{"id":49709,"date":"2025-10-22T14:57:49","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T14:57:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/?p=49709"},"modified":"2025-10-22T14:57:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T14:57:49","slug":"a-sons-legacy-lighting-the-way-through-literature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/2025\/10\/22\/a-sons-legacy-lighting-the-way-through-literature\/","title":{"rendered":"A SON\u2019S LEGACY: LIGHTING THE WAY THROUGH LITERATURE"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/a>John \u201988 and Jill Benson were thrilled when their youngest child, Gabe, chose to attend Augsburg. When considering which school he would like to attend, his motivations echoed those of his father, who graduated from the same university with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. \u201cGrowing up in rural Minnesota,\u201d says John, \u201cI never felt out of place at Augsburg, despite it being in the big city.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

John, like Gabe, saw something special about Augsburg. \u201cGabe had three certainties,\u201d Jill shared. \u201cHe wanted to live in Minneapolis, he wanted a diverse college environment, and lastly, he felt at home.\u201d Gabe continued to explore his lifelong passions of reading, writing, and connecting with others throughout his time at Augsburg, where he double majored in Communications and English, earning his degree in 2019. \u201cAugsburg totally shaped him and gave him the skills that allowed him to pivot drastically in his career trajectory,\u201d Jill said. Gabe took an interest in mortuary science during the pandemic and graduated with a degree in it from the University of Minnesota in 2022. Sadly, Gabe passed away shortly after starting his new career.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Equally crucial to the experiences he had were the meaningful relationships he built with his peers and English faculty mentor, Lindsay Starck. \u201cLindsay and Gabe talked so much,\u201d Jill shared. \u201cThey would meet at cafes, enjoying the view of the river, talking about books and life.\u201d During his 2023 memorial, John recalled Lindsay’s eulogy about Gabe, in which she expressed her sentiment that \u201cGabe was proof that you can do anything as an English major.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Gabe\u2019s curiosity about life and his deep appreciation for the written word and authors were motivators for John and Jill\u2019s gift. \u201cWe met with Lindsay, and she helped shape the gift we wanted to give,\u201d John shared. \u201cWe wanted to think about the activities Gabe loved and how we could pass on those experiences to students.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2025, they established the Gabe Benson \u201919 Endowed Literary, Creative, and Narrative Arts Fund, which will expand hosting opportunities at Augsburg for a range of literary events, including readings, lectures, and visits from writers and thinkers who inspire critical and creative engagement. They are also excited about the prospect of this fund supporting student participation in events that deepen academic exploration and vocational discernment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When reflecting on Gabe\u2019s legacy and the passions he could impart to<\/span> future Augsburg students, John shared, \u201cDefinitely an appreciation for reading. Gabe was a voracious reader. If this gift can instill excitement about literature or writing, that would mean the world.\u201d \u201cHe was also such a light,\u201d Jill added. \u201cHe loved storytelling and embraced who he was. I hope that we can help other students live out those qualities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John \u201988 and Jill Benson were thrilled when their youngest child, Gabe, chose to attend Augsburg. When considering which school he would like to attend, his motivations echoed those of his father, who graduated from the same university with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. \u201cGrowing up in rural Minnesota,\u201d says John, \u201cI never felt …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":470,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,240],"tags":[155,148,244,25],"class_list":["post-49709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gift-announcements","category-promising-futures","tag-augsburg-alumni","tag-augsburg-university","tag-class-of-2019","tag-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/470"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49709"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49713,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49709\/revisions\/49713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}