RAVEN REVIEW
Ben ed icti ne College
|
At chi son, K a nsa s
|
Su mmer 2 011
Governor’s
V
isit
Science
New Statue
Unveiled
Service and Success RAVEN REVIEW
1
Benedictine College Alumni Don’t Just Succeed.
R AV E N R E V I E W • B en ed i ct i n e C olle ge • Summer 2011 • Vol. 39, No. 2
They lead.
Table of Contents
12
4 Letter from the President 6-8 Timeline 9 Giving Alumni What They Want 10-11 The Unveiling of St. Benedict 12-13 Brownback 14-15 Benedictine Alumnus Ran ‘Around’ Equator SCIENCE 16-17 Unique Opportunities: Chemical Research
A History of Bishops
Mahoney
Current University Current Bank Presidents Presidents
Benedictine College’s thriving faith life We are proud of the seven alumni today builds on a history of providing who are currently serving as university presidents: leaders for the Church at all levels, from the home to the hierarchy.
Our 13 currently serving or recently retired bank alumni principals include:
SERVICE 19-21 Prison Project Teaches Hope 22-23 Healing the Children 24 A Family Coach 26 Star Raven Leads Hoops Men 27-28 Tackling Life: Ryan Hurtado 29 Ryan’s Helpers
Current Dodge City, Kan., Bishop
Don Kassing, ’63, San Jose State
Tom Hoenig, ’68, President,
John B. Brungardt, ’80
University (San Jose, Cal.)
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Current Baltimore Auxiliary Bishop
Robert Kustra, ’65, Boise State
Tom Metzger, ’74, CEO, Bank
Denis James Madden, ’63
University (Boise, Idaho)
Midwest
1990–2009 Cristalandia, Brazil, Bishop
Carolyn Ray Mahoney, ’68,
Byron Thompson, ’55,
Staff
30-31 Raven Store: Hiiting the Links, Mommy and Me
Herbert Hermes,’55
Lincoln University (Jefferson City, Mo.)
Chairman, Country Club Bank
editor
1976–2010 Rui Barbaso, Brazil, Bishop
Daniel Carey, ’68, Edgewood
James Lewis, ’77, CEO, Security
Matthias Schmidt, ’54
College (Madison, Wisc.)
Bank of Kansas City
Vice-President of College Relations thoopes@benedictine.edu
1977–93 Kansas City-St. Joseph Bishop Thomas Keefe, ’74, University of
Bill Dana, ’72, CEO, Central Bank
John Joseph Sullivan, ’41
Dallas (Dallas, Texas)
Robert Wholey, ’72, Chairman,
1969–93 Kansas City Archbishop
Stephen Minnis, ’82, Benedictine
Heartland Bank
Ignatius J. Strecker,’39
College (Atchison, Kan.)
1965–83 Corpus Christi Bishop
Michael King, ’83, College of St.
Thomas Joseph Drury, ’30
Thomas More (Fort Worth, Texas)
1967–82 Monterey, Calif., Bishop Harry Anselm Clinch,’28 1917–31 Bishop of Lincoln, Neb.,
19
18 Engineering Boost
Hoenig submitted photos
Brungardt
Tom Hoopes, EMBA ’10
Art Director
Megan Bickford, ’03 Associate Director of Communications mbickford@benedictine.edu
Josh Pound, ’09 Sports Information Director Phil Ervin, ’11 Technology and Communications Coordinator Melissa Keating, ’12
Communications Writer
contributing writers
Steve Johnson Director of Marketing and Communications stevej@benedictine.edu
Spring 2011
1020 North Second Street Atchison, Kansas 66002
Published by the Office of Marketing and Communications
1913–38 Leavenworth, Kan., Bishop
2
Benedictine College
1.800.467.5340 www.benedictine.edu
Henry Tihen, 1882 Thomas Francis Lillis, 1885
24
Note: All photographs taken by Megan Bickford unless otherwise noted
Visit our YouTube channel and find us on Facebook
RAVEN REVIEW
3
Letter from thePresident
M
arch 21, 2011, was a proud day for Benedictine College. That was the day we unveiled a statue of St. Benedict by Tim Mispagel, class of 1993 (see story, page 10). It is a great addition to our campus. From the statue of St.
Benedict you can see the Frederick Hart statues donated by Jim and Linda Bongers. Many people have noted how well that statue visually represents Benedictine College’s values. It’s all there: Jesus Christ in the cross around his neck, community in the Rule he holds, work and prayer in his rugged robe, hospitality in his outstretched hand and stability in his firmly rooted feet. But what I like best is his posture: alert, in mid-step, with his eyes peering ahead. To me, that statue says, “Forward. Always forward.” That attitude is exactly what Benedictine College has in 2011. • The new Academic Center is rising up east of St. Benedict Hall and Westerman Hall. It is the first thing you see when you approach Atchison from Missouri, and it is visible from much of the town. • The great biographer of St. Benedict was St. Gregory the Great. We are honoring him with two exciting initiatives: Our new Gregorian Fellowships are a great opportunity for students who want to go deeper in their studies and our new publication, The Gregorian speech digest, promotes significant campus speeches. • Our alumni are carrying our legacy forward. The current and previous two Secretarys of Commerce for the state of Kansas are graduates of the college, current or recent presidents at 13 banks are Ravens, sitting presidents of seven universities are alumni and four 21st-century bishops spent their college years in Atchison. • Our strengths have garnered national notice. The well-respected intellectual magazine First Things ranked us as one of the top 20 schools in the nation, on a list that includes Stanford, Princeton, Notre Dame, Duke, University of Chicago and Columbia. Ultimately, we have our rich history of excellence to thank for this success, and there is no better way to sum that up than in a statue of St. Benedict striding forward. I am so grateful that among the first things visitors will notice on campus and a recurring image for our students each day will be the gentle, determined face of St. Benedict. I hope you will come to campus to visit and to see it for yourself!
Forward. Always Forward! Class of 1982 4
Spring 2011
RAVEN REVIEW
5
TIMELINE
around campus
NOV. 11, 2010
NOV. 13, 2010
NOV. 19, 2010
NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” television show features Benedictine College and football player Ryan Hurtado, who trained with his brother, Adam. Story, pg. 27
First Things magazine recognizes Benedictine as one of the top 20 colleges in the United States.
Head football coach Larry Wilcox becomes Kansas’ all-time winningest four-year collegiate football coach with a 24-6 Raven victory at Graceland.
Student government president Joe Humphrey places a medal of St. Benedict, blessed by Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, in the foundation of the new Academic Center, a 150-year-old Benedictine tradition.
FEB. 3, 2011
FEB. 5, 2011
Photo by Steve Johnson
Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D., fresh from a debate with Stephen Hawking on CNN’s Larry King Live, delivers a public lecture on his book about scientific proofs for God’s existence.
JAN. 24, 2011
Oct. 26, 2010
Oct. 25, 2010
Photo by Josh Pound
Senior theater arts management major Sarah Buse receives the Outstanding Theatre Management award at the Kennedy Centre American College Theatre Region Five Festival.
A school-record 237 students, staff and administrators stand against abortion at the 38th annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.
6
Spring 2011
For a rare two consecutive days, the college closes after a blizzard blankets Atchison with more than a foot of snow.
The Kansas Senate confirms Patrick George, ’78, a former member of the state House of Representatives, as Kansas secretary of commerce. He replaces Bill Thornton, ’80.
A record 275 high school students participate in the Presidential Scholarship Competition. Benedictine announces its first Gregorian Fellowships.
Time magazine runs a feature article on Thomas Hoenig, ’68, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
FEB. 22, 2011
FEB. 14, 2011
FEB. 1-2, 2011
JAN. 24, 2011
Photo by Chris Rowden
The Wall Street Journal features 1974 Benedictine graduate and Bank Midwest CEO Tom Metzger in an article about nursing banks back to financial health.
RAVEN REVIEW
7
Giving Alumni What They Want Alumni and Donor Relations Director Says It’s Easy to Get Ravens Together
The 40th annual Scholarship Ball attracts a record 700-plus guests. College president Stephen D. Minnis presents Dave,’67, and Sherri Laughlin and Karen and Ladd Seaberg with the Cross of the Order of St. Benedict. Story, pg. 29
MARCH 25, 2011
Scan our qr code for an inside look in the Ball
MARCH 12-20, 2011
FEB. 26, 2011
Photo submitted from ministry
During spring break, 89 students pilgrimage and go on mission trips to Rome, El Salvador, Belize, Haiti, Jamaica, North Dakota, New York, St. Louis and New Orleans.
April visitors stream through two campus exhibits. One features a first-class relic of the future saint and tells her life story, another presents “Eucharistic Miracles of the World.”
By Tom Hoopes
H
Photo by Kelly Elias
Holocaust survivor Benny Hochman serves as the keynote speaker for Benedictine’s 15th annual Discovery Day, which features 62 student presentations.
8
Spring 2011
Atchisonians MGP Ingredients’ Bud Cray, Ferrell Gas’ Jim Ferrell, Kansas City Southern Railroad’s Michael Haverty and MGP’s Tim Newkirk address students about leadership.
MAy 1, 2011
april 11, 2011
april 6, 2011
Photo by Steve Johnson
Archbishop Naumann caps off a week of thanksgiving for the beatification of Blessed John Paul II by welcoming nine students into full communion with the Church at Divine Mercy Mass. A May crowning ends the event.
igh over Tim Andrews’ desk, a raven perches dramatically on a branch. A taxidermist gave it a realistic pose, as if it’s about to soar. Andrews is the new Executive Director of Alumni and Donor Relations at Benedictine College, and the bird reminds him of a story that feeds the passion he has for what he does. He always thinks of the late Father Eugene Dehner, OSB, ’37, when he looks at that raven. When Andrews was a freshman on Benedictine College’s campus in 1984, he remembers passing Father Eugene on campus. The priest stopped him, introduced himself and asked if Andrews was finding everything all right. “He was so affable, so loveable. It was a great introduction to Benedictine hospitality,” said Andrews. Years later, Father Eugene gave the raven to the advancement department. And years later still, Andrews sits under the bird, making connections with people all over the country who had the same experience of Benedictine College that he had with Father Eugene. Andrews says the kind of commitment engendered by people like Father Eugene makes his job easier. “The deep sense of loyalty that people have to Benedictine College is amazing,” he said. “It’s as loyal a group of people as there is out there.” Andrews sees his job as giving alumni what they want, and what they want are three things: • To stay connected to the people they shared the Benedictine College experience with. • To be engaged in the mission of Benedictine College, spreading community, faith and scholarship. • To give back as volunteers, donors or ambassadors. Usually, these three things happen informally. For instance, says Andrews, he and his wife Lisa (Huerter, class of 1987) have enjoyed having dinner at Christmastime with the same three Benedictine alumni couples for 18 years. The dinners have continued through the ups and downs of life from the time the Andrews were newlyweds to today, when
Tim Andrews, ’88
they are raising five children (four boys and one girl), ages 17-5, in their Overland Park, Kansas, home. “There are so many groups like that,” says Andrews. Does Andrews wish those groups were more formal? “Not necessarily,” he said. Andrews has worked on other campuses and has seen schools that try to create the kind of experience that naturally occurs here. His career in education includes admissions, development director and academic advisor for NCAA compliance at schools large and small. At Benedictine College, he has been the director of planned giving for several years, a position he retains. “There really is a difference in Benedictine’s alumni,” he said, and he thinks he knows why. “When we were in school, everybody knew everybody. You were friends with everybody, whether they were in your class or not.” At Benedictine, “the special thing is that it’s still the case now as it was 25 years ago when I was a freshman,” he said. But Andrews does intend to create structures that allow the organic communities of alumni that exist out in the world to network and reach their goals in a more effective way. If you are getting together with alumni in your area, Andrews wants to hear from you. With your Benedictine community-building skills and his national network and resources, he hopes to be able to help enhance what is already happening. Call him, email him, or better yet, stop in to see him next time you’re on campus. He would love to meet you. And you don’t want to miss Father Eugene’s raven. Information: Tim Andrews, ’88 Executive Director of Alumni and Donor Relations tandrews@benedictine.edu (800) 766-0078, ext. 7363
RAVEN REVIEW
9
The Unveiling of St. Benedict
The new statue of St. Benedict on campus is very much a labor of love. The 8-foot-tall bronze statue was funded by two families very close to the college. It was sculpted by an alumnus of the college. The unveiling ceremony included an invocation by Sister Anne Shepard, OSB, prioress of Mount St. Scholastica Monastery, and a blessing by Abbot Barnabas Senecal, OSB, ’60, St. Benedict’s Abbey. The statues hands are molded from the abbots. “As a BC student I learned St. Benedict was a strong man who exuded peace,” said sculptor Tim Mispagel, ’93. “I sketched a great deal both in pencil and clay to arrive at an expression I felt would portray this harmony he had within himself.” The project started when Eleanor Kohake left money to Benedictine College in her will. Eleanor’s daughters Vicky Abel, Deb Holthaus, D’Ann Hermesch, Renee Washburn, and Amy Minnis (wife of President Stephen D. Minnis) put the money toward the statue. Frank and Elizabeth Kohake and Douglas and Marjorie Minnis also contributed.
Above, top to bottom: Unveiling. The statue is unveiled by Benedictine student and alumni grandchildren of Eleanor Kohake and the two sponsor couples, Frank and Elizabeth Kohake and Douglas and Marjorie Minnis. THE ARTIST. “This sculpture is the biggest thing I’ve done in my art career,” said sculptor Tim Mispagel, ’93. “I’m very honored to give back to my alma mater and excited to be part of its growth.” Saintly Presence. A first class relic — a fragment of bone from St. Benedict — is venerated at the ceremony. Spring 2011 10
Benefactor blessings. The Kohake and Minnis families sat front and center at the unveiling. After Eleanor Kohake left money for the college, both families chipped in to accomplish the project.
Raven Power. Students touch the beak of the realistic raven at the saint’s feet.
Special Spot. After considering the cafeteria, Student Union, and the entrance to the campus, Amy (Kohake) ’84, Minnis settled on a spot in front of the Haverty Center for the statue. RAVEN REVIEW
11
Graduates Say Goodbye
Gov. Brownback, Honorary Raven President Stephen D. Minnis told the commencement assembly that in this 150th anniversary year for Kansas, the school had a very special commencement speaker — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback. Citing his public service and his private commitment to the values Benedictine College also promotes, the college conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters on Brownback. In his commencement address, the governor focused on the power of human relationships. “When you live for others,” he said, “life becomes expansive, explosive, unpredictable and full of joy.” It was a moving address in an emotional ceremony that ended with the singing of Lord of Every Blessing — Benedictine’s alma mater song — and a spontaneous final rendition of the fight song by graduating seniors. Above, top: On the uncharacteristically blustery morning of May 14, graduates process from the Abbey to line up around the Haverty “B” for their class picture. This year, 330 candidates earned either graduate or undergraduate degrees. Above, inset: Bishop John Brungardt, ’80, concelebrates the Baccalaureate Mass with Kansas City, Kan., Archbishop Joseph Naumann. Brungardt was named bishop of the Dodge City, Kan., diocese earlier this year. Right, above, clockwise from top left: School of Business director Dave Geenens bids graduates farewell. Fr. Dan Andrews, class of ’93, says the blessing and shares a story at the Champagne Brunch. Chris Tabor, ’93, special teams coordinator with the Cleveland Browns, receives the Young Alumni award. Shaw Daniel Leach receives his School Leadership Masters with some help from a friend. Dawn Lenley receives congratulations. Fran Jabara winners Liz Schmitz and Joe Humphrey. The families of John Paul Forget and Cheri Menk, two class of 2011 students who passed away, receive recognition. Class valedictorian Sarah Jane Ambrose, implored graduates to stay close. Right, bottom: Students remove their mortar boards to reveal their beanies at the request of Gov. Brownback.
12
Spring 2011
RAVEN REVIEW
13
d e r e u q n o C y a R How d l r o W e h t
Photos submitted by Ray Bauer
Patomena
Copyright: GFDL
Benedictine Alumnus Ran ‘Around’ Equator By Melissa Keating
R
ay Bauer, ’70, did not plan on running all the way around the world — the first time. His second lap is deliberate. Bauer began running when a friend invited him to run a marathon. He found that he enjoyed running, but did not particularly like marathons. “It’s better to run continuously for years than to do it for one marathon,” Bauer said. Bauer began to run four days a week, every week. He said he kept careful track of how many miles he ran each session. While he appreciated the benefits to his health, Bauer felt he needed a more concrete motive. Bauer is manager of marketing services for CMC Steel. After 14 years in Birmingham, Ala., he now works in Dallas. “Being a business guy, I have to have a goal,” Bauer said. “I was about 12,000 or 15,000 miles in when I found it.” Bauer’s wife suggested he metaphorically run around the world’s Equator — a distance of 24,902 miles. “I was going to
14
Spring 2011
run to the moon, but it was too far,” he said. Bauer hung up maps in his office and garage. He tracked his progress around the Equator with black tape. “It was a kind of subliminal support, to see those maps every day,” Bauer said. After years of running, Bauer and his wife flew to Quito, Ecuador, on Aug. 13 so he could finish his journey by running along the actual pathway of the Equator. “Our guide took us to visit an inactive volcano near the Equator and I ran from the rim of the volcano down,” Bauer said. “It was a great experience.” Bauer ran four days a week for 25 years to reach his goal. Now at age 63, he plans to do it again. He said he thinks he will finish running around the world for the second time when he is approximately 75. “As a concession to age, I’m doing some biking as well,” Bauer said. Bauer celebrated in Atchison last year with other members
of the 40th Reunion class of 1970. Together, they watched the groundbreaking of the new Academic Center. Bauer could appreciate the steps his alma mater was taking. “The positive atmosphere and enthusiasm on campus is noticeable and President Minnis projects that image very well,” Bauer said. “All the physical facilities look great. They’re either new or refurbished and they project a good image.” A few local papers covered Bauer’s exploits. However, he said he does not think he is particularly unique. What he values is hard, consistent work: “I haven’t missed a day of work for illness in 38 years,” Bauer said. He took the same attitude toward his trip around the world. “It’s just my routine,” Bauer said. One local news report said that his trip around the world must have taken 35.1 million steps. It just goes to show you — putting one foot in front of the other won’t just get you places: It can conquer. RAVEN REVIEW
15
Unique Opportunities for Chemical Research Program Teams Atchison’s Own MGP Ingredients With Chemistry & Biochemistry Department
Students Sarah Laskares (left) and Emily Thayer work on protein extractions. By Steve Johnson
T
hey work diligently in the lab every day with the prospect of developing an efficient and effective process to isolate a certain protein used to make biodegradable plastics. If they are successful, they could get their names on a new patent. Are they research scientists at a major corporation? Try junior chemistry majors at Benedictine College. In 2007, Benedictine partnered with MGP Ingredients, Inc. (MGPI), a recognized pioneer in the development of grainbased products for the packaged goods industry, to establish a program to provide Benedictine students with real-life research experience in an industrial setting. Open to sophomores and juniors majoring in biology, chemistry, biochemistry, engineering or physics, the Science and Technology Applied Research Training (START) internships have provided valuable real-world experience at Benedictine College. “This is a tremendous opportunity for our students to gain practical experience and training in a work-related environment,” said Dr. Aileen Beard, former chair of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at Benedictine College. “We are grateful for our ongoing collaboration with MGPI, allowing our students to apply scientific principles and concepts in a real-world setting.” Although the economic downturn forced the internships to be temporarily suspended, the START program has evolved into a new internship, thanks to a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration through the Kansas
16
Spring 2011
Biosciences Authority. The grant funds the internships for chemistry and biochemistry students at Benedictine College, Kansas State University, Pittsburg State University, and the University of Kansas. Undergraduate students at Benedictine are working with graduate students at Kansas State, while grad students at KU and Pittsburg are paired on another part of the project. “K-State is working on the same thing as we are and Pitt and KU are working on the actual polymer and making the plastic,” said Sarah Laskares, a junior chemistry major from Spring Hill, Kan., whom Beard selected for the internship. “It’s different stages of the same project.” Emily Thayer, a junior from Omaha, Neb., who is pursuing a double major in chemistry and biochemistry, was also selected for this year’s internship. The position involves working in the chemistry lab in Westerman Hall for a few hours each day during the school year and then spending the next summer working in the lab full time. MGPI presented the project to the students, asking them to find a better way to extract a certain protein, Zein, from grain. The goal is to find a cheaper, safer, and easier method of extraction. Thayer and Laskares got started by spending some time researching the project. “The first month or so we spent just doing literature review,” said Thayer. “Other people have been working on this and have published articles about the protein and some extraction methods that have been developed.”
Through research and advice from their professors and scientists at MGPI, they finally determined a possible course of action. According to the students, the current method of extraction is to heat ethanol, which is understandably dangerous. They took a look at organic solvents, but found that they are quite flammable as well. Finally, the two interns came across some articles that led them to their process, which is to raise the pH level of the solution in which they have captured the protein to its isoelectric point. This is the point, they explained, where the compound is no longer soluble and it “pops” out of the solution. “We’ve developed our own process,” said Laskares. “According to our research, this is something that no one else is doing.” As the only undergraduate students in the program, working in labs that are far smaller than those at the big state universities, Thayer and Laskares are doing Benedictine proud. They have checked the quality of their results and say it is very close to the commercial Zein samples they have seen. After the internship and their senior year, the two have their eyes set on graduate school and both have learned much more about laboratory research thanks to the internship. “It’s really good to get out in the field,” said Thayer. “You don’t need an internship, but it helps you get into grad school or get a job. This is an awesome opportunity.” The practical application of class work has helped them understand certain principles as well, making their courses more meaningful. “It’s made me more excited,” said Laskares. “Our classes are so tough and you have to spend so much time studying, you kind of lose sight of what you actually use it for. Getting to do research and having the hands-on experience makes it all worthwhile.”
RAVEN REVIEW
17
Engineering Boost
Prison
Unique new program’s remarkable success
The Second Chance Project
T
he new Engineering Department at Benedictine College is a remarkable success story, judging by new students — and new grants. In 2009, Benedictine College entered into a partnership with the University of North Dakota (UND) which provided the opportunity for Benedictine College students to earn ABET-accredited degrees in: Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering. Each engineering student earns both a liberal arts and Engineering degree in the five-year program. Students in the program take all of their classes on the Benedictine College campus, with the exception of two, twoweek summer laboratory sessions at UND. About 80 percent of the coursework is taught by Benedictine professors, with the remainder of the classes taught through distance learning with professors at UND. Thus, within its first year of existence, Benedictine College Engineering Department has made almost unheard of progress. Benedictine College students have access to 50 engineering professors, can major in Engineering’s four major disciplines, and have all of the laboratories they need. “We are developing a high quality program that builds on our strengths in the sciences and mathematics and incorporates the complete core of liberal arts courses which make a Benedictine education special,” said Dr. Doug Brothers, professor and chair of the Benedictine College Department of Physics and Astronomy. Benedictine College is one of only a handful of Catholic colleges in America to offer any kind of engineering program. Engineering is one of America’s strongest employment growth fields. Companies look for engineers with competence and the
18
Spring 2011
kind of ethical committment schools like Benedictine provide. Benedictine College’s unique program has been awarded the following grants since its 2009 inception: • $250K from the National Science Foundation • $250K from the Keck Foundation • $220K from the National Science Foundation • $52K in Westerman Foundation grants In addition to allowing for expansion and construction of lab space, the grants have significantly accelerated the overall program, according to Dr. Darrin Muggli, professor and chair of the Benedictine College Engineering Department. “The NSF grant helped us build a distance-learning classroom and purchase equipment for our materials lab,” said Muggli. “The Keck Foundation grant will provide the funds to establish a fluids lab and rapidly develop our engineering program.” Muggli said interest in engineering at Benedictine has continued to grow and applications to the program are up 60% from the previous year. The National Catholic Register published an article about the program. It quoted Michael Green, of Strasburg, Colo., who said that he was attracted to the college for two reasons. “I visited Benedictine because it was Catholic,” said Green. He was considering other schools based on their engineering programs. When he saw that Benedictine offered engineering, there was no contest. He was sold on the school. He is excited about the growth he has seen in the program. “It’s going strong,” he said, “and there will be bigger classes every year.” To learn more about Benedictine College’s innovative and extensive new engineering program, go to:
Project
Teaches
HOPE By Steve Johnson RAVEN REVIEW
19
S.I.F.E. Students Helping to Break Cycle
Top left: Jordan Neville and Alex Kirkland, both from the School of Business, teach while Brittany Ostermeyer, a Criminology major, observes. Bottom left: Breanne Branting, Criminology major and Project Manager, and Alicia Nuvolini, Criminology major.
Images courtsey of Lansing State Correctional Facility,
20
Spring 2011
Far right: Margaret Mainey listens to an
A
ccording to records from the Kansas Department of Corrections, nearly 500 adult offenders are released from Kansas prisons each month. Of those, nearly half are back in prison within six months. The question is, how do you break that cycle? The Benedictine College chapter of Students in Free Enterprise (S.I.F.E.) thinks it has found a solution. “Inmates are often released back into the same situation they left, or worse,” explained Breanne Branting, a senior Criminology major at Benedictine College and head of S.I.F.E’s Prison Project. “Upon release many have little or no money, no place to live, no job or ability to even get a job, and no social support. Our goal is to teach business skills to inmates who will be released within the next 24 months, giving them a chance to find employment and change their situation. We believe that when you open a school, you close a prison.” Branting and a group of about a dozen Benedictine students worked with Dave Geenens, the S.I.F.E. faculty advisor, and Kyle Deere, deputy warden at the
Lansing State Correctional Facility, to design a curriculum that could be taught in the prison. Working with faculty from the Benedictine College School of Business, the team created nine courses: management, business ethics, entrepreneurship I & II, accounting, finance, economics, marketing, and business law. S.I.F.E team members then began working on classroom management and teaching techniques. Soon they were ready to go behind the gates at Lansing, the state’s oldest and largest complex for detention and rehabilitation of adult male felony offenders. “It was really intimidating going into the prison,” said Samantha McIntosh, a junior Business major. “There are these big high gates, and then this tunnel and all the barbed wire. The participants had been screened for IQ and reading level, though, so the class wasn’t bad.” So the S.I.F.E. team had to fight off an initial case of nerves, but things quickly settled into an academic routine. They set up three sessions of three courses each. Each session met three nights a week for a total of 18 hours over a threeweek timeframe.
“Each individual class met once-aweek for two hours,” said Matt Jackson, a senior double-majoring in Business Administration and Journalism & Mass Communications. “We gave homework and there were tests, too.” Each of the participants also had to actually pay to take the classes. According to Geenens, this helped to assure that the students were truly interested. Although the cost was nominal, $25 for the entire program, it was a lot of money for men behind bars who earn .43 a day. Of the 18 who started the program, seven finished. “I think quite a few of them benefited and took the classes to heart,” said McIntosh. Christina Wagner, mentor coordinator and family specialist at the Lansing facility, trained the student instructors and was impressed with their knowledge and professionalism. She said both the prison staff and the inmates appreciated the effort from the students. “We get written communication from the inmates and I have received numerous requests to sign up for the next round of classes,” she said. “What that tells me is that the first participants
Photo by Matthew Jackson
offender after one of the classes
had a good experience and they’ve told other inmates. Word gets around fast.” Wagner, who also happened to graduate from Benedictine College in 2000 with degrees in Psychology and Theatre, was proud to help her alma mater work with the prison. She said there are various reentry programs within the system, but they are very basic, often teaching life skills like writing résumés or managing a personal budget. Nothing is as extensive and in-depth as the Benedictine S.I.F.E. program. “We appreciate the students coming in and doing this very thorough program, which was a huge commitment on their part,” Wagner said. “I know it was a great experience for them, but it was also a great experience for the participants.” The first graduate of the program will be released from prison in June of this year. The S.I.F.E. team hopes to follow him and mentor him as he seeks employment and reenters society. “We can offer programs and do some things on the inside, but we’ve got to be able to follow up in the community,” Wagner said. “That’s why Benedictine’s efforts to mentor their participants
after release is an important part of the program.” The students have organized a “placement” program and are contacting area businesses trying to gain interest in employing the seminar participants. According to Jackson, they have already met with three business leaders and they hope to expand that interest over time. As the program continues, the hope is that those in the business community will become more and more comfortable with the prospects. “This is a legacy project,” said Geenens. “By October 1 we’ll be back in there with a new set of students and teachers. The prison wants us back and we’ll probably set up two programs and target 20 participants for each. We’ll just keep rolling and see what kind of a difference we can make.” S.I.F.E. is a national organization with chapters at colleges across America. The local group strives for the betterment of the community and of Benedictine College. On March 28, the Benedictine team won the regional championship in Chicago and in May will compete in the S.I.F.E. national championship in Minneapolis. RAVEN REVIEW
21
Healing the Children By Steve Johnson
G
Photo by Luis Rodriguez
22
Spring 2011
uatemala City is exactly 1,655 miles south of St. Louis, Mo. From the standpoint of medical care, most experts agree that the distance is far greater. Five years ago, Dr. Michael Boland, ’81, got his first view of how wide the chasm really is, and he was glad to be able to do something about it. As a neurosurgeon from St. Louis, who was used to working with cranial and spinal problems in children, he knew his skills could be of great use in developing areas around the world. When a colleague introduced Boland to Healing the Children (HTC), an international organization dedicated to providing medical care to children in need, he quickly joined. The organization had established a mission trip to Guatemala and Boland was soon headed south. Once in Guatemala he found that, while the full range of medical care might be available in Guatemala City, medical care outside the capitol is severely limited and even in the city, most public hospitals experience shortages of basic medicine and equipment.
“We toured one of the public hospitals in Guatemala City and went into the emergency room,” Boland said. “It was just stretcher after stretcher in this huge room, like an auditorium, with no separation, and people were just lying there. One lady had fallen and had a broken back. And she was just lying there, nobody was helping her.” For the group to go down and have any impact on the people of Guatemala, Boland explained that it was necessary for the 22-member team to set up what amounts to a mobile surgical hospital each year. “We are responsible for collecting all of our equipment. All of our own supplies, our own dressings, our own drugs, antibiotics,” he said. “We have to take it all with us because there is nothing there. We have to pack it all in trunks and transport it down there. We set it up, we tear it down, and we have to bring it all back. This requires a lot of planning and a lot of work.” The group, which includes three surgeons, an anesthesiologist, and nurses, takes about 24 or 25 large shipping trunks full of supplies. Boland noted that every year it takes them hours just to get through customs. Guatemalan officials open every trunk and require an enormous amount of paperwork. Once they finally clear customs, they head for Hospital Nino Jesus (Baby Jesus Hospital), a small hospital with two operating rooms that exists specifically for missionaries to use. Boland said the team arrives on a Saturday to set up. They examine children on Sunday, then have four days of surgery. They break everything down and leave the following Saturday. “We’ll examine anywhere from 60 to 90 kids and do 20-25 operations, sometimes as many as 30, in four days,” he said. “We sometimes start at 7:00 in the morning and go until 10:30 at night.” This past year, the team was faced with additional challenges. Boland was
dealing predominantly with cranial and in the middle of an operation when spinal birth defects and his interest in the small hospital lost power. With no the children through that clinic spurred back-up generators, he completed the him to get involved with the Healing the operation using the LED light from the Children organization. cell phones members of the group had “God has a way of putting things in with them. order even if you don’t think about The HTC team provides post it,” he said. “Be open to God’s call. operative care as long as they are there, Be open to opportunities … that will with additional care provided by the nurses and two doctors at Hospital Nino frequently find you. You don’t always have to find them. This isn’t anything I Jesus, plus a Guatemalan neurosurgeon ever dreamed I would be involved in.” with whom they have formed a working relationship. “We have had very few complications,” Boland said. “Kids are amazing to work with. They really don’t complain … and they bounce back very quickly.” Hospital Nino Jesus has no ICU capabilities. That is taken into account when children are first examined. “If we examine someone that will require a blood transfusion or ICU care, then we do those operations in the U.S.,” he said. “The last thing we want to do is get into something over Mike Boland, ’81, on camps Feb. 8. our heads (that can’t be managed in Coming from a strong Catholic family Guatemala) and would create a huge problem for the families and the medical and then from Benedictine College, personnel down there, plus would create Boland says he was well-rounded and ready to find his place in the world. a public relations problem for us.” According to Boland, getting children He is glad to have had the liberal arts background of the college (a major in to the U.S. for an operation presents philosophy) along with his chemistry another problem, since Guatemala, and degree as he pursued his goal to become many other countries, will not want a doctor. He can even remember his the child to leave the country. If the time at the college and his American authorities grant the visa, they often history professor, Sister Sharon Murray, grant it only to the child, so they travel to the U.S. without their parents. Once OSB, ’63, who drilled the motto into them …“That in all things God may in the U.S., HTC has to have located a be glorified.” That saying has stayed surgeon to donate his or her time and with him since his college days and it skill to do the operation as well as a has helped him bring his faith from his hospital that will donate the facilities personal life over to his professional life. and care. Boland has personally done “I’ve been blessed beyond measure some of these operations, as well as and fortunately have been able to use served as a foster parent to the children the talents and abilities that God has while they were in the country. given me to further my work to meet His latest operation on a Guatemalan the needs of others,” he said. “What child was at Shriners Hospital we’re doing is good for the people of for Children, an 80-bed pediatric Guatemala and also for us. We’ve orthopedic hospital in St. Louis. reaped huge rewards just by doing this.” Boland runs a monthly clinic there RAVEN REVIEW
23
A Family Coach For Chad Folsom, a tight-knit squad is a winning squad
By Josh Pound Photo by Josh Pound
W
hen you sit down in the office of Raven women’s basketball coach Chad Folsom, you can’t help but notice his walls. Adorning the walls are pictures of two national championship tournament teams, numerous framed photos of Ravens from the past and pictures drawn by his children — he and his wife Amy (McKelvy), Folsom, ’95, have five children — along with family photos from vacations past. One of the core values for the women’s basketball program this past season was family. When you sit down and talk with Coach Folsom, you can see how much the family atmosphere he has created around his program means. That approach has paid off. Coach Folsom has twice been named Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) Coach of the Year. This past season, he reached the 200-win plateau and is already the program’s all-time winningest head coach. Ten years ago, family is what brought Coach Folsom, an Atchison native, and his wife Amy, an alumna, to Benedictine
24
Spring 2011
College. Folsom was the head men’s basketball coach at Lamar (Colo.) Community College when the Benedictine College job opened up. “We just had our first child, who was about a year and half old and our perspective started to shift,” said Coach Folsom. “We were looking for an opportunity to get closer to home.” The recent success of Lady Ravens basketball didn’t hurt. “The opportunity to be involved with a program that had been successful and had an opportunity to be successful and win was a draw.”
Courting Scholars After graduating from Atchison’s Maur Hill Prep in 1990, Folsom earned a psychology degree from Grinnel (Iowa) College. Along the way he earned 12 varsity letters in basketball, indoor track and outdoor track. He spent three more years at the University of Utah, earning a master’s degree in psychology. In his first season at the helm of the Ravens, Coach Folsom
guided the squad to a 13-20 campaign. Since that first season, Folsom’s squads have averaged no less than 17 wins, which includes a streak from the 2003’04 season until the 2008-’09 season where the Ravens averaged 20 wins or more. While he takes great pride in the success he has been able to bring to Benedictine and the women’s basketball program, he also takes great pride in the kind of program he’s been able to build. Since taking over the program, Coach Folsom has produced 29 DaktronicNAIA Scholar Athletes. Most recently, the women’s basketball program was one of 857 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) programs to be named as NAIA Scholar Team. To be named a NAIA Scholar Team, the entire varsity team has to earn a minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale. For Coach Folsom, a high level of academic achievement is a big draw for the student-athletes he is recruiting. “I think it’s a big sign, a tell-tell sign, about the type of person that you’re recruiting when they’re doing well in the classroom and they have high ACT scores,” said Folsom. “Usually, they have their priorities in line. They are great basketball players because they know how to balance their time and have a strong desire to do well not only in basketball but in the classroom as well.”
The Team’s Biggest Fans Since his first season back in 2001, Raven starters aren’t the only five-player team Coach Folsom has built. “Looking back, we came with one child and one on the way,” said Folsom. “Now we have five. It’s a difficult balance and it’s been hard on my wife and kids during the season, especially
when I’m on the road with games two or three nights a week and I’m up late watching film every other night.” There are certainly trade-offs. “But living in Atchison has been good because my family is around and everything is close enough that I can get to some of those activities,” he said. “I’m blessed to be at a school this size where I have the ability to balance family and work.” Amy and the children — Haylie, Taylor, Madison, Kaitlyn and Kyle — can be found behind the Ravens bench at most home games. The family support doesn’t stop there. Chad’s parents, Rick and Ellie (Thum), Folsom, ’76, have also been able to follow the Ravens around the conference and on to nationals. “They are all into it,” he said. “We’re lucky with where we live. They could get to the national tournaments because it wasn’t all that far away.”
players who have returned has accounted for nearly every player he’s coached over his 10-year career at Benedictine. “When you respect the people that you’re playing with on the floor,” he said, “that builds a bond off the floor and is something that year after year we see when all of them come back to play.” They also remain fans of Lady Ravens basketball. “We get a lot of players who come back to watch us play years after they’ve graduated or watch us when we come play close to where they live,” Coach Folsom said. “They give you a different look at what’s going on, because they’ve been there.” With 214 career wins at Benedictine and two HAAC Championships, Coach Photo by Rox’s Imag
es
Raven ‘Big Sisters’ You can also see the importance in family that Coach Folsom has instilled in the players he’s coached while at Benedictine. Coach Folsom says he tells recruits three things: “If you come to Benedictine, we’re going to make you a better player, you’re going to get an education at a highly respected school, and you’re going to grow as a person.” When the Ravens gather in the fall for Homecoming Weekend, the women’s basketball program holds its annual Alumni Game. According to Coach Folsom, the past few years the group of RAVEN REVIEW
25
Folsom has guided the women’s basketball program to new heights. In addition to the two NAIA Div. II National Championship appearances, the Lady Ravens qualifed for the Elite Eight at the end of the 2005-’06 season and the Sweet 16 at the end of the 2007-’08 season. So what’s next? Prior to the 2008-’09 season, Benedictine and the rest of the HAAC made the jump from NAIA Div. II to Div. I. The jump has been met by some growing pains, not just by Benedictine but by most of the women’s programs in the HAAC.
“We want to get back to the national championship tournament,” Coach Folsom said. “In order for us to do that, we have to continue to compete well in the conference.” For Coach Folsom and the Ravens, it’s a new beginning, but not as much of a new beginning as it was 10 years ago. “We’re farther along now than we were when I started,” Coach Folsom said. “We have better athletes now and we’ve just got to continue to recruit good athletes and continue to compete within our conference.” Coach Folsom looks forward to the fall 2011 season and the new recruits joining the team. They are already feeling welcomed into the family.
Photo used with permission of University of North Dakota
Star Raven Leads Hoops Men
26
On April 5, Ryan Moody, ’97, was named the new Ravens men’s basketball head coach. Ryan played for the Ravens from 1992 until 1996. He served the last season as the Fighting Sioux’s associate head coach at the University of North Dakota. He helped UND bounce back from a tough 2009-10 campaign to win the Great West tournament championship and play in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Moody has high hopes for the Ravens squad. “I’m excited about our senior leadership. We’re going to lean heavily on those guys next year because we’re going to have a lot of young guys on the team,” he said. “The table is set for us to continue to
Spring 2011
move forward.” Athletic Director Charles Gartenmayer said, “We are impressed with what Ryan has done as associate head coach in North Dakota, and hope to see more of the same here.” Moody replaces Todd Eisner, who resigned in March. Eisner’s 2010-11 squad finished 16-16 and lost in the Heart of America Athletic Conference semifinals. “The one year that I spent here was very fulfilling professionally and I believe that the future is very promising for Raven basketball,” Eisner said. He returns to the Omaha, Neb., area, where he and his family have deep roots. Moody says the team Eisner left is a great starting point. “The cupboard
is by no means bare,” he said. “The recruits that have been signed are a perfect fit for Benedictine and the current players are really Benedictine guys.” Moody, an Omaha native, spent five years as the head coach at RaymorePeculiar (Mo.) High School and four years as an assistant at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He helped recruit the players for the Mavericks who won back-to-back North Central Conference (NCAA Div. II) championships during his tenure. Ryan is no stranger to Raven basketball fans. He was a threetime all-conference selection for Benedictine College and graduated as the eighth-leading scorer in school history. He served one year as a student assistant with the Ravens during the 1996-97 season. “I have many memories, friends and experiences from when I was here at Benedictine that have made me who I am today,” said Moody. To come back and have a chance to make that kind of impact on the players we have today is a great honor for me. “For me as an alumnus, this is a great opportunity to get all of the other alumni involved with the program. Benedictine has a history of being a successful program and there were a lot of great guys who came before us. I’m excited to get those guys back involved with the program.”
captions
Tackling Life By Tom Hoopes
If
yo u spent much time at Ravens football games this year, you heard the number “91” a lot. That’s Ryan Hurtado, a senior linebacker and one of the team’s captains. Last fall he played in 11 games and made 69 total tackles: 31 solo and 38 assisted. But ask him what his most exciting football moment was and he doesn’t mention turnovers or quarterback sacks. He mentions last family weekend. “We came out great as a defense,” he said, but most importantly, “I had my brother and my dad there.” He also mentions the Oct. 2 home game in which Ryan and his brother, Adam, were honored at halftime with the “Do Something Beautiful for God” Award for their work organizing a toy drive in Santa Ana, Calif. The “Nancy Downey Hurtado Miracle Toy Drive” is named after their mother, Nancy, who died in the summer of 2009. When Ryan and Adam took over the Christmas program, the toy drive came full circle. “My mom started the toy drive because we were brats,” said Ryan. “She got fed up with us and took our toys to the kids in the her clinic. The next year, the kids were back again.” This past December, the initiative provided toys, meals and health screenings for more than 5,000 children.
Top: Ryan Hurtado sq uares off a Nazarene. gainst Mid Above: Ry America an (right) w and brothe ith his fath r, Adam. er, Andy,
The award they received from Benedictine College is named in honor of Mother Teresa who said, “Every day on awaking, my desire and my enthusiasm is this: today I must do something beautiful for God.” “Adam and I are so honored,” said Ryan, “but the award is also given to our family, because they raised us to be good men and they are just as honored.” The toy drive has been doing something beautiful throughout Ryan’s life. “The drive is now 16 years old,” said Ryan. “I’m excited to get Benedictine College involved by starting a fundraiser here very soon.” RAVEN REVIEW
27
Hurtado photo courtesty of NBC©
Big Winners That toy drive was one of the qualities that attracted NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” weight-loss reality show to Adam Hurtado, Ryan’s brother. Adam was a popular contestant on the hit show this season, and moved to Atchison to train with his brother and the Benedictine Raven football team when he left the show. The show brought national attention to Benedictine College and Ryan when the two were featured working out together on the Raven football field. At the center of “The Biggest Loser” is a fast-paced combination of workout advice, nutrition tips, and motivational talks from celebrity personal trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels. A typical show featured Adam and his fellow contestants being alternately cheered on, yelled at and comforted by one of the two charismatic figures. But Adam lost a great deal of weight even after he left the show. He says he had a secret weapon — his brother Ryan. “It was very difficult to find someone to replicate what Bob and Jill had inspired in me,” he told one magazine. “It ultimately led me to link up with my brother. Moving out with my brother Ryan and having him as my trainer was a motivation for me. No matter how hard he pushed me he knew I’d love him at the end of the day.” The inspiration is mutual. Said Ryan of the semester with Adam, “It was amazing having my brother with me. The fact that you have such a strong support system in a brother makes the year so much easier. It only strengthened us in faith because we are still dealing with the loss of our mother. It helps to sleep at night knowing you always have someone to be there for you.”
What Benedictine Did Ryan Hurtado and Benedictine College almost missed each other. “After two years at junior college, I
28
Spring 2011
was committed to a different school for football,” said Hurtado. “But then the school flooded and we had to pick another. As we looked at the literature, my mother really pressed for Benedictine College.” After visiting, he agreed. “I really liked it, just due to the atmosphere and the friendly campus and how it seemed so family oriented here.” Ryan had been a star player at Mater Dei, a Southern California powerhouse football school. So football was the least of his problems that first year — he made 18 tackles in seven games. But it’s a long way from Santa Ana to Atchison. “To come from California to Kansas is a big culture shock,” Ryan said. “Your everyday social interactions are completely different. You find that people are more personable out here. Everything is about your presence and how you speak in California. The words mean a lot more out here.” Ryan had only been at Benedictine for one year when tragedy struck. His mother died of diabetes in the summer. It was then he began to see the school’s true value. “Benedictine College at the end of the day was the right place for me because at a big school or even a school that wasn’t faith-based, it would be hard to overcome such adversities as I did.” That experience helped him go deeper in his own education. “Personally I’ll admit
I wasn’t ready for the way Benedictine instills value in you,” he said. But over time something changed. “Our generation has become the ‘I’ generation where personalities have kind of withdrawn a little bit. We’re too consumed by technology and social media,” he said. “At the end of my life, I want to say, Did I make enough difference? Did I leave an imprint? Benedictine is the kind of school where they want you to make an imprint, they want you to leave a mark in God’s image, and I feel like no other school does that as well as Benedictine.” Leaving Benedictine College he takes a lot with him. He takes the experience of broadcasting his first games on the Ravens Sports Network. He takes with him a liberal arts education and a memorable experience with FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. But there’s something much more important, he says. “I have literally made my best friends I will have for my entire life here at Benedictine College,” he said. “Those guys I would die for, I would do anything for.” From him, that means a lot.
Ryan’s brother, Adam, before and after his weight loss program.
Ryan’s Helpers Scholarship Ball Honors Laughlins and Seabergs
Lene Westerman bids during the live auction.
The Seabergs receive award
The Laughlins cheer
President and Mrs. Minnis thank the co-chairs; the McBrides (left) and Darryl Jones, who is shown with Leslie Leath (right).
When Ryan Hurtado thanked benefactors at his alma mater’s biggest fundraiser this year, four people stood out. “Benedictine College changed my life,” Ryan said. “Without your support, that would have been impossible.” He was talking to a record crowd at the Scholarship Ball, but four people in particular would share the spotlight with him. Ladd and Karen Seaberg, of Atchison, and Dave, ’67, and Sherri Laughlin, of Overland Park, Kan., received the prestigious Cross of the Order of St. Benedict shortly after Ryan spoke. Ladd and Karen Seaberg praised Benedictine College for bringing so many young people to Benedictine College. Dave and Sherri Laughlin praised the “Forward, always forward” direction of President Stephen D. Minnis. Gov. Sam Brownback sent a video message to the ball, thanking the Seabergs for all they have done for Atchison. The 40th Benedictine College scholarship ball attracted more than 700 ball-goers to the Century Ballroom in the Westin Crown Center Hotel. Stephen, ’77, and Peggy McBride and Darryl Jones,’68, co-chaired the event. The crowd laughed with emcee John Holt, coanchor and investigative reporter for FOX 4 News, cheered the Benedictine band, choir and dancers’ presentation of “Favorites from the ’80s” and danced the night away to the Michael Beers Band. RAVEN REVIEW
29
Sky photo by Kabir Bakie
hitting the links
Visit the Raven Store for these great summer items.
ravenstore.benedictine.edu
mommy & me
Slazenger Golf Bag Cover $100.00 • 60” Golf Umbrella $36.00 BC Golf Club Head Covers $95.00 • BC Mesh Jersey Fitted Hat $20.00 Sand Trap Set $1.25 • PING Zip Pullover $48.00 • Stainless Steel Water Bottle $11.00 3 pack Sleeve of Golf Balls $11.00 • Raven Golf Towel $14.00
30
Spring 2011
Ravens Gourmet Oven Mitt $17.00 • Suns of Benedict Sunglasses $5.00 Flirty Apron $30.00 • Heritage Pewter Saint’s Bracelet $40.00 • Raven Flip Flops $18.00 Baby Benedict Newborn Cap $7.00 • Pretty’n Pink Onesie $15.00 RAVEN REVIEW
31
Non-Profit U.S. POSTAGE PAID Lawrence, KS PERMIT #116
B ENEDICTINE C OLLEGE 1020 NORTH SECOND STREET ATCHISON, KANSAS 66002-1499
Save the Date ...
41st Annual Scholarship Ball Feb. 25
Westin Crown Center, Kansas City, Mo
Alumni Reunion Weekend June 8-10, 2012
32
Spring 2011
Benedictine College, Atchison, Kansas