2009 OUTSTANDING YOUNG ALUMNI RECIPIENTS

Sarah Lunt Ewart '96

Sarah Lunt Ewart has been selected as one of this year’s Outstanding Young Alumni at Eureka College.  The Outstanding Young Alumi Award exists to recognize excellence in one's profession or service to his or her community within 15 years of graduation.

Sarah was born in California, but discovered Eureka College and the Ronald Reagan Fellow program when she was a high school junior, living in Ohio, where her Dad was stationed in the Air Force. Sarah and her parents decided to visit the campus, and were impressed with the high caliber faculty, the impressive students, and the multiple opportunities available, especially for such a small school.  Sarah received her B.A. in History with a minor in Political Science from Eureka College in 1996.  Sarah graduated with honors: Summa Cum Laude; Ronald W. Reagan Leadership and Service Scholar; Academic Honors Program.  Part of Sarah’s Eureka College experience included spending a summer at Sophia University in Tokyo, participating in a United Nations World Conference in Beijing, China, completing several mentorships in Washington, DC, and traveling to New York City and Washington, DC with the Reagan Fellows.  Sarah even met Ronald and Nancy Reagan in person.

After graduating from Eureka College, Sarah went to the London School of Economics, in London, UK, where she completed a master’s in (international) development studies.  Upon completion, Sarah worked in Washington, DC as a contractor for the US Agency for International Development for a few years.  Realizing that she needed practical experience working in poor countries (rather than just from academic training reading about poverty in books), she joined the US Peace Corps.  For two years, Sarah lived in a small, rural Senegalese village, where she worked primarily as a health volunteer, focusing heavily on malaria prevention.  In Senegal, malaria is the leading cause of death and primarily affects children under five. 

Upon returning to the US, Sarah moved to Seattle, where she worked for four years at a non-profit global health organization called PATH in a program called the Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), which is seeking to develop the world’s first malaria vaccine.  In early 2007, she left PATH to start her own consulting firm, working primarily in the area of global health with an emphasis on supporting the research and development of new products for neglected diseases. While Sarah has worked for governments and private organizations, her primary client is the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation.

Sarah’s fondest memories of Eureka College were her interactions with professors.  Her all-time favorite professor at Eureka was Dr. Junius Rodriguez. Sarah felt he made history come alive, challenged her to think critically, and helped her to hone her writing skills. Sarah thought there were so many talented and memorable professors at Eureka and was lucky to have benefited from so much individual attention.

When Sarah was asked how ‘Eureka College helped shape and prepare her to become the person she is today,’ she answered, “Eureka College shaped me by offering me a challenging and well-rounded liberal arts education. Personal attention from professors made possibly by small class sizes helped me build self-confidence and leadership skills that I would depend on later in life, from the smallest African villages to the halls of Capitol Hill and to the offices of the world’s largest private foundation.

In recognition of her contributions to her profession, her community, and her alma mater, the Eureka College Alumni Association is proud to honor Sarah Lunt Ewart as a 2009 Outstanding Young Alumna.

Sarah was unable to be here this evening but is thrilled to be honored.  She hopes to return to Eureka in the near future, but in the meantime, has expressed her deep appreciation for this honor.

Donna Happach '95

Donna Happach joins us as one of this year’s Outstanding Young Alumni award recipients. Recognizing excellence in one's profession or service to his or her community within 15 years of graduation.

By the time Donna Happach found Eureka College, she had had a long and successful career in corporate management.  As a non-traditional student, Donna was looking for a school with smaller class sizes, individual attention, with the perfect foundation for the field of social work.  When her friend and eureka alum, Minta Littlejohn suggested Eureka College may be the place for Donna and encouraged her to set up a meeting with Dr. Bill Staudenmeier.  Even today, Donna credits Minta Littlejohn and Professor Staudenmeier for being the most influential people in her education at Eureka College.  Donna says, “Minta and Dr. Staudenmeier patiently challenged me as I confronted and came to terms with old belief systems and developed new belief systems.  Without their friendship, guidance and encouragement, I would not be who I am today.”

Donna received her BA in Sociology and Psychology from Eureka College in 1995, then attended Washington University in St. Louis, MO and received her Masters of Social work.  Donna and long-time sweetheart and soul-mate, Ben, eloped immediately following Donna’s graduation from Wash U.  They currently live in Columbia, South Carolina, where they enjoy their large extended family of grown children, step-children, and grandchildren.

After completing her education, Donna worked with the homeless population in Savannah, Georgia for 7 years.  She co-founded the Bread & Butter Café, an up-scale café that provided job training for homeless men and women.  The program was nationally recognized as a best practices model and was featured by USA Today, Southern Living, Good    Morning America and The Food Network.  In 2004, Donna was awarded the Jodie Spiegel Award for outstanding achievement in workforce development by the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals. In 2005, Donna joined ParentingPartners in Columbia, SC as Executive Director.  The organization provides home-based family preservation and therapeutic services to families with substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect.  Donna serves on the South Carolina Child Welfare Task Force, The SC Department of Juvenile Justice Planning and Evaluation Committee, and the SC Methamphetimine and Drugs of Abuse Task Force.  Donna frequently presents at workshops and conferences around the state and teaches in the Masters of Social Work Department at University of South Carolina.

Donna Happach

Today we honor Donna Presley Happach for her accomplishments as an Outstanding Young Alumni and we are humbled by her kind words toward Eureka College, faculty, and staff.  

“The study of sociology at Eureka was a turning point in my life.  It literally changed my politics, my faith and my life’s mission.  Through my studies, I came to understand the significance of poverty and inequality in the U.S.  Eureka’s focus on effective writing helped me to find my voice.  Although I had a successful career prior to returning to college, it was my experience at Eureka that gave me the confidence to move forward into a new career.  The person I am today—a dedicated child and social welfare advocate—is a much better person than the middle-aged, privileged white woman who come to Eureka College in 1993.” 

In recognition of her contributions to her profession, her community, and her alma mater, the Eureka College Alumni Association is proud to honor Donna Happach as a 2009 Outstanding Young Alumna.

Dr. Nate Hutchings '96

We honor Dr. Nathan Hutchings who has been selected as one of this year’s Outstanding Young Alumni at Eureka College.  The Outstanding Young Alumi Award recognizes excellence in one's profession or service to his or her community within 15 years of graduation.

Nate was born in Olney, lived in Oblong until he was 4 years old, and raised in Sullivan, Illinois.  Nate’s father was his high school guidance counselor, and he encouraged Nate to apply to schools where he could continue playing football AND get a quality education.  He also encouraged Nate to apply for the Reagan Scholarship at Eureka College.  When he was awarded the Reagan Scholarship, Nate knew Eureka College was the obvious best choice for him. 

As an athlete at Eureka College, Nate was a 4-time all conference wide receiver (first 4-time wide receiver in conference history), runner up for the Division III player of the year, and academic All-American.  Nate was a nominee for the NAIA A.O. Doer award and was the Burger King/USA Today/Sport Illustrated Scholar Athlete.  Through the Reagan Fellows Program, Nate had an internship at Macquarie University and Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, Australia for molecular biology and cancer research.  He also had an internship at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH in Human Clinical Genetics observation. 

Nate began his career in 1996 as a graduate research and teaching assistant at the University of Iowa.  From there, he became a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Illinois.  Nate then became an Assistant Professor of Biology at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches (Nak-a-tish), Louisiana where he was Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Interdisciplinary Experimentation and Scholarship (IDEAS) Program.  Nate was a research mentor to the first Barry M. Goldwater Scholar in NSU history.  In 2005, Nate became an Associate Professor and Chairman in the Department of Biological Sciences at Louisiana State University Shreveport, in Shreveport, Louisiana.  At LSUS, Nate was the founder and Executive Director of the Leadership Education and Development (LEAD-LSUS) Program.  Nate is currently President & Chief Operating Officer of Bear Creek Services, an Oil & Gas Consulting & Service Company. 

Dr. Nate Hutchings

Nate currently lives in Shreveport with his wife of 14 years, Jennifer (Swanson) Hutchings and their two sons, Alexander (10 years old) and George (7 years old).

Nate’s fondest memories at Eureka College were meeting his (future) wife at Freshmen Orientation and spending a significant portion of his freshman year trying to convince her to date him and going to the National Playoffs during the 1994-1995 season.  When Nate was asked how Eureka College prepared him to be the person he is today, he said, “Interestingly, I can’t look back on my curriculum at EC and identify individual classroom experiences that precipitated major life decisions.  However, the sum of my educational experiences laid a solid knowledge foundation that I was able to build life-skills upon as I took the lessons learned through my EC experience and applied them to the choices I made beyond the ivy.”  

In recognition of his contributions to his profession, his community, and his alma mater, the Eureka College Alumni Association is proud to honor Nate Hutchings as the 2009 Outstanding Young Alumnus.