Lake Superior State University invites the community to help celebrate three distinguished alumni and outstanding friends of the institution during its annual Alumni Awards Banquet, part of Great Lake State Weekend (GLSW), Oct. 20-22.
The awards banquet begins at 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21, in the Walker Cisler Center. Reserve tickets at $10 per person by calling 906-635-2831, or by running a Web search on "GLSW 2022" to read more about other weekend events and buying tickets online.
Tickets for the awards evening are also available at the door.
Sophie Chandauka receives the Kenneth J. Shouldice Professional Achievement Award. The Shouldice Award, established in 1994, honors individuals whose personal and professional successes serve as outstanding examples to LSSU graduates. As the first chancellor and president (1965-1982), Shouldice guided the campus from a two-year branch of Michigan Technological University to an autonomous four-year college.
Chandauka graduated in 2000 summa cum laude with a degree in political science pre-law. Today she runs Americas Risk Management and Intelligence for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Oculus.
Previously, she was global chief operating officer of Shared Services and Banking Operations for Morgan Stanley. As head of Group Treasury (Legal) at the Virgin Money Group, she led the raising of upwards of $20 billion in capital over four years.
As campaigner for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Chandauka heads Race Equity Strategy for the 30% Club, and is chair and executive founder of the Black British Business Awards.
Last year she was honored by HM Queen Elizabeth II as a Member of the British Empire (MBE) for services to diversity in business.
Chris Conklin, a 1974 electronic engineering technology graduate, is the 2022 recipient of the LSSU Outstanding Alumnus Award.
Established in 1968, the award recognizes recipients for their personal and professional accomplishments and their involvement with LSSU, highlighting the significant achievements of alumni who serve as leaders in the region, state, and nation.
Conklin has worked for Consumers Energy, the Weltronic Corporation, NEWCOR Inc, Bechtel Corporation, and Dow Corning Corporation, where he retired after 30 years as senior measurement and controls engineer.
He gives back to the university by assisting with recruiting students at college nights. He also served for several years on the School of Engineering’s Industrial Advisory Board.
He is married to Carol Conklin and has two children, Kristine (Conklin) Goward, a fellow Laker alumnus, and Scott Conklin.
Jamie (Groos) Momber gets the 2022 Paul Ripley Award for Young Alumni. The award was established in 1994 and is presented to graduates who have enjoyed exceptional personal and professional success early in their careers.
Groos graduated summa cum laude in 2008 with Bachelor of Science degrees in computer networking and computer science. While a student at LSSU, she was a member of the volleyball team, Alpha Chi sorority, and served on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.
She also was the Outstanding Computer Science Graduate in 2008 and received the GLIAC Post-Graduate Scholarship.
After graduating in 2008, Groos went on to earn a master’s degree in computer science at Western Michigan University. During this time, she worked on the software for WMU’s VII (Vehicle Infrastructure Integration) program, sponsored by Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). She also taught undergraduate classes and received the WMU Graduate Teaching Effectiveness Award.
Just prior to graduation from WMU, she was recruited by Steelcase Inc. in Grand Rapids, Mich.
She is currently a senior application engineer with a company called PTC, where she builds solutions for internal business customers working with teams in the US, Mexico, Germany, and Malaysia. In 2019 she was part of a team recognized for custom-building an application on PTC’s ThingWorx Navigate. The team presented this application along with a case study to a large group of other PTC customers at the annual LiveWorx Conference in Boston.
Groos is an established cook and gardener and uses these skills to volunteer with various organizations in the Grand Rapids area, including The Renucci House and Kids Food Basket.
She is married to fellow Laker Alumnus, Ben Momber. They have two children, Colin (7) and Quinn (5).
Prior to Friday’s alumni awards evening, the public is invited to attend two events on Thursday, Oct. 20. A career fair runs between 3-6 p.m. in the Cisler Center. Although it is tailored to LSSU students, anyone can circulate among the dozens of exhibitors. At 7 p.m., 2022 alumni award recipient Sophie Chandauka will give a talk about power and attributes for career success in a global hybrid world.
Other alumni weekend events on tap for the public include fireworks right after Friday’s hockey game against Michigan. A 5-kilometer fun run starts at 9 a.m. Saturday morning in the Norris parking lot. Later in the day, 4-6 p.m., join a tailgate party with food and entertainment in the Student Activities Center.
The chemistry department celebrates its 75th year with commemorative activities 2-4 p.m. Saturday in Crawford Hall of Science.
Saturday also sees the admissions office offering an academic open house. Education classrooms are open 11-12:30 p.m. Laboratory tours for robotics, nursing, kinesiology, aquaponics, cannabis chemistry, and freshwater research and education are offered noon-1:30 p.m. All tours are guided and start at the Cisler Center.
Sports on tap for GLSW include hockey and volleyball. Laker hockey hosts the University of Michigan at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, and 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22 in Taffy Abel ice arena. On-ice recognition of 1972 and 1992 championship hockey teams happens between periods on Saturday night. Women’s volleyball plays Purdue University Northwest at 2 p.m. Saturday in Cooper gym. Finally, men’s and women’s American Collegiate Hockey Association Division II clubs host three home games, all in Taffy Abel. Women host Minnesota-Duluth at 9 p.m.
Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. The men’s club plays Adrian at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Whenever required, admission for all events can be collected at the door.
