Warriors Return to Campus for Fun and Inspiring Homecoming Events
The annual Alumni Awards Celebration Brunch during Homecoming in October honored Alumnus of the Year Rob Ring 鈥90, Alumnae of the Year, sisters Alexis Bennett Otterlei 鈥05 and Leah Pillsbury Otterlei 鈥00, Young Alumnus of the Year Spencer Dusebout 鈥15 and Global Service Award winner Lindsey Connolly 鈥08.
Ring serves as CEO of London-based Kaerus Bioscience, which explores treatments for patients with rare genetic syndromes causing intellectual disability, autism and epilepsy. He earned a doctorate in molecular neurobiology at the Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences. 鈥淚鈥檝e carried this Warrior mentality my whole life,鈥 Ring said at the brunch. He also spoke in chapel October 17, where the college announced that alums had donated $5,507,565 in the past year.
Bennett and Pillsbury founded Orka Health and Wellness, providing compassionate, client-centered care through teletherapy and support services by a team that includes licensed therapists, a registered dietitian, a clinical nutrition coach, a psychologist, a parent coach and a spiritual coach. Both sisters are Licensed Independent Clinical Social Workers who have earned a Master of Social Work.
Dusebout co-founded Hands4Others (H4O) when he was 16, bringing clean water to more than 250,000 people in 17 countries. He鈥檚 built and advised a number of Software as a Service (SaaS) companies that span business intelligence, automation and machine learning.
Connolly co-founded the non-profit Destined for Grace 17 years ago to educate and improve the lives of children in Haiti. Through donations and funds raised at their Goleta thrift stores, the non-profit has established a school and garden in Mirebalais that feeds and teaches the children. She serves as interim head coach for the track and field team during Russell Smelley鈥檚 sabbatical.
The 14th annual 糖心原创 Golf Classic, known for many years as Will鈥檚 Tourney in memory of alumnus Will Wiersma 鈥06, raised $44,000 for student scholarships. Under sunny skies with temperatures in the 80s, about 30 foursomes of golfers teed off at Santa Barbara鈥檚 Glen Annie Golf Club.
Later that evening, alums packed into the newly renovated Deane Chapel for a concert with accomplished musicians Jon Hughes 鈥94 and Roy Schenkenger 鈥00, who presented a special acoustic performance.
The college also honored four members of the first varsity women鈥檚 team: the 1973 volleyball squad. Shelley Bourland Ekstrom 鈥77, Jayne Presnell 鈥78, Cindy Vanderdussen Hardeman 鈥78 and Kathy Perkins McGuigan 鈥77 received Trailblazer Medals before the Friday night volleyball game to honor their pioneering efforts.
Saturday afternoon, more than 200 alums and their families enjoyed a free lunch and Rori鈥檚 Ice cream
outside Murchison Gym at the All-Alumni Tailgate, which included a climbing wall and fun carnival games. Women鈥檚 soccer netted two goals in the second half to give them a thrilling 2-1 victory over Biola in front of a large Homecoming crowd at Thorrington Field.
Dan, Andy 鈥05 and Joel Patterson, the sons of Ben Patterson, former campus pastor, presented an 18-minute short documentary, 鈥淎ll Things Metal,鈥 featured in Rolling Stone magazine, the Tribeca Film Festival and the Santa Barbara Film Festival. It highlights a family of metal workers performing heavy metal music as a coping mechanism for Tourette鈥檚 syndrome.
In a talk for alums, Amanda Sparkman 鈥03, professor of biology, and two wildlife conservation experts discussed Colossal Biosciences鈥 work to bring back extinct animals.
President Gayle D. Beebe and Provost Kim Denu spoke at the Fletcher Jones Foundation Center for Engineering to celebrate engineering鈥檚 recent ABET accreditation (see page 12).
Alums enjoyed gathering at the Biltmore Wall above Butterfly Beach for a fun event featuring a glorious Santa Barbara sunset.