{"id":18684,"date":"2022-07-18T16:40:04","date_gmt":"2022-07-18T16:40:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-news\/?p=18684"},"modified":"2022-07-26T14:51:36","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T14:51:36","slug":"values-in-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/2022\/07\/values-in-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Values in Action"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Julie Hessler \u201985, Alexandra McLaughlin \u201916, and Rebecca DeJarlais Ortiz \u201906<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Each year, the college\u2019s Alumni Awards celebrate alumni who exemplify a deep commitment to Macalester\u2019s values. Award recipients are nominated from across the global Mac community, then selected by the Alumni Board. Meet this year\u2019s winners.<\/p>\n<h2>Toby Heytens<\/h2>\n<h3>Class of 1997<br \/>\nDistinguished Citizen Award<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-18758\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Heytens_CC-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Toby Heytens\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Heytens_CC-300x300.jpg 300w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Heytens_CC-150x150.jpg 150w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Heytens_CC.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>After co-founding Macalester\u2019s mock trial team as a first-year student, Toby Heytens pursued a distinguished law career, including clerking for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, teaching law at the University of Virginia, serving as solicitor general of Virginia, and arguing before the US Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMacalester\u2019s values of civic commitment and social justice have defined Toby\u2019s career,\u201d writes his nominator. \u201cHe defended Virginia\u2019s decision to remove statues of Confederate war figures, a job at which he succeeded.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, President Biden nominated Heytens to a seat on the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The Senate confirmed his nomination in November.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy first job after law school was as a law clerk to a federal court of appeals judge,\u201d Heytens says. \u201cThat job changed my life, and I treasure the thought of getting the chance to play a similar role in other people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cDespite never having been a trial lawyer, I have been competing in or coaching trial advocacy competitions for more than half of my life and have learned more from it than any class I ever took or job I ever had.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div style=\"padding:56.25&#37; 0 0 0;position:relative;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/713413945?h=c6341cf310&amp;badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100&#37;;height:100&#37;;\" title=\"Distinguished Citizen Award: Toby Heytens &amp;rsquo;97\"><\/iframe><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/api\/player.js\"><\/script>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Rosalind Santos Moldwin<\/h2>\n<h3>Class of 1957<br \/>\nDistinguished Citizen Award<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-18759\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Gonzales_CC-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Rosalind Santos Gonzales\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Gonzales_CC-300x300.jpg 300w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Gonzales_CC-150x150.jpg 150w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Gonzales_CC.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Rosalind Santos Moldwin dreamt of becoming a doctor. \u201cI enjoy working for the good of families and communities,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>After marrying and having three children, she applied for medical school. But the interviewers told Moldwin that her age disqualified her.<\/p>\n<p>Moldwin didn\u2019t give up. She enrolled in a physician assistant program and worked to empower the role. In Michigan and Connecticut, governors appointed Moldwin to the first state licensing boards for physician assistants. She helped define the accreditation of physician assistants, including their ability to write prescriptions.<\/p>\n<p>Born in the Philippines, Moldwin served as president of Macalester\u2019s Cosmopolitan Club, promoting friendship between US and international students. Her leadership continued to shine at Hartford Seminary and as director of religious education at First Congressional Church in Austin, Minnesota.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRosalind has exhibited her Mac values by not letting her race, sex, or age stop her from accomplishing much throughout her life,\u201d her nominator writes. \u201cShe has touched many lives for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI am grateful for the experiences and learnings that I had at Macalester, from the classroom to the Cosmopolitan Club to the Tartan Troopers.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div style=\"padding:56.25&#37; 0 0 0;position:relative;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/713048184?h=b466f31e41&amp;badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100&#37;;height:100&#37;;\" title=\"Distinguished Citizen Award: Rosalind Santos Moldwin &amp;rsquo;57\"><\/iframe><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/api\/player.js\"><\/script>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Brian Cosgriff<\/h2>\n<h3>Class of 1983<br \/>\nDistinguished Citizen Award<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-18760\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Cosgriff_CC-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Brian Cosgriff\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Cosgriff_CC-300x300.jpg 300w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Cosgriff_CC-150x150.jpg 150w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Cosgriff_CC.jpg 574w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Before each basketball practice, Brian Cosgriff huddled his team together and reminded them to \u201cnever become satisfied.\u201d He told them: \u201cAlways work to be your best on the court, in the classroom, and in your life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cosgriff models those values, devoting his career to teaching elementary school physical education and coaching high school basketball. Cosgriff built the Hopkins girls basketball program into \u201cone of the most premier high school programs in the country,\u201d writes his nominator, with fifty players continuing on to collegiate, professional, and Olympic basketball. Others became doctors, nurses, lawyers, and military officers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love how my players have gone on to do amazing things in their lives\u2014not only with their careers, but with their families,\u201d Cosgriff says. \u201cSeeing them use the skills and work ethic that they learned through playing basketball brings me joy.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI deeply care about each player on my team, not just the best players who play each night. In fact, I have the utmost respect for players who come to practice every day, knowing they might not get to play in the next game.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div style=\"padding:56.25&#37; 0 0 0;position:relative;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/713050206?h=fd9c2307b5&amp;badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100&#37;;height:100&#37;;\" title=\"Distinguished Citizen Award: Brian Cosgriff &amp;rsquo;83\"><\/iframe><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/api\/player.js\"><\/script>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Damian Anthony Vraniak<\/h2>\n<h3>Class of 1972<br \/>\nDistinguished Citizen Award<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-18761\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Vraniak_CC-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Damian Anthony Vraniak\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Vraniak_CC-300x300.jpg 300w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Vraniak_CC-150x150.jpg 150w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Vraniak_CC.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>After college, Damian Anthony Vraniak wrote to university faculty nationwide in hopes of helping with some of the top research on parenting.<\/p>\n<p>After earning a doctorate in psychology from Vanderbilt University, Vraniak went on to substantially impact the nurturing of American Indian children and families, from preschool programming to doctoral-level training.<\/p>\n<p>Vraniak\u2019s many accomplishments include designing and directing one of the first gifted programs for American Indian public school students; writing the first $1 million grant to study emotional development in American Indian children, which helped jumpstart a prestigious national mental health center; beginning an annual international gathering of American Indian and Alaska Native psychologists and graduate students, now in its thirty-fifth year; and designing a unique, culturally based environmental education program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDamian has invariably served others first,\u201d writes his nominator. \u201cHe has worked tirelessly to foster the health and well-being of American Indian and Alaska Native children and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cMy passion and gift is engaging children and families in nature.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div style=\"padding:56.25&#37; 0 0 0;position:relative;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/713049393?h=d0590e4051&amp;badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100&#37;;height:100&#37;;\" title=\"Distinguished Citizen Award: Damian Anthony Vraniak &amp;rsquo;72\"><\/iframe><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/api\/player.js\"><\/script>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Carol Wolf Runyan<\/h2>\n<h3>Class of 1972<br \/>\nDistinguished Citizen Award<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-18762\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Runyan_CC-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Carol Wolf Runyan\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Runyan_CC-300x300.jpg 300w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Runyan_CC-150x150.jpg 150w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Runyan_CC.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>For nearly forty years, Carol Runyan has worked in the public health discipline of injury and violence prevention. She is a professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina, Gillings School of Global Public Health.<\/p>\n<p>After having founded and led the renowned UNC Injury Prevention Center for over two decades, Runyan founded the Program for Injury Prevention, Education and Research at the University of Colorado.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout, Runyan says she has taken great joy in helping students \u201clearn principles of public health and injury prevention as a way to fulfill their dreams of making the world better through both research and practice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her work has proven the life-saving impact of smoke detectors and included core research in home safety and young worker safety, as well as the prevention of violence, suicide, and drug abuse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe in public health can\u2019t ever know which specific people we helped,\u201d she says, \u201cbut as one school of public health puts it, \u2018We save lives, millions at a time.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cAs part of my teaching, I stress the importance of understanding the history of public health in social context. Too often we assume problems are new and we spend unnecessary effort struggling to find solutions rather than appreciating how the problems evolved and how solutions to similar problems of the past have been approached successfully.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div style=\"padding:56.25&#37; 0 0 0;position:relative;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/713049836?h=12f6ac7174&amp;badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100&#37;;height:100&#37;;\" title=\"Distinguished Citizen Award: Carol Wolf Runyan &amp;rsquo;72\"><\/iframe><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/api\/player.js\"><\/script>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Michael Snavely<\/h2>\n<h3>Class of 2012<br \/>\nYoung Alumni Award<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-18763\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Snavely_CC-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Michael Snavely\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Snavely_CC-300x300.jpg 300w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Snavely_CC-150x150.jpg 150w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Snavely_CC.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>As a family medicine physician in Oakland, California, Dr. Michael Snavely says he experiences a lot of vicarious joy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI prescribe hormone therapy and provide gender-affirming care for gender expansive folx, and people get so excited when they start to feel like themselves in their bodies,\u201d he says. \u201cIt is hard not to share in that excitement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to his work at the Gender Affirming Health Program at University of California, San Francisco, Snavely travels to Texas monthly to provide abortions, and works at Oakland\u2019s La Cl\u00ednica de La Raza, a health center founded by and for the Latinx community, where he also is a union member and a member of the anti-racism working group.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI also find joy in community,\u201d he says. \u201cI believe that coming together collectively with others is the answer both to questions of social justice as well as personal happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cWe\u2019re seeing the world in black and white and a little bit of gray right now when it comes to gender, and it\u2019s time that we saw it in living color.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div style=\"padding:56.25&#37; 0 0 0;position:relative;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/713048645?h=aada742843&amp;badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100&#37;;height:100&#37;;\" title=\"Young Alumni Award: Michael Snavely &amp;rsquo;12\"><\/iframe><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/api\/player.js\"><\/script>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Kyera Singleton<\/h2>\n<h3>Class of 2011<br \/>\nCatharine Lealtad Service to Society Award<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-18764\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Singleton_CC-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Kyera Singleton\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Singleton_CC-300x300.jpg 300w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Singleton_CC-150x150.jpg 150w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Singleton_CC.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>At a museum in Medford, Massachusetts, Kyera Singleton is centering enslaved people\u2019s stories\u2014and connecting their histories to the current movement for racial justice.<\/p>\n<p>Singleton is the executive director of the Royall House and Slave Quarters, the only known freestanding structure where enslaved people lived in the northern United States. During the pandemic, her innovative leadership included creating virtual events to bring the museum to new audiences.<\/p>\n<p>Singleton views her work as \u201canything but neutral,\u201d writes her nominator. \u201cHer museum asks audiences to reflect deeply on uncomfortable truths, and to question firmly held cultural assumptions.\u201d She emphasizes enslaved people\u2019s humanity and resilience by highlighting acts of resistance and moments of joy and pleasure.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cYou have to center Black people as political agents in their own history. We have always fought for our own freedom, and everyone else\u2019s, and continue to do so today.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div style=\"padding:56.25&#37; 0 0 0;position:relative;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/713047719?h=4bdb71b0ba&amp;badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100&#37;;height:100&#37;;\" title=\"Catharine Lealtad Service to Society Award: Kyera Singleton &amp;rsquo;11\"><\/iframe><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/api\/player.js\"><\/script>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>James Cummings<\/h2>\n<h3>Class of 1986<br \/>\nCharles J. Turck Global Citizen Award<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-18765\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Cummings_CC-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"James Cummings\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Cummings_CC-300x300.jpg 300w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Cummings_CC-150x150.jpg 150w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Cummings_CC.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\u201cJames Cummings is a fiercely effective advocate for promoting education across borders,\u201d writes his nominator. \u201cHe has been a teacher in rural Kenya, a teacher and international bridge builder in the US, and the founder of a critical African educational initiative\u2014using his own resources and creativity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cummings founded Kijana Educational Empowerment Initiative in 2002. The US and Kenya based educational nonprofit has invested in more than thirty schools in Kenya and opened its first independent school, the Kijana Global Innovation School, in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy aims with Kijana are not only to assist and build schools in Kenya, but to develop cross-cultural connections and advance American schools and culture,\u201d Cummings says. \u201cWhile the US is advanced in technology, we have much to learn from older, perhaps more socially advanced cultures. In sharing resources, experiences, and ideas, Kenyans and Americans can together advance human society.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cWe want to improve the world and advance the idea that we \u2018all live in the same house,\u2019 as John Lewis said, and we all have contributions to make.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div style=\"padding:56.25&#37; 0 0 0;position:relative;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/713049001?h=6d48b9556d&amp;badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100&#37;;height:100&#37;;\" title=\"Charles J. Turck Global Citizen Award: James Cummings &amp;#039;86\"><\/iframe><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/api\/player.js\"><\/script>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Burke Strickland<\/h2>\n<h3>Class of 1969<br \/>\nAlumni Service Award<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-18766\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Burke_CC-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Burke Strickland\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Burke_CC-300x300.jpg 300w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Burke_CC-150x150.jpg 150w,  https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/653\/2022\/07\/Alumni_Burke_CC.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>As much as Burke Strickland values his college geography courses, he\u2019s quick to clarify that the sum of his Macalester education was much broader, with many layers added through civic engagement, cultural events, and opportunities around campus.<\/p>\n<p>He applies the same big-picture lens to his dedication to the global Mac community. Over the years, Strickland has fostered connections by planning and hosting regional chapter events in Texas and mentoring students in their academic work and career exploration. Most recently, he inspired a Big Questions program audience with his Macalester story, and facilitated a strategic planning listening session. Beyond his extensive Macalester engagement, Strickland\u2014who concluded his career at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center\u2014is active in Houston organizations and an avid traveler.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBurke is a true champion for the college\u2014he is always thinking of ways to connect alumni across generations, with the goal of building a stronger community,\u201d writes his nominator. \u201cHe\u2019s an amazing volunteer and ambassador for Macalester.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThe realization that Macalester core values and dedication to service, internationalism, and social justice carry forward from my contemporaries to more recent grads and current students gives me great hope for the future.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div style=\"padding:56.25&#37; 0 0 0;position:relative;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/713047065?h=a50a001ae5&amp;badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100&#37;;height:100&#37;;\" title=\"Alumni Service Award: Burke Strickland &amp;rsquo;69\"><\/iframe><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/api\/player.js\"><\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Each year, the college\u2019s Alumni Awards celebrate alumni who exemplify a deep commitment to Macalester\u2019s values.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1077,"featured_media":18729,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","mediatype-articles"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"fields":{"article_type":[8],"flickr_photoset_id":"","youtube_id":"","square_thumbnail":false,"press_photos":false,"story_title":"","story_caption":"","rotations":false,"maps":false,"marker_title":"","marker_text":"","geographic_location":false,"feature_embed":"","custom_link_url":"","news_icon_name":"","image_options":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1077"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18684"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30863,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18684\/revisions\/30863"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}