Ryan Kotaro Meher ’05, who died in 2024, pictured hiking through Yosemite National Park, a landscape that mirrors his lifelong pursuit of challenge and discovery—a spirit now honored through a Pomona College scholarship bearing his name.

Ask those who knew him, and they’ll tell you: Ryan Kotaro Meher ’05 was an eternal optimist—a Renaissance thinker rooted in the humanities and unafraid of the new.

To him, science and technology were never the destination—they were tools to uplift and serve others. Now, his legacy of compassion, curiosity and connection lives on through a newly established scholarship at Pomona College, created to support future students who share those same values.

At Pomona and across The Claremont Colleges, Meher paired head and heart, standing out for his ability to bridge worlds between disciplines and people. He sampled widely, from comparative religion and the spirituality of yoga to media studies and computer science. He became a resident assistant at Smiley Hall and was known for learning everybody’s name. His father, Rich, says there were many calls home during which Meher paused mid-sentence to greet passing friends or wave out of his ground-floor residence hall window.

The Meher family—Ryan and his son, Atreyu; his parents, Rich and Ramona; and his sister, Robin—share a lasting bond. That connection, along with Ryan’s enduring ties to Pomona, inspired a gift that honors his life and legacy.

Ramona Meher, Ryan’s mother, sees this openness as an outgrowth of his character and education. “Partly it was Ryan’s nature,” she says. “And partly it was Pomona, which emboldens its students to become the best versions of themselves.”

After graduating in 2005, Meher went on to braid together a life of intellect and service. In Chicago, he taught video game design to teens at Alternatives, a nonprofit supporting youth with limited access to resources. His students not only learned to code and create playable games but also used early QR tools to map out where to find fresh food in their neighborhoods. All the while, he never stopped pursuing new knowledge.

“Quantum physics, neurobiology, the microbiome—you name it, he was always learning,” says his sister, Robin Meher. “If we ever had a question about anything, Ryan could break it down in a way that made sense. He was brilliant, yet humble. He spoke to people’s souls.”

Meher and his son, Atreyu, enjoyed exploring the Benton Museum of Art during a visit to Pomona.

At home, Meher was a devoted husband and father. He delighted in his young son’s curiosity, trading dinosaur talk for Greek mythology, sketching DNA strands for fun and encouraging big questions about the world. In Meher’s free time, he chased adventures, running the Chicago Marathon, climbing in Yosemite National Park and gathering with Pomona alumni in Joshua Tree.

“Pomona is magic in the way it connects people,” Rich Meher says. “Those friendships meant the world to Ryan, and they never stopped showing up for one another.”

When Ryan Meher passed away unexpectedly at the age of 42 in August 2024, his family sought a way to honor him. The result was the creation of a scholarship in his name, designed to support Pomona students who are intellectually bold, socially conscious and committed to building community wherever they go.

“Ryan Kotaro Meher’s life is a beautiful reflection of what we hope for every Pomona graduate—a mind alive with curiosity and a heart open to others,” Pomona College President G. Gabrielle Starr says. “We are profoundly grateful to the Meher family for honoring Ryan in a way that will open doors for future students.”

In the Seaver Theatre courtyard, Meher reconnects with a former classmate, Elizabeth Uslander, during a visit back to campus.

In an era when the value of the liberal arts is often questioned, the family says they see this scholarship as both a tribute and a statement. “STEM matters, but not without the humanities,” Rich Meher says. “What makes us human—our ethics, empathy and imagination—should hold everything else. Pomona nurtured that in Ryan, and we want that to continue for generations to come.”

If there was a common thread running through Meher’s life, it was inclusion. Robin Meher says that her brother carried a rare empathy for those overlooked or misunderstood, and he made it his mission to notice and uplift people on the margins. That is the spirit they hope future scholarship recipients will inherit.

“You never know what will help you—or help someone else—on the day it matters,” says Ramona Meher.

Meher’s Pomona friendships lasted through the decades— (from left) Elizabeth Uslander, Ryan ’05, Whitney Stubbs ’04, Michael Owen ’05 in San Diego, Calif.

The Round Robin bench in Marston Quad offers a place for current students to build connections much like the ones that bind the 1957 classmates. Photo by Jeremy Mitchell ’27

The first letters eight classmates wrote to each other after graduating from Pomona College cost only three cents to mail. Today, the stories they’ve exchanged by post for the past 60 years are priceless.

Pomona alumnae captured the evolution of their lives in letters, which became a kind of collective journal. “It was our way of saying: Here’s where I am, and here’s what matters to me,” Mary Furgerson Brubaker ’57 said.

The eight women—Edith “Edie” Grant Andrew, Judith “Judy” Tallman Bartels, Gabrielle “Gabie” Berliner, Kathryn “Kitty” Bownass, Mary Furgerson Brubaker, Carolyn “Kaki” Barker Conner, Martha Livingston Perritt and Barbara Pendleton Wimmer, all from the Class of 1957—became friends at Pomona.

After graduation, they created the “Round Robin Letter Club” as a way to stay connected—one friend writing her updates then sending to the next. “At one point, we were on four different continents and on both coasts of the U.S.,” Conner said. “But the letters always made their way around.”

The plaque beside the Marston Quad bench honors the eight members of the Round Robin Letter Club.

When two members of the group passed away, they made a collective gift to Pomona and dedicated a bench on Marston Quad as a lasting tribute.

“These alumnae turned their friendship into a lasting legacy,” says Director of Alumni and Family Engagement Monika Moore ’03, “and we’re so proud to celebrate the spirit of community that defines our Sagehen family.”

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Handwritten letters kept members of Pomona’s Class of 1957 connected for more than 60 years. Pictured in their senior photos: Edith Grant, Judith Tallman, Kathryn Bownass, Gabrielle Berliner, Carolyn Barker, Mary Furgerson, Martha Livingston and Barbara Pendleton.

Nearly 50 years after receiving her degree in international relations, Sharon Camp ’65 imparted wisdom to Pomona’s Class of 2013 in a Commencement speech delivered in absentia by Professor of Sociology
Jill Grigsby.

“At least once in your life,” Camp said, “put everything you’ve got behind some big, hairy, audacious idea (and I plagiarized this term). I’ve done the big, hairy, audacious idea a few times myself, and believe me, there’s nothing that works better for growing the brain power.”

Camp, a pioneer in women’s reproductive health whom The New York Times called the “Mother of the ‘Plan B’ Contraceptive Pill,” died October 25.

She was 81.

While at Pomona, Camp never missed an opportunity to play elaborate jokes on her friends. The Pennsylvania native worked on the Metate yearbook staff, served as a tour guide and played badminton.

She also participated in Model United Nations.

After earning her Ph.D. in international relations from Johns Hopkins University, Camp embarked on a career in advocacy and global development.

She led Population Action International (PAI), a nonprofit focused on reproductive health care, from 1975 to 1993 and was considered one of the leading spokespeople for international family planning.

In 1997, Camp founded Women’s Capital Corporation, the start-up behind the development and commercialization of Plan B. Half of the proceeds of the emergency contraceptive pill went to the nonprofits that financed its development, with the rest going into a charitable trust.

Camp in 2003 joined Guttmacher Institute, a global research and policy organization focused on reproductive health, and served as president and CEO until her retirement in 2013.

“Beyond her institutional achievements, Sharon was a mentor and a champion of staff development, and her warmth and laughter lit up our office,” Guttmacher executives wrote in a statement following Camp’s passing. “She believed in lifting others up, and she created a culture at Guttmacher that valued collaboration, intellectual rigor, and compassion.”

Throughout her career, Camp authored or co-authored more than 70 publications on family planning, emergency contraception and reproductive health policy.

She received an honorary LL.D. from Pomona in 2013, and in her Commencement speech to that year’s graduating class, she reflected on her decision to pursue a career as a pharmaceutical executive despite taking only two science courses at Pomona.

“Don’t ever let a lack of qualifications stop you from anything,” she said.

Camp closed her speech by encouraging the outgoing seniors to pursue their passions.

“It’s okay to start small, with a few dollars and a few friends—just be sure the potential impact is huge, because nothing is more fun than having a big impact on some of the things you care about.”

In honor of her 60th reunion, Camp committed a generous unrestricted bequest to Pomona, extending her more than four decades of consistent support. She was a member of the Granite & Sagebrush Society, which honors those who have included a gift for the College in their estate.

“Sharon’s work brought hope to women around the world,” President G. Gabrielle Starr says. “Her generosity reflects her belief in the power of education to create a better future, and it is profoundly moving to see that spirit carried forward in her gift.”

Her legacy will help ensure that our students continue to thrive, lead and make a meaningful difference for generations to come.