Alumni Senior Awards 2026
The Grinnell College Alumni Council has selected two graduates to receive the 2026 Alumni Senior Awards.
The Alumni Senior Awards honor graduating seniors who best exemplify the Grinnell College spirit and to whom the class will continue to look to for leadership as they become the newest members of the alumni community. Seniors were nominated for the award by their class of 2025 peers.
Conrad Dahm ’26 and Anu Sanumi ’26 were presented with the Alumni Senior Awards at Baccalaureate on May 17 by Alumni Council member Becky Reetz Neal ’65. Below is more information about the two recipients.
Conrad Dahm
Conrad Dahm has an ability to immediately grasp complex ideas and turn them into practical action.
Dahm served as a lead organizer and co-president of the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers. He played a decisive role in successfully bargaining the first contract between the Union and the College, which resulted in a significant student wage increase and established enforceable protections and transparency.
A Swansea, Illinois native, Dahm served as editor-in-chief of The B&S satire newspaper, balancing sharp political humor with a deep understanding of campus culture. He also was the longest-serving lifeguard at the College pool.
Dahm was deeply involved in the arts and student life as well, helping run improv, participating in the German Student Educational Policy Committee, performing in choir and community theatre, and organizing a slow-pitch softball league for the community.
A double major in history and Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, Dahm is interested in practicing law that makes the world better.
“What ultimately defines Conrad’s leadership is his resilience and optimism,” says his classmate Jackie Harris ’26. “Whenever I saw him discouraged or overwhelmed, his response has been the same. He gets involved and does something about it. He exemplifies the simple brilliance of caring. Conrad shows, by example, how much can be achieved when the work is grounded in genuine concern for others.”
Anu Sanumi
Anu Sanumi is known as being thoughtful, community-minded, and determined in all that she does.
As the Student Government Association speaker of the Senate, Sanumi planned and led community-building activities, including a winter wellness event. A liaison to the Dining Services Advisory Committee, she worked to improve the student dining experience, most notably in increasing access to a diverse selection of fruits.
In addition, Sanumi has served on the Student Health and Wellness Advisory Committee and the Black Cultural Center (BCC) Advisory Committee, and she was the coordinator and student representative of Grinnell College Black Church.
Sanumi was one of the first students selected to be on the First-Generation and Low-Income Student Advisory Committee, where she advocated for the importance of need-blind admissions and helped plan the physical and functional components of the Dr. Michelle Rebelsky Memorial First Generation and Low-Income Lounge that was spearheaded from a 2025 fundraising effort by the Alumni Council.
Growing up in an African nation that has a poor quality of health care has made Sanumi passionate about providing health care to her local and global communities. A biological chemistry major, she is considering a number of career paths within the medical field.
“I believe Anu’s incredible work ethic derives from her recognition of the value of education and just how far it can take her,” said her classmate Keanu Shui ’26. “I have never met someone who has taken the initiative to dream as much she has.”
Previous Recipients