Alumni

Northern Michigan University 2006 alumnus Chris Kelm is leading the North American sales division for The Vollrath Company, a global leader in the foodservice equipment industry. He earned a bachelor's degree in information systems, with a concentration in information tech marketing.

Mary (Aho) Brunet, a 1991 Northern Michigan University graduate with a bachelor's degree in management, received the Hankookin Heikki Award for preserving and promoting Finnish culture in the Copper Country.

Northern Michigan University 1998 alumnus Kelsey Mann is directing "Inside Out 2," the sequel to the Academy Award-winning best animated feature. The movie is slated for release in June 2024. It will follow the original human, Riley, as a teenager encountering new emotions. The returning voices of Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith and Lewis Black will introduce familiar characters Joy, Sadness and Anger.

Mark Hares, a 1989 Northern Michigan University alumnus who serves as mental health services manager at Marquette Branch Prison, will present "Psychology in Corrections" at 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, in The Science Building, room 2902.

Two Northern Michigan University alumni collaborated on a 20-minute independent documentary titled The Iron Town, which delves into Negaunee's mining history, current issues, and the key role that outdoor recreation is playing in guiding the city's future. Both will discuss the making of the film, with a screening to follow, at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Michigan Iron Industry Museum. The project premiered at the 2022 Fresh Coast Film Festival. 

NMU theater alumnus and Marquette native Orion Couling has been profiled by pridesource.com for directing short fan films inspired by “Lord of the Rings” and “Star Wars” that portray differently abled people as heroic protagonists. He recently walked the red carpet alongside four actors with Down syndrome to celebrate the world premiere of his second project, “Gemseeker.” His first film, “No Easy Target,” was about a colony that welcomes people of all abilities and proves their worth to a violent and dismissive First Order commander.

NMU alumnus Bill Thompson wrote a tribute on Outside's Climbing.com to his former professor and mentor Phil Watts, who passed away in late December and was known locally as the "Godfather of Marquette Climbing." Watts had retired in 2016 after 38 years at NMU, "directly introducing more than a thousand people to climbing through his classes and indirectly influencing many more through his internationally acclaimed rock climbing and mountaineering research," Thompson wrote.

Local archeologist and Northern Michigan University alumnus Jim Paquette will present “The Find of a Thousand Lifetimes,” the story of the historic 1987 discovery and subsequent excavation of one of the most celebrated archeological finds ever uncovered in the Upper Great Lakes Region. He and fellow NMU graduate John Gorto discovered a large treasure trove of 10,000-year-old Late Paleo-Indian/Early Archaic period projectile points within the drained reservoir bed of the Deer Lake Basin near Ishpeming, confirming Paquette's belief that ancient Native American peoples had once inhabited the central Marquette County area as far back as the end of the last Ice Age.

Jimmy Bruce, a Northern Michigan University alumnus from Escanaba, is serving as a member of the Commission on Services to the Aging (CSA) through July 28, 2025. He was appointed to the role by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Northern Michigan University alumnus Andrew Mendini is in the midst of his first year as the new principal of North Elementary School in Iron Mountain, Mich. He obtained his bachelor of arts degree in social studies/elementary education in 1997, and his master's in educational administration/supervision in 2008.