A teacher in a classroom of students
  1. Coe
  2. Academics
  3. Majors & Areas of Study
  4. Philosophy
  5. Successful Alumni

Successful Alumni

Coe philosophy graduates have acquired positions in teaching, social work, law, business and theater. Some have gone on to graduate studies in these same fields as well as in religious ministry, community service and politics.

  • Claire Rasmussen (philosophy and political science), a regional finalist in the 1998 Rhodes Scholarship competition, Ph.D. from University of Washington and currently assistant professor of Political Science at the University of Delaware.
  • Douglas Lawrence (philosophy), J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley and practicing law in San Francisco, CA.
  • Micheal O'Nele (philosophy and theater arts), M.F.A. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, assistant professor of theater at University of Memphis.
  • Krislyn Holaday (philosophy and English), J.D. from Syracuse University and currently an attorney with a law firm in Milwaukee.
  • Peter Bastianen (philosophy and psychology), J.D. from New England School of Law and currently an attorney in Chicago, IL.
  • John Rudisill (philosophy and english), Ph.D. in Philosophy from University of Iowa, currently Assistant Professor of Philosophy at The College of Wooster in Wooster, OH.
  • Luke VanderSchaaf '22 (philosophy and political science) recently completed a master's degree in public administration at Syracuse University, and he has accepted a position in Phoenix, AZ working as a budget analyst for the Governor's Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting.
  • Lindsay Selfridge '22 (philosophy and environmental studies) recently graduated with her master's in public policy from American University and credits her love of learning to the philosophy department at Coe College.  She currently works in Washington, D.C., as a policy analyst at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  Lindsay has particularly benefited from taking the Environmental Ethics course, as it has enabled her to better develop and defend environmental policy decisions.
  • Laura Niday '21 attended George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, where she served as a member of multiple legal organizations and as a Research Editor of George Mason Law Review.  She received her J.D. with a concentration in antitrust law in May of 2024.  She is a a licensed attorney in Virginia, and is currently studying for the Uniform Bar Exam, to practice in Washington, D.C.  This fall she will begin practicing as an associate attorney at Steptoe LLP, and international law firm headquartered in D.C.