For three new Centre leaders, it's personal
Like so many Centre students, they came from widely varied backgrounds: the daughter of a Centre grad who grew up immersed in the stories of campus life; a Mississippi kid whose professor dad spread the word of Centre’s excellence; a first-gen college prospect who learned of Centre while participating in the Governor’s Scholar Program.
And like so many Centre students, their post-graduation paths were just as diverse: a problem-solver, a fundraiser, and a relationship-builder.
But like every Centre student, their shared experiences are the foundation of an uncommonly strong bond — one that has marked their careers, their relationships and their futures.
Centre left its mark on Amanda Cook Grimes ’87, Robyn Sweet Hoffman ’92 and Jess Metzmeier ’04. And now they are back on campus to play a role in helping lead the school they love into its third century of shaping the lives of its students.
“There’s just something about the place and the people and the connections at Centre that feel different,” said Metzmeier, hired this year as the College’s first Vice President for Career and Professional Development. “There’s something about the way the educational program and community here supports and guides students that make a difference in their success. We see it too frequently for it to be by chance.”
All three jumped at an opportunity to return to the place that played such an integral role in shaping their future and molding the people they became — personally and professionally.
“The decision to return to Centre was an easy one,” said Hoffman, who was named Senior Associate Vice President in the Office of Alumni Engagement and Development in January. “It is such a special place with so many distinctive characteristics that defined my own Centre Experience and also resonated in my daughter’s time here nearly 25 years later and which still exist today.”
Those shared experiences inspired them to make life-changing career decisions — returning to Centre to help shape future generations of students.
“Centre played such a big role in my development, in my career, in the choices I made — and the fact I met my husband here,” said Grimes, who was hired last fall as the College’s Chief Financial Officer. “It’s all tied so closely that it’s not just a job, it’s also an opportunity to give back to a place that shaped who I am.”
Jess Metzmeier ’04
A real understanding of how Centre was different became apparent to Jess Metzmeier when he was in graduate school at the University of Chicago.
He was at lunch with his new classmates, discussing plans for the evening. He told them that W. George Matton Professor of Philosophy and Religion W. David Hall was in town and they were meeting for dinner. His story was met with utter disbelief.
“It was an experience so far removed from anything they would have had,” he said of having an undergrad professor reach out to a former student to catch up over dinner. “But for me, it wasn’t shocking at all.”
It reinforced a lesson he learned about how the student experience at Centre was profoundly different from what many schools offer.
“I’m a first-gen kid from Southwest Louisville who didn’t properly appreciate the difference between a liberal arts school and a big state school,” he said. “And then four years later, it was the norm to be applying to Ivy League or Ivy Plus schools. My roommate was going to Yale and I was going to UChicago. At Centre that wasn’t even particularly notable.”
“Centre normalized excellence for me,” he said. “And it normalized being in a community of people who care for one another and go out of their way to help each other. That’s the Centre way.”
It’s the way that brought him back to Kentucky after proposing to his wife, Sarah Hermann Metzmeier ’04 while she was in grad school at Northwestern University.
“I asked her to marry me, and she said, ’Yes, but we’re going home,’” he laughed.
That homecoming is now complete. After spending more than 16 years at Bellarmine University, where he most recently served as chief government, community, and strategic partnership officer, Metzmeier is thrilled to return to Centre.
The sense of community that characterized his undergrad experience plays a big role in Metzmeier’s new role. He is helping Centre grads jump-start their professional futures by leveraging Centre’s tight-knit alumni community (the Centre Mafia!) and building partnerships with employers looking for top-notch candidates.
Centre’s deep commitment to preparing students for rewarding and lucrative career paths drew Metzmeier to his alma mater and the newly introduced position of Vice President for Career and Professional Development.
“This work is vital for our students,” he said. “The administration and Board of Trustees recognize that. Having the chance to serve on the senior leadership team and impact the lives of our students and have a hand in leading this institution is a dream come true.”
His experiences as a student and as a higher education professional give Metzmeier a clear view of how Centre differentiates its graduates in the job market.
“If you graduated from Centre, there are some things I know about you right away. I know that you chose a school you knew would push you harder than others might,” he said. “I know you chose to work hard. You had to write. You had to speak. You had to engage. You had to be willing to take some classes outside your comfort zone, and you had to succeed in them anyway.
“I know that if you went to Centre, you have a desire to succeed, the capacity to excel, and the courage to expand your horizons. As a result, I tell employers with great confidence, ’If you have Centre grads in your job pool, you should hire them.’”
Robyn Sweet Hoffman ’92
On her second day working at Centre, Robyn Sweet Hoffman ’92 was prompted by Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations and Chief Grant Writer Hannah O’Leary ’97 to take a walk across campus.
Their destination wasn’t a meeting or strategy session, it was to visit with faculty and students who were presenting their projects and research at the annual CentreTerm showcase. And it turned out to be a massive affirmation that Hoffman’s decision to return to work at Centre was the perfect move for her.
“Everything that I know and love about Centre was alive and well and apparent in that place,” she said.
The showcase perfectly highlighted the key experiences that shape Centre graduates — faculty-mentored research, hands-on learning, skill-building through a liberal arts and sciences education, and a strong, close-knit community.
“There was an excitement in the faculty members about the unique opportunity CentreTerm presents to engage in meaningful, intensive work with students,” she said. “And the curiosity and problem-solving skills of the students were on full display when they talked about a course in our new Engineering program that necessitated quickly learning a CAD software program that was utilized to design accessible homes. They also couldn’t stop talking about (Associate Professor of Engineering) Christine Goble and how much they loved her as a teacher.”
After diving into the newest academic major, she ran into Assistant Dean for Student Well-Being Ann Young, a longtime member of the Student Life team. “She looked at me for a minute and said, ’What are you doing here?’ and I smiled and said, ’Coming home, I work here now.’”
That morning represented so much of the Centre experience: dedicated and caring faculty, engaged and inspired students, and warm and kind staff members.
“I felt like skipping out of there because I was energized from witnessing so many things that I love about this institution, and I also had the pleasure of reconnecting with someone who was here with me on Day One at Centre,” Hoffman said.
The underlying character of Centre made Vice President for Development and Alumni Engagement Kelly Knetsche’s pitch to Hoffman — luring her from Lander University — one she couldn’t pass up.
“This is an incredibly exciting time to be at Centre College,” she said. “In this moment, we are witnessing Centre build its future as it evolves to meet the needs of the students it nurtures, and the demands of a changing world, while holding steadfast to the enduring strengths of the institution.”
The invitation to help shape a strong future for Centre and its future students, combined with the touchstones she and her daughter, Hayley Hoffman ’16, both enjoyed as undergraduates, made the lure of returning to campus too strong to pass up.
“The Centre Experience is both personal and universal,” Hoffman said. “I had a fantastic internship, and I spent a year traveling and doing research for my John C. Young project under the guidance of two engaged faculty members. Similarly, my daughter had several great internships, she traveled to study abroad, and she served as the editor of the Cento under the tutelage of faculty and staff mentors. Decades apart, Centre’s enduring commitment to student development inside and outside the classroom transformed our lives,” said Hoffman.
“Sharing the common bond of a Centre education is special whether it is between my daughter and me or with other alumni. When we talk, we use ’Centre Speak’ but often, words aren’t adequate to describe the life-shaping impact of this distinctive community. When you know, you know. It’s an honor and a privilege to work in a role where I get to invite those ’who know’ to help preserve Centre’s character for future generations.”
Amanda Cook Grimes ’87
Rest assured Francis Lowe Cook ’61 shared a few Centre stories with her daughter while Amanda was growing up in Fort Thomas, Kentucky.
“My mom was a Centre graduate, so for a gazillion years, I heard about how wonderful it was,” Grimes laughs. “I chose Centre because I wanted a smaller school, and I appreciated the fact that I could get a true liberal arts education.”
That decision had a profound impact as her classes opened new horizons and deepened her understanding of the world around her.
"I took courses I never would have taken anywhere else," she said. “I remember an ethics class that was tied to the Holocaust and not only looked at the history and the politics of it but also looked at the ethical actions and inactions of countries around the world. That’s something I took with me. Not just looking at what’s happened, but the ripples that spread.”
Grimes enrolled at Centre thinking of law school, but those very intentional Centre experiences that Metzmeier cites in leading Centre grads to uncommon success changed everything.
“I did an internship between junior and senior year in banking and found it interesting,” she said. “And I did study abroad with (Emeritus Professor of History) Mike Hamm, which really opened my eyes to the world beyond the United States.”
A fellow history major on that trip was Bill Grimes ’87, with whom Amanda had already struck up a strong friendship. Fast forward to commencement and the pair embarked on their lives together.
She joined the management trainee program at Fifth Third Bank and found her spark working in the capital markets and institutional trust realm of banking, going on to become the youngest assistant vice president in the company. When Bill started working in hospital administration in Atlanta, Amanda joined Nations Bank and became an expert in corporate product integration, working with large business partners.
“My natural affinity is moving a process forward and evaluating how to make something better,” she said. “That’s always been more appealing to me than the status quo.”
A move to the Washington, D.C., area triggered another career shift when an acquaintance invited her to apply at the University of Maryland. Across four positions in the university system, culminating in her most recent post as assistant dean of finance and administration at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health, she honed in on opportunities to improve systems and find opportunities for growth.
In the meantime, she heard frequently from recruiters looking to lure her away but never found a pitch compelling enough to act on.
That changed when a search firm contacted her about an opening at Centre College.
“I thought ‘It’s Centre. How cool! Let me talk to them.’ And then there was a feeling of, ‘Wow!’ This is like coming home,” she said.
Not only is this a homecoming, it’s also an opportunity to merge two of the most rewarding aspects of her professional journey: working with finances and capital markets, as well as the student-facing opportunities she enjoyed working in higher education.
“This is an exciting time to be joining Centre College,” she said. “The Board of Trustees has really invested in growing the endowment and advancing the mission of the College. I love being part of that and helping the next generations of Centre graduates reach their full potential.”
