An asteroid has been officially named for American geologist Sorena Sorensen ’78 (1956-2025). A longtime curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Sorensen was an expert on metamorphic petrology and geochemistry who studied the formation of jade and jadeite and the role of fluids in subduction zones.

The asteroid—now named 250955 Sorena—was discovered in 2006 by the Mount Lemmon Survey. It belongs to a group of asteroids found in the outer main asteroid belt and has a diameter of 4.9 km. It is currently passing through the Virgo constellation, heading toward Libra at the end of 2026.

The 2026 World Baseball Classic put an international spotlight on major league goliaths, top prospects, former minor leaguers now with traditional 9-to-5 jobs, and a Sagehen.

Three years after striking out future Hall of Famer Mike Trout in his World Baseball Classic debut for Great Britain, Ryan Long ’21 returned to the international stage in March and threw two scoreless innings of relief across a pair of appearances.

While Great Britain finished behind Italy, Team USA and Mexico in pool play, the 26-year-old helped The Union Jack earn a spot in the next World Baseball Classic—a triennial international baseball tournament featuring 20 national teams.

“It was an unbelievable experience,” says Long, whose mother, Liz, was born in England. “I felt more confident this time and had more trust in myself and in my pitches. Over four years, I’ve pitched against a lot of high-level hitters, and I know I can get any hitter out.

“That confidence definitely helped me this time around.”

As he did at the 2023 WBC, Long donned United Kingdom colors with teammates united in heritage.

Great Britain’s 30-man roster in Houston consisted of ballplayers with familial ties to England and Wales, the Bahamas, Scotland and the British Virgin Islands.

“You try and get to know these guys as fast as possible, find ways to connect, and then go play four really meaningful games with them,” says Long, who grew up near Seattle. “It’s a unique experience, but it’s amazing. I love it.

“The World Baseball Classic is such a special tournament and one that really showcases the best of baseball,” he adds. “It was an honor to be a part of it again.”

Drafted as a starting pitcher by the Baltimore Orioles in 2021, Long spent spring training transitioning to the bullpen and cutting his teeth as a reliever.

In April, he began his sixth minor league season.

After a brief stint with the Orioles’ Double-A affiliate, the Chesapeake Baysox, in Bowie, Maryland, the 6-foot-6 right-hander was promoted to Triple-A Norfolk, where he’d made a dozen relief appearance through mid-May.

“It’s been a good change,” he says. “I’ve seen my velocity go up, and I can concentrate on throwing my best pitches as often as possible rather than trying to mix them and get through a lineup multiple times.”

“I feel confident and encouraged going into the year,” he adds, “and I’m hoping this change gives me a streamlined and efficient route to the major leagues.”

As director of amateur scouting for the Boston Red Sox, Jake Bruml ’15 is nomadic most of the year, his weekday afternoons an endless parade of baseball at different schools in different states.

It’s a gig that’s taken him to baseball hotbeds in California and Texas as often as it’s taken him to towns in Alabama and Oklahoma that have one stoplight and a can’t-miss prospect everyone there knows by name.

In April, Bruml, a San Mateo native, returned “home” to scout in Southern California, where he collected 203 hits and 23 pitching wins as a Sagehen.

“Pomona College is an incredible place,” he says. “I made connections that’ll last a lifetime.”

Since hiring the Pomona alumnus as a pro scouting intern ahead of the 2019 season, Red Sox officials have placed a premium on Bruml’s work ethic. As a result, one of Pomona’s own is a key decision-maker within a storied Major League Baseball franchise.

“Pomona challenged me in a way I’ve never been challenged before,” he says. “Between balancing the rigorous courseload and lab work that being a STEM major included, in addition to being an athlete, I really had to navigate things strategically.

“I didn’t know it at the time, but that set me up for future success in any role.”

At least three players from the Sagehens’ 2013 baseball team have held front office positions in Major League Baseball—Bruml (Red Sox), Guy Stevens ’13 (Kansas City Royals) and Simon Rosenbaum ’16 (Tampa Bay Rays).

Good work across the past six seasons has earned Bruml promotions to increasingly important positions, including his current role as director of amateur scouting.

As he applies his philosophy to a 126-year-old franchise with nine World Series titles, he’s using principles he picked up at Pomona to weigh million-dollar decisions.

As a chemistry major, Bruml followed procedures to create compounds or complete experiments. Depending on the results, he would determine how to improve either the procedure or the compound itself to generate a better outcome.

“I’ve been able to create a similar process that can be applied to evaluating players, where every player is held to the same evaluation process and scrutiny,” he says. “This allows me to home in on the questions that need answering when watching them play.”

Bruml’s holistic approach to scouting, shaped largely at Pomona, is what Red Sox fans hope will bring the next great homegrown star to Beantown.

Referee Melissa Barlow officiating the Texas vs. UCLA semifinal game at the 2026 Women’s Final Four. Photo by Jeffrey Brown

Officiating the best NCAA women’s basketball teams on the sport’s grandest stage is no small task, but Melissa Barlow ’87 is no stranger to the spotlight.

In April, the Las Vegas resident officiated Texas-UCLA at the 2026 Women’s Final Four, the 13th time she was selected to work the tournament’s culminating rounds. (The Bruins won the national semifinal, then captured their first NCAA women’s basketball championship.)

“It’s special every time you get to go to the Final Four because you never know when it’s going to be your last,” Barlow says. “I was thrilled and humbled by the responsibility. You want the assignment, but it’s stressful because all eyes are on you. You want to do a really good job.”

Barlow, a former Sagehens point guard who still holds program records for career assists (411) and assists in a single season (199), hasn’t lost her love for officiating the sport’s biggest games.

Being selected to work the Final Four “is the goal every year,” she says, “but it’s not really something you can control. I’ve learned all you can control is the product you put out there on the floor. The expectation, the job, is to get plays right.”

Across her three-plus decades as an official, Barlow has shared the court with women’s basketball royalty—Lisa Leslie, Maya Moore, Penny Toler—and seen the game change tremendously.

College players today are stronger and faster than they were in the 1990s and 2000s, she says, and they play a more physical style of basketball. They’re taller, too, meaning Barlow’s had to train her gaze on the rim to make goaltending and basket interference calls.

Additionally, greater parity in the sport has made outcomes less of a certainty. “There’s so many more good games now compared to back in the day when the usual suspects won every time,” she says.

A healthy and sharp 60, Barlow has long passed the date she once expected to call it a career. “As long as I can still perform at the level I think the game deserves,” she says, “I’m going to keep doing it.”

For nearly six decades, the Oldenborg Center for Modern Languages and International Relations put Sagehens at the world’s doorstep. This spring, the Pomona community said goodbye to the well-loved building with a series of celebrations.

“Oldenborg’s impact lives on through the people who studied, taught, worked and built community there,” says Pierre Englebert, the H. Russell Smith Professor of International Relations and Professor of Politics and Oldenborg Faculty Fellow. “That’s why it was so important to share the place—one that has meant so much to generations of Sagehens and friends—through celebrations that honor those stories and the lasting mark Oldenborg has made.”

Dear Oldenborg, Let Me Tell You a Story

You don’t make it to 60 years without collecting a few great stories, and Oldenborg has plenty. During Alumni Weekend on May 1, the College hosted a storytelling celebration in Rose Hills Theatre where speakers revisited their favorite moments onstage.

Stories were shared by (from left) Nimal Perera, community friend; Karin Zaugg Black ’93; Trustee Emeritus Bernie Chan ’88; Terril Jones ’80; Anne Dwyer, emcee and chair of German and Russian and a former director of the Oldenborg Center; Jacqueline Cordes ’25; Spanish language resident Blanca Lopez Sagarra; Adan Amaya of Mail Services; Liam Bayer ’27.

One Last Time at the Tables

Oldenborg slipped back into its natural rhythm during the open house celebration as guests gathered for a final meal at the language tables. Live music echoed through the corridors while alumni, students and visitors conversed across languages, greeting friends both familiar and new. Adding special resonance to the event, honorary language table hosts—former directors, emeriti faculty and longtime conversation partners—returned to Oldenborg to share in the celebration and reconnect with the community.

“Arriving at Oldenborg, walking by the hallway photos, passing through those dining hall doors, being greeted by faces both familiar and new—it felt like coming home,” said Rita Bashaw, former Oldenborg director and German conversation partner.

Anne Bages returned to the Greek table where  she met Maria-Sophia Sotiropoulou ’28, who comes from the same Greek village as Bages’ family.

Oldenborg, Piece by Piece

Oldenborg has always been a place where people leave with something—a new language, a new perspective, a new connection. This time, they left something behind as well. On April 15, students, faculty and staff gathered to begin a memory tile project, decorating tiles that captured what Oldenborg meant to them.

Over the course of three weeks, the collections grew as more members added their tiles, creating a shared mosaic that will carry Oldenborg’s legacy forward. The project culminated during Alumni Weekend.

With Love, the Friends of Oldenborg

Led by Trustee Emeritus Bernie Chan ’88, alumni and friends are supporting a campaign to name a space in the Center for Global Engagement in honor of the “Friends of the Oldenborg Center,” ensuring that its legacy of community is represented in the new facility.

Click here to make a gift.

Dear Sagehens,

It’s an honor to serve as your new Alumni Board president. As a first-year student living in Smiley 3, I couldn’t have imagined how much my connection to Pomona would continue to grow. I’m excited to support our alumni and deepen our partnership with Pomona College.

I’m grateful to Andrea Venezia ’91 for her leadership over the past two years as the board president. Andrea brought a deep commitment to alumni engagement and a steady presence to the board, and I hope to continue to lead with consistency and a simple focus on what we can impact.

I’m excited to help connect alumni to the College—whether through regional events, career conversations with students or other meaningful opportunities. There are many ways to stay involved with Pomona in ways that fit your life. Our connection to Pomona can serve us in ways few institutions can because of how close-knit we are and how much we have in common.

Sincerely,

Robi Ganguly ’00

President, Pomona College Alumni Board

alumni.board.president@pomona.edu