Master Trooper Matt Voorhees ’97 was promoted to rank of Sergeant to serve as a district squad sergeant for the Lafayette Post of the Indiana State Police.

Matt was an English major at Wabash.  After graduation, he was a reserve and jail officer in Montgomery County, and then completed training at the Indiana State Police Recruit Academy. He has worked with the Lafayette District serving Montgomery and Fountain Counties since 2000 as a Field Training Officer, Assistant Commander of the Tactical Intervention Platoon, member of the Clandestine Lab team, instructor for Standard Field Sobriety Training (SFST) and Traffic Incident Management.

Congratulations, Matt!

Ryan T. Leagre ’08 has joined Plews Shadley Racher & Braun LLP in Indianapolis as an associate attorney focusing on environmental litigation, insurance coverage, and other complex litigation.

Prior to joining PSRB, Ryan was a Teach For America Corps Member and taught high school science for two years in Chicago.  A Biology and Chemistry major at Wabash, he then earned M.A. in Secondary Education from National Louis University in 2010, and his J.D. from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 2014.

Congratulations, Ryan!

Photo courtesy of
Plews Shadley Racher & Braun LLP.

Marcus Doshi ’97 sent this news:

“What are the odds of two Wallies making theatre together outside of C’ville?!?

Turns out Brad Hopper ‘14 is a fellow at Berkeley Rep where I am designing Set & Lights for a new musical called Party People!  Imagine my delight when I saw him wearing a Wabash T-shirt to rehearsal.”

Marcus

Brad Hopper ’14 and Marcus Doshi ’97.

Party People was developed in The Ground Floor, Berkeley Rep’s Center for the Creation and Development of New Work.

Photo courtesy of
Marcus Doshi ’97.

Last night the recipients of the 2014 Harold M. and Margaret R. Coons Public Service Internships met with the benefactors to talk about their internship experiences this past summer.  Steve Coons ’63 and Phil Coons ’67 established the internships in memory of their parents, to allow students to take advantage of unpaid public service experiences.  Click here to learn more about the Coons Public Service Internships, and click here to read their blogs.

Row 1: Jacob Burnett ’15, Adam Burtner ’17, Political Science Department Chair Ethan Hollander, President Greg Hess. Row 2: Dylan Miller ’16, Cole Crouch ’17, Steve Coons ’63, Phil Coons ’67.

J.J. Peller ’13 has joined the United Way of Porter County, IN board of directors.

J.J. is a financial adviser at Merrill Lynch Bank of America in Merrillville, IN.  Active in his community, he is a member of United Way of Porter County’s Young Leaders United and a chamber member of the Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce.  He is also active in the Wabash College Alumni Group of Northwest Indiana and Phi Delta Theta – Indiana Beta.

Congratulations, J.J.!

Father David Buckles ’82 has joined Sacred Heart University as its chaplain and director of Campus Ministry.  He will oversee all Sacred Heart pastoral and spiritual activities for students and faculty and ensure a strong educational foundation anchored in academic and spiritual learning and community service.

David joins SHU from the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana, where he was a parish priest and pastor.  After Wabash, David earned a Canon Law degree from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome, Italy.

Congratulations, David!

Photo courtesy of
Sacred Heart University.

Barry Tyler ’06 is the Director of Northwest Indiana Partnerships for Teach for America.  Barry joined Teach for America in 2013, working in Chicago but living in his hometown of Gary, IN.  He is also an assistant football coach and former golf coach at his own alma mater Hammond High School.  He is also involved with the Lake County Success Coalition and the African American Student Achievement Council – all the time working to connect the community and schools with students.

Last month, Barry was one of twenty young people in the northwest Indiana region who were named to The Times Media Co. “20 Under 40” list based on their ability in business and as leaders.    Click here to read more about Barry.

Photo courtesy of
Nwi.com.

Cris Johnston ’81 has been reappointed to a three-year term on the Indiana Gaming Commission by Gov. Mike Pence, and will serve as chairman.   Cris is a practice director with KSM Consulting LLC, focusing on organizational improvement programs.

After Wabash, Cris earned an MBA from Butler University.

Congratulations, Cris!

Photo courtesy of
KSM Consulting.

Sean Hayes ’04 is the new Executive Director of the Oberlin Project, a collaboration between Oberlin College, the city of Oberlin, Ohio, and local businesses to build on economic development, local foods, and energy, a major issue of the project for Oberlin to become a “climate positive city.”  Click here to read more about Sean and the Oberlin Project.

After Wabash, Sean focused on waste-to-energy biofuels at Appalachian State University, where he received his master’s in appropriate technology.

Congratulations, Sean!

Photo courtesy of
Oberlin College.

Evan Brown ’97 is now a Principal at the Chicago law firm Much Shelist P.C. in the Intellectual Property & Technology group.  His areas include technology, intellectual property and privacy, cloud-based technology, data security, social media, copyright and trademark protection and advertising.

Evan is also an Adjunct Professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law, teaching legal and business negotiations. After Wabash, Evan earned a JD at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

Congratulations, Evan!