News Briefs

Student Films Win at Film Festival

Two films written, directed, and produced by Bethany students were selected to screen at the 2022 Eagan (Minnesota) Art Block Short Film Festival. Hey, Jim!, directed by junior Colin Neville, was given the Finalist award, and A Rush at the Beginning, directed by Rea Kuske (’22) won Best of Fest. Both of these films consisted of Bethany student cast and crews.

Associate Professor of Media Arts Amanda Quist served as Faculty Advisor to the group and noted, “The festival staff reported that this was their most competitive year yet. It was incredibly exciting for us all to see Bethany films represented alongside such terrific work.”

U.S. News ranks schools in four categories –National Liberal Arts Colleges, National Universities, Regional Colleges, and Regional Universities. Bethany falls in the National Liberal Arts classification. This marks the third time in the past four years that Bethany is the top college in Minnesota for social mobility. This is also the first top-ten national ranking for the institution. The high ranking indicates that Bethany is doing a good job educating students from a variety of academic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Social mobility refers to the ability of a person to move upward in income and social class.

This type of ranking is due in part to the important role and excellent work of so many Bethany faculty and staff in providing students with the time, attention, and support they need to succeed and achieve beyond what would be predicted.

Fourth Consecutive Year Bethany Receives High Ranking for Social Mobility

Bethany Lutheran College is ranked number ten in the United States and number one in the State of Minnesota for graduates’ social mobility—the ability to climb the success ladder—in the 2023 U.S. News College Rankings - National Liberal Arts Colleges Category. The rankings were released on Monday, September 12, 2022.

New Bethany Branded Vans

Perhaps you’ve already seen one of the attractive Bethany vehicles sporting new Viking graphics. If not, keep your eyes open as the vans move about the Midwest for events and outings. Bethany senior Emily Dietz designed the new wraps.

BLC Studios Drops Puck on 22nd Year of Maverick Hockey

Bethany Lutheran College students continue to produce Minnesota State University Maverick Hockey games for audiences throughout Minnesota and the nation. The first games of the 2022-23 season aired on FOX9+ in the Twin Cities and locally on KEYC’s new channel called The Circle. This new broadcast home for Maverick games may also lead to new opportunities for BLC athletics to potentially air on the KEYC Circle channel.

Orchestra, Band Visits Ordway

Students in the Bethany Chamber Orchestra and Concert Band traveled to the Ordway Concert Hall in downtown St. Paul for the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra performance of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony on September 11, 2022. This was Bethany’s first time back to the Ordway since February 2020. These firsthand opportunities for Bethany students to visit and hear world class performances are an important component of Bethany’s music program and liberal arts emphasis.

Mock Trial Team Success

Bethany’s Mock Trial Team continues with stellar performances in 2022-23. The team captured both team and individual honors at the University of Arkansas virtual mock trial tournament in Fall 2022. Bethany’s Tristen Lindell won a Best Attorney award with a perfect score of 20, and Adam Hoeft won a Best Witness award. The Bethany team placed fifth out of 20 teams from across the nation.

The Team also took home three trophies from the St. Olaf Invitational. Tristen Lindell had a perfect score of 20 as a Plaintiff’s Attorney and won a Best Attorney award. Adam Hoeft won a Best Witness Award with a score of 18/20. The Bethany team scored highest in team history and won third place overall in a field of 20 teams from Minnesota and Iowa.

Bethany Featured in MPR Story on International Enrollment

In October 2022, a reporter from Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) visited the campus to learn more about our growing international student population. The story aired on MPR, was picked up by the Associated Press, and received a front page feature in the Mankato Free Press daily newspaper.

Speech and Debate Success

The Bethany Speech and Debate Team is competing throughout the Upper Midwest and traveled to Brookings, South Dakota, in November 2022 for two tournaments in the Valley Forensics League.

During the first day of competition, sophomore Katriana Berglin took third place in Dramatic Interpretation and fourth place in Prose Interpretation. On the second day, Katriana took first place in Dramatic Interpretation and fifth place in Program Oral Interpretation. Senior Jahir Nunez-Martinez was named the second best debate speaker in the tournament.