babies over the years, returns to campus Saturday, May 7 to deliver the Commencement address to Albion College’s Class of 2016 from the steps of Kresge Gymnasium on the College Quadrangle. The ceremony begins at 1 p.m, with the Processional starting at 12:45 p.m.
Mona Hanna-Attisha, a Flint pediatrician, never thought her job would entail convincing parents and their kids that the water they drink won’t kill them. “Parents tell me they turn on the water and their kids cry. Kids now fear water,” said Dr. Hanna-Attisha, the guest speaker Wednesday night for Albion College’s Anna Howard Shaw Lecture inside Towsley Lecture Hall. Speaking out, and educating, has become the new normal for Hanna-Attisha, who for nearly a year has been at the center of the Flint water crisis.
Albion College and the City of Albion will get a national boost for local community building when 11 full-time AmeriCorps VISTA service members arrive this summer. A public presentation of this award is scheduled for Tuesday, April 5, at 4:30 p.m. at Washington Gardner School, 401 E. Michigan Ave., in conjunction with a Michigan Works-sponsored career and internship fair.
