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Jim Spizzo ’74
was recently awarded first place and a cash prize in the architecture category in the 2021 juried exhibit sponsored by the Midwest Center for Photography in Wichita, Kansas, for his photo “Infinity: The Way Out.” Jim has also received honorable mentions by juries for his photography in the annual Minimalist Photography Awards, as well as in other exhibits at the Midwest Center for Photography. In the past few years, Jim’s photos have been selected by juries for inclusion in a dozen exhibits in Chicago; Wichita; Scottsdale, Arizona; and online. He was invited to do a show at the Pharmacy Gallery in Springfield as a guest artist in September.
In Memoriam
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Conrad Damsgaard ’57
was a dedicated, active alumnus who had a vision for raising the profile of the institution. He and his late wife, Patricia Carlson Damsgaard ’53, remained active supporters of the College throughout their lives. Over the years, Conrad Damsgaard served on the Board of Trustees and as president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. In 1987, he was honored with a distinguished service award “for his devotion to Illinois College as evidenced by thoughtful alumni involvement.” The Damsgaards’ philanthropy made them members of the Julian Monson Sturtevant Society and the Illinois College Society.
As a student, Damsgaard was elected student body president and was an active member and leader in Phi Alpha. He was also a member of Alpha Phi Omega, economics club, the Hilltoppers dramatic organization, student forum, social committee and intersociety board.
He was first sergeant of the Army Reserve unit on campus and served in the Army from 1954 to 1956. He started his career in sales with Shell Oil Company and went on to have a long career in sales and marketing management at Shell, Swank Motion Pictures and Psychological Associates.
The Damsgaards had three daughters, Susan Damsgaard-Brand ’81, Kristine Damsgaard and Beth Damsgaard Rodriguez. Susan and their granddaughter, Rachel Brand ’18, carried on the family’s legacy as IC alumni. He was 88 when he died March 23, 2022.
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Lanie Cooper Kepler ’12, Brady Kepler ’12 and Bailey Cooper ’18
founded the KASE Project. It is a central Illinois non-profit dedicated to supporting the autism community. They installed a playground communication board at Southwind Park in Springfield for children with limited verbal speech to enjoy the park with their peers.
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Dakota Stevens ’21
started a new position as a manager at Anheuser-Busch Inbev.
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Joe Mendala ’21,
a staff member in Illinois College’s IT department, won a MODO 2022 Appademy Award for “Best Student-Driven” App under the category of “Best App for Design and Experience.” The annual competition recognizes universities and colleges for outstanding app development in innovation, design, UX and student engagement.
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Jasaun King ’21
started a new role as a public relations information officer at Orange County Convention Center.
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Tim Blackwell ’21
started a new position as admission services specialist at Knox College.
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Maggie Dooley ’21
started a new position as a LTL pricing analyst at TA Services.
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Mary Appleton ’21
was accepted to join the Our Girls, Our Future (OGOF) 2023 fellowship program. She will have the opportunity to connect with and empower fellow Black women in STEM.
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Isaiah Smith ’20
has accepted a position with the North Dakota Farmers Union as a legislative specialist.
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Dominic Caldieraro ’20
started a new position as an accountant at Caterpillar.
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Lauren Estes Roesch ’19
started a new position as business unit manager at Mercy Health Wisconsin and Illinois.
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Noah Yantis ’18
started a new position as the executive director of the Congressional Western Caucus. He is looking forward to growing the caucus in order to keep advocating for rural and western ways of life.
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Sean Kisch ’18
began a new position as resident physician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
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Matthew Murphy ’16
is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was also named the recipient of the Illinois Corn Marketing Growers Fellowship. Finally, his publication, an assessment of two statistical approaches for variance genome-wide association studies in plants, has been selected as Editor's Choice in Heredity.
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Dan Lewis ’16
was promoted to director of legislative affairs at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
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Karina Espinosa ’16
was promoted to senior program analyst at General Dynamics Information Technology.
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Lauren Elliott ’15
started a new position as a system analyst at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
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James Dambacher ’15
was appointed the new head football coach at New Berlin.
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Robert Brown ’15
started a new position as manager for audience acquisition at Forrester.
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Rudolph Porter ’14
graduated from Mitchell Hamline School of Law and was successfully admitted to the Bar of Minnesota.
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Chandler X Polyte ’14
started a new position as senior manager for health plan PBM underwriting and pricing strategy at CVS Health.
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Josephine Oshiafi ’14,
after completing the Nigerian Law School program, has been admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. She has also joined the well-respected and award-winning firm of Banwo & Ighodalo as an associate in the corporate, securities and finance group.