News

The average regional vice president for KBS Realty Advisors has over 15 years of experience in the financial industry, so when Sterling College Alumnus Rigo Medina ’06 was promoted to a regional vice president position in the company, it was highly unusual both because of his age (he is the youngest VP at KBS) and his limited experience. However, his professors and coaches at Sterling College were not surprised.

When Assistant Professor Dr. Johnson Agbo came to Sterling College, he quickly put in a new equipment request. “I had to do a lot of improvisation to teach that first year,” he said.

When alumnus Phillip Rogers contacted a Sterling College administrator and said that he would like to make a donation earmarked for classroom equipment, his offer and Agbo’s need met.

It looked like just fun and games on Sunday night as the new Sterling College students passed a ring-shaped candy from one person to the next using only their teeth and a toothpick and then tied their legs together to compete in the “team-legged” race. However, they were actually increasing their chances to have a successful college experience. “Students who are involved and who have friends on campus are more likely to stay in college and earn a degree,” said Assistant Professor of Exercise Science Shawn Reed as he spoke to the students on Saturday. “National statistics say that most of you will not finish college, but that’s not the case at Sterling. We want each and every one of you to succeed.”

This past spring Sterling College’s Teacher Education Program Chair Dr. Gladys Ritterhouse travelled to Chicago’s West Side. She toured several neighborhoods there, visited a homeless shelter and had lunch in a restaurant serving soul food. These are not traditional tourist spots in Chicago, but Dr. Ritterhouse was not on vacation. She was attending the first-ever Council of Advisors for the Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture, an organization that Sterling College has partnered with for nearly a decade.