Although the event itself took place already, the video of the ceremony continues to reach more viewers than it would in person.

Six alumni, all with vastly different professions and life experience have been awarded the 2021 Alumni Achievement award, and are now sharing their thoughts on their education while in college. Many of the winners mention how they cherish and carry their education from Knox through their careers to this day.

Associate Director of Alumni Engagement Megan Clayton organized the virtual event that took place on Friday, February 12th. While there is a lack of interaction with the awards winners and the students due to not being able to return to campus, Clayton believes that the event still offered recognition where it was due. 

“Because we did this virtually, we were able to reach more people than we would have if we would have been in person… People are watching it, and I think that’s great,” said Clayton. 

Instead of bringing the nominees to campus, the Office of Communications put together interviews with each person. The interviews offer insight into the positions each alumni holds, as well as how they carry their Knox education with them through their careers.

For entrepreneur and business owner of Shall We Wine, Regine Rousseau ’95, Knox taught her how to conceptualize what it means to run something on her own. She talks about her experience producing a show in the Theater Department as a contributor to her confidence in her career. 

“You can find a way to do the things you want to do, and that’s what Knox did for me. Even though there were some bumps in the road, I carry that confidence throughout my career,” said Rousseau in her interview with the Office of Communications. 

The Alumni Achievement Award is decided through nominations by other Knox Alumni that then go in front of the selection council for approval. Clayton mentions that the nominations are often made by friends, coworkers and classmates that are high achieving alumni who continue to impress in their respective careers. Two of the six winners received the Young Alumni Achievement Award which states that they have to be 35 years old by the time of their nomination. 

This year’s Alumni Achievement winners are Casey Jones ’87, Virginia Steen ’69, Amy Carlson ’90 and Regine Rousseau‘’95. The Young Alumni Achievement winners are Leah Heister Burton ’08 and Melati Nungsari ’10. To hear more about each winner, Clayton encourages the Knox community to watch the interviews. 

“They did some really nice interviews, and I would encourage you to go look at those videos. They’ve got some really good messages and just a really unique group all across the board,” Clayton said. 

Although the short clips of each winner take the place of the alumni coming back to campus, Clayton still has hope for next year to bring each nominee back to campus to interact with their alma mater. 

“In the past, the recipients of all of these awards would have been on campus. Alumni achievement winners would have spent the day of the actual award ceremony with students. So we are really missing that, but we will get them back to campus at some point,” Clayton said, “Fingers crossed, we don’t know what fall is going to look like.”

To read more about each winner, click here. To watch the interviews and the presentation, click here.