Alumni Award Winners

In the lead up to and during the fun of our Reunion Weekend 2025, we took time to celebrate alumni who are doing outstanding work in their fields, exemplary humanitarian service or volunteer work for Kenyon.

These awards recognize outstanding commitment to the College by specific alumni classes and individual members of the alumni community. Individual awardees are nominated by their peers or friends of the College, with final selections made by Alumni Council. The full list of award recipients is below.

Congratulations to this year’s winners!

2025 Alumni Award Recipients

Gregg Cup: Susan Berger ’85

Susan is an active leader of her regional association. Through her dedication, creativity and sheer force of personality, she has helped build a network that fosters a sense of community and pride among alumni in her area. She is a former trustee and also volunteers with the CDO, as a class agent and as a reunion committee member.

Her efforts to engage her classmates are unmatched. Whether reaching out to encourage participation in reunions, sharing updates about Kenyon, or fostering personal connections, she has been a steadfast and inspiring leader. Her class, known for its collective strength and commitment to the College, has flourished under her guidance.

She has made the College a philanthropic priority in her life and leads by example. Her ability to communicate the importance of giving and to educate others about the tools and resources available has significantly contributed to her class’s philanthropic success. This year they have the largest annual fund total for their reunion year ever and the highest participation for that reunion since coeducation began.

The Gregg Cup was donated to Kenyon College by Henry Sellers Gregg of the Class of 1881, a longtime Kenyon volunteer who served as a trustee of the College from 1917 until a year before his death in 1938. Originally intended to acknowledge the alumnus (or, since the advent of coeducation, alumna) who, in the opinion of the Alumni Council, had made the most significant contribution to the welfare of Kenyon in a given year, the Gregg Cup is now awarded in recognition of a history of service to the College.

Humanitarian Service Award: Jay Sears ’89

Jay founded the nonprofit Team Dayā, Inc. which works to fight poverty and illiteracy by funding and constructing primary schools in the developing world, in 2018. One of the inspirations for Jay was his experience studying abroad his junior year in Nepal. Daya means “kindness” in Nepali. Team Dayā completed their first school groundbreaking in Nepal in October 2019. The group actively funds primary school construction projects in remote areas of Nepal, Senegal, Guatemala and Nicaragua. In June, the group will hold the groundbreaking for its 10th school — in Malawi, East Africa. In addition, seeing local news coverage declining, in 2006 Jay started MyRye.com, covering his community of Rye, New York. Each summer the publisher hosts college and high school students to teach editing, photography and the importance of the fourth estate in a functioning democracy.

The Humanitarian Service Award, which is not necessarily conferred on an annual basis, is given at the discretion of the Alumni Council to members of the Kenyon family who have demonstrated a lifelong commitment to humanitarian service.

Greenslade Award: Ellen Turner ’80

Ellen has volunteered as a class agent and reunion committee member, inspiring classmates to stay connected to each other and the College. She has also served on Alumni Council and the Kenyon Board. Her enthusiasm and dedication have resulted in increased engagement and generosity, strengthening the legacy of her class and benefiting the College community as a whole. As a former admissions staff member, she shares her experiences and insights with prospective students, parents, students and fellow alumni, ensuring they feel the same sense of connection and belonging she has always felt for the College.

The Greenslade Award, which is not necessarily conferred on an annual basis, is given at the discretion of the Alumni Council to members of the Kenyon family including alumni, parents, employees and friends of the College who demonstrate the qualities of affection for and loyalty to Kenyon exhibited by the Greenslades in their many years of volunteer service to the College and its constituents, both on campus and off. The award honors the memory of Thomas Boardman Greenslade ’31, Kenyon archivist from 1967 until his death in 1990, and Mary MacWilliam Greenslade, an unofficial ambassador for the College both before and after her husband’s death until her own in 1994.

Anne J. Robinson Award: Emily Levi D'Ancona ’16

Emily has worked closely with alumni engagement staff to keep Chicago-area alumni connected with quarterly happy hours that draw a great crowd. With the help of fellow alumni from the regional association, Emily works to find venues around the city and is welcoming when alumni move to town. She was an international studies major at Kenyon and is now a training and operations manager at the Center for Health & Social Care Integration at Rush University Medical Center.

The Anne J. Robinson Award is awarded annually to the outstanding regional alumni association president recommended by the Alumni and Parent Engagement staff and endorsed by members of the Alumni Council.

Kenyon-to-Career Ambassador Awards

McKenna Trimble ’18
McKenna was an economics major who went on to attend OSU’s Fisher College of Business. She’s now a Data Analyst at JPMorgan Chase. She advocated for and arranged a full-day visit at JP Morgan for Kenyon students. This was a signature visit during the CDO's Fall Break Job Shadows. She ensured that all nine Kenyon alumni working there were in attendance to network with students and provide insights into their Kenyon experience and career paths. Because of her efforts, Kenyon's CDO is now partnered with JPMorgan Columbus and will continue hosting these recruiting events.

Kristen Ricordati '05
Kristen is the CEO and Executive Creative Director of Milestone Marketing, the agency she founded and continues to lead. A Kenyon English major, she has mentored and supported nearly 30 Kenyon students and alumnae over the years, offering not only summer internships but also part-time and full-time employment opportunities. She is deeply committed to guiding students as they explore careers in marketing, branding and creative strategy. She remains the first—and currently only—employer to offer exclusive internships to Kenyon students through the Kenyon in Columbus initiative.

The Kenyon-to-Career Ambassador Award is given in recognition of the individual who has significantly contributed to the professional development, career exploration, and post-graduate success of Kenyon students and alumni. The recipient has provided exceptional career-related support which may include multiple modes of network building, opportunity sourcing, and professional mentoring; and/or has demonstrated leadership toward enhancing innovative career resources and programming for students and alumni. It is conferred annually by the Career Development Office.

Distinguished Service Awards

Renee Peck ’75
Renee has a three decade history of service to Kenyon. She has volunteered with her regional association and at college fairs, partnered with the Career Development Office and is an enthusiastic and creative member of her reunion committee this year. At Kenyon, she was an English major who wrote for the Collegian. She went on to a three-decade career with the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. Her Kenyon connections are strong: her spouse is a member of the Class of 1974.

Ted Samuel '05
Ted is a member of his reunion committee and has volunteered as a CDO Mentor and served on Alumni Council. He also partnered with ODEI multiple times and did extensive work with the Alumni of Color Task Force, working for a full year to gain a better understanding of how to engage with, support and empower Kenyon’s alumni of color. He ensured the Task Force included alumni who had both positive and negative experiences with Kenyon, so a range of voices were heard. He worked tirelessly to schedule conversations, gather ideas, plan events and generate recommendations.

Distinguished service awards are presented to those alumni who, in the opinion of Alumni Council, have made a significant contribution to Kenyon in past years as volunteers for admissions, fundraising, career development, and regional association steering committees.

D. Morgan Smith Award: Steve Durning ‘75

Steve has exemplified the spirit of dedicated service to Kenyon College for 36 years and has not only helped maintain strong class connections, but has contributed to the College's advancement and career development goals. As a student, he was involved with the Chaser Singers, Student Council and the Chase Society. As an alumnus he has been active on his 50th reunion committee, as a class agent and as a CDO volunteer. He majored in English at Kenyon and is a retired English teacher.

This award is named for class agent D. Morgan Smith ’28, whose service on Alumni Council and work with students inspired the creation of the Student-Alumni Association. An annual award recognizing outstanding service as a class agent.

Bishop's Cup: Class of 1995, combining to give $34,877,802

Named for Bishop Philander Chase, the founder and first president of Kenyon College, this award honors the reunion class giving the largest amount to all areas at Kenyon.

Class of 1921 Plate: Class of 1985

The Class of 1921 Plate recognizes the class with the highest percentage of its members giving to the College — not including those classes celebrating their 50th reunions.

Peirce Cup: Class of 1975, with 33.7% of the class present

Named in honor of William Foster Peirce, president of Kenyon College from 1896-1937, the Peirce Cup recognizes the reunion class with the greatest percentage of its members attending Reunion Weekend.

KFEC Award: Class of 1985

The KFEC Award was created in 2007 to recognize the reunion class with the largest number of new leadership level donors to the Kenyon annual funds in the current fiscal year. (The 50th reunion class is not eligible for this award.)

Thomas Cup: Class of 1985, combining to give $336,116

The Thomas Cup honors the Reunion Class (5th through 50th classes) with the largest amount given and pledged to the Kenyon annual funds in the current fiscal year. It was named for William H. Thomas Jr., Class of ’36, who later served Kenyon as alumni director and vice president for development for 20 years.

Class of '87 Award: Class of 2005

The Class of ’87 Award was created in 2007 to recognize the class among those celebrating 5th to 20th reunions, with the largest total dollars given to the Kenyon annual funds in the current fiscal year.

Class of '62 Award: Class of 2005

The Class of ’62 Award is presented to the reunion class from the 5th to the 20th classes with the greatest percentage of members contributing to the College in the current fiscal year.

Class of '63 Cup: Class of 2020

The Class of ’63 Award is given to the reunion class with the greatest percentage increase in dollars given to Kenyon annual funds over the previous fiscal year.