Eight Named to UM Grizzly of the Last Decade Honors

The University of Montana Alumni Association selected eight graduates of of the last 10 years as winners of the the 2021 "Grizzly of the Last Decade" Awards. They are selected because of early career success and the potential for bright futures.

The Alumni Association listed the winners and their accomplishments:

Brooke Andrus is a 2010 journalism graduate, who joined the Phoenix-based WebPT, dealing with health software for outpatients. She was recently promoted to senior manager of content marketing, which won the 2020 CEO World Awards for Communications.

Kevin Brockbank has UM bachelor's and master's degrees and, most recently in 2017, a doctorate in educational leadership. He was first at Helena College and then was dean at Salt Lake Community College for two years before becoming president of Spokane Community College in 2017 and was named to the Aspen Institute of New Presidents Fellowship.

Shelbi Dantic graduated in 2014 with a political science degree. She was a leader in the Montana Conservation Voters after graduation. She then was deputy manager of Senator Jon Tester's 2018 re-election campaign and managed the successful congressional campaign of Carolyn Bourdeaux. She was named Montana Progressive of the Year in 2018.

Dustin Lind holds a 2017 doctorate in physical therapy. He started his career as an orthopedic physical therapist at Hamilton Physical therapy and worked with baseball players, specializing in hitting. He was hired in 2018 by the Seattle Mariners' minor league system. Last year, he was hired by the San Francisco Giants as major league assistant hitting coach and director of hitting. He has been back at UM as a guest lecturer.

Dan McFarland graduated in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in health and human performance. He graduated from the University of Pacific Dental School with honors and is in private practice in Montana. He has also was involved with Big Brothers and Big Sisters and has been a volunteer dentist for Project Homeless Connect/Project Community Connect.

Dan Shook graduated in 2012 with a recreation management degree. He has been an interpretive ranger at Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone. In 2014, he began working at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. There, he developed a storytelling program called "The Death of Impossibility," which involved audience-participation problem-solving. In 2018, he returned to Montana and now is at the Grant-Kohrs Ranch State Park. He is a U.S. Navy veteran.

Tom Snyder has a 2011 UM degree in finance. He is the founder and owner of "Five On Black" Brazilian restaurants , with locations in Missoula, Billings, Great Falls and Bozeman. He was 2011 winner of the UM College of Business John Ruffatto Business Startup Challenge. He has sponsored the Feeding Families Fund and is a guest speaker at the College of Business.

Ashleen Williams earned a 2011 political science degree and is currently working on her doctorate and teaching classes at the University of Mississippi. She was awarded the Fulbright scholarship to Bahrain in 2011 and the Mitchell Scholarship to Northern Ireland in 2013. She has also studied in Yemen and Qatar. This year, she received a K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders award from the Association of American Colleges and Universities. There's more information on the honorees at GrizLastDecade.