Alumni Awards 2008
The following alumni will be honored during Homecoming 2008. Join us as we celebrate them and their accomplishments at a dinner, Friday, October 10, 2008, 6:30 pm.
Alumni of the Year -
Bruce '77 & Linda (Cheever) '78 Wilkinson
Bruce Wilkinson has worked for World Vision for 20 years in various capacities and countries. He currently serves as the chief of the five-member RAPIDS (Reaching HIV/AIDS Affected People with Integrated Development and Support) coalition in southern Africa.
Linda Wilkinson founded and directs the privately-funded Chikumbuso Women and Orphans Project in Lusaka, Zambia, where the Wilkinsons live.
Young Alumna of the Year -
Sarah Petrin '98
Born in Kenya, Pike Scholar and International Affairs and French double major Sarah Petrin earned a Master's in Refugee Studies from Oxford University. She has worked in a congressional office, in refugee camps and in government and non-government agencies to provide help for and improve the lot of refugees and others in dire need around the world.
Jack Good Community Service Award -
Laura (McGuinness) Kroll '81
Social worker, pastor's wife and mother Laurie Kroll created the Village2Village program based in her home church in Bristol, VT, to serve the impoverished children of Serere, Uganda, and their caregivers. Where there was nothing there are now feeding and training programs and schooling for 60 children and a microfinance business for women.
A. J. Gordon Missionary Service Award -
Alice Childs '63B
After 37 years of service preparing and training Filipino people for ministry in their villages, Alice "retired" in 2007 from her work with SEND, International. She has returned to the Philippines and now teaches at Word of Life Bible Institute in Laguna.
Winifred Currie Award in Education -
Glenn Olson '83
Public school physical education teacher, hockey coach and administrator for 25 years, Glenn Olson was named the 2008 Vermont State Assistant Principal of the Year: the first Vermont principal to be so honored.
Lifetime Achievement Award -
Peter W. Stine
During 40 years teaching English literature at Gordon, Dr. Stine developed new courses on African literature and Nobel Prize winners in fiction, poetry and drama, created the Princemere Readers Theatre troupe, led the first and subsequent British Studies European Seminar teams, and participated in numerous campus dramatic and musical productions.