Kevin graduated from high school in the 70’s and as he thought about college, he wasn’t particular about where he would go. He admits he wasn’t heavily involved in picking Augsburg.

“My grandparents wanted me to go to Augsburg. They told me to look at Augsburg and I said ‘fine,’” says Kevin.

He started at Augsburg in 1973 and took a few classes during the fall and January interim semesters. But Augsburg didn’t have what Kevin was looking for at the time, so he transferred to the University of Minnesota in 1974 where he also worked at the U of M’s Computer Center.

Shortly after, Kevin began working full-time as an operating systems programmer at Lawrence Berkeley National Labs. Over the next fifteen years, he worked for a few companies – including IDS Financial Services, McGraw-Hill, and American Express – before going out on his own as a systems consulting and programming service provider. He took computer science courses here and there, but never focused on a degree because he was working full time.

In 2010, Kevin decided to go back to school and finish his degree in computer science.

“My default was to go back to the U of M,” says Kevin. “But there were two problems. One, the lecture size. There were over 100 people in my computer science classes. And two, I needed accessibility. I needed books in braille and although the U of M has a large disability resource center employee count wise, they didn’t have the experience accommodating a blind person.”

Kevin knew Kathy McGillivray from the National Federation of the Blind, and knew she was the director in Augsburg’s CLASS Office.

“We talked about smaller classes that were actually taught by the professors, unlike the U of M having Teaching Assistants do a lot of the teaching. Kathy knew what I needed for accommodations as well. She was an ally in the whole process. We worked together through accessibility for both my computer science undergraduate degree and the MBA program. Once we got that solved, it was great!”

Kevin completed his undergraduate computer science degree in 2018 and immediately started in Augsburg’s Master of Business Administration program, graduating in the winter of 2020.

Now he is working with a business colleague on building a couple company’s telecommunications space and Voice over Internet Protocol and Omnichannel call center solutions. Kevin is also excited about starting an A.I. venture in the near future.

Despite the process taking almost 50 years from start to graduation, Kevin is thankful for his time at Augsburg. He’s particularly thankful for the professors he studied with.

“I didn’t have a single negative experience with a professor at Augsburg, even going back to the 70’s. I had a great calculus professor and psychology professors. George Dierberger, the MBA director, has pulled in great adjunct professors who are the best in the industry. You can respect and trust the information from the professor because they have the knowledge and industry experience.”

When asked why others should consider a degree in computer science at Augsburg versus another university, Kevin pointed out that Augsburg uses the same program as the U of M for their undergraduate computer science program.

“They use the same textbooks, the same curriculum. At the U of M, you have 100 plus people in a class, but shrink that down to 25 people at the high end at Augsburg, and that is a significant difference. Yes, Augsburg has teaching assistants and tutors like the U of M, but they don’t have the same concept where the professor pushes all the work onto the teaching assistant. At Augsburg you have direct interface and direct communication with the professors.”

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Are you an MBA grad or current student?

The Augsburg Alumni Board and MBA program invite you back to campus for a FREE networking event on Tuesday, October 25, in the Foss Center Atrium, beginning at 5 p.m. Mingle with fellow alumni and hear the latest in alumni opportunities supporting professional development.��We share a common bond and we have a chance to influence successful outcomes for the College and fellow Auggies!

Event Details
Date: Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Time: 5-7 p.m.
Location: Foss Center Atrium, near Hoversten Chapel
Cost: Free!

If you have additional questions, please contact Kathy Fagen, Academic Coordinator, at 612-330-1774 or fagen@augsburg.edu.��I look forward to seeing you on October 25th!

—Josh Krob ’08, ’15 MBA
Augsburg College Alumni Board

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Planning events like the St. Paul Winter Carnival is what Rosanne Newville Bump ’92 does for a living as President and CEO of the Saint Paul Festival & Heritage Foundation—with support from the community, of course—and from plenty of volunteers, who work tirelessly behind the scenes. Honored to be part of the festival’s history, Bump loves brainstorming regularly about what “fun factors” to add to the next year’s event. For example, this year’s event included three parades, a half marathon, an ice- and snow-carving competition, the country’s largest jigsaw puzzle competition, and an outdoors Birthday Bash in Rice Park to celebrate the festival’s 130^th birthday. As part of the fun, Bump partnered with Kemps Ice Cream to provide Birthday Cake Ice Cream samples for all attending. In addition, this year’s festival included a performance, also in Rice Park, by roots-rock band GB Leighton. Standing outdoors on a lovely winter evening with 1000+ others, singing along with the performers, near the ice castle and sparkling trees (all lit), was “magical,” says Bump.

Bump has learned that, each year, about 20% of the carnival plans are unlikely to go as planned, primarily because of unpredictable weather, so she and her colleagues need to figure it out as they go, making for “some adrenaline-filled days.” Unusually warm weather leading up to this year’s event meant that, in order to build the ice palace (this year, a mini version), ice had to be purchased, instead of harvested from local Lake Phalen. Even so, the palace still included the king’s chair, a light show, and TV monitors.

In addition to the Winter Carnival, Bump also plans the Cinco de Mayo event on St. Paul’s West Side, which has a 35-year history. The festival—which celebrates the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862—includes a Mexican marketplace that features artists from the neighborhood, a parade, and multiple entertainment stages, with different kinds of music and beer—and margaritas, of course. This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday, May 7, near Robert and Cesar Chavez Streets, right in the heart of the Latin@ business district.

Bump earned her degree from Augsburg in Management Information Systems, and early in her career she spent 10 years as a computer programmer. Grateful that her liberal arts education exposed her to ideas/topics that she wouldn’t have otherwise thought about, she says Augsburg College was a great choice for her, and she went on to earn her MBA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in 2010. She has stayed in touch with many of her Auggie classmates over the years, and is particularly pleased that both the St. Paul Winter Carnival and the Cinco de Mayo organizations benefit from the help of Augsburg interns as they plan their events.

Bump lives with her husband of 28 years, Jeff Bump ’85, and their three daughters (Madelyn, Ella, and Julia) in River Falls, Wisc., where she served for nine years as CEO of the River Falls Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau. In that position, she organized events like the River Falls Roots & Bluegrass Festival, River Falls Days, and various other community events. She sits on multiple nonprofit boards and is currently president of the River Falls Rotary Club.

—by Cheryl Crockett ‘89

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At 54, the dual-degreed Auggie has always been a woman who likes a challenge. She’s happy when she’s busy, and as the owner of Lady Elegant’s Tea Shoppe in the leafy St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul, and a part-time MBA student at Augsburg, the mother of three is already thinking about her next adventure.

Serving Tranquility
Lady Elegant’s, which she purchased from the previous owner, is actually two businesses—a tea shop and a tranquil tea room that is perfect for conversation and popular for groups of all sizes by appointment. Ayana Sima does the baking for the formal teas, including croissants and scones with clotted cream. The adjoining tea shop sells more than 80 varieties of tea. Her husband, Admasu Simeso, helps manage the restaurant, from the paperwork to the online shop.

She manages four part-time employees, and everyone works Saturdays, because it is their busiest time.

Each place in the tea room is set with a distinct tea cup. She’s collected cups from all over—they come from the United Kingdom, China, and Japan—and washes each one by hand. They break easily, she warns, especially in the transition from a group service in the morning to a group in the afternoon.

“I’m a coffee drinker,” she confesses. Growing up in Ethiopia, she would pick coffee out of the backyard at her mother’s house and they’d roast it themselves. She learned to enjoy tea while working in Switzerland, and has grown to know the delicate chemistry of time, tea leaves, and temperature of boiling water.

Ayana Sima has created her own special blend of Paris and Irish Breakfast tea. Served without sugar or milk, it is both elegant and energizing, much like Sima herself.

Taught to Give
Raised Presbyterian in Dembi, Dollo, in the Wallagga province of western Ethiopia, she went to an American missionary school as a child, and came to the United States to study at Golden Valley Lutheran College. Two semesters after she arrived, the school closed in 1985. With two young sons, Gada and Leeban, she didn’t know what she was going to do next. Kathy Swanson, English Professor at Augsburg, was her teacher at Golden Valley, and in transferring to teach at Augsburg, she assured Ayana Sima that she could go to Augsburg, too.

Dr. Frederick and Mariel Wolter, from Central Lutheran Church, let her live in their home for two years with her sons while her husband remained behind in Ethiopia working for the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus and the Lutheran World Federation’s Department for World Service.

When she first arrived in this country in December, she saw snow on the ground for the first time. She still remembers how scared she felt. But Mariel was there with a jacket and with gloves.

They never knew her, but they were there to support her. “It’s beyond my thinking,” Ayana Sima says now. “Staying with the Wolters taught me and strengthened my faith that as Christian you don’t have to know people to help. You give and help when people are in need,” she says.

She remembers Mariel encouraging her to continue her education, letting her know that it was something she just had to do. “I came to Augsburg and it was like home,” Ayana Sima remembers.

Many people contributed to her success at Augsburg, she says, including Sally Daniels Herron ’79, director of Admissions at the time, whom she remembers being a great help to all international students; and Herald Johnson, former director of Financial Aid. They helped her find a job working in the payroll department at Augsburg. “That check helped a lot,” she says, and the experience proved invaluable.

A New Challenge
While she was finishing up her undergraduate degree in accounting, her husband got a job in Geneva, Switzerland, working for the Lutheran World Federation. She joined him there shortly. They soon had a daughter and Ayana Sima stayed home for four years, raising the children.

With another new language to learn, she did not want to go out anywhere, she laughs.

The kids picked up French right away, but Ayana Sima was frustrated. One day she returned home and said, “I’m going to go back to school to learn French.”

After getting her French in order, she got a job at the United Nations. She says that her supervisor, an American, decided to hire her after seeing Augsburg on her application. Although he didn’t know the College well, he knew Ayana Sima would be a good fit for the position.

Using her payroll experience, she worked for United Nations in Geneva for 8 years before moving on to work in Zimbabwe, Congo, and Malawi for another 12 years combined. In Congo, she worked in the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, in charge of payroll for 46 countries under the Regional Office.

Finally, after 20 years working for the United Nations, with her children now grown and living in Minnesota, she was ready to come back to the States. She didn’t have any idea what she was going to do when she came back, but she wanted to be near her children and sisters and brothers living here.

They are active members of Our Redeemer Oromo Evangelical Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, and stay connected to the large Oromo community in the Twin Cities. Her daughter, Lalee, raised internationally and fluent in English, French, and Spanish is now getting her master’s in education at Hamline. She helps Ayana Sima at the tea shop when she can.

Ayana Sima feels at home and embraced in her adopted country.

The Next Chapter
After arriving back in Minneapolis, she was ready for a change from office work and wanted to open up a café. They found Lady Elegant’s Tea Shoppe was for sale. The location in St. Anthony Park’s Milton Square reminded them of Old Town Geneva, and they felt it was a good omen.

Ayana Sima was planning on a coffee shop, but saw it had a good customer base and success with a unique concept. A year and a half later, she is happy with the business.

Then one morning she woke up and decided she wanted to get her MBA. She never thought she would go back to school, but something was missing in her life without it.

“It’s amazing,” she says. Augsburg is like home. “I never felt like an outsider. It feels like I know everyone, but of course I don’t know everyone.”

She appreciates her professors and the professionalism of the program, as well as the diversity of students in her cohort (M51). “People around you will help you to succeed,” she says. “You can’t always do it on your own.” She is finishing her final two classes this July.

“Don’t ask me what I’m going to do with my MBA,” she says, “because I don’t know yet,” but she’s already had offers. “This MBA program opened my eyes,” she says, especially in her leadership and management classes. Assistant Professor Peter Stark is amazing, she says. The practical lessons in how to manage conflict and people have allowed her to look back at her experience and realize what she could have done differently.

“Any place I go with my experience, I think I can manage,” she says.

The post Finding Home All Over the World appeared first on Alumni, Parents, and Friends.

Like the rest of our community here in the Twin Cities, Augsburg College and the Alumni Association were saddened to see this week’s devastating announcement about layoffs at Target corporate headquarters. News like this is especially painful when we know that Auggies were affected.

Regardless of your employment status, your alma mater is here to support you through education, mentorship, Auggie connections, and campus events. If you’re looking to further your education, Augsburg Admissions has put together a comprehensive package to support your next steps.

Augsburg College would like to extend its Partnership Grant program discounts to those affected by the recent workforce reduction at Target.

The Partnership discount of $50 per undergraduate credit and $80 per graduate credit will continue to apply to all previous Target employees if they newly enroll in an adult undergraduate or graduate program at Augsburg College in the summer or fall 2015 term.

Additionally, Augsburg has created a new alumni discount of $50 per undergraduate credit and $80 per graduate credit. To receive the alumni discount, a student must have earned a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate degree from Augsburg College. Alumni who newly enroll in further studies at Augsburg College will be able to receive this discount. The discount does not apply to CEU credits or workshops.

For maximum affordability, the alumni discount is stackable with one other discount! The alumni discount can be stacked with the military discount, the AmeriCorps/Lutheran Corps discount, or the Augsburg Partnership Grant.

For example, if you are an Augsburg alumna or alumnus that has been newly admitted into a graduate program and your Target – Augsburg Partnership Grant program has been extended for the summer and fall terms, your two discounts may be stacked. Alumni Discount $80/credit + Partnership Grant Discount $80/credit = Total Discount $160/ credit.

Business-Related Programs

Augsburg College offers an and that can be completed in two years and are conveniently scheduled for working adults. A certificate can be earned in Leadership with the completion of three courses in the program. In the adult undergraduate program, among the most popular business majors are accounting, finance, business administration/economics, and management.

Strommen Center for Meaningful Work

The doors of the are open to all Augsburg students and graduates—connect with other Auggies in your field, find a mentor, or prepare for a job search or graduate school.

Strommen Executive Speaker Series

Join campus events dedicated to sharing leadership experience with alumni and students. On Thursday, April 9, at 5 p.m., Augsburg College welcomes , CEO & President of the Wilder Foundation to Sateren Auditorium. This series is an enriching opportunity for the entire campus community. .

* The Target – Augsburg Partnership Grant is not exclusive to Augsburg alumni—please share this information with any friends and colleagues affected by the most recent news.

For more information about the Target – Augsburg Partnership Grant, please visit or call 612-330-1101.

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Last week, more than 50 Auggies gathered for lunch at the 3M campus in Maplewood. Despite sharing the same employer, some who had known each other had not made the connection of sharing an alma mater! President Pribbenow shared anecdotes from Augsburg’s history with 3M. During the 1970s, Augsburg’s business program hosted courses at 3M, and many Auggie alumni from this era are still employed there. Currently, more than 200 Augsburg alumni work for 3M.

Holly Knutson ’03, MBA ’07, Auggie extraordinaire and member of the 3M finance department, worked with the Alumni Association to honor Nick Gangestad ’86 for his recent promotion as CFO. Pribbenow presented Gangestad with the inaugural Golden Bow Tie award:

The Golden Bow Tie Award is bestowed upon a leader within the Augsburg Community who exemplifies outstanding achievement, embodies the core values of an Augsburg education and inspires great pride for all Auggies. Nick was also presented with a certificate and gold cufflinks in the shape of bow ties.

Nick Gangestad shared three core Augsburg philosophies at Augsburg that have impacted his life: faith, liberal arts, and a unique urban setting. As a student, Gangestad’s faith deepened, and he felt supported in that growth by Augsburg’s core Lutheran values. Liberal arts, the importance of entrepreneurship, and flexibility are also important to him. He attributes his liberal arts education to his ability to lead effectively at 3M. Coming from a small town in Iowa he had a distinct appreciation of Augsburg’s location in the city of Minneapolis.

The Augsburg Alumni Association can help you host your own workplace Augsburg Alumni event like this luncheon at 3M. To gather a group of Auggies at your workplace, please contact Amanda Scherer, assistant director of corporate and foundation relations at 612-330-1720 or scherera@augsburg.edu.

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