About Us
About Us
Tony and Linda (Nemec) Foster embody a marriage of art and science. Both graduates of Aquinas, they met in college during the late '60s. Tony went on to medical school at Wayne State University and is currently a general surgeon in practice in Grand Rapids. He is also on the teaching staff of Butterworth Hospital. Linda received her Master in Fine Arts from Goddard College in Vermont. She is an established poet and writer whose work has been published in numerous journals and literary magazines both regionally and nationally. Linda is also a teacher, conducting poetry workshops for the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs. The Fosters live in Grand Rapids with their children, Brian and Ellen.
Ron Pederson sculpted the plaques you see on the boulders. He and his wife Miriam influenced generations
of Aquinas students. Ron came to teach sculpture in 1982, and Miriam followed two
years later to teach poetry. Ron was heavily involved with Urban Institute of Contemporary
Arts and ArtPrize. He was named International Sculpture Center Educator of the Year
in 2008. Together with his wife, the pair took students five times across the sea
to Tully Cross, Ireland over the course of twenty years. Ron's plaques leave a lasting
legacy as a part of the Foster Planet Walk.
Lead Programmer
Zachary Sweet hails from Canton, Michigan where he went to Canton High School. He is a senior at
Aquinas College studying Computer Information Systems and competes on the lacrosse
team. He said the main reason he was drawn to Aquinas College was because the campus
reminded him of Ann Arbor, Michigan so he felt right at home the first time he visited.
He has enjoyed the CIS major because it is practical and it has provided him with
a broad skill set which will allow him to go in any direction in technology when he
graduates.
"I hope that adding the Foster Planet Walk to the new website will help it garner more attention and get the recognition it deserves. I think everyone around AQ has seen the planet boulders but just did not know what it was. Maybe this project will help a lot of people."
Project Manager
Cyrus Prudhomme is a current senior at Aquinas College and is expected to graduate in 2023 with his
degree in Computer Information Systems. What brought him to Aquinas College was his
desire to pursue his degree at a four-year institution and continue his track and
field career. He said he became interested in the CIS program because he enjoys problem
solving and wants to gain skills in an impactful field of study.
"Working on this project was fun and challenging at the same time. I am going to cherish
the time spent working on this project, as it has pushed me out of my comfort zone
and taught me skills I can apply throughout my professional career."
Chief Editor
Colin Tellkamp is currently in his final semester at Aquinas College, where he is expecting to graduate
in May 2023 with a degree in Computer Information Systems and Business Administration.
Growing up in Hastings, Michigan, he is also a member of the esports program, competing
in Rocket League. He grew to be interested in joining the CIS program due to his love
of computers and desire to diagnose and solve problems.
"Getting the privilege to build an iconic piece of the Aquinas College campus into the school's website has been nothing short of a blessing. I hope that this not only brings more attention to the Foster Planet Walk, but also that students, staff, faculty, and guests of Aquinas College can learn a little bit more about the universe too."
Ryan Wendt '97 has been a member of the Aquinas College community since 1993, when he began his time
as a student and was a 4 year letter winner in baseball. Ryans’ skill in baseball
is demonstrated by his multiple school records which still stand today. Ryan graduated
from Aquinas with a Bachelors Degree and began working full-time at Aquinas in 1998.
Ryan’s passion for Aquinas and its history has resulted in being a member of the Aquinas
College Historical Commission since 2012. He is an avid researcher of the history
of Aquinas and now conducts presentations on the Yesteryears of Aquinas College on
campus and in various venues around Grand Rapids, along with historical campus tours
in the summertime. He also guides tree/leaf color tours and haunted campus tours in
the fall. Ryan is currently employed in the Campus Safety Department as the Locksmith
and Manager of the AQ bicycle shop, along with teaching a Cycling class during the
fall semesters.
Dr. Mary Clinthorne holds a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Kansas, focusing on geographic
techniques (GIS, cartography, & remote sensing). She has previously held academic
appointments at The University of Memphis and Western Michigan University. Dr. Clinthorne
has presented at national and regional conferences, and she has published in the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation and in Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing. At Aquinas, Dr. Clinthorne teaches Cartography, Geographic Information Systems,
and World Regional Geography.
Dr. Kevin Boyd, an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Aquinas College, came to the CS435 team and
presented the idea of turning the Foster Planet Walk into an interactive application.
He said that a lot of people saw the planet boulders around campus but weren't sure
as to what it was, which he wanted to change. Prior to his time working at Aquinas
College he was also an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University
of Minnesota, Morris and a Visiting Assistant Professor at Alma College.
Richard S. Latimer comes from a business, computer, and educational background. He purposely chose
to get his degrees at different educational institutions to get the most well-rounded
education. He has taught various classes throughout his adult life in the public,
business, and academia genres. His computer roles have included but were not limited
to Network Administrator, Support Specialist, Service technician, Technical Retail
Associate, Bench technician, Help-desk Professional, and System Designer. He has been
a supervisor of employees at every business he has worked at since he was a teenager.
His greatest joy is seeing students accomplish things that they thought were impossible.