Nation’s storyteller
The art of the story has been perfected by Megan Wells, M.F.A. ’88, who is a Chicago theater artist and director as well as storyteller. She has performed for listeners of all ages at theaters, festivals, museums, symphonies and schools for more than 30 years. “Storytelling is my joy—launching listeners into galaxies of imagination,” she has said. Listeners are so enthralled that Wells consistently captures attention and praise. Her most recent honor is the 2016 National Storytelling Network Oracle Circle of Excellence Award. It acknowledges master storytellers who set the standards for excellence and have demonstrated a dedication to storytelling over time.
Checking it off
A potential obstacle for Marvin Russell ’02 as an ISU student resulted in Internet success. He shares his struggle with severe ADHD, which made it hard to focus as a student and complete even simple tasks. He initially created Checkli.com, a personal productivity app to make and share checklists, as a help to himself. Today more than 30,000 members around the world use it, including relief organizations posting needed supplies after a disaster. Thousands of students love it for sharing lists on social media. Russell has also developed MySiteAuditor, a website analysis tool offering digital marketing agencies support in 20 languages.
First in big league
The Arizona Diamondbacks, a professional baseball franchise, named Kelly Boyce its first female head athletic trainer in the team’s history. She is also the first woman named to the franchise’s Sports Medicine and Performance team. A 2014 athletic training graduate, she prepared to break into the field of professional male sports while at ISU. She was active in Campus Recreation as an employee and was president of the athletic training club in the College of Applied Science and Technology. Boyce, who completed a three-year internship with the team, is also a graduate assistant athletic trainer at Mesa Community College.
Across the pond
Robert Fitzgerald, a social science teacher at ISU’s University High School, left his classroom this spring. He’s put duties as assistant athletics activities director on hold too as he works in the United Kingdom through the Fulbright program. The 1997, M.S. 2004, and Ph.D. 2013 graduate is one of 45 citizens chosen through the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program for the 2016-2017 academic year. He is taking classes at the University College London Institute of Education, while working with U.K. teachers on making the history of the U.S. and the U.K. more inclusive to reflect diverse populations in each country.
