Rooted in Beloit, thriving beyond the classroom

Credit: Greg AndersonEach spring, as our graduating class of Beloiters dons their caps and gowns, we celebrate their academic achievements and the unique journeys that brought them here. Year after year, our graduates have gone on to successful careers and lives around the country and the world. Recently, many are choosing to stay in Beloit and the surrounding region to launch their next chapter. Their decision to put down roots is a powerful testament to the strength of our growing community partnerships, the pragmatic value of a Beloit education, the community’s support of our mission and students, and the vibrancy of the city and region we’re proud to call home.

Since the renovation of the Col. Robert H. Morse Library and the creation of Impact Beloit on its first floor, initiatives like the Concierge Internship and Community Fellows programs have revitalized students’ connections with local businesses, nonprofits, schools (even other colleges), and city institutions. These opportunities provide meaningful, hands-on experience and often lead directly to full-time employment after graduation.

Consider the transition from college to career for several recent graduates. AJ Fitzpatrick ’25 turned his college-supported internship into a role as a Customer Care Intern at Kerry Group, an international leader in nutrition innovation. Katie Arnold ’25 is also working at Kerry Group as an Events Specialist. Their stories echo those of Kaitlyn Hudetz ’25, who stepped into an accounting role at CCI, a local general contracting firm, and Rafaella Pavarini de Souza ’25, a graduate from Brazil, who’s now working as an accountant at First National Bank & Trust in downtown Beloit. Each got their foot in the door through the college’s career-integrated programs as interns, and now are living and working right here in the region.

Ethan Watts ’25 interned with Hendricks Commercial Properties before joining Savant Wealth Management, one of our Concierge Internship partners, back in his hometown of Rockford, Illinois. Stella Lutes ’26 found her niche in sponsorship services with the Sky Carp, Beloit’s minor league baseball team, while Jade Vangeisen ’24 now coordinates swim programs at the Stateline YMCA. And Yaksh Ujoodha ’25, who came to Beloit from Mauritius, began immediately after graduation with an internship at Waldom Electronics in Rockford.

We’re proud of our graduates entering the teaching profession—another area where Beloit College alumni are making a local impact. Devorah Gray ’24 and Marlee Young ’24 are teaching English and STEM, respectively, right here in the School District of Beloit. Each of them began their teaching careers in the very classrooms where they completed their student teaching.

These are more than individual successes. They show the college’s vision for an outcomes-driven, pragmatic, liberal-arts education rooted in our local community. This developing relationship between the college and the city fuels our campus. It enriches our local economy, and creates a powerful cycle of mutual growth, where students aren’t just educated in Beloit, they contribute to Beloit. We look forward to seeing the ways in which their stories continue to take root and flourish wherever they go, in our own backyard or around the world.

From the president’s nook,
Eric Boynton