In December, Anthony Forlini (B.B.A. ’84, Marketing) became Sir Anthony Forlini when he was conferred as a Knight in the Order of the Star of Italy by the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, at a ceremony performed by Dr. Maria Luisa Lapresa, Consul of Italy in Detroit. Forlini most recently served in the Michigan House of Representatives before he term limited out last year. Previously he served as supervisor for Harrison Twp., MI, and has had a financial service firm for over 35 years.

His road to politics, and eventually being knighted, however, was not exactly a straight path. Forlini started his studies in community college and after taking a career assessment test was told the careers that matched his personality best were army general, funeral home director, or business. “I’ll try this business route,” he said. Eventually, Forlini found his way to WMU. He was the first in his family to attend college and Kalamazoo was the farthest west anyone in his family had ever gone.