Beneath his name on his business card, Chris Bock ’92 has the title “Gray Hair.” Once a two-season student-athlete at the College, Bock spent close to 20 years in finance in New York and Denver. He now uses his financial acumen and experience to invest in local businesses, notably Stem Ciders and his family’s business, Glacier Homemade Ice Cream and Gelato.
His biggest advice for Amherst students is: “reassess and don’t be afraid to try something new.”
Ellen Longsworth ’71 enjoyed a non-traditional tenure at Amherst, spending a year at the college thanks to a “co-educational” experiment program that allowed her to take two semesters away from Mount Holyoke College. The art historian and professor has held fast to her commitment to education and continues to pull on her Amherst experiences throughout her tenure as a professor in the Visual & Performing Arts department at Merrimack College.
From lawyer to healthy lifestyle entrepreneur, Theo Goldin ’89 has strived to make the world a better and healthier place throughout his journey after Amherst. Chemistry turned English major, Goldin used Amherst to explore a multitude of interests on which he then capitalized on throughout his career. Goldin and his wife started Hint Water together, a $30 million beverage company that sells unsweetened, flavored water.
A Change in Direction
Goldin chose Amherst for the opportunity to study multiple disciplines and explore various passions.
Sally Marx ’14 knew that if Hillary Clinton ever ran for president, she was going to be part of it. A Bethesda, Maryland native, she has been following the former Secretary of State’s lengthy public career and admiring Hillary as a strong female role model since she was old enough to recognize Clinton’s face on television and in the news. “She’s such a kindhearted person, you could see that from afar,” said Marx on what initially drew her to Clinton. She continued to trace Clinton’s sometimes turbulent career as she committed to play basketball at Amherst College.
Growing up in Baton Rouge, John Pourciau ’05 has long felt a special connection to the bayous and back roads of his native Louisiana. The distinct culture and people endowed Pourciau with what he termed “a tremendous sense of place,” one that he carried with him throughout his travels and, ultimately, drew him back to his home state. Not only did this bond lead him back to the vibrant city of New Orleans, but his deep relationship to the state of his youth has no doubt drawn him into the career of public service that he’s embarked on since graduating Amherst.
When I first spoke to Dan Cluchey ’08, I had just emerged from Organic Chemistry on the Friday of a tough week. I remember reading a short bio provided by Alumni and Parent Programs and thinking about how far off his life appeared. It was difficult to imagine life after graduation, and I couldn’t comprehend how Cluchey had managed to do so many incredible things in the eight years since he graduated. Among his many different paths, Cluchey earned a degree from Harvard Law, worked as a speechwriter for the Obama administration and published a novel this past summer.
When Gretchen Sisson ’06 was a senior in high school, she only applied to five schools. When she received her first letter back, she opened it, set it aside and waited.
Then she received her Amherst acceptance and didn’t open any of the following letters. “My mom wasn’t too thrilled with that decision,” she said. “But I felt confident and I didn’t want to complicate the decision — I had made up my mind.”
Now a sociologist studying abortion and reproductive health, Sisson credits her time at Amherst as critical to her life and career in research.
