NEWS

Introducing the 2022 Class of 10 Within 10

Honorable alumni of Central Michigan University are recognized.

CMU prepares graduates for a lifetime of success, starting with their first decade after commencement. The 10 Within 10 alumni awards program recognizes exceptional achievements within a decade of graduation. This year's honorees achieved success quickly in their fields, which include journalism, philosophy, health fitness, music, and more. The Alumni Association is honored to recognize these ten recipients as the ninth Class of 10 within 10. The honorees were selected from more than 70 nominations.

Meet this year's 10 Within 10:

Alesondra (Alex) Christmas ‘18 is an ABD doctoral candidate in the Department of Dance at The Ohio State University, whose dissertation research focuses on Racial Battle Fatigue in Black women dance educators at predominantly White institutions. Her work centers on Black women and seeks to uplift their thought, labor, and creative practices.
Griff Gatewood ’14 is the Vice President of the Lighthouse Insurance Group in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Proving his selflessness, Gatewood uses his client and company connections to build strong relationships and make introductions connecting others in the West Michigan community. He takes pride in volunteering with Special Olympics and has been asked to join the Capital Campaign Committee to expand the effort of Special Olympics in the future. He has helped raise over $100,000 in the past four years for SOMI’s various fundraising efforts.  
Brooke Gow ‘17 is the Executive Director for the Family Service Agency (FSA) of Mid-Michigan. Under Gow’s leadership, the agency serves more than 7,000 clients annually in Genesee, Lapeer and Shiawassee counties. She has always had the desire to make a difference and aspired to be in a position where she could positively impact the lives of those around her. Gow provides internship opportunities for CMU Family Studies students at FSA, where they gain experience while making a difference in people’s lives.   
Karie Herringa ’14 is a Digital Executive Producer for E.W. Scripps Company-WXMI TV. Herringa is an award-winning journalist, a leader in digital news, and a role model to many. To give back to the CMU community, Herringa has been instrumental in hiring CMU graduates for entry-level digital news positions within her organization.  
Erin Horetski ‘14 graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Health Fitness and minor in Nutrition.  She received a certificate of Climate Change and Health from Yale School of Public Health and is completing a Master of Science in Global Health at Northwestern University. Horetski is an intern at Eat Well Global and was formerly the Diabetes Prevention Program Coordinator for the American Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists. She has been a leading force for diabetes prevention education. Her compassion for people and determination to improve resources for individuals led her to develop training and educational guides.  
Dr. Nasir Hussain ‘17 has recently completed his Interventional Pain Fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School. He was previously Chief Resident in the Department of Anesthesiology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center where he will be returning as an Assistant Professor to practice Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine and to serve as the Associate Program Director for the Interventional Pain Fellowship.  
Courtney Lorenz ‘14 is the Founder and idealist at Cultured Kombucha Co.-- Michigan’s premier brewer of organic kombucha located in Traverse City, Michigan. The company is certified organic, women owned, and operates with a triple bottom line business model. She has shown her intelligence, resilience, and dedication to the business by taking risks to allow it to grow and be successful.  
Dr. Matthew Quast ‘15 earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree with a major in the Science of Advanced Materials. He is the GM Resident Engineer on behalf of Henkel Corporation. Dr. Quast maintains an active relationship with CMU and has been hiring the support of students for research projects with the hope to provide learning experiences from real world commercial applications. 
Anthony Rizzo ‘15 is the Manager of Social Media and Community at RM Sotheby's.  He previously worked in social media at Hagerty and production at ESPN— positions where he used his communication and journalism skills to create exclusive content on various platforms. Fully embracing the meaning of being a CMU Chippewa, Rizzo has whole-heartedly taken his skills and experiences learned at CMU and put them into action in his professional career.  
Dr. Jordan VanHemert ‘12 earned a Bachelor of Music Education at CMU in 2012.  He continued his education at the University of Michigan, and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign earning a Doctorate of Music. He has a passion for music and has performed across the United States leading his own groups as well as performing with others. He was founder and Artistic/Executive Director of the Holland Concert Jazz Orchestra.