The �������ý��Ƶ Foundation

As an Appleton native, Anderson had no desire to remain in her hometown when she was searching for colleges. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for one year, but she said her experience made her realize she was a “liberal arts person.”

“Being at a state school, it was too big. I was so lost,” Anderson said. “I applied to transfer to �������ý��Ƶ because I kind of saw the silver lining. During Orientation Week, I just knew this is the right environment for me. I’m so glad that I transferred because who knows where I would be now.”

While at UW-Madison, Anderson received her first taste of archival work while working at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research. This initial passion made art history a natural choice when deciding what to study at �������ý��Ƶ. 

 With the help of mentors like her advisor Elizabeth Carlson, associate professor of art history, and Beth Zinsli, adjunct associate professor of art, Anderson quickly found her footing. 

“I was shocked at how many opportunities I had once I said I wanted to be an art history major,” Anderson said.

Carlson and Zinsli were also indispensable when helping her prepare for her future. Carlson held her students to a very high standard—even editing all of Anderson’s graduate school application essays—but also gave her the freedom to “flop around.”

“You’re always open to criticism. You need to have humility, and you need to understand you’re going to flop sometimes, and that’s okay,” Anderson said. “Elizabeth gave me that freedom; that’s what college is for.” 

Meanwhile, Zinsli taught Anderson about interviewing as a skill. After “bombing” a handful of fellowship interviews following graduation, Anderson quickly learned how to showcase herself and her work. 

The Unexpected Pivot: From PhD Track to Driehaus

Anderson received her Master’s in History of Art and Architecture at the University of Oregon Graduate School. The high standards expected of her by Carlson had more than prepared her for the level of work at the graduate level. 

Her first plan, Anderson said, was to enter a PhD program and teach at a small liberal arts college, becoming “the Elizabeth Carlson of whatever small-town college” she could get into. She relocated to Chicago, living with friends, working for a temp service, and applying for PhD programs.

But it didn’t happen for her. 

At that time, Anderson was also volunteering at The Richard H. Driehaus Museum when a part-time curatorial position opened up. She applied and got the job. 

“I felt like this was the greatest job in the entire world,” Anderson said. “I got to work on really cool exhibitions. My academic interest was in late 19th-century, early 20th-century decorative arts. I wrote my master’s thesis on pianos specific to artists in the late 19th century, so transitioning to a Gilded Age mansion was very natural.”

However, in 2020, Anderson’s journey took another turn when she was laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I thought I was done in the museum industry,” Anderson said. 

Taking Flight: A Career Reset at EAA

Despite another detour, Anderson persisted in searching for a place to land. In 2022, she applied for a role at EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) in Oshkosh, WI. Anderson said it was like a career reset. 

“I was like, okay, you’re going to be working in the aviation publication industry,” Anderson said. “I don’t know anything about airplanes. But what do I have to lose?”

Anderson’s first role at EAA as the Publications Production Coordinator was much more focused on writing, proofreading, and organizing authors and contributors. It wasn’t quite the focus she wanted to continue long term. However, a curator position opened up in 2023. 

At first, her limited but growing knowledge of airplanes kept Anderson from applying, but after helping out with the collection, she decided to make the leap. She applied for the role and was offered the position, becoming the first woman curator of the EAA Aviation Museum. 

“I’m really proud of the work I did there,” Anderson said. 

Investing in Community and Women’s Art

Aviation was not her longtime calling, however. Anderson accepted a role as Curator of Women’s Art at the Muskegon Museum of Art and started in the summer of 2025. Her previous work in public history at the EAA Museum gave her a fresh perspective on her new role within an art museum. 

Anderson was also hired as the director of the Bennett Prize, a program funded by Steve Bennett and Elaine Melotti Schmidt, two art collectors who had a dream to support women figurative realist painters. The program is run through the Muskegon Museum of Art and provides a $50,000 prize to the winner, while all finalists gain exposure as part of a traveling exhibition. 

Anderson now has a direct hand in supporting women painters’ careers. 

“Women are historically underrepresented, and while it’s getting better, it’s also not there yet,” Anderson said. “We all need to lift each other up and really support each other.” 

Anderson’s role curator, she said, isn’t just playing with art or hanging up paintings. It’s also about curating relationships and trust with her community, especially within a small city like Muskegon. She is entrusted with the city’s history and culture. 

She also learned to never judge a book by its cover when it comes to art and art collectors. She recalled a time when she visited a potential donor in a very unassuming suburb of Detroit. However, his collection amazed her. 

“Cultivating those donor relationships and making them feel like their collection is going to be taken care of is also in our skill sets,” Anderson said. “There’s a lot of development skills that go into being a curator.” 

And those skills can also be used close to home. Although the Midwest may not seem like the perfect place to pursue a career in art history or museum studies, Anderson said she intentionally searched for opportunities to support her local communities. 

Making museums and their collections, especially in a local context, drives Anderson in her work. The Muskegon Museum of Art may be unassuming, but they have made their mark by supporting local artists, supporting women artists, and curating a collection beyond anyone’s expectations. 

“I never thought I’d work at a museum that had a (Artemisia) Gentileschi, and I didn’t have to leave the Midwest to do that,” Anderson said. “This is the local community’s collection; it was meant to feed the community.”

Now Anderson is a part of that important work in her community. Sometimes it meant cold emailing potential employers, taking internships, or accepting jobs outside the scope of her work, but every step led her to where she is today. 

“You’re going to detour every now and again, and that’s natural,” Anderson said. “Don’t discount yourself but keep an open mind. Even if you’re in a job you don’t 100% love, have the attitude of ‘this is going to get me where I need to go.’ Every experience is useful, so try to utilize it to the best of your ability.”

Anderson encourages all �������ý��Ƶ alumni who are women figurative realist painters to apply for The Bennett Prize Cycle 5 by visiting thebennettprize.org. The call for entries will be officially announced in Spring 2026.

The Rising Voices traveling exhibition, which consists of the Bennett Prize Cycle 4 finalists and the solo show of the Bennett Prize Cycle 3 winner, Shiqing Deng, The Cost of Life, are currently on the road. Visit thebennettprize.org for a full schedule. 

Before the major awards, the influential publications, and the Columbia tenure, Lerdahl began his musical journey in the Conservatory that is now celebrating a century and a half of brilliance.

Raised in Madison, Wisconsin, Lerdahl played both piano and oboe throughout high school. Though academically inclined, he came to music relatively late and felt compelled to catch up. That urgency led him to seek out conservatory training to deeply foster his skills.

“I realized I needed to completely immerse myself in music,” he said. “I was already pretty well read and good at school—�������ý��Ƶ sounded ideal because it had strong academics alongside a school of music.”

The decision proved pivotal. Surrounded by musicians for the first time, Lerdahl found the intensity and totality of musical study exhilarating.

“It was just an absolute thrill to actually be studying music all day, every day,” he said. “I took all the required courses and enjoyed those too, but there was great excitement about studying music.”

Lerdahl quickly distinguished himself, testing into advanced placement for theory, beginning piano studies with Clyde Duncan and, most crucially, starting private composition lessons with James Ming.

“[Professor Ming] wanted to make me into a well-rounded musician,” Lerdahl explained. “He not only insisted I become a decent pianist, but had me study conducting, viola, French horn, and continue on oboe. He made sure I took two years of counterpoint—I’d say that was all excellent training.” 

Ming was honored by �������ý��Ƶ in 1982 after nearly four decades of teaching composition and music theory. He himself was taught by the esteemed pedagogue Nadia Boulanger, as well as luminaries like Darius Milhaud and Howard Hanson. 

“Ming would periodically go back to Fontainebleau, Paris, to study further with Boulanger—he was very much a Francophile, so he demanded good craftsmanship, and he was very practical … he was a very fine musician and a very cultured one, and so those qualities were important in what I learned.”

Lerdahl recalled that among the joys of his undergraduate experience was the vibrant diversity of disciplines that surrounded him. He took philosophy and history courses, developed friendships with poets and non-musicians, and found another important mentor in William Chaney, the renowned historian.

Though widely known for his contributions to music theory, Lerdahl’s theoretical work didn’t emerge until later—driven not by academic ambition but by compositional necessity.

Following �������ý��Ƶ, Lerdahl underwent graduate study at Princeton. There he studied with the celebrated composer-theorist Milton Babbitt, known for his strict and systematic serialism in music composition.

“Babbitt was a positive and negative model at the same time,” Lerdahl said. “He was a model in his deeply thoughtful approach to music, but I couldn’t swallow the [serialist] system he built.”

Babbitt’s hyper-complex music, in Lerdahl’s view, exceeded the cognitive capacities of listeners. This aesthetic crisis pushed Lerdahl to seek a new theoretical foundation—one rooted in how people actually perceive and process music.

“I conceived of music theory as a branch of cognitive science,” he said. “Once I got into that, it became a real interest in its own right. But it always fed my composing: everything I did theoretically resurfaced in my music, and my needs as a composer often suggested what to do in theory.”

The most famous result of this approach is his Generative Theory of Tonal Music, co-authored with linguist Ray Jackendoff. Inspired by Noam Chomsky’s linguistics, the theory held that humans fundamentally respond to tonal music through intuitive and hierarchical structures—much like language. The model remains one of the most influential frameworks in the field.

“I think the field of music theory suffers from a lot of theorists who aren’t practicing musicians,” Lerdahl said. “It shows up in all kinds of ways, in various kinds of theories and the way they talk about it, the way they talk about music. So, I’m very much a believer in craftsmanship, practical skills.”

That practical grounding, Lerdahl said, traces directly back to his time at �������ý��Ƶ.

“One of the great things about being at �������ý��Ƶ was that I either conducted or played piano in everything I wrote,” he said. “In my senior year, I even conducted the orchestra in one of my own pieces, and my senior recital was half conducting, half piano playing. That kind of experience was invaluable—especially for someone like me, who hadn’t grown up studying music from an early age with the best teachers.”

While �������ý��Ƶ provided this intensive musical training, it also aided Lerdahl in developing his broader interests.

“There was a general intellectual climate that was stimulating to me, even outside of music,” he said. “In that sense I grew not just as a musician, but as a thinker.”

The late Fred Sturm, who was leading the jazz program at the time, became an advisor, guiding Ralls through some difficult days. He became Ralls’ biggest fan.

“I remember Fred in class one day saying to another student who didn’t get his work done, ‘What is the problem? Frank did it, and he’s got five kids,’ Ralls said with a laugh. “Then I’d spend the next two weeks avoiding that guy on campus.”

Sturm remained a mentor long after Ralls graduated, a relationship that continued until Sturm’s death in 2014. Conservatory professors Jose Encarnación, Catherine Kautsky, and Matthew Turner, and later Dean Brian Pertl, also provided inspiration and guidance that Ralls said continues to elevate his work to this day. 

“They literally blew my mind when I was studying with them,” Ralls said. “They just introduced me to so much that I never even knew was possible. And my ongoing collaborations with Dean Pertl have been so encouraging and formative. It’s all taught me the value of rolling your sleeves up and getting at it.” 

Building connections

Since graduating, Ralls has built a career centered on two areas of music-making—scoring music for film and TV and creating music for use by Disney, most notably in their massive theme parks all over the world. The former has included the likes of Jane Goodall: The Hope (Disney+) and Around the World in 80 Days (BBC/PBS), working as a contributing composer to the Emmy Award-winning Bleeding Fingers Music collective and Extreme Music, and partnering with such notable composers as Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg. And the latter has included creating music for Disney’s Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, Disneyland Hong Kong, Disneyland Tokyo, and Disney’s California Adventure, among others. ().

It’s a music career built on talent, a �������ý��Ƶ-inspired work ethic, and a relentless push to make connections. He has sustained relationships in the music industry in both Florida and southern California, where he and Tara, a talented visual artist, split their time.

“Every free moment I had was at a recording studio, meeting people, asking around,” Ralls said.

Through it all, he had Sturm’s voice in his head.

“He said, ‘Work whatever jobs you can. No matter where you are, always seek out the best talent around you and learn the conventions, master the conventions, because only then can you innovate’,” Ralls said. “That is where you begin to have a very unique value to people around you in your field.”

“They literally blew my mind when I was studying with them. They just introduced me to so much that I never even knew was possible.”
– Francis James Ralls ’04 on studying with Conservatory faculty

Working in Zimmer’s orbit led to a meeting with Russel Emanuel, the CEO of Bleeding Fingers Music and Extreme Music, the production arm of Sony Music Publishing. That meeting opened doors that led to everything from film and TV work to the composing of the final four movements of a symphony for Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing on the Sony Classical label. Similar hustle got him a seat at the table at Disney.

“You can get in the room, but what happens after that is really up to you,” Ralls said.

Paying it forward

That’s a message he now imparts to the young Lawrentians he mentors. He works in an unofficial capacity with two recent �������ý��Ƶ graduates, Nathan Glaser ’21 and Aaron Montreal ’22, and one current student, junior Joey O’Connor, subcontracting work to them and providing important guidance.

“It’s an opportunity for them to gain some experience, develop some skills, build a portfolio so you have a little street cred when you start entering into your own circles and living your own story,” Ralls said.

O’Connor, a music education and music performance major from Whitelaw, Wisconsin, composes tracks based on specs shared by Ralls. He calls the work a “boots-on-the-ground” experience.

“I send over tracks, and he will respond with feedback,” O’Connor said. “We keep going back and forth, tweaking until we have the product. It’s such a gift to be able to experience what industry-standard routine is, and having Frank there to expertly show me the ropes is something I will never be able to thank him for enough.”

Glaser, who graduated with a dual degree in music composition and economics, has made music under Ralls’ guidance for multiple Disney Parks projects and reality TV shows, including Fox’s MasterChef and NBC’s The Voice. Ralls leaves him detailed and helpful notes as he guides him through various elements of music creation.

“He’s given input on track revisions where his perspective shows me something I would’ve never thought to do on my own,” Glaser said. “Other times, he encourages me to figure things out myself and stretch outside my comfort zone.”

Montreal, meanwhile, has worked with Ralls in composing and producing for music libraries—catalogs that are marketed for use in film, television, advertising—and transcribing and arranging music for live performances.

“I’ve learned so much about creating different styles of music at a professional standard through the opportunities he’s given me,” Montreal said.

Ralls, who joined Tara in founding the Coronado Arts Academy in Coronado, California, in 2017 as an investment in youth, called it a privilege to provide career opportunities to young Lawrentians.

“It’s been a pleasure to see them grow, to see them step up, to see them reflect the same work ethic that I learned at �������ý��Ƶ,” he said. 

And in another nod to helping his alma mater, Ralls volunteered to write original music to be featured in a video celebrating the Conservatory. That video, to be produced by �������ý��Ƶ’s Office of Communications in collaboration with the Conservatory, is in progress.

“I am so pumped about that,” Ralls said. “I’m excited to see the video come to life.”

MacLean will return to his alma mater as part of the Nov. 1-2 , giving a presentation on his book at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 2 in Warch Campus Center Cinema.

MacLean excelled in law, working in a range of positions including as a magistrate judge in juvenile court, first assistant attorney general for the State of Colorado, and a position in the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C., where he was involved in enforcement on Wall Street. He also worked as general counsel of the Peace Corps in the Carter administration and served as special counsel to Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm.

It was after that lengthy law career that MacLean decided to pursue more creative endeavors, and he wrote his first book. In Broad Daylight, released in 1988,��is a narrative account of the 1981 vigilante killing of Ken Rex McElroy, the murder of a small town’s bully that went unsolved despite having been witnessed by more than 50 people.

“One of the things I studied was the impact of trauma on small towns,” MacLean said. “That’s one perspective I brought to this story.”

The book was a success, going on to win an Edgar Award for best true crime writing and charting on the New York Times bestseller list for 12 weeks. The book also inspired a film by the same name starring Brian Dennehy.

Established as a true crime author, MacLean went on to write six more books. His most recent, Starkweather, recounts the 1958 killing spree of 19-year-old Charles Starkweather and his 14-year-old companion, Caril Ann Fugate. MacLean describes Starkweather as the “first mass murderer of the modern age.”

MacLean grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, where seven of the 11 Starkweather murders took place, giving him special insight in writing an account of the story. The book delves into a side of the story that’s seldom been explored—the guilt or innocence of Fugate.

“Lincoln was always very biased against her,” MacLean said. “It didn’t really matter to me whether she was guilty or innocent, but the judgment was going to be made on facts, not biases or inferences.”

The book takes a look at the case from a modern lens and its impact on culture in the decades to follow. The Starkweather murders inspired books and movies, including Natural Born Killers and Badlands. It even inspired Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska.

At the time of the murders, the late 1950s, the evening news was becoming widespread for the first time across the United States, and the coverage of the killing spree held the country transfixed. There had been no broadcast stories before this one of random murders, and it created a new fear for the American public.

“Television hit just as Charlie hit,” MacLean said. “That changed the whole picture of homicide in this country.”

MacLean has extensive experience in law, which he takes into his work as an author, but his approach to writing true crime such as Starkweather is inspired by the idea of the nonfiction novel: accounts of real events through narrative storytelling.

“You have to put the reader in the car with Charlie and Caril on the killing spree,” MacLean said. “You want them to feel the ruts in the rough country road, see the fear in their victim’s faces. You can’t make up or infer facts, but, unlike a newspaper account, you can shape the story to fit your vision.”

MacLean puts heavy emphasis on writing according to the people who were there at the time, experiencing the traumatic events that took place. He says the first and most important thing he does in researching a new book is visit the town he’s writing about and talk to people.

“Every book I’ve written involves heavy legal issues,” MacLean said. “But research happens person-to-person. As a writer, you are entitled to ask anybody almost anything. A lot of doors open when you sit down and have a coffee with someone.”

Starkweather has been praised for looking at the case from a new perspective. Charles Starkweather was executed in June 1959. Fugate was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to prison. MacLean delves into Fugate’s involvement in the murders with more detail than previous media coverage has; he rejects the romantic Bonnie and Clyde comparison and reviews the case from a point of view that is both objective and familiar.

Starkweather was selected by the Washington Post as Best Nonfiction Book of 2023.

“That grimness is the paradoxical joy of reading MacLean,” writes Washington Post reviewer Carl Hoffman. “The raw chill creeping through your veins that feels authentic to the place and the crimes, the lean and vivid sentences rivaling Capote’s In Cold Blood and Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song.”

MacLean, who shares his work at harrymaclean.com, is currently involved in movie negotiations based on Starkweather, but he’s working on other endeavors as well. He is in the first stages of a YouTube project tentatively titled Confessions of a True Crime Writer, and he’s considering new writing work, including resurrecting a novel he wrote years ago.

An English and Spanish double major when he graduated from �������ý��Ƶ 30 years ago, Spofford is beginning his 19th season with the Packers as the NFL kicks off its 2024 campaign. He now serves as editor of packers.com, joining senior writer Wes Hodkiewicz as the “Insiders” for Packers fans around the world. From daily fan interaction columns, to podcasts, to live-blogging, to video insights, to locker room coverage, to social media, Spofford and his expansive multimedia team provide a year-round avalanche of coverage from their offices at Lambeau Field, located 30 miles north of the �������ý��Ƶ campus.

The evolution of the job into an interactive, multimedia experience—particularly over the past decade—reflects what media consumers now demand. Look for even heightened interest as the Jordan Love-led Packers show signs of being a Super Bowl contender once again and Green Bay prepares to host the NFL Draft in April 2025, bringing upwards of 250,000 football fans to northeast Wisconsin.

If you want to connect with someone in the know, Spofford is your guy. The interactive “Insider” columns can draw 30,000 views on a given day during the season. His gameday live blog reaches 5,000 or more fans, and the “5 Takeaways” recap he posts shortly after games routinely surpasses 50,000 views.

“They want to talk with somebody who is on the inside,” Spofford said of the insatiable interest in all things Packers. “They want to talk to somebody who is knowledgeable and can analyze the details. They want to have that extra connection to the team.”

From the start of training camp to the close of the season, the hours are unrelenting. Fun, yes. Easy, no.

When Spofford started in 2006, the Packers were just dipping their toes into what their internet presence might look like.

After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree at �������ý��Ƶ and a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University, Spofford spent eight years in newspapers, including five years covering mostly high school and college sports at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. He joined packers.com as the website’s first full-time writer.

As reflected everywhere in media, the digital demands and creative possibilities have since exploded. And it is there, Spofford said, in the navigating of an ever-changing landscape, that he reflects on lessons learned as an undergraduate at �������ý��Ƶ.

“First it was the writing,” he said. “As an English major, it was about learning how to write; learning how to think critically and get those thoughts on paper and communicate them effectively. There was a transition from taking those very hard-core academic writing skills I learned as an English major and transferring those into the journalism world—how to communicate with news stories and feature stories. It’s a different kind of writing, but sound writing principles apply universally. I felt like I became a good writer at �������ý��Ƶ and then refined those skills in the journalism world as I went along.”

The evolution of digital media—and the expectations of those who consume it—brought new challenges. The world of professional sports has been at the forefront of much of that change. Again, Spofford leaned into his �������ý��Ƶ experiences as he soaked up knowledge from mentors and embraced the frequent change.

“I feel the �������ý��Ƶ influence in that I am always aware of different perspectives,” he said. “I don’t want to write the same stories that everybody else is writing. I want to try to find a different angle. And I don’t want our daily interaction with our fans on the website to sound like a sports talk radio show. I want to provide different perspectives, different angles to give people—whether they are reading the mailbag column or listening to the podcast—different things to think about. I think that’s what a liberal arts education like �������ý��Ƶ has helped me with; I apply that every day in what I do.”

Both of Spofford’s parents are �������ý��Ƶ alumni—William Spofford ’66 and Sandra McDonald Spofford ’66.

�������ý��Ƶ, he said, felt right when he made his college visit. A native of Platteville, he played baseball and golf and studied abroad in Spain during his �������ý��Ƶ years. He worked at The Lawrentian for four years, the final two as the sports editor.

“Sports has always been my thing,” Spofford said. “I always had an eye toward sports journalism.”

His experiences at �������ý��Ƶ and then Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism set him up to tell stories as a respected “Insider” at the highest levels of professional sports. And, he hopes, to get a second Super Bowl ring. The fans he connects with each day are along for the ride.

“Once you open those doors and you establish that interaction with the fans and that relationship with the fans, there is no going back; you give them something new to come to every single day,” Spofford said. “It grows exponentially from there.”

“I thrived in �������ý��Ƶ’s small classes, thrived under the mentorship of my professors, expanded my ideas of what life could look like and what mattered to me.”
– Marjorie Liu ’00

“I thrived in �������ý��Ƶ’s small classes, thrived under the mentorship of my professors, expanded my ideas of what life could look like and what mattered to me,” Liu said.

The creative juices nurtured in that liberal arts environment beckoned as she hit a crossroads following law school. Liu at first eyed writing as a side hustle. But not for long. In 2004, she wrote—and sold—a paranormal romance novel, Tiger Eye, which drew a favorable response and set her on a creative adventure. Her journey would soon include a relationship with Marvel, the publisher that dominates the comic book and movie industry. Her titles such as Dark Wolverine, X-23, and Black Widow: The Name of the Rose became top sellers.

Becoming part of the Marvel family was “sort of like winning the lottery,” Liu said.

The Marvel success would lead to her 2015 launch of the critically acclaimed Monstress series—a sprawling epic fantasy—and then The Night Eaters, both in partnership with illustrator and comic book artist Sana Takeda.

“Sana is my creative co-pilot, whose art is more or less my muse,” Liu said.

By 2018, Liu was in heady company. She became the first woman to win an Eisner Award in the Best Writer category for Monstress Vol. 2: The Blood. As an Asian-American—her father is Taiwanese—she said she also took pride in being the first woman of color to win the award. The novel also won an Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series, was named Best Graphic Novel in three other 2018 award competitions—British Fantasy Awards, Hugo Awards, and National Cartoonist Society Awards—and was named 2018 Book of the Year in the Harvey Awards.

In the past six years, she has won or been nominated for 14 of the industry’s major awards. She’s been featured in media outlets ranging from CNN to The Atlantic.

Entertainment Weekly included Liu’s Monstress in its “Best Comics of the Decade” list in 2019, writing: “The epic fantasy-horror saga from Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda has fused disparate influences—the animal spirits of Hayao Miyazaki films, the cosmic monsters of H.P. Lovecraft stories, the inventive technology of steampunk—into a moving story about mothers and daughters, war and peace, and how divisions can be bridged.”

“Everythinghas been a surprise,” Liu said of her success. “When I was at �������ý��Ƶ, if you’d told me that this is where I’d end up—writing for a living; specifically, comic books—I would have had a very difficult time imagining that future. … None of this was planned, or part of ‘the dream,’ but one opportunity naturally led to another, and suddenly 20 years passed by and here I am.”

Liu has built a devoted following as her characters have developed and evolved. She points to moments such as Warbird becoming an artist at the end of Astonishing X-Men #58, or Zuli from the Wingbearer series never losing her sense of compassion despite challenges, or Maika in Monstress being damaged and rageful from surviving unspeakable atrocities but still being capable of healing.

“What these storylines and characters all have in common is that they’re threaded through with my own deep belief that hope, courage, and friendship can transform lives,” Liu said.

While sharing similarities, comic books and graphic novels are different publishing formats. The graphic novel builds on the comic book—still blending storytelling with visual art but doing so in a longer, more complex setting. The medium has exploded in popularity over the past decade—in fiction and nonfiction and with young adult and adult audiences. Liu has been in the middle of it all. She said it was early in her career when she had that “aha” moment when she believed she could make a living as a writer. She was promoting her debut novel at the Romance Writers of America convention when readers started approaching her with enthusiasm for Tiger Eye.

“It was a lovely affirmation, but it also made me want to work even harder to become a better writer and artist,” Liu said. “I still feel like that—I’m constantly hungry to push and challenge myself to do more in my work, whether it’s experimenting with new mediums or genres.”

That desire to push boundaries, she said, also has its roots in her �������ý��Ƶ education. She had been shy as a student, always fearing putting herself out there. But her professors at �������ý��Ƶ—she singles out the late Peter Fritzell from the English faculty—encouraged her to go deeper, take chances.

“I learned that there are no half-measures when it comes to writing, no short-cuts, no way to escape yourself or the work,” Liu said. “And, that language is a gift that evolves with you, that deepens as you deepen. I never intended to make my living as a writer, but Professor Fritzell helped me develop the skills I needed for this career.”

Those lessons still resonate 24 years after she graduated.

“The thing is, being a writer, or an artist of any kind, is about one of the most difficult career choices a person could possibly make,” Liu said. “It’s not glamorous or financially secure, no matter what anyone tells you or what you see on television, and it’s a lot of hard work. But ultimately that’s the case with most jobs, and what drives me is that love of telling stories—a love of words—a need to express myself that began when I was young but that shaped itself more formally at �������ý��Ƶ.”

The coming months will be busy for Liu. Wingborn, the second offering in her middle-grade graphic novel series, is scheduled for release Oct. 1, Monstress Vol. 9 will hit shelves in November, and the third Night Eaters book—part of a horror trilogy—will be released in early 2025. Meanwhile, she and Takeda are working on the launch of a new series, with details yet to be announced.

“It’s been the honor of a lifetime to have the opportunity to tell stories, and an honor that anyone would take their valuable time to read them,” Liu said. “I am so very grateful for this unexpected life.”

Her music, though, is never far away. Puskar spent the year following her graduation from �������ý��Ƶ performing with the Knoxville Opera in Knoxville, Tennessee, while working at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She paused music performances during the COVID-19 pandemic, but come April 22, she will return to the stage in a big way—joining a choral performance at Carnegie Hall.

“Singing remains important to me for so many reasons,” Puskar said. “The main one, though, is that, simply, singing is part of my identity.”

Her post-�������ý��Ƶ path

While working at Oak Ridge National Laboratory during a “gap year” to gain more research experience in physical chemistry, Puskar auditioned for and received an opera chorus position with Knoxville Opera. She also joined the Knoxville Choral Society, where she performed as a soprano soloist in an early 2020 concert of Mendelssohn’s Elijah.

A month later, the pandemic would shut down most musical performances around the globe.

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The silver lining, Puskar said, is the pandemic allowed her to put all her energy into settling into her graduate program—virtually at first—and passing her qualifying exam.

That pause on her musical performances ends with the Carnegie Hall concert, which comes courtesy of an invite from one of her former choir directors, Maestro José Daniel Flores-Caraballo. It’ll be an evening of music by Norwegian composer and pianist Ola Gjeilo, among Puskar’s favorites.

“Choir has always held a special place in my heart,” she said. “Some of my most cherished memories during my time at �������ý��Ƶ are singing in Concert Choir and with my chamber group at First Congregational UCC.”

All about science

At Berkeley, Puskar is excited about the progress she’s making in the Ph.D. program, and the research that’s at the core of her studies.

“My research centers on using the shortest laser pulses to reveal the quantum secrets of atoms and molecules,” she said.

Once she graduates, Puskar hopes to find a postdoctoral position, “a short-term position where I can diversify my scientific skill set outside of my Ph.D. focus.”

From there, Puskar is looking to build a career in academia, inspired, she said, by science faculty she learned from while at �������ý��Ƶ. She singled out chemistry professors and in particular.

“The individualized experiences I received at �������ý��Ƶ shaped me into the scientist that I am today, and my academic journey would not have been possible without the support of my undergraduate professors,” she said.

Now, Puskar said, becoming a professor at a small liberal arts college is her “ultimate” career goal—with a dose of music on the side.

“This probably goes without saying, but I strongly believe in the value of a liberal arts education and that studying a broad range of subjects winds up mutually benefitting each other,” Puskar said. “For example, in attosecond science, we generate high-order harmonics of the original beam frequency to make attosecond-duration laser pulses, which is directly analogous to musical instrument design and the respective wave mechanics that make an orchestra sound beautiful. I want to be the kind of chemistry professor that supports students who wish to explore outside topics, just like I was supported at �������ý��Ƶ.”

One of her passion projects is the Diversity in Conservation Internship Program she created in association with �������ý��Ƶ, in which historically underrepresented students can engage with professional opportunities in the field of conservation.

“It’s filling a very important need in the conservation field, which has historically been very white male dominated, and so helping to make an intentional, safe, welcoming space in the conservation community has been one of the highlights of the work I get to do,” Williamson said.

When she founded the Diversity in Conservation Internship Program, it drew three students from �������ý��Ƶ. Now, the program has expanded to about 10 students every year, including students from �������ý��Ƶ and other Wisconsin universities.

Love of �������ý��Ƶ

Williamson, originally from Omaha, Nebraska, was drawn to the �������ý��Ƶ community by its passion.

“The students were just so engaged and thoughtful in the classes,” she said. “It just seemed like a very dynamic place for students.”

Wildlife conservation has always been important to Williamson, and she was amazed by the opportunities �������ý��Ƶ gave her to explore her individual passions through independent study programs, which set her up for graduate school at UW, and then a thriving career in conservation.

“I absolutely loved �������ý��Ƶ,” Williamson said. “I think it’s a place for opportunities, and I am someone who really likes to take full advantage of whatever possibilities or opportunities are out there. �������ý��Ƶ does such a good job of providing that for students.”

Williamson said she will continue to work on conservation initiatives in Wisconsin, creating collaborative and cross-jurisdictional solutions to the complex issues of natural resource conservation. She said she hopes to bring a “cultural shift” to her field, raising awareness that the issues in natural resource conservation are interconnected and bringing diversity and equity into that conversation.

While at �������ý��Ƶ, Joyce made close connections with other musicians, which allowed him to create a portfolio full of fantastic recordings. His path since then is decorated with notable honors.

After �������ý��Ƶ, Joyce began studying at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he earned his master’s. While there, he received the Darius Milhaud Award in recognition of his composition work.

He also received the Joseph Bearns Prize from Columbia University. The award was key to his acceptance to Princeton University, where he earned his doctorate.

Joyce later received the Wayne Peterson Prize, which awarded him with a performance of his piece by the San Francisco Youth Symphony. The opportunity for an orchestra performance was a great publicity and networking opportunity, he said.

Joyce has been at Luther College since 2005, teaching composition and musicianship. He said he has loved working with another liberal arts institution.

“I feel that for most students, a liberal arts education is a great way to do college,” Joyce said.

Joyce has found the community of Decorah, Iowa, a fantastic fit for his music. He directs the choir and instrumental ensemble at his church. He loves playing the piano for service every week and has found it to be a great way to stay in touch with his performance skills.

“That spiritual part of me is important, and doing church music is a great outlet,” he said.

Joyce is also an advocate within the composition world, advocating for opportunities for young composers and underrepresented composers. As a professor, Joyce puts traditionally marginalized composers at the forefront of his curriculum. By doing so, he hopes students will notice other areas of their studies where this isn’t happening and ask themselves why.

Joyce teaches theory courses in music that has been historically marginalized, too, such as hip-hop.

“Ultimately, musicians and artists do have the power to change the world…in the way we make people feel and make people think,” Joyce said.

In addition to writing the commissioned AGO pieces, Joyce is working on two concert pieces using air quality data from Madison, Wisconsin. One is a commission from the Wisconsin Music Teachers Association, facilitated in part by Michael Mizrahi, �������ý��Ƶ’s Frank C. Shattuck professor of music. Joyce said he is looking forward to giving a sound to environmental problems.

Joyce also gave advice to current and future Lawrentians: “Don’t be afraid to change your mind,” he said. “Listen to your instructors and take all of the creative and intellectual risks that you possibly can.”

Three members of her family are recent graduates of �������ý��Ƶ; she has been involved with her 50th Reunion Committee, served on the LUAA Development Committee, represented �������ý��Ƶ at college fairs, and even conducted interviews with prospective students. For Gail, a retired teacher, commitment feels like an understatement. Her love for her Downer community and �������ý��Ƶ has shone through time and again.

When speaking about some of the relationships she developed through the years, she remarks, “I’ve got friends who ended up friends because they realized I was an alum. Kent, I don’t know what year he graduated, he came to work at the same school as me, right out of college. Whenever someone would ask for a volunteer, he’d always be the first to offer. Brand new teacher just really involved. He is now at St. Norbert College. I reached out to him once to ask him to donate, and he told me he already had.”

Many of Gail’s experiences highlight these run-ins with old friends and new ones, connected by the stories and experiences they had through �������ý��Ƶ. This type of engagement shows a community that extends beyond four years in a shared space.

Gail said this award means that much more to her because of her connections to Gertrude herself. “It means a whole lot because I knew Gertrude. I felt she did a lot to shape my life and I hope I did a lot to shape other people’s lives.”

Gail has touched the lives of many, both in and out of our campus space—from raising her three children as a single mom, to volunteering often for children with disabilities, to advocating for and supporting �������ý��Ƶ outreach and programs, to winning distinctions as an educator during her time working as a teacher.

Gail has poured love into every facet of her life, her children, her garden, her animals (especially her chickens, which she loved very dearly), and our �������ý��Ƶ community.

Her time with �������ý��Ƶ strongly showcases a deep level of care and genuine desire for the best for the campus. For this, Gail is accepting the award of Outstanding Service while leaving an exceptional legacy of love and dedication to �������ý��Ƶ.