The Alumni Council, a committee of thirty-five who work to encourage lifelong engagement with ϳԹվ, is honoring the recipients for the ways they help connect graduates and make the College a better place.
Each year, the Council presents awards to those who have demonstrated dedication to strengthening the ϳԹվ community and promoting its continued growth.
Six alumni were given the Polar Bear Award, two earned the Young Alumni Service Award, and one alumni each received the Alumni Footprints Award and the Foot Soldier of ϳԹվ Award.
Polar Bear Award
Established in 1999, this award recognizes significant personal contributions and outstanding dedication to ϳԹվ, honoring a record of service rather than a single act or achievement.
Abe Sharma ’08
Sharma believes in the power of the ϳԹվ network and has worked tirelessly to build community in places geographically distant from ϳԹվ’s campus—most recently in the Bay Area, where he partnered with the Office of Development and Alumni Relations to connect area Polar Bears in and around San Francisco.
Andrew R. Fried ’08
Fried has been a longtime class agent and reunion committee chair, linking his classmates to each other and to ϳԹվ. He has supported LGBTQ+ initiatives, promoted alumni engagement in New York, and made an imprint on many other areas across campus, using his gifts as a skilled connector and natural leader.
Catherine D. Chin ’08
Chin has demonstrated broad support for ϳԹվ Athletics, serving on the Polar Bear Athletic Fund (PBAF) Committee, the Hall of Honor selection committee, ϳԹվ Invitational Golf Tournament host committee, and by engaging with and promoting the ϳԹվ Softball community. Having served as an Alumni Fund Director, event host, reunion committee chair and Class Agent, she is a leader among her peers.
Eric F. Foushee ’90, P’20
Foushee has served as a longtime Class Agent and reunion committee chair, using his fundraising knowledge and expertise to generate significant donations to the College. He has also served on the Alumni Council and, as a ϳԹվ parent, offers a unique lens to his volunteer work that deepens his connection to and engagement across campus.
Joanie Taylor ’03
Taylor is a true ambassador for the College. Her longtime service as Class Agent culminated with her role as chair of the Alumni Fund Directors, she served as a reunion committee chair, ϳԹվ Career Advisory Network (BCAN) advisor, ϳԹվ Regional Admissions Volunteer Organization (BRAVO) interviewer, and ϳԹվ Invitational Golf Tournament committee member—and still makes the time for singular celebrations like the Leaders in All Walks of Life: Fifty Years of Women at ϳԹվ and the retirement of MaryBeth and Bob Mathews.
Sarah H. Lovely ’02
Lovely embodies the best characteristics of a ϳԹվ volunteer with her incredible presence, ability to lead and rally peers, kindhearted and thoughtful communication, and an eagerness to try new approaches to challenges. She has been a Class Agent since her graduation, has served as reunion committee member or chair, and has generously donated her time to the Admissions Office as a member of BRAVO and to the office of Career Exploration and Development.
Young Alumni Service Award
Established in 1999, this award is granted annually to a ϳԹվ alumnus who has graduated within the past ten years, recognizing a record of service to the College rather than a single act.
Jean-Paul J. Honegger ’15
Since graduating nine years ago, Honegger has stayed connected to his class as an associate class agent and to the College through initiatives with the ϳԹվ College Museum of Art. He also helps the College more broadly by serving as BRAVO chair for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Additionally, he organizes and hosts events for the ϳԹվ community in Europe.
Justin J. Pearson ’17
Since his graduation, Pearson has continued to give back to many areas and initiatives across the College, including work with Career Exploration and Development’s Sophomore Bootcamp, McKeen Center initiatives, and through speaking opportunities, most recently in commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s visit to ϳԹվ.
Alumni Footprints Award
Established in 2004, this award recognizes a volunteer who has left, in the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "footprints on the sands of time," through professional, academic, and/or volunteer activities, demonstrated leadership for the Common Good and a commitment to serving others.
Dora Anne Mills '82, P'24
Mills's work on initiatives for the health of Mainers epitomizes the common good. As chief health improvement officer for MaineHealth, and through her previous work as the Maine Center for Disease Control director, she has helped to develop a statewide public health infrastructure and Maine's response to the H1N1 influenza pandemic, and has implemented systems to address chronic disease prevention and environmental health hazards. During some of this time, she served simultaneously as the state epidemiologist. On campus, she shares her time, talents, and knowledge with the ϳԹվ community through speaking engagements and in other ways. She had a tremendous influence on the lives of her peers as a pioneer of coeducation at the College, and ϳԹվ is grateful for her participation in Fifty Years of Women at ϳԹվ.
Foot Soldier of ϳԹվ Award
The Foot Soldier of ϳԹվ Award was created by the Alumni Council in 1999, to honor “one who exemplifies the role of a foot soldier of ϳԹվ through his or her work” for the College. It was created through the generosity of David Z. Webster of the Class of 1957.
John D. Vegas ’93
Over the years, Vegas has served the College in a broad range of capacities—as an admissions volunteer, Alumni Council member, Sophomore Bootcamp volunteer and speaker, BCAN Advisor, reunion committee member, and most recently through his work with the Association of ϳԹվ Latinx Alumni (ABLA). He's helped to guide the College through the creation and implementation of ABLA, of which he is now the inaugural president. His leadership is transformational, and his impact on the College will be felt for generations to come.
