Candidates for Alumni Council

 

Becky Hoyt '99, Aurora, Ohio, majored in anthropology, graduating cum laude. At Kenyon, Becky was involved in music, student government, and the social board. She played in the Knox County Symphony and the concert band and received both the Department of Music Prize and the David B. Perry Community Service Prize at Honors Day during her senior year. Becky was a member of her class committee all four years and served as a resident advisor and the treasurer of the social board. During her senior year, Becky was a senior interviewer and a member ofthe academic infractions board.

After graduation, Becky became a management trainee with Universal Screen Arts before becoming a college counselor for the Perry school system. Becky received her master of education in school counseling from Kent State University in 2005 and is now employed by McMaster-Carr in Aurora, Ohio.

Becky has been an active volunteer for Kenyon. She is a class agent and served on her class reunion planning committee. She is active in the Cleveland Regional
Association and served as regional president and as a member of the Cleveland steering committee. She is a volunteer for Kenyon's Career Development Office and has served as an admissions volunteer for ten years. Becky received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2004 in honor of her service to the College.

 

Colette (Coco) Pichon Battle '97, Slidell, Louisiana, majored in international studies and studied at the School for International Training in Morocco during her junior year. At Kenyon, she was the co-founder of Nu Iota Alpha sorority, a member of the Black Student Union, and a volleyball player. Coco served as senior class president and was awarded the Doris B. Crozier Cup and the Anderson Cup. Since graduation, Coco has served the College as a member of her class reunion committee and she has advised students interested in working in law and the not-for-profit sector. She was the recipient of the Alumni Humanitarian Award in 2006. After Kenyon, Coco lived in Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow. She earned her law degree from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2002. During law school, Coco began working on asylum and refugee cases for African immigrants facing persecution. Soon after graduation, she moved to Florida to work with trafficked female immigrants from Eastern Europe and refugees from Haiti. Coco joined a firm providing immigration legal representation to one of the world's largest Internet companies, and went on to direct entrepreneurial programs for minority and immigrant women in Baltimore.

In 2005, Coco returned to Louisiana to help rebuild her childhood home, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. She co-founded Moving Forward Gulf Coast, Inc., to help the recovery of the region's communities of color. Coco worked with Oxfam America on low-wage worker rights and multiracial alliance-building and also directed the Gulf Coast Fellowship for Community Transformation for Jewish Funds for Justice and the Rockefeller Philanthropic Foundation around issues of equitable rebuilding, leadership development, and climate justice. In 2007, she received recognition from the American Bar Association and, in 2008, was awarded the U.S. Civilian Medal of Honor for her work in the Katrina recovery. Coco currently serves as director of the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy. She is married to Trupania Bonner, a documentary filmmaker from New Orleans.

 

Jack Killen '71, Bethesda, Maryland, majored in biology and graduated Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude with high honors. Jack was a member of the Peeps O'Kenyon and was involved with the Kenyon Environmental Committee. He attended medical school at Tufts University in Boston and completed his internship and residency at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. Jack is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology and is licensed by the National Board of Medical Examiners. Jack has stayed involved with Kenyon by providing internships to Kenyon students and mentoring alumni interested in careers in medicine and research.

Jack has been employed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for thirty-two years, with a career focus on the science and ethics of interdisciplinary clinical research. At present he is deputy director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. From 1987-2001, he was deputy director and then director of the division of AIDS in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). He oversaw the establishment of many of the major HIV/AIDS research programs of the NIH and played a central role in programs of community and activist engagement in the national AIDS research enterprise. He has also served as associate director for research ethics at NIAID and as a program officer in the investigational drug development and clinical trials program of the National Cancer Institute. He has received multiple awards, including the NIH Merit Award, the NIH Director's Award, the U.S. Public Health Service Special Recognition Award, the PHS Superior Service Award, and the Senior Executive Service Meritorious Executive Rank Award. Jack will retire from NIH in 2013 and plans to pursue his interest in the science of emotional intelligence and human personality and the application of personal awareness in self-actualization, organizational development, and conflict resolution. He is excited about the opportunity to give back to Kenyon.

 

Laura Paul '11, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, graduated with a double major in economics and French and a minor in statistics. During her junior year, Laura studied abroad in Bamako, Mali, where she did an independent study in sustainable development. Laura is currently in the final semester of a master's program in economics at Duke University, where she works as a research assistant for several faculty members in the Sanford School of Public Policy.

At Kenyon, Laura was a campus tour guide, BFEC field trip leader, and residential life community advisor. She also played in the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, worked as a French apprentice teacher, and was a member of Canterbury. Laura's honors and awards at Kenyon include Pi Mu Epsilon National Math Honors Society, Campus Safety and Gold Key Awards, Campus Leader Award, Dean's Merit List, and Distinguished Scholar Award. Laura served one year on Alumni Council as the young alumni representative, elected by her senior class. She has also taken the lead in revitalizing Kenyon's regional association in North Carolina, where she now serves as regional president.

 

Rhoda A Raji '02, Houston, Texas, graduated with a major in English and a concentration in neuroscience. Rhoda was involved in athletics, student leadership, music, and peer advising. Her activities included the Black Student Union, NIA (sorority), and the Archon Society. She played varsity volleyball and women's rugby; served on Student Council and the judicial board; was a resident advisor, discrimination advisor, and upperclass counselor; and sang in the Cornerstones and the Gospel Choir. Rhoda also served on the multicultural admissions committee and worked as a tour guide and student host. Rhoda received a number of awards during her time at Kenyon, including the Anderson Cup.

After Kenyon, Rhoda worked as a youth education coordinator for a year before attending Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. She completed residencies at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia and Yale-New Haven Hospital. Rhoda is now a surgical critical care fellow at the University of Texas Health Science Center.

Rhoda has stayed involved with Kenyon through volunteer work. She returned to campus for the Black Student Union reunion and served on an alumni panel during the NIA anniversary. She interviews prospective students for the Admissions Office and has represented Kenyon at college fairs in the Houston area. Rhoda's sister, Elizabeth Raji, is a member of the Kenyon Class of 2004.

 

Chris Van Nostrand '02, Evanston, Illinois, graduated cum laude from Kenyon with distinction in political science. During his time on the Hill, Chris was involved in student leadership, serving on Student Council, the academic affairs committee, and as the chair of the student lectureships committee. He served as the student representative on several faculty search committees in political science and English. Chris wrote for the Collegian and was its arts and entertainment editor. Chris was a member of Pi Sigma Alpha national honor society for political science and received the David Baker Prize for best historical writing.

Chris received his MBA in marketing and organizational management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He is the associate director of admissions at Kellogg and is a senior officer within the full-time MBA program. His responsibilities include global recruitment, marketing strategy, and application evaluation. He also manages the dual degree JD-MBA program with the Northwestern School of Law. Chris is a loyal volunteer for Kenyon, helping to recruit students and perform admissions interviews. He has served as class agent and reunion co-chair for his fifth reunion committee. He received the Burton Award for helping to increase his class gift. Chris lives with his wife Sarah May Van Nostrand '03.

Candidates for Alumni Trustee

 

Andy Hull '85, Highland Park, I llinois, majored in biology and was a member of the NCAA champion Kenyon Lords swimming and diving team. He earned All-American honors in swimming, was a tri-captain of the team during his senior year, and received the Stephen E. Bennett Memorial Award. Andy has served the College in a number of volunteer capacities. He is a member of Kenyon's Fifty under Fifty, establishing an endowed scholarship for students with financial need. He is also a Kenyon presidential fellow and serves as a career mentor for students and recent graduates. He remains active with Kenyon's swimming program, attending many national championships. Upon graduation, Andy joined the pharmaceutical products division of Abbott Laboratories, where he held positions in training, sales, and marketing, rising to business unit director. He then held leadership positions at Immunex until he joined Takeda Pharmaceuticals
North America in 2002. Andy currently serves as vice president, global alliance management, and is responsible for establishing Takeda's U.S. business development function as well as the global alliance management function. Andy and his wife Beth reside in Highland Park.

 

Geri Coleman Tucker '74, Springfield, Virginia, majored in psychology at Kenyon and is a member of the second class of women to graduate from the College. At Kenyon, Geri was active in the Black Student Union and the Kenyon College Chamber Singers. She has completed postgraduate work in creative writing and English at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Geri began her career as a government and social services reporter at the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal and was a copy editor at the Detroit Free Press. She is now deputy managing editor for the Money section of USA Today. She has held a number of editing roles at USA Today over the past twenty years and was a managing editor overseeing coverage of Congress and federal agencies for Gannett News Service.

Geri has been an active volunteer for the College, serving as an extern sponsor, an admissions volunteer, and a reunion planning committee member for her class. She has also returned to campus to talk to students about postgraduate life and careers. Geri lives with her husband, writer and media consultant Michael Tucker.