Distinguished Alumni Award
Distinguished Alumni Award
Bryn Athyn College of the New Church has a long-standing tradition of honoring its alumni at Charter Day — a celebration of the institution's founding and enduring mission. The College shares this tradition with its sister institution, the Academy of the New Church Secondary Schools, and began presenting its own Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012 in recognition of its growing alumni community.
This award recognizes graduates who have given back to their communities, alma mater, or Church — and who exemplify the values cultivated through a New Church liberal arts education. These are alumni who have developed spiritual purpose, contributed to the civil, moral, and spiritual welfare of those around them, and carry forward the mission of Bryn Athyn College of the New Church.
Candidates for the award are nominated by members of the faculty and selected by a vote of the Faculty Council. Since 2012, more than two dozen alumni have been honored with this distinction. We invite you to meet them.
Award Recipients
| 2025 | Amanda Calamito (BA ’17) Deborah Cook (AA ’75, BS ’78) and Richard Cook (’78-’81) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Nina Finkeldey (’72-’75) Ian Lumsden (AA ’05) Brenna Synnestvedt (’72) |
| 2023 | Stephen David (’78-’80) Louise Rose (BS ’53) and Frank Rose (AA ’48, BA ’50, B.Th. ’52) Jar-El Volcy (BA ’17) |
| 2022 | Stephen Morley (AA ’72, BA ’74) |
| 2021 | Bronwyn Henry (AA ’00, BS ’03) Marilyn Stroh (AA ’56) |
| 2020 | Bracken Brown (BS ’11) Charlotte Gyllenhaal (AA ’69) |
| 2019 | Lisa Hyatt Cooper (BS ’76) David Hotson (AA ’79) |
| 2018 | Curtis Childs (’03-’05, AA ’06) Becca Smith (AA ’01, BA ’03) Lincoln Smith (AA ’99, BA ’03) |
| 2017 | Chara Daum (AA ’80, BA ’82) and Scott Daum (AA ’75, BA ’78) David Radcliffe (AA ’83, ’93) |
| 2016 | Matthew Mayer (BA ’08, AA ’98) |
| 2015 | Sally Brickman (‘52-‘53) and Theodore Brickman, Jr. Karen Heinrichs (’59-’60) and Robert Heinrichs (AA ’59) |
| 2014 | Steven Hendricks (BA ’77) |
| 2013 | Greta Odhner (’46-’47) and Fred Odhner (AA ’49) |
| 2012 | Vera Glenn (AA ’56) |
2025 Distinguished Alumna Awardee Amanda Calamito (BA ’17)
2025 Distinguished Alumni Awardees Deborah Cook (AA ’75, BS ’78) and Richard Cook
(’78-’81)