Centralight

Alumni News Jane Talcott, M.S.A. '97, is providing professional fundraising services to Washtenaw Camp Placement Association of Ann Arbor, Mich. The organization has given more than 9,000 "camperships" to children who would otherwise not have an opportunity to experience summer camp. Lemont Dobson, '98 M.A. '01, received a $10,000 grant from the Kirby Foundation for the production of a documentary film about the Native American culture near St. Louis. Dobson is an archaeologist, visiting assistant professor of history at Drury University and founder of ShovelReady Productions. Amanda Ault, '99, was named the head coach at George Washington University after spending the last three years as assistant volleyball coach at the University of Michigan. 2000s Joshua Kirkbride, '02, was promoted to principal at UHY Advisors Inc., a full- service national professional financial, tax and business-consulting firm. Kirkbride is active in the Central Michigan University Alumni Association and the Student Accounting Society at CMU. Joseph A. Wortman, '02, president of Warren-based Detroit Radiant Products Co., has become a member of Vistage Michigan, a chapter of the world's leading chief executive organization. Brad Duling, '03, joined Sym Financial Advisors as a financial paraplanner. Daryl Richardson, '04, was named Network Engineer for Terrapin Networks. Richardson will head up the Ready Desk rapid response group for Terrapin's Network Administration Team. Jill Catterfeld, '05, was promoted to manager of Andrews Hooper Pavlik PLC in Saginaw, Mich. Greg Soule, '06, was promoted to manager of Andrews Hooper Pavlik PLC in Auburn Hills, Mich. Greg resides in Lake Orion, Mich. Karen Haskin, M.S.A. '08, accepted the position as Central Michigan Home Care Director at Central Michigan Community Hospital. Dr. Mohammad Alqudah, M.S.A. '08 Ph.D. '10, was hired by the mathematics department at Northwood University in Midland, Mich. He has been teaching mathematics for the past six years, most recently as an assistant professor at Virginia Union University. His other previous experiences include teaching as a full-time instructor at Yarmouk University in Jordan and teaching assistant at CMU. Alqudah also worked on his doctoral research fellowship at CMU. John H. Larrison, '09, Coast Guard fireman, recently graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Recruit Training Center in Cape May, N.J. Larrison will join 36, 000 other men and women who comprise the Coast Guard's workforce. Erin Sweeney, M.A. '09, event manager at Global Spectrum, played a large role in setting up the Cirque du Soleil show at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Send us your news Send your information: Email: alumni@cmich.edu Fax: 989-774-1098 Mail: Centralight, University Communications, West Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant MI 48859. Kara Yadach, '10, was hired as account coordinator for Royal Oak- based Eisbrenner Public Relations. We want to include your news in Centralight. Write to us about recent job promotions, awards, marriages, births, and other noteworthy accomplishments or changes. Be sure to include your graduation year and contact information. Alum climbs high During the mid-1990s, after four years serving his country as an Air Force missile launch officer, David A Lien, M.S.A. '94, rediscovered the joy of the outdoors. The hunting, hiking, camping and canoeing in the wilderness of northern Minnesota of his youth transitioned into mountain climbing. "On May 22, 1996, I hiked to the top of Eagle Mountain in Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Eagle Mountain (at 2,301 ft.) is the highest point in Minnesota, and although it's not a long or overly difficult hike, it was a stepping stone," wrote Lien. That stepping stone, Lien says, led him to "some of the highest, wildest mountains in the U.S. and the world." Since then, his climbs and travels have taken him to 28 countries, onto the highest points in all 50 states, all 54 of Colorado's "14ers" – 14,000-foot peaks – and six of the "Seven Summits." "Over the years I've found that it's often the journey with an unknown destination or outcome that leads to such 'freedom,' to some of life's richest, most fulfilling rewards," wrote Lien. "And experiences like climbing mountains are often catalysts for the related rewards of expanded horizons (literally and figuratively) and internal growth." Lien documented his climbing experiences in his recently published book, "4/44/14 I (Four Years and Forty-Four Fourteeners): First Fourteeners." • centralight summer '11 37

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