Meet Our Alumni

Portrait of alumnus Jason Akl.

Looking Forward

Alum Jason Akl '99 navigates the pandemic.

Jason Akl ’99 is standing near his truck parked in front of the Ashland Baking Company on Chapple Avenue ready for his interview. He’s wearing winter wear over his suit, talking to a coworker at Northlakes Community Clinic where he is the CEO. It’s single digits, a pandemic, and the clinic just started dispensing vaccinations…

Northland College alum Kealy White at work at bakery.

Stepping Back, Leaning In

Kealy White '99

For Kealy White ’99, this past year was one of reflection and redefinition. Of stepping back from her professional duties and leaning into motherhood. In the last year, she’s done more home cooking, skied more, and had more outdoor adventures than ever. “It’s been nice to slow down, re-evaluate, and have some creative time,” she…

Alum Andy Okey at work at ambulance hall.

Responding with Care

Andy Okey '87

Rural communities rely on volunteers and good Samaritans. Andy Okey ’87 is that person for the Chequamegon Bay region. “Everybody knows they can count on him,” said English Instructor Gina Kirsten, who has known Andy for twenty-something years. “If he can’t personally help you, he will find someone who will.” Like this past winter when…

Alum Halley Hyde

Holding It All Together

Alum Haley Hyde '19

At the start of the pandemic, Haley Hyde ’19 not only had to figure out new ways to do her job remotely but she had to do it with two young children. “Those first few weeks were nothing but stress—lying-in-the-bathtub-crying-for-three-hours-at-night-kind-of-stress,” she said. As an early Head Start home-based teacher, Haley’s job was built on face-to-face…

Portrait of alums Chris and Judy Young '93 at New Moon Ski and Bike Shop.

Switching Gears

Chris and Judy Young '93

Owning a small business is no small task. Owning a small business focused on selling outdoor recreational gear during a pandemic? Well, that is a whole other story. Chris ’94 and Judy Young ’93 purchased New Moon Ski and Bike Shop in Hayward, Wisconsin, with business partners Joel and Kristy Harrison in 2005, but this…

Northland College student Emma Holtan

The Chequamegon Bay Region Spoke and the IJC Listened

In September of 2019, the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation hosted a conference with the International Joint Commission (IJC). The purpose was to give local experts and the public an opportunity to share their water quality concerns for Lake Superior and the larger Great Lakes basin. The public hearing portion of the event…

Statues

Rethinking Plantation Tourism 

 Time to Get Real About Our History

I remember the first time I was invited to visit a plantation. I was in the fourth grade and our teachers had planned a field trip to Chretien Point, a former plantation in Sunset, Louisiana. At the time I couldn’t understand why my three white teachers thought it was a great idea to take us…

Northland College Anne Kriskovich

Teaching In and Out of the Classroom

Anne Kriskovich ’08 knows her stuff. Just ask any Ashland High School parent about the new head coach of the men’s soccer team and they’ll tell you so. They’ll also tell you she’s passionate and competitive, and that her knowledge of the game is showing on the young team as they near the end of…

AdventureUs Owners and Northland College Alumni Amy and Jared Trimbo at their shop.

Ethical Design for Our Time

Alumni Launch AdventureUs in Washburn

After winning an entrepreneurial competition in May 2019, Amy Fazio Trimbo ’07 established her dream business, AdventureUs, in downtown Washburn. She studied psychology at Northland where she met her husband and business co-conspirator, Jared Trimbo ’06. They have three children who provided the inspiration for Amy’s first product line—Snow Sleeves, a stretchy wrist gaiter that…

Northland College alumnus Luis Victoria

Victoria Joins Oakland A’s

Luis Victoria '17 Coordinates educational and cultural programming for Latin American players.

Luis Victoria ’17 studied business and sports management and sustainable entrepreneurship, minored in psychology, played baseball, and earned an internship with the Kansas City Royals in the Dominican Republic while he was a student at Northland. He went on to earn his master’s degree in sports management from Concordia University in St. Paul. In January,…