Another (school) year has wrapped up and it’s been a great one!
I am excited to welcome Danica Thomsen ’15 and Aren Plante ’19 to our Alumni Council starting in June. You may have noticed we did not have a full Alumni Association vote on new Council members this year. This was because we had two open council seats and two candidates, so Council voted them in unanimously with a vote of acclamation. Here is a little bit more about our new Council members!
Danica graduated from Redeemer in 2015 with a BA, Honours Physical Education and Religion and Theology as well as a BEd (P/J). Danica has a desire to serve on the Alumni Council because she loves serving her community and maintaining her connection to Redeemer. Danica believes it is important to have Alumni Council members from different areas of the province and country to facilitate alumni connections outside of Hamilton. She previously served as the Student Senate representative to Alumni Council and, more recently, she served on the planning committee for the Redeemer in Ottawa event in May 2017. Danica is currently working as a teacher in the Ottawa area.
Aren is graduating from Redeemer this May with a BA, Honours History and Political Science and a minor in English Literature. Aren wants to serve on the Alumni Council because he loves Redeemer and wants to continue being involved in the life of the academic community after graduation. Aren brings a strong skillset in administration to the Council. As of September 2019, Aren will be a Master of Public Administration candidate at Western University (formerly the University of Western Ontario).
I also want to personally thank Scott Kooy ’96 and Cassandre Dauphin ’07 who are wrapping up their service on Alumni Council this spring. They have given of their time and represented the Association well and we are so grateful.
I am looking forward to welcoming a brand new group of alumni into our association in a few weeks at graduation. It’s always a fun day filled with lots of celebration.
As I look back on this year and remember our Distinguished Alumni Award reception with our 2018 award recipient, Dan Reilly ’96; our many Redeemer Alumni Mentoring Program (RAMP) events; and those of you who donated to the Re Campaign, the Alumni Award Fund and other Redeemer initiatives, I can’t help but be proud of the many ways that our alumni participated in Redeemer’s ongoing mission. I also think about many of you who got new jobs, moved, got married (like me!) or had “future Redeemer students” (AKA babies) and how God is using us in all stages of our lives. If you had a recent life event, we’d love to celebrate with you and share that with you! Please keep in touch with us through email, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
As we look ahead to the Re Golf Tournament on May 30, the anticipated 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient and the One Year Out Reunion, we are excited to help alumni remain engaged with Redeemer and are equally passionate about representing alumni to the institution.
As always, it’s an honour to serve and represent the Redeemer Alumni Association.
Have a wonderful summer!
Kristel Forcier (Bulthuis)
Class of ’06
President, Alumni Association