A North Andover woman was among 10 “Outstanding Alumni” honored by UMass Lowell during a ceremony last week.
Toby Hodes, of the class of ’58, is a graduate of the UMass Lowell Francis College of Engineering. Hodes, a former buyer/contract administrator for General Electric, holds a bachelor’s degree in textile chemistry from Lowell Technological Institute, one of UMass Lowell’s predecessor institutions.
Hodes is the former president of the university’s Learning in Retirement Association, a volunteer organization that provides educational and enrichment opportunities to senior citizens she served for the past 25 years. Together with her late husband, Lawrence Hodes, she established the Larry and Toby Hodes Discretionary Endowment to support students in UMass Lowell’s Honors College.
“Our alumni are central to UMass Lowell’s success in the relationships they help us build and sustain, the counsel they provide to a host of university initiatives and the inspiration and mentorship they offer to our students,” said UMass Lowell Chancellor Jacquie Moloney.
Alumni award honorees were selected from graduates of each of UMass Lowell’s schools and colleges. This year, the awards recognized three outstanding young alumni and seven additional honorees, including two couples, each of whom have made UMass Lowell, and service to others, a priority in their lives.
Besides Hodes of North Andover, the award recipients are Kristine and Louis Beaudette, of Rye, New Hampshire, class of 1974; Janice Lemoine, class of 2000, and Richard Lemoine, 1996, of Tyngsborough; Natalie Olson of San Diego, Calif, 1988; and Jon Geanakos of Boston, 1984.
Janice Lemoine was also named in 2018 as one of the top “50 Leaders in 50 Years” by the university’s Solomont School of Nursing. She has served as a quality assurance registered nurse at the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center in Lawrence.
Young Alumni Awards were presented Kelly Freitas, of Manchester, N.H., class of 2016, an art director at Imarc in Amesbury; Kelly Michael Skelton of Austin, Texas, 2018 and 2019; and Lucy Wafo of Washington, D.C., 2011 and 2013.