Hob Brooks ’02 graduated from ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ in three years, but made the most of his fast-track experience, immersing himself fully in college life and creating an enduring connection to ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝. “My friends, the coursework, and the track team — all of these were formative and foundational. ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ is an incredibly special place that made me successful in my career and a better member of society.” 

Hob’s connection to ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ is the driving force for his support of his alma mater, leading him to join the ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ Board of Trustees in 2024 after several years as a member of the ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ Alumni Council. Reflecting on his time, Hob credits ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ for instilling in him not just knowledge but a profound sense of community and leadership, which guides his continued service and philanthropy.

Hob, managing director and partner for The Boston Consulting Group, and his wife, Riya Sen, partner at EY-Parthenon, live in Philadelphia with their three children, Arden, Harrison, and Kai. Much like his time at ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝, his postgraduate life has never slowed down. After graduating from ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ with a history major, he remained on campus working in ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ Admission and as the assistant coach for the men’s track and field team before going on to earn a master’s in education from Tufts and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania. His journey from student to trustee reflects a deep-seated passion for his alma mater, driven by a transformative experience that continues to shape his philanthropic endeavors.

For Hob, being a scholar-athlete was formative. He is still closely connected to the men’s track and field team and it continues to influence his relationship to the school. Hob recalls how his coach, the late Al Fereshetian, known as “Coach Fresh,” created a deeply meaningful team culture that helped Hob and his teammates become lifelong friends. “Some of my closest friends today were my teammates from the track team.”

Hob and Riya became lead donors to the project that has transformed Russell Street Field into a state-of-the-art multipurpose athletics facility that features FieldTurf and stadium lights. The project also honors Fereshetian’s legacy with an upgraded digital scoreboard to serve track and field as well as soccer.

When Hob was a student, ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ did not host home track meets due to the poor condition of the old track around Garcelon Field. As a post-grad coach in 2002, he saw the installation of the new track and field complex at Russell Street. But with limited grandstands and no scoreboard for track meets, the project never felt finished for Hob. “For me, this is the opportunity to finish something that we never quite completed since I first saw it come together.”

Hob Brooks exemplifies the transformative power of a liberal arts education and the enduring impact of philanthropy. “I attribute the vast majority of my professional success to my ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ education,” he says. “To me, being a consultant is all about structured thinking, communicating clearly and concisely, and thinking outside the box. All of those kinds of skills are products of ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ and a liberal arts education.”

As ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ evolves and grows, Hob’s dedication ensures that its legacy of excellence and community endures for generations to come. “It’s an honor to have the opportunity to be a part of shaping the strategic direction of an organization that is so fundamentally important to me and whose mission I so fundamentally believe in.”

“I refer to ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ as my passion project.” Ned Moreland ’19 exemplifies how a small liberal arts education can shape an impactful career and continue to foster relationships after graduation. 

During his time at ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝, Ned discovered that his passion for club hockey could forge connections not only with fellow students but also with members of the Lewiston community.

“Lewiston is such a hockey-centric town,” says Ned, who played hockey at ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ and was captain and president of the club during his senior year. Lewiston’s love of hockey began with French Canadian immigration to the area more than a century ago. “People we would meet in the community would come to our games. That was a pretty intimate, magical experience — just as impactful as our friends coming to support.” 

In 2019, that magic would transport the club hockey team to China when Ned’s classmate Bob Xu ’19 of Beijing worked to create the inaugural . 

It was a communal effort to get the team overseas, and as team president and captain Ned was charged with overseeing the costs and visa process. “A lot of our parents and a lot of the ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ community and hockey alumni have been supporting us, kind of giving us things we need to prepare. It was a process and a great learning experience.”

Ned’s commitment to ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ extends far beyond his love of hockey. Since graduating, Ned has been a Class Agent, a sponsor for the Purposeful Work job shadow program, an Alumni in Admission volunteer, and a member of the ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ Fund Executive Committee. He sees his involvement as a way to add value to an institution that has significantly shaped his life. “There are active ways where alumni can add value,” he says. He believes in dedicating his time to organizations that align with his values. “I want to invest my time in organizations where I align to the mission and vision of that organization. So as long as I find that time and that alignment, I will continue investing my time into ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝.” 

Ned’s perspective on giving back is clear: “Understand where you align to ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝, and lean in.” He emphasizes that alumni contributions don’t always need to be monumental in size to be impactful. This is why Ned champions support for the ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ Fund, which makes a direct and immediate impact by providing essential resources for students, faculty, and the college community. â€śMagnitude matters in the long run, but we shouldn’t discount the power of small gains multiplied by a really large base.”

As he continues to build his professional path, Ned carries forward the lessons of community, authenticity, and empowerment that he learned at ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝. “I got a lot of benefit from embracing the unexpected. Lean into those experiences that are unique. Find ways to be different. In the moment being different can be really scary, but I actually had a blast and got a ton of value from leaning into that mindset.”

In the early 1960s, Stuart Field ’65 joined a small cadre of ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ students mentored by Dr. Walter Lawrance in the Chemistry Department to conduct water testing and pollution mitigation along the Androscoggin River from Rumford to Lewiston-Auburn. This group of students would use a retired mail boat from off the coast of Maine to carry out their work. “We would test the water for oxygen levels and, if the levels were unacceptably low, Dr. Lawrence could curtail the paper companies’ activities or we would mitigate the issue with 50 lb bags of sodium nitrate.”

This effort, led by Lawrance who had been named River-Master by the Governor, was one of the first of its kind to curtail the industrial waste being dispensed into the river that caused what Stuart described as “a very objectionable odor during the summer months.” The Clean Water Act only came into being in 1972.

So started young Stuart’s employment by the Maine paper company International Paper, which had paid for the testing and remediation, that would last more than 30 years. His role as a project engineer for the waste treatment plants for International Paper was made possible by his Chemistry degree from ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝. Stuart credits his ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ education in the sciences with setting him up for a lasting and rewarding career.

“When I started looking at colleges, I really enjoyed chemistry and biology and thought I would be going on to medical school. ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ had a really strong pre-med program.” But as with so many ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ students, Stuart’s experiences while at ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝helped clarify his future path. Working with Dr. Lawrence and putting his classwork into practice led him in a new direction.

ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝â€™ academic reputation paired with local family connections first drew him to campus. ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ was a part of Stuart’s life from his youth. He grew up in Auburn and attended the United Baptist Church in Lewiston where he saw President Phillips and Milt Lindholm, who were deacons with his dad, almost weekly. In many ways, he saw from an early age the way ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ was a part of the community.

It was this sense of community and service that first inspired Stuart’s commitment to giving back. It started soon after graduation and became a habit, coupling an annual gift and service to his local community. Thanks to a background in tax preparation, he later realized that an estate gift could be more impactful. He established a Charitable Remainder Unitrust as a way of supporting his family and helping ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝. “My daughter has needs that are unique and this kind of gift will provide an income stream to her. It’s a really good fit between that part of my personal planning and my desire to do something for ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝.” 

Stuart’s gift will establish an endowed scholarship fund for ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝students in the sciences with a preference for students from Maine. His commitment to community and rigorous STEM education will have a lasting legacy.