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Each year, Rollins faculty, staff, alumni, and community members are asked to nominate outstanding graduates for the Alumni Awards, an annual celebration recognizing the impact our grads have had on society. From these nominations, the Alumni Board selects recipients who serve as role models in their community and personify the values and mission of the College. Once the top Tars are chosen, they’re recognized by their peers during Alumni Weekend.

This year’s event marks an epic return to campus March 24-27, 2022, and this year’s crop of honorees is similarly impressive. The 2022 award winners include graduates who are serving their community through nonprofit work, working to make the country safer, and rising to stardom as a symphony conductor. Here’s a closer look at this year’s Alumni Award recipients and their extraordinary efforts to lead meaningful lives and productive careers.

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Fred Rogers Global Citizenship Award

In honor of beloved alumnus Fred Rogers ’51 ’74H, this award recognizes prominent alumni who exemplify the Rollins mission of global citizenship and responsible leadership through their extraordinary achievements and impact on society.

Margaret Linnane ’76 ’96MBA previously served as executive director of the Edyth Bush Institute for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership from 2004 to 2019. Prior to joining the Edyth Bush Institute, Linnane—who studied behavioral science at Rollins—served as executive director of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida in Orlando for 18 years. Linnane was one of the founders of the Florida Nonprofit Alliance, a statewide coalition of nonprofits focused on advocacy, collaboration, and research and served in the past as the chair of the board of directors. In retirement, she is working with elementary school students whose reading skills are below grade level due to the pandemic, and she continues to work with nonprofits to develop sound business practices through the Edyth Bush Institute.

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Distinguished Alumni Award

Recognizes alumni who have demonstrated outstanding success and achieved remarkable distinction through their professional accomplishments

As the deputy director of the SAFETY Act program within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Akmal Ali ’03 was a key contributor in expanding the scope of the program as the department considered how to responsibly leverage the granted protections to further its mission to protect the country. These efforts included the expansion of security services, cybersecurity, and venue security-related applications from the private sector. At DHS, Ali participated in extensive intra- and inter-agency collaboration with other government agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration, Customs and Border Protection, Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, and the Federal Aviation Administration.

In 2019, Ali founded his own risk management and security consulting firm, Aluma. Today, a majority of his clients are professional sports teams from all four major professional leagues, including 20 of the 30 MLB teams. He works with some of the world’s most iconic names in sports, from the New York Yankees to the Dallas Cowboys.

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Recent Alumni Achievement Award

Recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of alumni who graduated within the past 10 years

Music major Ryo Hasegawa ’19 is the founder of Mudita, an art and music education advocacy organization in Japan as well as the artistic director of Seminole Music Celebration. Hasegawa is a rising conductor who made his debut with the Charleston Symphony. Additionally, he has conducted the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and the New Symphony Orchestra (Bulgaria), and has made multiple appearances conducting abroad. Hasegawa spent summer 2018 at Vanessa Grant Girls School in Rongai, Kenya, as a volunteer music instructor. Hasegawa is currently pursuing a master’s of music at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University.

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Alumni Service Award

Recognizes alumni who provide exceptional leadership to the College and their community through volunteerism and service activities

Andrea Massey-Farrell ’98 concurrently serves as president and CEO of the Harvey and Carol Massey Foundation and senior vice president of community relations at Massey Services, Inc. Massey-Farrell studied organizational communication at the Hamilton Holt School and serves on the Holt Board of Advisors. She is a fervent advocate for educational advancement and the arts, serving on boards everywhere from Nemours and the YMCA to the Orlando Shakes and the One Orlando Alliance Board. Massey-Farrell frequently participates in programming for the Edyth Bush Institute, representing Massey Services on the donors forum, and has been the driving force behind many successful volunteer initiatives, including the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer campaign.

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