Generation Swap

Eileen Chamberlin, originally from Illinois, has been living in Michigan since 1995. She and her husband have two daughters now successfully released into the world, plus three dogs and a cat still at home. Eileen is a clinical therapist mostly retired but still maintains a small private practice. She spends her free time reading, knitting, gardening, and in cordial competition with her husband do...

Jan Slotten retired in 2019 after a 37+-year career with Farmers (Foremost) Insurance Company, where she served as a project manager, copywriter, operations manager, and more. Jan earned her Masters in Management at Aquinas while working full time.  In retirement, Jan enjoys volunteering, taking OLLI classes, travel, reading, and spending time with family and friends.  Sophia Lentine is a junior a...

Jenny Wood Shangraw graduated from Aquinas College in 1971 and then worked at the Grand Rapids Public Library, specializing in business, demographics, economics, and cultural history.  This knowledge led her to become the Business Information Cybrarian for West Michigan’s economic development organization.  Participating in Generation Swap allowed her to share current business and economic trends...

Dan Measday is 76 years old and a 1970 graduate of Aquinas College. A native of New Jersey, he has lived in Michigan for over 50 years. Dan is a sports fan and follows baseball, football, ice hockey, and golf. Cristian Zacharias is a sophomore at Aquinas and is from Grant, MI. He is studying Business Administration & Sports Management. He enjoys playing soccer, Magic: The Gathering, writing po...

Cindy Ritter grew up in Detroit and has lived in Grand Rapids for 55 years. She began her career as a dental hygienist and later became an elementary school teacher after graduating from Aquinas.  She is now retired but stays busy with her five sons and 16 grandchildren, her church (St. Robert), as a Kent County CASA and refugee resettlement volunteer, and with scrapbooking, softball, and Osher Li...

Kate Schirmer grew up in Grand Rapids and later moved to rural Newaygo County. She raised two boys and worked as a swim teacher before returning to school as a non-traditional aged student to get a teaching degree. For 20 years she taught 4h grade in Fremont Michigan.  Katie is now retired and is a 15-year cancer survivor. Jessy Gomez is a new Aquinas College graduate. She majored in Spanish and i...

Tom Miller is a Michigan native. He’s lived much of his life in the Grand Rapids area, as well as having spent several formative years in Kalamazoo and Pennsylvania. He retired a few years ago from a career as a lawyer. Since then, he’s been a regular Osher Lifelong Learning Institute student, community volunteer, traveler (with his spouse), struggling golfer, and – most fun of all – “Grandpa.” Ca...

Steve Murray was born and raised in the Grand Rapids area and has spent his entire life in West Michigan. In retirement he enjoys hanging with his dog, watching grandkids’ sporting events, taking Osher Lifelong Learning Institute classes, and plugging into various volunteer opportunities whenever possible. Olivia White is a sophomore at Aquinas College majoring in Elementary Education. She is hopi...

Penny Murray's 72-year life journey is founded on faith. She is blessed with 3 children and 9 grandchildren, satisfied in 44 years of nursing, and partnered today with Steve in the joy of life-long learning. Aquinas has provided classes for a degree-seeking adult student, and OLLI has been an amazing growth opportunity in retirement for her. Jessica Kean is a junior at Aquinas College pursuing...

Marty Arnold taught writing at Aquinas College, was a journalist, editor, and a non-profit administrator. Since retiring she has published two novels and is re-wilding her yard. Emma Pearson is an Aquinas College sophomore majoring in biochemistry. She loves spending time with kids and animals and is interested in pursuing pediatric medicine. As part of an Aquinas College class on preparing for li...

Diane Friar was a CPA and worked with a local firm for 37 years, where she became a partner. She worked for many years in litigation support and business valuation, work she greatly enjoyed. She retired in 2014 and has been attending Osher Lifelong Learning Institute classes since then. An alumna of Aquinas College, she has two grown children and two grandchildren. Ashley Snyder is a junior at Aqu...

Gary Eberle is a professor of English emeritus at Aquinas College. He is the author of eight books of fiction and nonfiction, a two-time recipient of the Teacher of the Year award, and in 2019 was inducted into the Aquinas College Hall of Fame. Aidan Raffaele is a senior at Aquinas College from Cadillac, MI, studying political science. He enjoys playing golf. After graduation, he plans on attendin...

Steve Murray was born and raised in the Grand Rapids area, and spent his entire life in West Michigan. In retirement he enjoys hanging with the dog, watching grandkids’ sporting events, taking OLLI classes, and plugging into various volunteer opportunities whenever possible. MacKenzie Morris is a junior at Aquinas College majoring in Biology with hopes of getting into veterinary school. Outside of...

Cindy Ritter grew up in Detroit and became a dental hygienist at University of Detroit Dental School.  She has lived and worked in the Grand Rapids area for 55 years and during this time began her second career as an elementary school teacher after graduating from Aquinas.  She in now retired, but stays busy with her 5 sons’ families (including 16 grandchildren), with her church (St. Robert), as a...

Dan Measday is a native of New Jersey and a 1970 graduate of Aquinas College.  He and his wife celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2022.  He is retired after a career in a variety of jobs, including 30 years in sales positions. Noah Reilly is a Grand Rapids native. He came to Aquinas College in 2021 and is studying Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and minoring in Data Analytics. He is p...

Rick Armbruster has had a nontraditional career path that has allowed him to focus on family and community. Currently, he is the President & Founder of Upcycle Bikes, providing bikes to community members in need of an affordable and accessible transportation option. Suzanne Callahan is an Adjunct Professor of Business Administration at Aquinas College. Her background is in leadership, strategy...

Douglas Kindschi is in his 47th year at Grand Valley State University, where he is the founding director of the Kaufman Interfaith Institute. He previously served as dean for 28 years, mainly as Dean of Science. He did graduate work in mathematics, philosophy, and theology at the University of Chicago Divinity School and the University of Wisconsin Madison, where he received his Ph. D. Rev. Kyle K...

Martha Porter is a Grand Rapids native and mom to two adult daughters.  She retired in 2017 after a 40-year career with Amway Corporation. She is a long-time member of Grace Episcopal Church and currently serves on the vestry. Samee Teachworth graduated from St. Patrick School in Portland, Michigan, and came to Aquinas where she is studying Business Administration and Communication with a con...

Mike Burton is from the Detroit area and was adopted as a baby 75 years ago.  He served in the military and was in combat in Vietnam.  His career included time as a social worker, probation officer, and guardian ad litem. He and his wife have one son, Brian, who lives in Albuquerque, NM, with his wife. Ryan Gillings is a student at Aquinas College. He loves baseball and is excited t...

Frank Schuller is an alumnus of Aquinas College, having completed the Master of Management program in 2012.  He has served in people leadership for nearly forty years with three career restarts. Most of his experience is sales team leadership.  Currently he serves as general manager with Grand Rapids Iron & Metal, a commercial and industrial scrap material recycler. Frank’s 35-year m...

Gary Eberle is a professor of English emeritus at Aquinas College. He is the author of eight books of fiction and nonfiction, a two-time recipient of Teacher of the Year award, and in 2019 was inducted into the Aquinas College Hall of Fame. Liam O'Brien is a fifth-year student at Aquinas College, majoring in Political Science, and minoring in Marketing and Communications. He is committed to acquir...

Dave Kampfschulte is a retired teacher who currently teaches at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Aquinas College as well as serving as Director of Amazing Circles Workshops. Olivia Sebright is a sophomore at Aquinas College, dual majoring in Business and Communications. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing sports, and meeting new people. As part of an Aquinas College c...

Rebecca Harvey is a strategist, architect, and communicator focused on Cybersecurity.  With her passion for organizational digital transformation, she's helped global Fortune 500 companies deliver a security foundation based on modern Cybersecurity principles and practices. In addition to co-founding the Women’s Security Alliance, WomSA.org, which is a non-profit organization design...

Dr. Ian Borton, Communications Professor at Aquinas College, has embedded the Generation Swap project into his Interpersonal Communications class for students interested in intergenerational relationships. Listen to him discuss his thoughts on the benefits of the Swapmate relationships, the ‘gamification’ of his syllabus, his recent travels in Greece, and a Dungeons and Dragons summer camp he crea...

Dave Kampfschulte has had a varied career in education, teaching in public schools and as an instructor for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Aquinas College. He is the Director of Amazing Circles Workshops.  As an avid pickleball player, beating the younger players makes his day! Diana Rockstad is currently a junior at Aquinas College studying Psychology, with a concentrat...