Blog Articles

From Frary to Finland: Going Pro With Joe Cookson ’25

February 13, 2026 by Brian Whitehead Comments Off

Joe Cookson on the court The Atlantic Ocean separates Joe Cookson ’25 from all that’s familiar.

After signing a contract this summer to play professional basketball with Finland’s Kipina Basket Aanekoski, the Seattle native landed in the Nordic country last fall to train for his rookie season.

While wholly unfamiliar with his new surroundings, Cookson was amped to continue his playing career more than 5,000 miles east of the place he called home for four years.

“This is something I’ve been working toward my whole life,” he says. “There’s a lot of excitement and eagerness to get started, but this is also a huge change of scenery. I’ve embraced the change because I know it’ll help shape me into who I’m supposed to be.”

Cookson, a 6-foot-6 guard who earned his degree in mathematics, finished his career at Pomona a three-time first-team all-conference honoree and one of the College’s most prolific scorers.

Pomona-Pitzer Career Scoring Leaders

Twenty-five Sagehens have scored more than 1,000 career points. Below are the top five:

1,825 Micah Elan (2016-20)

1,751 Bill Cover (1990-94)

1,744 Daniel Rosenbaum (2014-18)

1,709 Joe Cookson (2021-25)

1,545 Jeremiah Martin (1997-2001)

His 1,709 career points rank fourth in program history, and only two other Sagehens scored more points in a single season than he did as a senior (594). Cookson ranks ninth in career three-pointers made (144), seventh in assists (317) and tenth in blocks (106).

The Sagehens won 76 games across his four years and earned NCAA Tournament berths in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

Before leaving for Finland, Cookson traveled to Spain this summer with a collection of outgoing seniors from schools in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. In Finland Cookson has already picked up the locals’ love of saunas, and while Finnish is an especially difficult language to learn, “Everyone is super patient and super accommodating,” he says.

Cookson is one of three Americans on Kipina Basket Aanekoski, which won 17 games last season and advanced to the Meisten Divisioona IA semifinals. The team’s 2025-26 campaign runs through March.

A versatile scorer in college enamored with the detail and nuance of the game, Cookson is malleable in that he can adjust to any role he’s given—scorer, distributor, shooter.

There are limitless ways to play the game, he says. Here or an ocean away.

“Basketball is such an open book,” he says. “You just keep reading and keep discovering, and that’s what keeps me going.”

In Memoriam: Sharon Camp ’65

February 13, 2026 by Staff Comments Off

Sharon Camp ’65

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.

Danielle Lynch Named Athletic Director of Pomona and Pitzer Colleges

February 13, 2026 by Staff Comments Off

The Pomona-Pitzer athletics program has announced the appointment of Danielle Lynch, Ed.D., as Director, effective April 1.

Most recently serving as Director of Athletics of Haverford College in Pennsylvania, Lynch brings more than two decades of leadership in collegiate athletics administration.

“I am excited to join an institution where academic excellence, athletic achievement and physical education are all essential parts of the student experience,” says Lynch, who will also chair Pomona’s Physical Education Department. “Pomona-Pitzer’s commitment to holistic development aligns deeply with my values.”

Lynch will lead a program with 21 NCAA Division III varsity sports and more than 600 intercollegiate scholar-athletes; a robust physical education curriculum; club and intramural programs; and student wellness initiatives.

The academic program has captured dozens of SCIAC championships the past 10 years. Deep postseason runs are regularly made by teams such as women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, baseball and men’s tennis. Men’s cross country has won three NCAA titles since 2019, and women’s water polo is on a run of four straight USA water polo Division III championships. Angie Zhou ’23 captured the 2023 NCAA Division III women’s tennis singles championship, and in 2024, women’s swimming won NCAA titles in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays.

A former college athlete herself, Lynch competed in the 400-meter hurdles and pentathlon while at Rutgers, an experience that ignited a lifelong passion for athletics and student development. Her career of coaching and athletic administration began at the United States Military Academy (West Point) and continued at schools such as Bucknell, Penn State Harrisburg, Susquehanna University, and Haverford.

Hannah Gough ’25 Eyes Spot on Australia Lacrosse Team for 2026 World Cup, 2028 LA Olympics

February 13, 2026 by Staff Comments Off

Whether she’s in Sagehen blue or Australian gold, Hannah Gough ’25 commands attention on the lacrosse field.

The Adelaide native finished her Pomona career an All-American and three-time first-team all-conference honoree. The Sagehens won 76 games with Gough patrolling the midfield, never lost to rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and advanced twice to the NCAA Division III Elite Eight.

Gough now has her sights set on making the Australian national team bound for the 2026 World Cup in Tokyo and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. (In January 2025 Gough helped Australia take silver at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Women’s Lacrosse Championship, punching the team’s ticket to the 2026 World Cup.) Gough later received an invitation to attend two World Cup trial camps this winter after serving as an alternate for Australia at The World Games in Chengdu, China.

Gough started playing lacrosse at 7, always appreciating the sport’s physicality and intensity. Within a few years she was in Australia’s club circuit playing against adults. At 16 she outlasted hundreds of young women to earn a spot on the 2019 Under-19 Australian Women’s Team. As part of the team she trained at Loyola University Maryland, which inspired her to want to attend college and play lacrosse in the U.S.

An economics and international relations double major, she was recently one of 18 athletes to receive funding from the Australian Institute of Sport, making her eligible for the Olympic team.

“The Olympics are what every athlete dreams of,” she says. “There’s so much pride and so much love and excitement in playing for your country. It’s not something a lot of people get to do.”

Sagehens Shine in Fall Season

February 13, 2026 by Staff Comments Off

With seven teams representing Pomona-Pitzer in the fall, the first sports season of the 2025-26 academic year delivered individual and team championships, record-breaking performances and Sagehen spirit. Below are a few highlights.

Women’s Soccer

The Sagehens won 16 games, secured a seventh consecutive Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) regular-season championship and advanced to the NCAA Division III quarterfinals for the first time since 2019.

Teammates Hannah Hong ’26 (Offensive Player of the Year) and Vivian Rojas Collins ’27 (Defensive Player of the Year), along with Jen Scanlon (Coach of the Year), swept the SCIAC’s regular-season honors. Hong, Rojas Collins and Goalkeeper Hadley Johnson ’26 also earned All-American honors.

Johnson allowed only one goal in 1,010 minutes, a Sagehens record 0.09 goals-against-average (GAA) that led all NCAA divisions.

Men’s Soccer

Under first-year coach Clint Moore, the Sagehens hit double-digit wins for the first time since 2014 and came within a point of securing a share of the SCIAC regular-season title.

Moore and his staff were recognized as the SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year for getting the Sagehens back on the winning track, while Niclas Ulrich earned SCIAC Defensive Athlete of the Year honors for anchoring a back line that surrendered the fewest goals in the conference.

Women’s Volleyball

Paige Mountanos ’26 set the career record for total kills in the rally score era with 1,151 and earned All-SCIAC First-Team honors a third straight season.

Teammate Corrina Benson ’27 earned All-SCIAC Second-Team laurels after leading the Sagehens with 536 digs and 45 service aces—a single-season program record in the rally score era.

Football

The Sagehens defeated rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on September 28 and ended the season with five wins. They defeated Redlands in the SCIAC Third Place Game.

Defensive lineman Alden Kling ’27 received All-SCIAC First Team honors after leading the team in tackles for loss.

Women’s Cross Country

After finishing 30th at the 2024 NCAA Division III cross country championships, the Sagehens placed 14th at this season’s culminating race. All-SCIAC First-Team runners Joya Terdiman ’26 and Eva Novy-Hildesley led the way.

Men’s Cross Country

Paced by All-American and SCIAC Athlete of the Year Jack Stein ’26, the Sagehens finished eighth at the NCAA Division III cross country championships. The team continued its conference dominance, securing the program’s eighth straight SCIAC title.

Emma DeLira was named West Region Coach of the Year.

Men’s Water Polo

The Sagehens appeared in the USA water polo Division III championships for the first time since 2021 but lost to rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the title match.

The team repeated as SCIAC regular-season champions, while Greg Moore was named SCIAC Defensive Athlete of the Year, Jaden Winters, SCIAC Newcomer of the Year and Alex Rodriguez, SCIAC Coach of the Year.

Professor Goins Is Pomona’s First Elected President of Mathematical Association of America

February 13, 2026 by Staff Comments Off

Professor Edray Goins was just elected president of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), one of the country’s largest professional societies.

The first Black president in the MAA’s 110-year history, Goins has been an active member of the society’s Southern California-Nevada regional section, and campaigned on a platform of helping bridge the gap between the two often-siloed groups of math researchers and math educators. With the federal government terminating an increasing number of math grants, Goins also vowed to connect with private foundations to support math majors in need of financial support.

“I want to give people hope about what the future of the mathematics community can be,” Goins says. “Math isn’t just about having the majors or having the funding to do grants. It’s part of this larger community that has to tell people math is a cool, beautiful thing.”

Stray Thoughts

February 13, 2026 by Adam Conner-Simons ’08 Comments Off

Jump In and Get Immersed

This winter we invite you to take a few big breaths and plunge deeply into the concept of immersion.

The word probably conjures different images for each of us. Perhaps it makes you recall the anxious excitement of stepping off a plane in a country where you only knew three phrases in the local tongue, or the profound peace of losing yourself in a research project for ten unbroken hours. Maybe it’s the thrill of a virtual reality headset transporting you to another world, or the total absorption required to finally master a challenging musical composition.

Whatever the context—academic, cultural, technological, or personal—immersion is about total engagement, about stepping fully into an experience and letting it wash over you. It’s the moment when the line between the observer and the experience itself begins to dissolve.

In so many different respects, the undergraduate experience at Pomona reflects the notion that true learning and growth happen not just through participation, but through total submersion. This issue of PCM reflects the different ways our students, faculty and alumni have pushed beyond the comfortable surface of familiar routines to explore what lies beneath.

You’ll read stories from both campus and around the globe about folks like….

Bernard Chan ’88, the new chairman of Hong Kong’s fast-growing West Kowloon Cultural District, which he aims to expand into a must-visit hub for East Asia.
Naira de Gracia ’14, who spent five months studying penguin colonies in a shack in subfreezing temperatures in Antarctica.
Ben Hoyt ’00 of 47 Games, who has developed immersive experiences for Marvel and other major entertainment brands.
Eric Kneedler ’95, the U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda, whose international work has involved everything from presidential delegations to visa interviews with Jackie Chan.

The breadth of stories show that immersion can be not just a tool for cultural and intellectual growth, but a cutting-edge field of creative and technical innovation. My hope is that this issue in your hands will be, in itself, an immersive experience, and one that inspires you to reflect on your own moments of complete engagement. Where, when and how
have you felt truly immersed?

Dive in.

Adam Conner-Simons ’08, PCM Spring 2025 Guest Editor

On another note, this will be my last issue jumping in as editor-in-chief, with Pomona transitioning to hire a permanent editor. It has been such an honor to tell the stories of so many special Sagehens and to connect with so many fellow alums about what makes the College so great. Hope to see you on-campus sometime!

Best,

Adam

—Adam Conner-Simons ’08
editor-in-chief

Beloved Neuroscience Professor Karl G. Johnson Passes Away

February 13, 2026 by Marilyn Thomsen Comments Off

Karl Johnson officiates the 2016 wedding of Meredith Course ’12 and Nick Clute-Reinig ’13—students he introduced during office hours.

Karl G. Johnson, the Sara Rampel and Herbert S. Rampel Professor of Neuroscience who inspired Pomona students for nearly 20 years, passed away in July at 52. Johnson joined the Pomona faculty in 2005 and was the first professor at the College hired into neuroscience with a joint appointment in biology.

“He was the heart and soul of neuroscience at Pomona, and no one can ever replace him,” says longtime colleague Richard S. Lewis, professor of neuroscience and psychological science.

Unlike those who get annoyed by Drosophila—fruit flies—Johnson studied them to find windows into the way central nervous systems are constructed. His work sought answers to two important questions: How do neurons find the right synaptic targets, and how do neurons build synapses?

Johnson and his active lab of student researchers studied how molecules called “heparan sulfate proteoglycans” (HSPGs) influence central nervous system development. He was the lead author of a 2006 paper in the journal Neuron reporting the discovery of a novel molecular mechanism that controls synapse strengthening, a process essential for learning and memory.

Students who flocked to Johnson’s courses—such as Vertebrate Sensory Systems and Introductory Cell Chemistry and Cell Biology—found him to be an exceptional lecturer and an approachable and humorous teacher. “He has the amazing ability to take really complex scientific content and walk the class through it in a way that is comprehensive, non-intimidating and also fun,” wrote one student in nominating him for the Wig Distinguished Professor Award, which he won twice. “Can he teach me everything for the rest of my life?”

Rachel Levin, emerita professor of biology and neuroscience, describes Johnson as “one of those magical teachers who makes his students want to know more about whatever he is teaching.” His classes, she says, were “always filled to capacity. He [was] adored and respected as a friend and colleague.”

Meredith Course ’12 is a professor at Colorado College, and credits Johnson as her professional motivation.

“He had the superpowers of both seeing generously who we could become, and knowing how to help us get there,” she wrote in a tribute. “He was everything I could ever hope to be as a teacher, mentor, advisor and researcher.”

An A-Z Guide: Pomona Welcomes 15 New Faculty!

February 13, 2026 by Staff Comments Off

Returning to Pomona after a five-year hiatus, Mark Andrejevic (media studies) researches and writes about digital media technology.

Yuki Arita (Asian languages and literatures) conducts conversation analysis, investigating the systematicity of social interaction in Japanese.

Jordan Daniels (environmental analysis) works at the intersection of environmental philosophy, critical theory and feminist thought, and was previously a visiting lecturer and visiting assistant professor.

Olivia Lafferty(English) studies contemporary trans-Pacific literatures and visual cultures, examining the circuits of U.S. and Spanish colonialism.

Clint Moore (physical education) is the new head coach of the men’s soccer team after eight seasons as assistant coach at Colorado School of Mines.

Sarah E. Noll ’13 (chemistry) develops ambient ionization mass spectrometry methods, alongside more traditional techniques, to characterize biomaterials used in cultural heritage.

Leila Safavi (economics and public policy) conducts research on energy and environmental markets, including electricity and natural gas regulation, pricing, and the economic and business impacts of environmental policy and legal frameworks.

Kelsey Sasaki (linguistics and cognitive science) examines the mental mechanisms involved in our comprehension of linguistic meaning, and also does community-engaged linguistic fieldwork.

Samuel Thomas (computer science) studies secure computer hardware and focuses on building and optimizing systems to study these architectures.

Previously a visiting assistant professor, Jody Valentine (classics) researches contemporary artists who reimagine ancient materials in new, discordant ways.

Returning to Pomona after six years in Australia, Zala Volcic (media studies) focuses on media and nationalism, and has published and taught widely on media education, transitional justice, gender and civic disposition.

Ania Vu (music) explores the interplay between language, time, and the sounds of nature. As a pianist, she performs music from both the standard and contemporary repertoire.

Previously a visiting assistant professor, Daniel Watling (religious studies) specializes in Islamic philosophy and theology, with a particular focus on medieval Iberia and North Africa.

Yuqing Zhu (neuroscience), a visiting assistant professor at Pomona in 2023, builds AI models inspired by brains to discover new ways to make AI more energy-efficient and better understand what makes real brains so computationally adept.

Michael Zlatin (computer science) works to design improved algorithms for fundamental problems in combinatorial optimization and decision sciences.

More info on our website

Letter Box

February 13, 2026 by Staff Comments Off

The delight of diversity

I am enjoying every entry and story as I go through the magazine (“The Next Generation,” Fall 2025). When I came to Pomona in 1957 it was surrounded by orange groves and sat in a sleepy little town with no alcohol that closed up at 6 p.m. except for one Italian restaurant and “The Sugar Bowl.” There was only one Black person in our whole class and she went to my same high school—a “very diverse” school for the ’50s. So when I saw the photo of the new class entering this fall I was delighted! What a variety of backgrounds, so rich in possibilities and the exchange of ideas. I am sending a donation with pride – please use in whatever way helps.

—Anne Gill Kellogg ’61

Pomona College…in Kansas?

I was amused to see Pomona State Park, Kansas, on the world map of Pomonas (“Map o’ Pomonas,” Fall 2025). I live about 35 miles from the town of Pomona, Kansas, 45 miles from the park. When I wear a Pomona College sweatshirt around here, I get confused looks and occasionally the question, “Pomona has a college?” (No, the Kansas one does not.)

—Adrienne Sanders ’96, Lawrence, Kansas

Write to Us at PCM

Pomona College Magazine welcomes brief letters to the editor about the magazine and issues related to the College from the extended Pomona community—alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, donors and others with a strong connection to the College. Write to us at pcm@pomona.edu or mail a letter to Pomona College Magazine, 550 N. College Ave., Claremont, CA 91711. Letters should include the writer’s name, city and state of residence, class year for alumni and contact information. With rare exceptions, letters should be no more than 400 words in length. Letters are selected for publication based on relevance and available space and are subject to being edited for brevity and clarity.

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