Alumni and friends of Northwest’s theatre program gathered July 13 to celebrate the founding of the Northwest Alumni Association’s Theatre Alumni and Friends Chapter. Pictured left to right are Professor of Theatre Dr. Joe Kreizinger, retired faculty member Dr. David Oehler, Jenny Kenyon Baker, Tina Campbell, Jerry Nevins, Anne Einig, Allison Mizerski Hanks, Kate Jorgensen McLellan, Elizabeth Bettendorf Bowman and Shawn Murphy.

The Northwest Alumni Association on July 13 commemorated the addition of its 22nd chapter, the Theatre Alumni and Friends Chapter, with a social gathering at Northwest–Kansas City in Gladstone.

Ten Northwest alumni and friends attended the event where Bob Machovsky, Northwest’s director of alumni relations and annul giving, presented the group with a chapter banner. Dr. Joe Kreizinger, a professor of theatre at Northwest, and Dr. David Oehler, a retired theatre faculty member, also joined the gathering. 

Jerry Nevins, a 1999 graduate, serves as the chapter’s president. Alison Mizerski Hanks, a 1998 graduate, serves as vice president.

“This group of alumni will make a great addition to the Alumni Association’s engagement efforts, and we look forward to seeing how they will carry on our mission of connecting, mentoring and promoting all things Northwest into the future,” Machovsky said.

The vision of Nevins and others to organize the chapter grew out of a recent visit to the Northwest campus. In addition to engaging with Northwest alumni of the University’s theatre program, the chapter’s initial goals include finding ways to mentor current Northwest theatre students and begin fundraising for a chapter scholarship. The group also is organizing a social this fall.

“The sense that we needed to tell the story of Northwest theatre as alumni and find ways to give back was just overwhelming,” Nevins said. “We all have such great memories of our time there, how the theater shaped us professionally and artistically, and that all came flooding back. We wanted to ensure future students have the same opportunities we did.” 

Today, Nevins is a senior marketing analyst with State Farm Insurance in Kansas City, Missouri. He also founded Snow & Co, a frozen cocktail bar and restaurant in Kansas City. Working in the insurance and marketing fields, he says his theatre experience at Northwest makes him a go-to person for the story-telling piece of major presentations, and he knows what it takes to work under tight deadlines.

“Every time I come back to campus, it’s like I never left,” Nevins said. “I wear my Bearcat swag with pride, and I’m always surprised at how often you run into a fellow Bearcat. I’m forever green because what I learned there is the keystone of the adult I am today.” 

For more information about getting involved with the Theatre Alumni and Friends Chapter, contact the Northwest Alumni Association at 660.562.1248 or alumni@nwmissouri.edu. For a complete listing of Northwest Alumni Association chapters visit www.nwmissouri.edu/alumni/chapters/.