Devean George ’99 was the first NCAA Division III player ever selected in the first round of the NBA Draft—and he played professionally for more than a decade. Now retired from basketball, he’s gone back to his roots to help revitalize the Minneapolis neighborhood where he grew up.

November 3, 1999. The Los Angeles Lakers are debuting in their brand new home, the Staples Center, with an unveiling ceremony followed by a game against the Vancouver Grizzlies. A crowd of 20,000 fans is packed inside, waiting for NBA stars Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O’Neal to make opening remarks.

But instead, the Lakers players decide to encourage their newest rookie to address the crowd. The lights go down, and all becomes still. In less than 30 seconds, it’s go time.

“No, guys, don’t make me do this! I don’t know what to do,” whispers a 22-year-old George. But his pleas were met with laughter.

“I just remember shaking in my boots. There are tens of thousands of people here, and I’m going to be out at center court—all eyes on me,” recalls George. “So I get out there, and it just clicked. It was easy.”

George credits his education in communication studies from Augsburg for helping to prepare him for that life-changing moment, as well as all of his public speaking engagements from that point forward.

“As an NBA player, you have a camera with that big, red light in front of your face every day,” George said. “You have to know how to conduct yourself and communicate effectively. And all those communication classes I took at Augsburg come into play.”

From 10,000 lakes to the Los Angeles Lakers

After high school, George enrolled at Augsburg assuming he would play basketball for the Auggies, earn a degree, and find a job in business. But his “hoop dreams” became a reality pretty early on in his Augsburg career.

“When I recruited Devean, he was about 6’2″ and 170 pounds,” said former Augsburg basketball coach Brian Ammann ’85. “Fortunately for Devean, he grew about five inches and put on 50 pounds by his sophomore year. And his hard work paid off in big ways.”

George was the first NCAA Division III player ever selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. He was the 23rd overall pick in 1999, chosen by the Los Angeles Lakers—one of the most storied franchises in NBA history.

George is now retired from the NBA after playing 11 seasons and becoming only the seventh player in history to win a league championship in each of his first three seasons. He has since found a successful career in real estate development and a passion for giving back.

Building a firm foundation

George was raised by devoted, hardworking parents in the Willard-Hay neighborhood of north Minneapolis and still calls the Twin Cities home — a place he loves for its friendly people and four seasons. His current work focuses on helping to improve his childhood community.

After George joined the NBA, he started volunteering his time in schools and after-school programs. He noticed many of the children he visited didn’t have stable housing, which significantly affected their security and education.

“That’s when I decided helping kids and families would be the foundation of what I do,” said George, who has two young sons. He founded Building Blocks, a nonprofit organization committed to providing quality housing, community development, and programming for youth and families.

“If you don’t have stable housing, you’re not going to care about schooling, safety, or eating healthy. If we get those families into stable housing, then they can focus on those other things,” George said.

A slam dunk

George’s first affordable housing project opened this spring—The Commons at Penn in north Minneapolis, an income-restricted, 47-unit workforce apartment building that also includes an on-site health and wellness facility, an after-school program, a fitness center, a toddler playground, and a grocery store.

Long-term, George would like to help create a more family-friendly community in north Minneapolis—a community that provides greater amenities for its residents. So far, The Commons at Penn has been a successful addition to the neighborhood.

“[The] Commons at Penn achieves multiple city goals: creating new, high-quality, affordable housing options [and] increased residential density along a key commercial and transit corridor, and bringing in commercial activity and services,” said Andrea Brennan, director of Housing Policy and Development for the City of Minneapolis. “This project sets us on a promising course to continue development at this important north Minneapolis node.”

George is planning phase two of The Commons at Penn, which will go up right across the street from the existing mixed-use building. He also is developing housing complexes in South Carolina and Louisiana, and has been contacted by fellow professional athletes who would like to see a change in the neighborhoods where they were raised.

Investing in our future

In addition to literally helping build a solid foundation for families through stable housing, George also helps build a strong foundation for young people through mentorship programs like Read to Achieve.

“The kids think that [NBA players] are not human beings because we know how to play basketball,” said George. “If I can tell a kid to go to school and not to do drugs, and just because I can play basketball he’ll listen to me, I’m going to try to use that to my advantage.”

George is also busy instilling the values of compassion and service in his own two sons, ages 7 and 4. For starters, they learn to share by donating their toys to kids who otherwise wouldn’t have any.

“They’re still young, but I started teaching my boys early on a way of giving and understanding. I explain to them that this [lifestyle] isn’t normal; they’re in a blessed situation,” George said. “I’ve been able to achieve a lot of things. But I know I’ve had a lot of help along the way.”

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This spring, Sweeney and her Minneapolis-based students traveled close to home as they stepped beyond the boundaries of the campus studio, choosing to forgo a controlled setting to embrace learning opportunities present in public areas that are as complex and challenging as they are diverse.

“Instead of creating a still life with the same old props, I utilized the city as subject matter and classroom,” Sweeney said. “Students were as actively engaged in creative placemaking as they were in making drawings — effectively shaping the physical and social character of whatever neighborhood, museum, coffee shop, or landmark we chose as a drawing site.”

A core challenge

In the article “The Power of Experiential Education,” nationally recognized education scholar and professor Janet Eyler noted that a central challenge for liberal arts educators like Sweeney—and indeed the entire Augsburg College faculty—is to “design learning environments and instruction so that students will be able to use what they learn in appropriate new contexts.” That is, to successfully “bridge classroom study and life in the world and to transform inert knowledge into knowledge-in-use.”

In a drawing course, for instance, students develop technical skills while exploring individual subject matter and creative expression. It is perhaps the latter of these elements that came into clearer focus when Sweeney took her students out in the community.

The artists “made connections with strangers and learned things about themselves in the process,” Sweeney said. They become comfortable creating art in the midst of daily life and finished the course with “real skills and the right tools to continue drawing wherever they find themselves and wherever inspiration finds them.”

Just a glimpse

At Augsburg, students across disciplines and degree programs benefit from faculty instruction that integrates experiential learning opportunities with traditional instructional methods, thereby linking course concepts with real-world applications. The pages that follow offer a glimpse at a small sample of the faculty and students who use Minneapolis as their classroom.

HON 230: Arts and the Cities

S�ٳܻ��Գٲ���in Augsburg College’s Honors Program join Minnesota Orchestra performers onstage following a symphony event at Orchestra Hall. As an interdisciplinary course, “Arts and the Cities” unites film, music, theater, and visual art — offering students the chance to peruse Picassos, soak in Shakespeare, and mingle with musicians. Together, students and teachers explore the role of the arts in a culturally dynamic urban setting.

“Students enjoy the experiential nature of this course,” said Associate Professor of Music . “They often comment that it presents them with opportunities that they would not have on their own and deepens their understanding of the role of the arts in their lives long after the course is over.”

ENV 120:��Environmental Science

S�ٳܻ��Գٲ���clad in safety gear and earplugs to dampen the deafening noise weave their way through a Eureka Recycling processing plant. Environmental Science focuses on understanding and resolving problems humans have created in the natural world. The course includes hands-on learning opportunities that make complex scientific concepts more approachable and applicable for students.

“The city is the perfect place for these types of experiences to happen—it’s all right at our fingertips: a wastewater treatment plant, power plant, recycling center, and public transit,” said Assistant Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies. “We can observe the detrimental effects humans are having on the environment, and we also can see some of the ways we are trying to mitigate that impact.”

MIS 375:��E-Commerce

S�ٳܻ��Գٲ���speak with Abdirahman Mukhtar, a youth program manager at Pillsbury United Communities’ Brian Coyle Center. Mukhtar oversees the Sisterhood Boutique, a secondhand clothing store that serves as a training ground for young women to learn about entrepreneurship, business, community partnerships, and sustainable fashion. Through their discussions with Mukhtar, the Auggies began to apply some of their fundamental course concepts in a real-world setting.

[Top Image]:��Johanna Goggins ’16 works on a sketch in the solarium at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis.

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This is the opening line of the summer syllabus for Augsburg College’s Master of Arts in Leadership course, “Navigating Local & Global Conflict: Interfaith Dimensions.” The statement underscores how important it is for leaders to develop the ability to navigate and inspire others in the face of conflict and sets the stage for the work of analyzing leadership in the context of real-world situations.

By design, the course is integrated with the annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum, for which Augsburg is the host sponsor.

“The Nobel Peace Prize Forum is a gem,” said history and leadership studies professor Jacqueline deVries. It’s a one-of-a-kind event that allows students to learn through direct engagement about the contexts and complexities involved in conflict. deVries, who also serves as director for Augsburg’s general education program, co-taught the course with Martha Stortz, Bernhard M. Christensen Professor of Religion and Vocation, and Tom Morgan, professor of leadership studies.

Held annually in Minneapolis, the Nobel Peace Prize Forum is one of only three programs officially associated with the Norwegian Nobel Institute. The Forum’s mission is to inspire peacemaking by focusing on the work of Nobel Peace Prize laureates and by engaging students and the wider community with national and global leaders in the process of peacebuilding.

The Forum provided the students in the graduate course with direct access to leaders from businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations whose work involves navigating complex, real-world challenges that range from food security to civil unrest to poverty and climate change. The students used examples from the Forum, as well as from their own lives, to analyze conflict involving religious diversity in their communities, examine contemporary issues in a historical perspective, and develop a view on what effective leadership looks like (or might look like) in actual situations.�� ��

Students come to the Master’s of Arts in Leadership program with experience��in both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. In gathering during a lunch break to share reflections about what they were learning at the Forum, the class observed that it is not possible to be effective as a leader without knowing what’s going on in the world. The Forum, they said, was a prompt for thinking about how a leader would approach addressing challenging topics and situations in their work.

Too often, people are so wrapped up with their jobs and family and school that they don’t think about the difficulties others are facing in the world. It’s not that people don’t care about these topics, one student said, but they often just don’t pay attention to the issues on a daily basis. Being at the Forum offered a level of understanding that may not happen in a classroom, the students said.

In fact, during the Forum the students directly engaged with difficult topics, and it required a conscious choice to hear the tragic stories about topics like child slavery and human trafficking. This is where our general population may be falling short, one student observed—choosing to turn away instead of understanding the reality of these issues.

The Master of Arts in Leadership program, however, equips individuals to turn toward—rather than away from—challenging issues in order to seek solutions and inspire others toward a common goal. The program is designed to prepare leaders who are ethically and morally responsible, who can see beyond immediate concerns, and who are sensitive to the complex problems that organizations face. By using the Nobel Peace Prize Forum as a classroom, these students worked to understand both the systems that contribute to conflict and the systems that effective leaders can use to address it.

For example, some students thought that business was potentially the most powerful force for addressing the issues discussed at the Forum; others argued that the biggest changes will come when consumers demand it, quoting comments by Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, who, in his opening remarks, said, “We have to change the demand.”

Another student observed that every person has a powerful “what’s in it for me” filter and noted that, if we don’t translate the message in a way that addresses this filter, it will not be effective. And, although the class agreed, the students also recognized that people are often motivated not just by what benefits them directly, but also by generosity and helping others—by what, as one student phrased it, satisfies a need of the heart.

Top Image: 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kailash Satyarthi shared his vision for global compassion during the Nobel Peace Prize Forum. More than 300 students, academics, activists, and thought leaders participated in three days of discussion and presentations to advance peacebuilding.��

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5 | Teams in conference playoffs during this record-breaking year

4,320 | Rolls used of athletic tape and pre-wrap

2,840 | Loads of laundry washed

300 | Pounds of candy served at the Auggie Awards ceremony

7,395 | Pounds of weights added to strength and conditioning facilities

57 | Community service events at which athletes volunteered

3.22 | Cumulative G.P.A.earned by athletes—and 14 student-athletes achieved a perfect 4.0 average**

72,604 | Fans present at home, away, and neutral-site events*

102 | Minutes played in three overtimes during the men’s hockey MIAC championship game win over Saint John’s University

1,230 | Jerseys worn

75,357 | Miles traveled for games, meets, and international trips

29 | Auggie Eagle’s sneaker size as per Red Wing Shoe

36,430 | Hours spent working out which is equal to 1,518 days, or 217 weeks, or 4 years, 1 month and 3 weeks

3,284 | Social media followers on @AugsburgAuggies platforms as of June 6

*Represents events where attendance was taken, not all contests with spectators
**2015-16 academic year

Web extra:

2,942 | Hours spent assembling and deconstructing the Edor Nelson Field dome in terms of total student volunteer hours and staff time

21 | Augsburg athletic teams including 11 women’s and 10 men’s programs

724-651-47 | Win-loss-tie record for Augsburg’s 13 team sports over the past five school years, a .526 winning percentage.

35 | CoSIDA Academic All-America honors earned by Augsburg student-athletes since 1981. Augsburg has had 22 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans since 2005.

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The work he and his wife, Sylvia, devoted to guiding the , the Sabo Scholars program, and the annual Sabo Symposium—all of which create opportunities for civic experiences and skill-building inside and outside the classroom—will leave a lasting legacy at Augsburg.

Augsburg College President Paul C. Pribbenow said that Sabo’s “life-long commitment to public service is an inspiration to all of us. The Sabo Center gives Augsburg the ongoing opportunity to celebrate the life and work of our dear friend.”

One year after graduating from Augsburg College, Sabo—then 22—was elected to serve in the Minnesota House of Representatives. During his tenure, he became the first member of the Democrat-Farmer-Labor party to serve as Speaker of the House—a post he held from 1973-78. He went on to serve for 28 years as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, retiring in 2007.

At the same time that Sabo served in Congress, he volunteered 12 years to Augsburg College as a member of the Board of Regents. The College named Sabo a Distinguished Alumnus and awarded him its first-ever honorary degree. Sabo was distinguished in all he undertook and, in 2006, was appointed Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit for outstanding work and dedication to Norwegian-American relations.

Congressman Sabo and Sylvia Sabo are parents of Auggies Karin Mantor ’86 and Julie Sabo ’90.

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1960-1969 | 1970-1979 | 1980-1989 | 1990-1999 | 2000-2009 | 2010-2015 | Graduate Programs

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1960

���.��Dennis Glad ’60 and Barbara Glad of St. Francis, Minnesota, have led nearly 1,000 volunteers on mission trips to 14 Caribbean islands, Costa Rica, and Belize over the past 25 years. Working on a volunteer construction team, the Glads and their crew have built schools, clinics, churches, orphanages, and more. In April, the couple received WCCO Radio’s Good Neighbor Award, and they are now in the station’s Good Neighbor Hall of Fame. In 1999, Rev. Glad retired after serving in the United Methodist Church for more than 40 years.

1964

Roger Johnson ’64 was presented with the Donald Clark Memorial Award at Minnesota Hockey’s annual banquet in April. The award is given to an individual who has been dedicated to the grassroots growth and development of youth hockey in Minnesota. Johnson was the head coach for boys’ hockey in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, from 1965 until 1972 and then was varsity assistant and junior varsity head coach for the next 27 years until 1999. He is a substitute teacher and a volunteer general manager for the boys’ hockey team.��

1967

In March, the Rev. Terry J. Frovik ’67 and his wife, Pauline, were invited by Archbishop Nemuel Babba to participate in the installation service for the Rev. Peter Bartimawus, who was elected Bishop of the Gongola Diocese of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN). The service took place in Bartimawus’ home village of Guyuk.

1969

Royce Helmbrecht ’69graduated with a degree in education. Today, 47 years later, he works as a substitute teacher with students who struggle to get through school. He also teaches jail inmates for the GED program. He says the Lord intervened in his life and directed him to Augsburg, and he feels blessed to have followed the Lord’s direction.

1971

Mary��(Soulen) Johnson ’71is the new branch assistant at Minnesota’s Aitkin Public Library. She especially enjoys working with children at the library and at the Aitkin Children’s Center. As a volunteer at Wild and Free in Garrison, Minnesota, she helps with feeding animals and assists with fundraisers. Her leisure activities include gardening, walking, biking, and reading.

Three years ago at Valley of Peace Lutheran Church in Golden Valley, Minnesota, three parishioners took on a Lenten art project to create a mosaic for their church entry. Led by Barb (Durkee) Mikelson ’71, the committee also included Emilie Moravec ’07 and Jon Daniels ’88. The design, primarily Mikelson’s work, echoed the stained glass window design in the church’s sanctuary created by the late August Molder, an Augsburg professor. Mikelson served the past 12 years as director of her church’s early childhood education center, All God’s Children Learning Center, and retired in January. The school’s leadership is now in the able hands of another Auggie, Courtney Gadbois-Brumbaugh ’95.��.

1974

Building hope

In March, Bob Strommen ’74 volunteered for a Habitat for Humanity project in Nicaragua. He joined cousins Tim ’70 and Dawn (Hofstad) ’70 Strommen, and Judy (Knudson) Strommen ’77, and was overwhelmed by the magnitude of poverty in the small village where they worked. The trip was Tim’s third visit to the same site.

Bob writes, “Prior to our venturing out, we had an orientation led by our Nicaraguan Habitat leader, Aleandra, who reported that there was a need for more than 600,000 homes in Nicaragua—either new builds or fixing up existing homes in desperate need of repair. And we were going to build one home. At the time I thought, ‘What difference will this make? How do you tackle such an overwhelming need?’”

Upon meeting the eventual homeowner, her daughter, and grandchildren, Bob soon learned that their work in that one week would make a life-changing impact for the family.

He’d considered the impact they would make on the family of the house, but did not comprehend the impact that the people and volunteering would have on him, saying: “My goal is not to be better than anyone else, but to be better than I used to be.” Read more.

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1982

Maryann Sullivan ’82 and Rhonda Laurie have been entertaining listening audiences and swing dancers for the past three years. In February, the two performed “Swingin’ a la Carte” as part of the Jazz@St. Barney’s concert series at St. Barnabas Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Minnesota, reflecting the singers’ love of cooking through jazzy food songs. Sullivan attended Augsburg as a flute student, studied broadcasting at Brown Institute, and has worked in radio and as a voice-over artist. After appearing at venues that draw swing dancers, she teamed up with Laurie to create the duo Retro Swing Sister.

Scott Whirley ’82 and Henry Gerten ’98 were inducted into the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Hall of Fame in a ceremony in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, prior to this year’s NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championships. Whirley and Gerten are the ninth and 10th Auggies to be inducted into the NWCA Division III Hall of Fame.

1985

Lisa Svac Hawks ’85 sees Augsburg College as a “pillar of faith,” one of the reasons she chose the College and why she continues to be involved. She served six years on the Alumni Board and is a founding member of Augsburg Women Engaged.��Hawks is vice president, external communications, for United Healthcare Services. She is focused on helping simplify the complicated health care landscape for the consumers so that they can live healthier lives. In her spare time, Hawks enjoys gardening, cooking, and playing golf and other sports. She also enjoys coaching her 10-year-old son Andrew’s baseball team, which she has done for the past three years. .[/block]

1988

Jeff��Judge ’88 successfully defended his doctoral dissertation at Minnesota State University. His thesis was “Spirituality in Higher Education: A Narrative Analysis of its Use by Leaders for Decision-Making.” Judge graduated from Augsburg with bachelor’s degrees in music education and Spanish, and received a master’s in Spanish from Middlebury (Vermont) College. He lives in Minnetonka, Minnesota, with his wife, Jeannie, and their three teenagers: Nico, Danny, and Clare. He is the dean of the humanities division at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota.

1989

Troy��Bakker ’89 received a doctorate of science degree from Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota.

Stephen Hindle ’89 has been appointed practice lead at the partner level for Aon Hewitt’s assessment and leadership practice for Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. He also is the face of Aon Hewitt in these markets. His responsibilities include commercial management of all assessment and leadership business across 14 countries as well as all operations, solution development, and mergers and acquisitions activity in these markets.��He is based in Singapore with his wife of more than 21 years, Adean, and their two daughters, Claudia and Madeleine.

1992

Heather Johnston ’92 (second from left) was invited to speak at the annual conference of the Municipal Finance Directors of Israel in Eilat, Israel. Johnston is president of the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. Johnston serves as the city manager for Burnsville, Minnesota.

Rosanne Newville Bump ’92 plans events, including the St. Paul Winter Carnival as president and CEO of the Saint Paul Festival & Heritage Foundation. She received her MBA in 2010 from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. She has stayed in touch with many of her Auggie classmates over the years, and is pleased that both the St. Paul Winter Carnival and the Cinco de Mayo organizations benefit from the help of Augsburg interns as they plan events. She lives with her husband of 28 years, Jeff Bump ’85, and their three daughters (Madelyn, Ella, and Julia) in River Falls where she served for nine years as CEO of the River Falls Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau. .

1996

As twin sisters,��Kaja Foat ’96and Zoe Foat ’96 have shared��a lot in life—a last name, a love of color and nature, and a vision for a more ethical world. In 2002, the sisters followed their shared vision to create FOAT. Their goal was to offer a refreshing, eco-conscious alternative in women’s fashion, starting with yoga apparel. Since then, they’ve expanded their designs to additional lines of one-of-a-kind garments and wedding gowns, and their workspace to studios in Minneapolis and Charleston, South Carolina.

1999

[L to R]: J. Roxanne Prichard, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience, and Jeanne “Birdie” (Ramacher) Cunningham��’99, associate director of health and wellness, have created and launched the Center for College Sleep at the University of St.��Thomas in St. Paul.

2000

��Sara��(Quigley) Brown ’00 received her chaplain badge for the Alaska Police and Fire Chaplains Ministry, a statewide nonprofit that serves police and fire personnel. The program follows a strict training that mirrors the training of police officers.��Brown will return to the Twin Cities in August to attend a clinical pastoral education residency through which she will receive certification to become a hospital chaplain.

Ross��Murray ’00,��’09 MBA, has been issued a call from the Metropolitan New York Synod in New York City to be consecrated as a diaconal minister and focus on LGBT advocacy at GLAAD. He and Richard Garnett ’07, ’09 MBA were married in April.

Augsburg theater alumni Stephanie Lein Walseth ’00,��Quinci Bachman ’15, and Jorge Rodriguez ’15, and Professor Emerita Martha Johnson participated in the Full Circle Theater Company’s return engagement of “Theater: A Sacred Passage.” Lein Walseth and Johnson are two writers of this original performance piece, devised by the core artists of Full Circle from their personal journeys into theater. Their stories embody the challenges and transformational experiences they have had in becoming theater artists and how their lives and work reflect the changes in the theater community during the past two decades. The piece incorporates acting, storytelling, choreography, and music. Bachman was production coordinator, stage manager, and sound designer. Rodriguez served as set and technical director and lighting designer. Johnson was dramaturge and assistant director.

2001

Sarah (Grans) Peterka ’01��married Erik Peterka on December 12. Several Auggies were at the celebration including: Carrie Lind ’01, Skylar Hanson ’01,��Laura Hahn ’02, Erica ’01 and Jason ’01 Bryan-Wegner, Ben Hoogland ’00, Larye ’98 and Melissa (Moyle) Pohlman ’00, Lenise Butler ’01, and Birgitte Simpson ’13.

2003

Megan and Jay Howard ’03 welcomed their son, Elias John, on April 28.

2005

Jon��Dahlin ’05 participated in track and field at Augsburg, and he set a national record in the hammer throw that still stands. He went on to compete nationally and internationally in Highland games. He competed in states including California, Florida, and Texas, and he also competed in Iceland. He traveled to Gyor, Hungary, as part of Team USA for the 2015 World Highland Games Championship where he squared off against 15 athletes from around the world. He was pleased to record one of his best performances ever in caber (tossing a 175-pound wooden beam), and finished in seventh place. Dahlin lives in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and works as a software developer at Barr Engineering, focusing primarily on creating web applications. He also is a sports photographer who covers NFL games. .

Jenni Fisher ’05 and Jade Boettcher��’15 MAE were united in marriage on January 20 in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Boettcher received his Master of Arts in Education from Augsburg and is a special education teacher at John Marshall High School in Rochester, Minnesota. Fisher received her bachelor’s from Augsburg and is a clinic assistant at Planned Parenthood
in Rochester.

Brandon Green ’05 is a new managing partner at MG Resources. Before joining the company, Green spent nearly 18 years with Griffiths Corporation.

��When��Claire Pettry ’05 moved to Ohio in the fall of 2015, her Augsburg College connection played a key role in helping her form friendships in her new locale. She met Chris Ascher ’81 and wife, Susan, and the three became fast friends who completed a 5K run on Thanksgiving.

2007

James��Lekatz ’07 wrote the music for “The Snow Queen,” which was presented at Stages Theatre in Hopkins, Minnesota, in March. This summer, Lekatz worked with a group of students with autism on a production of “The BFG” as part of a program called CAST, Creative Accepting Sensory-friendly Theatre. He will be assistant director on a production called “Twinkle Twinkle,” as part of Stages Theatre Company’s theater for the very young, and he will compose Stages’ next dance/ballet piece, “The Velveteen Rabbit,” to be performed next spring.

2008

Andrew Webb ’08 volunteers his time to assist local and global communities as they recover from natural disasters and tragedies. He encourages others through a letter-writing campaign and invites groups, such as area high schools, to join him in his dedication to this mission.

2009

Benjamin Austin��’09 and Michelle (Anderson) Austin ’11 were married December 19 in St. Paul. They met at Augsburg during her sophomore year and his senior year.

2010

Jennifer (Mathwig) Ortloff ’10 became joint owner of the public accounting firm of Peterson Juergensen Hemerick & Co. in Hutchinson, Minnesota, after five years with the firm. Prior to becoming an owner and before earning an accounting degree at Augsburg, she worked on the administrative side of the company. Ortloff is a native of Brownton, Minnesota, and worked for the city of Brownton while completing��her degree.

Mike��Polis ’10 has started Backboard Media, based in Northeast Minneapolis. Check it out at backboardgroup.com.

Schuyler (Dunhaupt) Tilson ’10 graduated from Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul in January with a focus in Indian law. She recently passed the Minnesota bar and became a staff attorney for the Ho-Chunk Nation Trial Court. She holds undergraduate degrees from Augsburg in history and American Indian studies.

2011

Patrick Siegel ’11 is the proud owner of Robusto & Briar cigar store and lounge in Lakewood, Ohio. The establishment is made for all who appreciate a fine cigar and conversation-worthy décor. He got hooked on the cigar business when, as a student at Augsburg, he was hired by the Golden Leaf shop, where he bought his cigars. He and wife, Nicole, who grew up in Rocky River, Ohio, decided to settle in Lakewood. Robusto & Briar specializes in hand-rolled products that are kept in a 15-by-30 foot humidor. The shop offers about 400 types of cigars and about 50 kinds of tobacco.

2012

Muneer Al-Hameed ’12 won the Dancing with the Twin Cities Celebrities Charity Ball in February. Augsburg alumna Carla Beaurline ’91 was a judge this year and a 2015 Dancing with the Twin Cities celebrity dancer.

The��Minnesota Women’s Press published an article on Interfaith Youth Connection, a program for high school and college-age youth that promotes interfaith understanding and service. The article includes comments from Fardosa Hassan ’12, Muslim student program associate at Augsburg College and program coordinator of Interfaith Youth Connection. By holding regular conversations and yearly service events, the group seeks to give youth “a way to be proud of who they are in whatever faith background they [believe], while reducing prejudice and misconception,” Hassan said. “In the midst of what is going on today, this is something we need.”

Patrick Sayler ’12 is the new general manager of Co-op Natural Foods in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Before returning to Sioux Falls three years ago, he spent 16 years in the Minneapolis area managing cafes and retail shops. As the general manager of Co-op Natural Foods, he will oversee an established business that employs approximately 20 people and does more than $2 million a year. He is completing work on a degree in business management/marketing and project management at the University of Sioux Falls.

2013

Kuoth Wiel ’13 co-founded the NyaEden Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to provide basic survival necessities to disadvantaged women and children throughout Africa. She is an actress, model, and humanitarian whose debut film role was in “The Good Lie,” a drama starring Reese Witherspoon that tells the story of a group of Sudanese refugees who are offered shelter in the United States. Wiel was born to a Sudanese mother and father in an Ethiopian refugee camp following her parents’ escape from war-torn Sudan. As a young adult, Wiel moved to Minneapolis to attend Augsburg and study social psychology. Visit nyaedenfoundation.org to learn more about the organization’s work to foster girls’ and women’s safety, empowerment, independence, dignity, self-esteem, and self-respect.

2014

Allison Zank ’14 has been named a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow for 2016-17. Zank will receive a $34,000 annual stipend and $12,000 cost-of-education allowance to assist her in achieving a research-based graduate degree. An NSF GRFP indicates to graduate schools that a student is a top undergraduate scientist in the nation. Zank conducted summer research on biofilms with Augsburg Associate Professor Jennifer Bankers-Fulbright as well as at the University of Minnesota’s Dental School. Zank also has spent time conducting research in industry. At Augsburg, she was named an URGO Scholar, McNair Scholar, AugSTEM Scholar, and Goldwater Scholar. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in clinical microbiology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse this fall.

2015

Jordan Holm ’15 competed in the 2016 Olympic trials in the 85-kilogram weight class for Greco-Roman wrestling at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, on
April 6. Holm was one of three athletes automatically earning the No. 1 ranking. He graduated from Augsburg with a business degree in marketing.

GRADUATE PROGRAMS

Entrepreneurial leader recognized

Nic Thomley ’06 MBA was named to the 2016 Class of Henry Crown Fellows and the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute. This growing network unites a worldwide community of entrepreneurial leaders from business, government, and the nonprofit sector who share a commitment to enlightened leadership and to using their creativity, energy, and resources to tackle the foremost societal challenges of our time. Thomley is an accomplished entrepreneur in the human services industry and the founder of companies that provide an array of services to persons with disabilities and senior citizens. Thomley is the founder and CEO of Morning Star Financial Services and the founder and chairman of Summit Fiscal Agency and Pinnacle Services, Minneapolis. Thomley was named a 2015 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist and, in 2006, was named to Inc. Magazine’s “30 Under 30, America’s Coolest Young Entrepreneurs” list and to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” list. In 2010, Thomley was presented with Augsburg’s First Decade Award, which honors graduates of the past 10 years who have made significant progress in their professional achievements and contributions to the community.

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Evan Berg ’10 MBA was hired as assistant vice president and loan officer at the Janesville State Bank in Janesville, Minnesota. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics/business administration from Winona State University and an MBA from Augsburg, as well as eight years of experience in credit analysis and lending with Farm Credit and several banks.

Katie Clark ’10 MAN, ’14 DNP presented at a breakout session for Fairview Health Services’ Somali Cultural Health Day in April. Her topic was “Critical decision making and chronic illness.” Clark connected her previous bedside nursing experience with her current experience working with Somali community members at the Health Commons in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. Her focus was to teach health care providers to deliver culturally congruent care to marginalized populations. She concentrated her efforts on reducing the role of stereotypes and assumptions in the patient-provider relationship.

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Chester R. Heikkinen ’40, Robbinsdale, Minnesota, age 99, on November 24.

Helen (Quanbeck) Nichols ’44, Monticello, Minnesota, age 94, on April 27.

Mary (Mortensen) Nelson ’45,��Minneapolis, age 92, on January 22.

Helen E. (Berg) Peterson ’46, Minneapolis, age 92, on November 23.

Doris M. Rear-Hustad ’46, Blanchardville, Wisconsin, age 90, on March 18.

Loren M. Thorson ’46, Green Valley, Arizona, age 96, on March 8.

Robert “Bob” E. Lee ’47, Hallettsville, Texas, age 92, on March 3.

Aagoth E. (Hanson) Hansen ’48, Willmar, Minnesota, age 89, on January 4.

Arnold H. Skaar ’48, Edina, Minnesota, age 91, on February 2.

Vera C. (Alberg) Hafstad ’50, Owatonna, Minnesota, age 86, on March 11.

Paul D. Hilton ’51, Cumberland, Wisconsin, age 86, on January 28.

Eugene M. Nelson ’51, Colorado Springs, Colorado, age 86,��on January 11.

Lillian K. (Ysteboe) Ose ’51, Benson, Minnesota, age 87, on January 5.

Leonard E. Dalberg ’52, Solvang, California, age 90, on April 21.

Randall “Randy” Fischer ’52, Lynchburg, Virginia, age 85, on February 5.

Robert C. Ingman ’54, Minneapolis, age 85, on September 3.

Dale W. Quanbeck ’54, Grand Forks, North Dakota, age 84, on January 18.

Dayne W. Sather ’55, Maple Grove, Minnesota, age 86, on January 25.

Richard “Dick” L. Berg ’57, Minneapolis, age 85, on February 3.

Martin O. Sabo ’59, Minneapolis, age 78, on March 13.

Gary A. Hoonsbeen ’60, Crystal, Minnesota, age 77, on March 7.

Robert N. Martin ’61, Dracut, Massachusetts, age 81, on March 22.

Norbert W. W. Mokros ’61, Duluth, Minnesota, age 77, on January 25.

Sherman P. Coltvet ’62, Rochester, Minnesota, age 75, on January 30.

Charles “Bob” R. Hudgins ’62, Burnsville, Minnesota, age 75, on December 12.

Charles W. King, Jr. ’62, Sun City West, Arizona, age 76, on December 17.

Philip O. Sidney ’63, St. Paul, age 75, on April 10.

Mary M. Lindgren ’64, Minneapolis, age 74, on March 15.

David A. Mallak ’65, Austin, Texas, age 72, on February 10.

Steven H. Steinke ’65, Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, age 68, on January 26.

Robert R. Benson ’67, Preston, Minnesota, age 70, on December 23.

Karl B. Lunder ’70, Red Wing, Minnesota, age 69, on March 12.

Joyce I. (Engstrom) Spector ’70, Minneapolis, age 68, on April 1.

Frederick “Fred” M. King ’71,��Onalaska, Wisconsin, age 73, on February 5.

William “Bill” J. Schutt ’75, Watertown, South Dakota, age 74, on February 2.

Kenneth J. Dahlberg ’80,��Colorado Springs, Colorado, age 62, on December 21.

Brenda L. Fredrick ’82, Strawberry Point, Iowa, age 57, on April 23.

Janice C. Olson ’84, Lakewood, Washington, age 79, on January 19.

Melissa A. Lawrence ’88, Minneapolis, age 59, on March 1.

Marilyn J. (Cederstrom) Teubert ’88, Waconia, Minnesota, age 84,��on November 23.

Carol R. (Pasquarella) Liedtke ’89, Shorewood, Illinois, age 73, on December 5.

Diane P. Ondrey ’94, Minneapolis, age 80, on February 19.

Jean W. (Thompson) Rondeau ’94, Minneapolis, age 77, on April 12.

Sandra K. Berg ’98, Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, age 69, on January 26.

Conrad D. Meyer ’98, Merida, Mexico, age 66, on April 3.

Barbara (Steinle) Huckle ’00, Burnsville, Minnesota, age 55, on April 16.

Jason C. Magnon ’13, Georgetown, Texas, age 25, on January 15.

For news of a death, printed notice is required, e.g., an obituary, funeral notice, or program from a memorial service. Send your news items by mail to: Augsburg Now Class Notes, Augsburg College, CB 146, 2211 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55454, or email alumni@augsburg.edu. You can also submit news at .

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Derek Francis ’08

School counselor, Minneapolis Public Schools

“Through the awesome community and volunteer opportunities at Augsburg, I realized I was passionate about working with youth. Augsburg’s value of service to the community transformed my life.”

Lori Higgins ’94, ’12 MAL

President, MetroNorth Chamber of Commerce

“I am eager to give back to the school that has given me so many opportunities, such as political internships with [former U.S. Rep.] Martin Sabo ’59 and MN Sen. Bill Luther, which began my career.”

Josh Krob ’08, ’15 MBA

Business development, Gravie

“A continuing passion of mine is to grow our networking efforts, both for employers and individuals as they connect with Auggie alumni.”

Janeece Oatman ’05

Development director, American Diabetes Association

“I have a passion for committee-building, and I am interested in networking opportunities, reconnecting with campus, and fellow Auggies.”

Brad Randall ’13

Mechanical maintenance planner, Xcel Energy

“As a graduate of Augsburg’s Adult Undergraduate program, I am interested in mentoring Augsburg alumni in all fields.”

Top image, back row [L to R]: Josh Krob ’08, ’15 MBA; Brad Randall ’13; Mary Prevost ’12 MBA; Cyrus Batheja ’08, ’10 MBA; Jay Howard ’03, Nick Rathmann ’03; Hanna Dietrich ’05; Rick Bonlender ’78; Patricia Jesperson ’95; Melissa (Daudt) Hoepner ’92; Howie Smith ’80, ’19 MAL; Marie (Eddy) Odenbrett ’01; Greg Schnagl ’91.

Front row��[L to R]: Adrienne (Kuchler) Eldridge ’02; Meg (Schmidt) Sawyer ’00; Adriana Matzke ’13; Janeece Oatman ’05;��Chau “Tina” Nguyen ’08; Jill Watson ’10 MBA.

Not pictured: Derek Francis ’08; Lori Higgins ’94, ’12 MAL;��Nick Swanson ’09

The post New to the Alumni Board appeared first on Augsburg Now.

Auggies last fall made Augsburg College No. 1 in the annual Give to the Max Day challenge. This year, Give to the Max Day is November 17, and the College is calling on alumni to push Augsburg into the top spot for the fourth year in a row.

In 2015, in just 24 hours, more than 1,000 Auggies—many of whom were first-time donors—generously stepped up to give more than $240,000 to Augsburg. As a result, Augsburg ranked first among all participating Minnesota colleges and universities, and earned a $10,000 bonus.

Alumni support on Give to the Max Day has a lasting impact and supports new opportunities for students. Funds raised last year supported the expansion of on-campus research; the purchase of a 3-D printer for the mathematics and statistics department; production costs for Howling Bird Press, the student-run book publishing project in the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program; and trips by athletic teams for competition, education, and community service.�� ��

This November, alumni also can give to scholarships that honor the legacy of music, research, and civil service at Augsburg. Gifts are being sought to honor the work of Leland Sateren ’35, U.S. Rep. Martin Sabo ’59, the , and the , which connects students with new and existing research and scholarship on campus, across the United States, and around the world.

Anyone can donate any amount on Give to the Max Day. Schedule your gifts online at beginning November 1.

Top image:��With its Give to the Max Day gifts, the Biology Department funded new research opportunities for two students: Oksana Burt ’17 and Davy DeKrey ’17 [pictured].

The post Give to the Max makes impact appeared first on Augsburg Now.

A:My husband and I lived in Thailand as Peace Corps volunteers for two years and have returned eight times since. We return because we feel Thailand is our “second home.” We love Thailand’s beauty—from the huge city of Bangkok to the mountains of northern Thailand in Chiang Mai to the small beach town where we lived. We also have many dear friends, some former students and colleagues, with whom we love to reconnect.

Q:��Can you share with us a memory from a trip you led with Augsburg students?

A:��We have shared our love of Thailand with Augsburg students during five trips and have so many good memories. Former Auggies still share their memories and pictures of the trips with us. Some of these students became English language learner teachers because of their experience teaching English in our former school. I remember one student, for example, who was hesitant about going so far away from home and to such an unfamiliar place. She had been my student in several classes and seemed to trust me when I encouraged her, so she took the big step. We are still in contact after many years and she has written about her trip to Thailand as being “life-changing.” She stepped out of her comfort zone and experienced things she could have never imagined, gaining confidence and self-awareness.

Q:��Who should take this trip?

A:Anyone who values expanding a worldview, learning about a new culture, and experiencing beauty.

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