B. J., a business major, and Ben, a marketing major, came to Augsburg because of their father’s connection to the College. They were recruited by the current men’s hockey coach, Chris Brown, and both said the small campus and the location in the city were important factors in their decision to become Auggies. “And I knew my dad received a great education at Augsburg,” Ben said.

Bill began his studies at the University of Minnesota but transferred to Augsburg after his first semester. “My coach suggested Augsburg, so I came and sat down with Coach (Ed) Saugestad, and that was it,” Bill said. He credits Saugestad ’59, coach of the Auggie men’s hockey team from 1959 to 1996, and business administration faculty member John Cerrito for helping him succeed at Augsburg.

“I was a better college student than a high school student, and Coach Saugestad and Professor Cerrito really made a difference for me,” Bill said. “I worked hard because I did not want to become ineligible academically.”

Bill said he also remembers Cerrito, who served as his faculty adviser, giving him important advice about his future. “He said I wasn’t going to be a hockey player forever and I needed to do something with my life after college.”

All three McClellans agree that hockey made them better students and better people. Bill, who now works in real estate, says hockey gave him the skills to be successful in life. “It taught me everything from communication skills to discipline,” he said, “and not to quit.”

Ben shared his father’s sentiments. “For me, hockey is where I escape from reality for a little while. It’s taught me to believe in myself and to never give up.” And B. J. added, “I’ve worked to be a good student so that I could participate on the team, and hockey has helped me build friendships that I will have forever.”

Perhaps hockey has also strengthened the McClellans’ relationships with each other, giving a proud father an opportunity to see his sons play hockey where he played as a young man.

The McClellan family is one of many “legacy” families at Augsburg. Legacy students are those whose grandparents, parents, or siblings are Augsburg graduates or current students as well as students who are children or spouses of ELCA pastors. In the 2013 spring semester, there were 145 legacy students attending Augsburg.

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These dedicated Auggies perform their service to Augsburg through alumni relations programs and Augsburg Fund initiatives. In return, the Stewards find that their service yields unique career development opportunities.

In addition to educating their peers on the role they will play as alumni, Stewards also connect with other students throughout the year through Philanthropy Week, the Feed the Pig class challenge, and the 100 Days to Graduation Senior Party. Each of these programs is intended to inspire a lifetime of Auggie Pride in Stewards and other students.

Stewards, as current Auggies, connect with alumni at events such as Advent Vespers, the Convocation Series lectures, Homecoming, the Alumni Summer Series, the Alumni/Student Networking evening, and Scholarship Brunch, and begin to build relationships that can lead to internships or career opportunities.

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Augsburg College is accepting applications for its new, low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. The program initially will offer four concentration areas: fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and screenwriting. The two-year program features an annual 10-day summer residency, one-on-one work with mentors, a student-to-mentor ratio of five to one, and engaging online classroom sessions. This program, the only one of its kind in the region, will be taught by distinguished Augsburg faculty and visiting writers.

To find out more about the MFA program, go to .

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After 21 years at Augsburg, she is at ease teaching painting and drawing in the College’s on-campus studios. But, Sweeney said, since 1999 she has pushed herself—and the students she instructs—into “deeper observing, questioning, and creating” through short-term study abroad programs in Italy and France.

“Learning to draw in a study abroad program is an opportunity to travel in an entirely different way than a typical tourist,” Sweeney said. “It wakes us up. Sketching in the midst of daily life challenges the habitual ways we think about ourselves, where we are, and what we know. It coaxes us to be more open, more present to what we encounter.”

In January 2013, Sweeney collaborated with Merilee Klemp, associate professor of music, to teach the fine arts course, The Sights and Sounds of Europe: Paris, which encouraged students to embrace art and music as interrelated disciplines during an Augsburg Abroad winter break program.

Sweeney said students sketched at key cultural locations as well as at art museums and live musical performances throughout the City of Lights, prompting the travelers to learn new visual and aural skills, engage with people in the community, and embrace the diversity of their unfamiliar setting.

“Drawing is its own language—one that can be shared without words,” Sweeney said. “It makes the artist and the art-making more visible and approachable. Strangers pause, watch the sketches unfold, and sometimes share their stories. Empathy and trust grow out of this experience. These attitudes are essential to drawing and designing, to teaching and learning, and to embracing and understanding the world we live in.”

Prior to teaching, Sweeney was a freelance book illustrator and designer as well as executive art director for Mpls. St. Paul Magazine. She is a prolific artist whose recent work ranges from artist books to mixed media paintings and drawings. She holds signature status in the Minnesota Watercolor Society. The Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, Wis., recently exhibited 42 drawings from her current series, “Close to Home: A Visual Journal.” Her spring 2013 sabbatical project focuses on the completion of this series.

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In June 2012, Forbes named physician assistant studies one of the best master’s degrees for jobs, citing the discipline’s salary and employment outlook in which job opportunities are expected to grow 30 percent by 2020.

Physician assistants (PAs) are in demand due to an aging U.S. population, a projected shortage of primary care physicians, and a need for increased access to affordable health care. And—in alignment with health care industry demand—100 percent of Augsburg PA alumni are employed within six months of graduation, according to Dawn Ludwig, the College’s PA program director.

Jamie Schneekloth ’11 MPA is one of these graduates. She worked as an emergency room technician and nursing assistant for a half dozen years. After witnessing firsthand the important role PAs play in the health care industry, she gained admittance to the highly competitive Augsburg College PA program. She wanted to earn a well-regarded education in general practice medicine, to expand her earning potential, and to pursue an exceptionally versatile career path.

Schneekloth secured her first full-time PA position at La Clinica following her master’s degree completion.

“In my day-to-day practice, I manage a number of acute and chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, and I focus on preventive health,” Schneekloth said. “I perform procedures as needed, such as joint injections … and laceration repair.”

As a Spanish-major-turned-physician-assistant, she was a natural fit for employment at the St. Paul-based community health center that provides multicultural and multilingual treatment to immigrant and low-income communities.

“PAs are a cost-effective way to deliver quality health care in primary care areas,” Ludwig said. “The licensure of a physician assistant is dependent upon the practice of the physician, which means physicians can delegate certain responsibilities to the PA to help them run their practices.”

Augsburg began its PA program in 1995 and during 2001 became the first college in Minnesota to offer the Physician Assistant Certificate along with the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies—a degree program that prepares mid-level health care providers. As a PA, Schneekloth is licensed to examine, treat, educate, and write prescriptions for patients while under the supervision of a physician.

“The profession has exploded in the past 15 years,” Ludwig said.

Schneekloth completed the Augsburg College PA program in three years. Current Augsburg students earn a PA certificate and a master’s degree in 31 months. The program’s duration is a fraction of the length of medical school, which requires a commitment of at least seven years. Like med students, Augsburg College PA students enroll in lecture courses emphasizing science and diseases, then complete 2,500 hours of clinical rotations during the second half of their education. These rotations are “key to what makes you confident in providing quality care for a patient,” Schneekloth said.

PAs also are generalists who can easily change medical disciplines. “I liked that the career was versatile,” Schneekloth added. “I could work in any specialty, as opposed to physicians who have to maintain the particular career path that they chose in residency for their entire career.”

The Augsburg PA program promotes a commitment to lifelong personal and professional development and has a “strong reputation in the country,” according to Ludwig. “That leads to high-quality people applying, which means we are selective about the candidates we admit, which then leads to high-quality graduates.”

Did you know?

The first physician assistant program was established at North Carolina’s Duke University Medical Center in 1965, and the discipline has become increasingly popular in all 50 U.S. states. Early PA programs were modeled after the fast-track training available to World War II doctors and addressed a shortage of primary care physicians.

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During the 2011 Agre Symposium at Augsburg College, Kirubel Frew ’14 was apprehensive in introducing himself to Peter Agre ’70—the 2003 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute. But the conversation between the Auggie and one of the College’s most notable alumni proved to be the first discussion of many.

“I happened to mention that I was from Zimbabwe,” Frew recalled. “[Agre] said, ‘Zim? Zim? I love Zim. It’s a beautiful country. I believe Zimbabwe will have a scientific boom within the next decade.’”

As an international student, Frew selected Augsburg because of its well-respected science programs and its welcoming staff, which he identified during his college application process. Today he recognizes that the warmth of the Augsburg community extends beyond campus to its alumni network.

That’s because what began as a simple chat between Agre and Frew regarding their ties to Zimbabwe matured into a bond through which the Nobel laureate has shaped the career aspirations of one of the College’s standout third-year chemists.

Frew views Agre’s ability to operate a research lab, speak to audiences around the globe, and inspire young scientists as ‘a dream job’ and a goal he could not have identified without studying at Augsburg.

“Years ago, I wouldn’t have believed all this was possible,” Frew said. “Meeting a Nobel laureate in chemistry is awesome, and being mentored by him is even more awesome.”

This mentorship began when Agre invited Frew to conduct research at the Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute during summer 2012 and to attend the Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany, an exclusive annual event that brings together several dozen chemistry and physics laureates and an equal number of student guests.

Frew was a fitting choice for these life-changing opportunities because he developed the critical thinking skills that high-level research requires during the summer after his first year at Augsburg. He participated in a 10-week faculty-led research program through the College’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO).

“Research is so unscripted and there are so many turns,” said assistant professor of chemistry Z. Vivian Feng, one of Frew’s faculty advisers.

Feng presented Frew with the opportunity to conduct a complex proof-of-concept project in which he could demonstrate the feasibility of making a bench-top reactor, a small instrument tied to revolutionary biodiesel experimentation conducted by Augsburg alumnus and businessman Clayton McNeff ’91, chemistry professor emeritus Arlin Gyberg, and Augsburg’s first Rhodes Scholar Brian Krohn ’08.

Feng said she knew the research project would be challenging for Frew given his limited experience in the chemistry lab, but she also believed it suited his background in physics and interest in engineering. Frew was determined to independently achieve his goal of modifying the reactor design using his creativity, ingenuity, and knack for problem solving.

Frew said his experiences on the Augsburg campus and around the globe have proven so inspiring that he now is determined to continue his science education and align his career path to his vocation.

Dixie Shafer, URGO director, sees this objective as a near-perfect fit. She said that from Frew’s first days of research at Augsburg, he has demonstrated a gift for explaining complex scientific processes in terms that an interdisciplinary audience can understand.

“He sees communication as one of his life-long missions,” Shafer explained. “He may become a serious scientist and work on issues that are related to policy—realizing that too many people in policy don’t know the science and too many scientists have difficulty communicating with the non-science community … he’d love to be doing what Peter Agre does.”

Frew cites Agre’s hard work and intellect as key components in the Nobel laureate’s career success, and the young Auggie is on track to take his Augsburg education to the next level with his own tenacity. Students and alumni from Augsburg’s science and mathematics departments commonly go on to conduct research, attend graduate school, and accept employment at some of the nation’s leading research institutions including Cornell University, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, Johns Hopkins University, and Yale University, among others.

Augsburg is a place for young scientists like Frew to set dreams for the future and lay the educational foundation on which to achieve them.

Student research

As spring turns to summer, life on a college campus typically quiets. But for a select group of undergraduate researchers, the summer months are anything but slow. From May to August, Augsburg students perform faculty-led research in the sciences, humanities, and fine arts. Their work is supported by funding from Augsburg’s Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO) program, the McNair Scholars program, the Sundquist Scholars program, the Northstar STEM Alliance, a NASA Space Physics grant, and the National Science Foundation.

Go to Augsburg’s YouTube channel to

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If Paul Hallgren ’13 isn’t at Parade Stadium, home of the Auggie baseball team, he might be in Augsburg’s Writing Lab helping a student with a paper. He could be studying in the Honors program lounge or having a high-minded discussion in the Quad with colleagues in the Philosophy Club. And if he’s not in the aforementioned places, it’s possible that he is at an event representing the College as an Augsburg Steward.

This busy outfielder and double major in philosophy and English is able to balance his studies with his other activities and responsibilities in part because he’s bright and talented, but he also gives a lot of credit to his coaches and professors.

“I love that I can have direct correspondence with my professors and that they know me and know I’m involved on campus,” Hallgren said. “They are always willing to make sure I have what I need.”

Hallgren was able to meet some of his future professors when he was recruited by Coach Keith Bateman to play baseball and came to Augsburg for a campus visit. “I felt that they were genuinely interested in me in ways that professors at a large institution might not be,” Hallgren said.

Hallgren has played with the Auggie baseball team since his first year at Augsburg and said that being an athlete with off-season practices helped him adjust to the rigor of a college schedule. “I was responsible for putting my schedule in order and making sure I got everything done,” he said. If not for athletics, Hallgren supposed he might have been a bit lazy.

But “lazy” is one word most would not use to describe Hallgren. During his first year at Augsburg, he provided research assistance to professor Larry Crockett for Crockett’s paper on pragmatism, and last year he spent a semester in Scotland studying English modernism

and Scottish literature.

Through the Augsburg Stewards program, Hallgren learns leadership and networking skills by connecting alumni to the College and working with current students to encourage their continued involvement with Augsburg after graduation.

As a tutor in the Writing Lab, Hallgren helps undergraduate and graduate students with all stages of the writing process and in all academic areas. “I really enjoy reading others’ papers and helping them learn how to convey their thoughts in a coherent way,” Hallgren said. “I hope they come away from a session feeling more confident in themselves and in their ability to write.”

Hallgren said these extra activities have shaped him and his Augsburg experience. “I feel like I’m a much more well-rounded individual as a result of participating in other activities.”

This spring, find Hallgren and the Auggie baseball team at Parade Stadium, 400 Kenwood Parkway in Minneapolis. The regular season begins in late March and ends in early May. And see the new baseball dugout built with donations from the Augsburg A-Club, a service organization of former and current Augsburg College athletes and friends of the College.

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“This event brings members of the world’s most exclusive club—Nobel Peace Prize Laureates—to campus,” said Maureen Reed, executive director of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, which is housed at Augsburg College. “Students, faculty, and staff have the opportunity to interact with people who fundamentally have changed and are changing the world.”

More than 6,000 people attended throughout the three days of the event, which explored issues related to peacemaking, world security, and global stability. One of the 2011 Nobel laureates, Tawakkol Karman of Yemen, spoke on Global Day, and 2006 laureate Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh spoke on Business Day. Dr. Paul Farmer, chair of global health and social medicine at Harvard Medical School and cofounder of Partners in Health, spoke to a packed house [left] on Science and Health Day. In addition to offering inspiration from global peacemakers, the Forum provides an opportunity for participants to understand why individuals “halfway across the globe” should care about one another.

“One of the mission commitments of Augsburg is to educate students to be informed global citizens,” said Augsburg College President Paul Pribbenow. “By bringing the world to campus, we also get to know our neighbors, which is fundamental to our identity as a college of the Lutheran church.”

Watch the laureate addresses and other keynote presentations from the Forum at .

We are called to inspire peace

Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Tawakkol Karman and Muhammad Yunus leave Si Melby Hall at Kennedy Center following their addresses to K-12 students at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum Festival. Karman, of Yemen, won the Nobel Prize in 2011 for her work as a journalist and human rights activist. She is called the “Mother of the Arab Spring.” Yunus, who won the Nobel Prize in 2006, is from Bangladesh. He pioneered a form of banking known as “microcredit,” the practice of making very small loans to people with little or no collateral. “The Father of Microcredit,” Yunus founded Grameen Bank to give loans of about $100 each to more than 8.4 million people, 94 percent of whom are women.

Hip hop and peace

Internationally known hip hop artist and activist Brother Ali, of Minneapolis, presented and performed during the Nobel Peace Prize Forum. He was joined by Omar Offendum, a Syrian-American rapper and activist. The two men explored the dynamics of peace and hip hop through songs, poetry, lecture, and dance. The event built upon the success of last year’s “Ethics and Hip Hop” presentation by Dessa, a Minneapolis rapper, singer, and writer.

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Nice day for a bike ride, right @niceridemn? Temps in the single digits, but that’s not too cold for #Auggies. #AuggieCAM

Drove by @AugsburgCollege today & involuntarily beamed with pride when I saw the “#Auggies We are Called” banners outside Oren. #AuggiePride – @mnemosynekura

Members of the Augsburg College community are increasingly turning to social media to get connected and to stay in touch with what is happening on campus. People connecting to the College in social media—Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or other social media sites—include current students and alumni, faculty and staff, media and policymakers, and people from across the globe. Here’s a snapshot of some of the College’s most established social media channels by number of followers:

Facebook: 5,336 followers, facebook.com/augsburgcollege

Twitter: 2,365 followers, @AugsburgCollege

LinkedIn: 2,263 followers, linkedin.com/company/augsburg-college

Join the conversation

Check us out online and on your favorite social media sites. We welcome your comments, tweets, posts, and photographs.

facebook.com/augsburgcollege

“Like” us and get updates in your Facebook feed.

twitter.com/AugsburgCollege

Follow @AugsburgCollege on Twitter for information about upcoming events and other news.

instagram/AugsburgCollege

Get a glimpse into life at Augsburg through our Instagram photo feed.

storify.com/AugsburgCollege

Check us out on Storfi y to see what’s happening on campus and what students, alumni, and others are saying about their Auggie experience.

What people are saying – Twitter

Found out I could graduate from @AugsburgCollege summa cum laude. My heart is in my throat. It’s a lot of work, but I think I’m gonna try. – @littlelizbeth

The college I really want to go to is Augsburg College. – @ThE_KinG_54

So thankful for the tunnels and skyways @AugsburgCollege today! – @jordan_leigh13

Graphic design students @AugsburgCollege met w/@cityofsaintpaul staff to discuss concepts

for a new stormwater drain stencil #CityLabs – @CityLabsatACTC

Accepted into the PA program at Augsburg College! God is faithful! #PAbound – @jennanoonan33

Oh my gosh. The people from Augsburg College were such sweethearts. I love each & every one of y’all. <3 – @amyyvon

A big congrats to my son’s college basketball team, they are 7-0. Way to go Augsburg – @sdionyoung

My research @AugsburgCollege just got accepted for the APA National Conference in Hawaii! (jumps up and down repeatedly) – @LadyChristy

So glad I picked Augsburg. Happy kid right thereeee. – @kfec3

Getting ready for the 25th @NPPF March 8-10 in Minneapolis! @AugsburgCollege #NPPF

#NobelPeacePrize – @LandOLakesInc

I am now a college graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree! #AugsburgCollege #MinneapolisMinnesota – @ZachKim21

Can’t wait to walk with the Class of 2013 in early May. We’re a great class. #Auggies – @WhatAPriss

Steve Abenth ’04=5th @AugsburgCollege grad to win prestigious @Milken award for teaching.

#WeAreCalled – @Milken

To say the #NobelPeacePrizeForum is inspiring is an understatement – @OfficialGNiver

What people are seeing – Instagram

1. “With one day remaining in January, let’s cheer on the #Auggies who are sticking with their fitness resolutions for the New Year.” #AuggieCAM 1/21/2013

2.  “Arianna Genis ’13 received the Spirit of MLK Award at today’s #MLKConvocation.” #WeAreCalled 1/30/2013

3. “Alumni & their families ice skated during the recent #Auggie Night at the Depot. What’s your favorite winter hobby?” #AuggieCAM 1/23/2013

#AuggiePride

Auggie Eddie Frizell back on campus for Mpls Police Department promotions. He’s now a Deputy Chief! #AuggiePride – @AugsburgCollege

I’ve got big dreams. Augsburg records I’m coming for you at the MIAC championships tomorrow #AuggiePride – @LouLouBell0491

Wear pink at Augsburg’s home athletic events this weekend to support the fight against breast cancer! #AuggiePride – @AugsburgAuggies

I am soo geeked that my school is hosting Omar @Offendum and Brother Ali for the #NobelPeacePrize. S/O to @Augsburg College! #AuggiePride – @LoveLikeHani

THE TWEET DEFINED:

geeked = excited

# = A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by a hash mark that’s used to categorize social media posts by topic.

S/O = shout out

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