Coe News & Features

Coe College attracts those who are bold, passionate and engaged, even if they don’t find their way to campus until later in life. Joan Lipsky is a prime example of someone who had the qualities of a Kohawk well before becoming a member of the Coe community.

Kailey Blunk '22 is a go-getter. As a first-year student, she planned her four years at Coe College in seven hours and now is leveraging her talent to get the most out of summer. The communication studies and public relations double major, with double minors in creative writing and gender studies, fills the little free time she has with any opportunity to write.

MyKeisha Wells is trading Coe’s campus for the bustling streets of Istanbul as a recipient of the prestigious U.S. Department of State Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.

As a peer consultant and executive function coach at the Coe College Writing Center, Ally is taking her coaching talents to a second writing center. She was selected to intern at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia writing center.

Later this year, Coe College will begin construction on its new Center for Health and Society (CHS), which will house the college’s innovative programs related to health and well-being in all aspects of society. HS to be named in honor of Coe’s 15th president, David McInally, and former Coe First Lady Janice McInally.

Shayla James ’13 can’t imagine her life without music. Afterall, she’s played the piano since she was 6 years old.

This year, The Princeton Review ranked Coe 10th nationally on its list of Best Schools for Internships in the private college category, as well as 20th for Best Alumni Network among private colleges. In keeping with those rankings, nearly 50 Coe students are completing internships this summer, and many of them are making connections with Coe alumni in the process.

Known for a long tradition of lively lectures and captivating performances, the Marquis Series will return for a complete season during the 2021-22 academic year.

Coe College is proud to introduce the Coe Kids on Course Scholarship beginning fall 2022. The college is partnering with the Zach Johnson Foundation to provide a renewable award of $36,000 per year to eligible incoming Kids on Course students who meet admission and renewal criteria.

Coe College is introducing a new interdisciplinary data science major, beginning fall 2021. As a college dedicated to equipping its students with the tools and connections to be positive change leaders, adding data science is a natural forward-thinking step. Less than one-third of college campuses in Iowa offer a data science degree.

Harold Walehwa, ’21 and Dr. Neal McNabb, Assistant Professor and Chair of Social & Criminal Justice, have been named Coe College recipients of 2021 Iowa and Minnesota Campus Compact (IAMNCC) Presidents’ Awards. About 90 individuals and organizations are honored for accomplishments that exemplify and celebrate the public purpose at the heart of education.

Ryley McMahen ’21 came to Coe intending only to run cross country. He graduated having started a new club sports team, competed on an intramural sports team, embarked on a four week off-campus study trip and embraced a work-study position that completely redefined his pride in being a Kohawk.

The Princeton Review ranked Coe 10th nationally on its list of Best Schools for Internships in the private college category. This is the fourth consecutive year Coe has been ranked in the internship category. Coe also was ranked 20th nationally for Best Alumni Network for private colleges, which is a new recognition for the college.

Coe College alumnus and leader in the COVID-19 response Matt Clark ’95 has been named the college’s Commencement speaker. He will address both the classes of 2020 and 2021 in separate ceremonies the first weekend in May.

“Complete shock” is how Kalina Eskew ’21 described their reaction when notified they were the recipient of a prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) award from the National Science Foundation.

Sophia John ’24 set foot on campus for the first time eagerly facing a future where she graduates from Coe and puts on a white lab coat. John’s medical career aspirations are inspired by her mother, Shivanthi Ponniah ’96, a nurse practitioner who taught John medicine isn’t a profession. It’s a way of life.

Over 100 years ago, Mabel Lee, Class of 1908, enrolled at Coe College after seeing a photograph of the women’s basketball team. Little did she know she would become one of the most influential figures to advance women’s athletics and even serve as substitute for First Lady Lou Hoover in presiding over the women's sessions of the 1932 Olympics.

The Coe College Theatre Arts Department is proud to announce the winner of the Coe National Playwriting Contest and Festival. “30 Seconds” by Jayne Deely took first place from nearly 100 scripts submitted across the country. Established in 1993, Coe’s National Playwriting Contest and Festival is led by Assistant Professor of English Kate Aspengren and celebrated every two years.

In the winter of 2020, Marley Carviou ’22 landed a summer internship most can only dream of. With her plans set to complete an internship with FOX Sports in Los Angeles in the summer of 2020, COVID-19 derailed any chance of fun under the California sun. But there was a rainbow on the other side of stormy clouds when Marley’s Los Angeles internship was rescheduled for the summer of 2021. Meanwhile, she was offered a virtual internship in place of her planned trip.