Shawn Karsten Named RHS Distinguished Alumni

RIPON, Wis. (WRPN) – The Ripon High School has announced Shawn Karsten from the Ripon High School Class of 2003 is the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award winner.

Shawn serves as Vice President of Community for XPRIZE Foundation-the global leader in designing and executing large-scale competitions to solve humanity’s greatest challenges.

Before joining XPRIZE Shawn served as Vice President of Advancement, Marketing, and Communications, as well as Chief of Staff at Ripon College, where he oversaw all aspects of Advancement, including Advancement Services, Brand, Communications and Public Relations, Constituent Engagement, and Development.

He led the largest and most successful philanthropic campaign in the college’s history. The Forever Ripon Campaign, which raised $120 million over five years.

Following his graduation from Ripon High School in 2003, Shawn went on to graduate with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh with a degree in Speech Communication and Rhetoric. He and wife Carissa are the proud parents of one daughter and two sons.

To read more about Shawn, click here.