“At the Border of Wilshire & Nobody” was launched as part of the MFA program’s publishing concentration. The book-length poetry collection by Los Angeles-based Marci Vogel, winner of the 2015 Howling Bird Press poetry prize, was chosen from a field of more than 60 from across the nation and was shepherded into print by Howling Bird associate editors Amanda Symes ’15 MFA, Ashley Cardona ’15 MFA, and Kevin Matuseski ’16 MFA.

Visit the Pioneer Press website to read, “‘.”

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Five Augsburg students are helping turn a house into “home” for women and children at a shelter in Eagan, Minn. Through the month of March, the students are collecting clothing, bedding, personal care items, and toys and games for residents of Lewis House.

For their “Engaging Minneapolis” project in small group communication, the students chose to learn about resources available to abused women in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro. They found Lewis House, a shelter run by the Community Action Council of Scott and Dakota counties, and went there to meet Doreen Ulrich, the program director.

“It wasn’t what I expected,” said Ahle Neunsinger ’09 [second from left]. “I thought it would just be a big room with beds, but it was a comfortable house with private rooms.”

Lewis House serves women and children who feel threatened or unsafe because of a partner’s behavior. The shelter provides a safe, confidential environment for families to find services and long-term housing solutions.

Many women arrive at Lewis House, sometimes by police escort or when fleeing a violent situation, with little to no personal items. After they toured the house and met some of the residents, the students decided to collect donations. “Lewis House needs to feel like home,” said Amanda Symes ’09 [far right], “to show the residents that there is a place they can be safe.”

Both Neunsinger and Symes said they learned more about the issue of abused women through their small group project, but they also learned about the importance of volunteering. “It’s not that difficult to help,” said Symes. After graduation, Neunsinger plans to give more of her time to Lewis House. “They always need volunteers.”

Lewis House needs:

• bath towels, wash cloths
• twin sheets, comforters, and pillowcases
• diapers
• infant formula – all varieties
• baby bottles/nipples
• craft supplies (markers, crayons, construction paper, special kits)
• school supplies (notebooks, folders, back packs)
• educational toys, puzzles, videos and learning games
• toothbrushes/toothpaste/floss
• old cell phones with chargers
• women and youth clothing (any age, gently used or new)

The students will be collecting donations at a table in Christensen Center (watch A-mail for details). Donations can also be dropped off in the Enrollment Center. Contact Ashle Neunsing, neunsing@augsburg.edu for more information.

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Why She Transferred

I transferred to Augsburg mainly for the small campus. I loved the idea of being in a small class so I could have one-on-one time with the professors. I think being able to get to know my professors helps me learn more. I also felt that being on a smaller campus would give me more opportunities to be involved with the school, which has been true so far. I have a job at the EC, I write for the Augsburgian (yearbook), for the office of marketing and communications, and this fall I will also write for the Echo (student newspaper).

Why She Loves Augsburg

What I like most about being an Auggie is being part of the little community here. I like knowing my professors and my classmates. When you are in a class with 15 other people, you get the chance to get to know one another, which makes class discussion more interesting. Being an Auggie means I am part of Augsburg, along with every other student, staff or faculty member. There isn’t an uncomfortable feeling of not knowing anyone because we are all Auggies, so we are all in the same community.

The major difference from my other school to Augsburg is the community feeling. At larger colleges, you could walk through campus and not know a single person. But at Augsburg, I am getting to know more and more people. I don’t feel like I’m just attending classes, I also feel like I’m part of the school.

Her Advice to Transfers

My advice is to take a tour of the college and talk with the Enrollment Center. It really helped me to talk with Financial Aid and Academic Advising before I transferred. I found out what to do, who I needed to talk to, and everything I needed to know about starting school at Augsburg. It was helpful to have someone to talk with so I didn’t feel like I was doing it all by myself.

One really important lesson I learned about transferring from one college to another is to pay attention to paperwork!

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