Distinguished Alumni inductee Kenneth Hackman poses with, from left, Julie Ortmann Waltman, representing inductee Coleen Ortmann Kayden, and inductee Tracy Goodman.

Penn Manor honors Distinguished Alumni

Four outstanding Penn Manor High School graduates were inducted Saturday into the Distinguished Alumni Wall of Honor during the Alumni Banquet in the high school cafeteria. Also honored at the banquet were members of the health care profession.

The 2015 Distinguished Alumni are Kenneth Hackman, Class of 1955; Coleen Ortmann Kayden, Class of 1973; Tracy Goodman, Class of 1988; and Jennifer Sorensen, Class of 1992. Jennifer and Coleen were unable to attend. Coleen was represented by her sister, Julie Ortmann Waltman, a 1977 Penn Manor graduate.

Here are the accomplishments of the Distinguished Alumni:

Kenneth L. Hackman (’55) During high school, Ken was vice-president of the Photography Club and was referred to in the bio section of the yearbook as a “camera bug.”

He hoped one day to become a professional photographer. Sometimes dreams do come true! Last year Ken was awarded the prestigious Joseph A. Sprague Memorial Award by the National Press Photographers Association for his military photojournalism. Ken enlisted in the U.S. Air Force out of high school in 1955. When his enlistment ended in 1960, he became an Air Force civil service photographer for the next three decades, documenting military action around the globe.

During his career, he photographed the Vietnam War, one of the last atomic bomb detonations off Christmas Island in the South Pacific, eight Olympic Games and Bob Hope’s USO tours. He also was the official photographer for Air Force One for 25 years. Ken founded the Air Force’s photojournalism training program at Syracuse University in 1971 and headed the program until his retirement in 1995.

Ken currently lives in Studio City, California.

Coleen Ortmann Kayden (’73) Coleen was very active in high school, playing field hockey and basketball and clarinet in the band for all four years. She also participated in many other school clubs and activities.

Coleen graduated from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. She is a past president of the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association, past chairperson of the Lancaster Community Plan board of directors, and a founding board member of Linking Pharmacists to Improved Health Outcomes.

In 2010, Coleen was named the 56th recipient of the Annual Alumni Award from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. She has stayed local, living in Conestoga and working at Williams Apothecary and consulting for several long-term care facilities in Lancaster County.

Tracy L. Goodman (’88) Tracy was on the field hockey and track teams all four years of high school. She was also a member of the Spanish Honor Society. In the yearbook, Tracy said her future plans were to attend college, travel, “then work the rest of my life to pay for it all!”

She graduated from Georgetown University Law Center and dedicated her legal career to serving families and children. Tracy got her wish to travel when she worked in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for Microsoft as a piracy investigator and later for the American Center for International Labor Solidarity. She speaks Spanish and Portuguese. Returning to the United States in 2002, she joined the staff of the Children’s Law Center in Washington, D.C., where she is currently the Director of Healthy Together.

Tracy lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and three children.

Jennifer L. Sorensen (’92) Jennifer was a member of the Penn Points staff and served as art editor in her senior year. Jen also played in the orchestra for all four years. Her future plans (according to the yearbook) were “To make my life a Magical Mystery Tour, find Penny Lane, ride a Yellow Submarine, avoid Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, and walk through Strawberry Fields Forever.”

Jen attended the University of Virginia, studying cultural anthropology. She drew cartoons for college publications. In 2014, she won the Herblock Prize for excellence in editorial cartooning, becoming the first woman to receive the prize. Her editorial cartoons appear in 20 alternative newspapers and have appeared in a number of national publications.

Jen was a previous recipient of the 2013 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and the 2013 National Cartoonists Society Award for Editorial Cartoonists. Jen and her husband live in Austin, Texas.