Coe News & Features

Shayla James ’13 can’t imagine her life without music. After all, 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.

Since its early years, Coe has been a college dedicated to offering an inclusive coeducational experience. Founders and members of the original board of trustees were early advocates of equal rights and education for all individuals. Last summer, the Coe College Board of Trustees continued that tradition by unanimously passing a resolution addressing diversity, equity and inclusion. Authored by Trustee Robert Darryl Banks ’72, the passing of the resolution was described as momentous by Life Trustee Bruce Spivey ’56.

Coe College is proud to announce Angelina Ramirez ’22 has been named a 2021 Truman Scholarship finalist. The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation awards a $30,000 graduate fellowship to distinguished college students pursuing careers in public service. Nearly 845 students across the nation completed the rigorous application process that includes seven essays and a detailed policy proposal. Ramirez is among 193 students shortlisted as a finalist for the prestigious award.

Once again, Coe College is receiving national recognition as one of the U.S. colleges and universities with the most Fulbright U.S. students. As the producer of 32 Fulbright students in the last eight years, Coe has been named a top producer of Fulbright U.S. students three of the last four years. Coe holds the highest percentage of applicants receiving awards among bachelor’s institutions in Iowa for 2020-2021.

Kohawks have one of campus’s best kept secrets right under their beaks. For many of life’s biggest questions, people oftentimes turn to counselors or clergy members for answers. At Coe, students find both in the Rev. Melea White. Melea serves as Coe’s college chaplain and counselor. A role that is more unique than most realize.

For the fourth year in a row, Coe College is recognized as one of the nation's most environmentally responsible colleges in the 2021 edition of The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges.