Alumni

Northern Michigan University alumnus Nick VanCourt is one of six inaugural winners of the Traverse Magazine Tastemakers of the Year Awards, which celebrate “six innovators who are changing the food and beverage conversation in northern Michigan.” The 2004 media production and new technology graduate is brewer and superior saisonnier at Barrel + Beam Brewery in Marquette, which he co-owns with his wife and 2003 NMU speech communication alumna, Marina Dupler.

Northern Michigan University alumnus and former Wildcat football player Jim Mansfield has found retirement fulfillment in his role as a volunteer blood courier in Spokane, Wash. The 84-year-old loves to drive and it shows. Mansfield has logged more than 256,000 road miles delivering life-saving blood to rural hospitals over two decades of volunteer service.

Northern Michigan University Alumni Relations will continue its Northern Now digital event series with a family-friendly book reading with author, TikTok influencer and alumnus Mylan Murphy '12, '14. He will begin by reading his motivational children's book, It Only Takes 1, which tells his story of becoming an entrepreneur at the young age of 13. Murphy will also answer questions about being a TikTok influencer, building his Motivated by Mylan brand, and how to overcome challenges along the way. 

Northern Michigan University alumnus Ryan Grim is Marquette's new chief of police and harbor master, effective April 11. He previously served as lieutenant and acting patrol captain. The Marquette City Commission approved the appointment and held a swearing-in ceremony at its March 28 meeting.  

Northern Michigan University alumnus Cole Klein, recently assumed a new role as elementary school principal with Houghton-Portage Township Schools. He fills a vacancy left by another NMU graduate, Anders Hill, who is the district's new superintendent. 

Northern Michigan University alumna Meghan Lane of Wakefield recently joined the Superior Health Foundation's Board of Directors as the representative for Gogebic County and the western Upper Peninsula. She graduated in 2003 with a major in media production and new technology and a minor in journalism.

Northern Michigan University alumnus Steve Kass received the 2022 Innovative Leader Award from the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning. He was honored during the March 17 opening keynote at MACUL's annual conference in Grand Rapids.

Grace Chaillier, a Northern Michigan University alumna and recently retired adjunct professor in the Center for Native American Studies, was selected as a recipient of NMU's 2021-2022 Excellence in Part-Time Faculty Teaching Award. 

Kelly Reed, a 2007 Northern Michigan University business management graduate and former Wildcat quarterback, is the new CEO at VAST in Marquette. He has been with the insurance and risk management firm for 15 years, most recently as a risk adviser for health care providers throughout the United States.

After serving as a writer for NBC sitcoms, Northern Michigan University theater alumnus William Missouri Downs realized his “heart was always on the stage,” so he left Hollywood for a cabin in Colorado to focus on his passion for playwriting. Downs' latest play, a pandemic-inspired comedy titled “Asking Strangers the Meaning of Life,” is being performed at the Detroit Repertory Theatre through April 3.