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Four alumni to receive exclusive awards
By Elizabeth Anderson
Collegian Freelancer
Four alumni
expect more from this weekend's Homecoming activities than football
and old friends. Rebecca Schmidt Abel, John Drake, Sally Giauque
and Walter Woodhams have been chosen as the recipients of the
2003 Alumni Awards.
The four will be awarded at a
special tree dedication ceremony at 9:30 a.m., Oct. 18.
The awards were instituted in
the early 1950s and are extremely exclusive; only four to six
alumni are chosen annually out of 11,000.
The recipients are nominated based
on their achievement and selected by the Alumni Board Awards
Committee.
Rebecca Schmidt Abel, `77, was
a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, the Panhellenic Council,
the Lambda Iota Tau literature honorary, the Sigma Alpha Iota
women's music fraternity and the college choir. She was also
the senior class secretary, the Activities Board Director and
was named in "Who's Who in American Colleges" in 1977.
After graduation Schmidt Abel
worked as a staff writer for the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph.
She graduated in 1985 with a doctor
of osteopathy degree from the University of Osteopathic Medicine
and Health Sciences in Des Moines, Iowa. She is currently the
section chief of nephrology for the West Virginia University
School of Medicine.
"Professors at Hillsdale
had faith in me and supported me long past graduation,"
she said. "A lot of my work as a doctor involves teaching
medical students and resident physicians, and until I became
a mentor for some of these young people, I didn't comprehend
how much pride it must have given my professors that I was able
to follow my dream and achieve my goals. I did so because of
them."
Along with her doctoral work she
has also been a member of Hillsdale's Alumni Executive Board
since 1996 and has served as its vice president since 2002.
"I was given the opportunity
to give back to Hillsdale by becoming an alumni board member,"
she said.
John Drake, `74, practically grew
up on Hillsdale's campus. As a Hillsdale native, he remembers
playing with the president's children at Broadlawn.
Drake served in the U.S. Navy
for four years before attending Hillsdale College in 1972. He
graduated with a degree in psychology.
After graduation Drake worked
for CMS Energy Corporation, later Consumers Energy Company.
After 30 years he is now the senior vice president of human
resources and oversees approximately 11,500 employees in 26
countries.
Drake said he owes his success
with his company to Hillsdale. He was working in the conference
center when a CMS group offered him a job.
"I had opportunities at Hillsdale
that I wouldn't have had anywhere else," he said.
He is involved with King's Garden
Children's Home in Balanga, Batan, Philippines. He is also developing
a children's orphanage in Toledo City, Cebu, Philippines in
conjunction with World Vision.
He has contributed to Hillsdale
financially as well as conducted senior seminars on how to find
a job.
"Hillsdale took care of me
so I feel the need to take care of them," he said.
Sally Giauque, `50, was surprised
to learn she was a recipient of the award.
"Wasn't there anybody else?"
she laughingly asked when notified of the honor.
Giauque graduated with a degree
in home economics and was active on campus. She participated
in the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, the biology club, the Winona
yearbook, the Panhellenic Council, the choir double quartette,
and the home economics club. She also served as the East Hall
treasurer and the membership chairman of the college choir.
She has remained an active part
of the campus through her involvement with the Kappa Kappa Gamma
sorority where she has served as an advisor for 37 years. She
also served as both chairman of the chapter advisory board and
president of the house board. For three years she was the KKG's
Delta Province Director of Chapters.
Walter Woodhams attended Hillsdale
College after first graduating from Howe Military School. He
went on to graduate from Hillsdale in 1953 with a degree in
business administration. While on campus he was involved with
the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, student council, and the Tower
Players.
In 1983 he founded Woodcrest Manufacturing,
Inc., a pine wood bedroom furniture production company headquartered
in Peru, Ind.
His company was named Outstanding
Industry of the Year by the Peru Area Chamber of Commerce in
1988, 1991 and 1995. It was also named to Inc. magazine's list
of the 500 fastest growing private businesses in 1988 and in
Wood magazine's list of the top 100 woodworking companies in
1991.
Woodhams is also a member of the
Hillsdale College President's Club.
The awards ceremony is just one
of the many activities planned for alumni and students this
weekend. There will also be a car show and an all-school tailgate
party at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. There will be class reunions and
an all-alumni/all-school party Saturday night. The weekend will
end with brunch on Sunday.
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