Saint Benedict’s Magazine Winter 2020

WINTER 2020 MAGAZINE

Voices still

RISING The Saint Ben’s Choir adapted to caroling in a COVID world.

Can’t stop ’em now!

Page 2

INSIDE 10 She-cession 18 Permission to Rest 20 Strange Stories of Success

IN THIS ISSUE

10

18 FEATURES

10 18 20

She-cession Permission to Rest Strange Stories of Success

20 DEPARTMENTS

1 Message From the President 2 Worth 1,000 Words 4 News 26 I’m a Bennie 27 Class Notes 34 Bennie Connection 37 Generosity

The College of Saint Benedict Magazine is published three times a year by the office of Institutional Advancement.

EDITOR Greg Skoog (SJU ’89) ASSISTANT EDITOR Abby Hansen ’12 CONTRIBUTORS Ellen Hunter Gans ’05 Tommy O’Laughlin (SJU ’13) COVER PHOTO L to R: Sara Hoppe ’24, Jackie Townsend ’23 and Clea Wachtler ’24 raised their voices to be heard caroling through their masks. Photo by Tommy O’Laughlin (SJU ’13) CONTACT College of Saint Benedict Magazine Institutional Advancement 37 South College Avenue St. Joseph, MN 56374-2099 For address changes, please call 1-800-648-3468, ext. 1 or email csbalumnae@csbsju.edu Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer The mission of the College of Saint Benedict is to provide for women the very best residential liberal arts education in the Catholic and Benedictine traditions. The college fosters integrated learning, exceptional leadership for change and wisdom for a lifetime.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Let your spark shine

Since this issue is scheduled to arrive right around Christmas, let me extend my holiday greetings! We’ve nearly made it to the end of 2020. And that has come through the grit and resiliency I see demonstrated daily in this community.

It’s demonstrated in Bennie doctors, nurses and all manner of health care professionals, of course. It’s demonstrated in Bennie primary and secondary teachers. (Special shout out to each of you. As we’ve made our way through modifying the learning experience this semester with college students, I continually marvel at what you’re able to achieve with children.) It shows in Bennie alumnae handling chaos on the home front – working from home and handling distance learning for their children. It shines in Bennie entrepreneurs who have borne the brunt of our restrictions and limitations.

But it doesn’t stop there. Bennies are still upright and pushing forward in every field. That’s what Bennies do.

In this issue you’re going to read Dr. Sucharita Mukherjee’s (CSB/SJU professor and chair of the Economics Department) examination of the state of the economy (before and during COVID) and the pending recession. She’s going to illuminate many of the ways these things continue to hit women hardest.

That’s reality.

But you’re also going to read anecdotes from across both campuses about the ways this community has taken the challenges that 2020 has thrown at us and polished them till they shine. Our students, our faculty, our staff and our facilities have found the bright spots. Assistant professor Patricia Kent and her vocal students spread out and sang outdoors; taking advantage of the seldom-used courtyard in the BAC. Regina Hall residence director Gina Honek ’19 developed a new online system for helping our first-year Bennies meet face-to-face and create connections. And there are so many other stories.

And that’s reality too.

All of you are demonstrating the strength and skill that defines a Saint Ben’s education, whether you feel like it or not. Bennies have faced this year straight-on. And even if it feels like your light has been dimmed, there’s still a spark.

Let it shine.

Laurie M. Hamen, J.D. College of Saint Benedict Interim President

Winter 2020 | 1

WORTH 1,000 WORDS

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VOICES CARRY Choir director Susan Vollbrecht and the members of the Saint Ben’s Women’s Choir were determined to lift spirits this season. And they weren’t going to let circumstances stand in their way. So they bundled up (masks included), spaced out and caroled across campus for all to hear. You can find tons of other great success stories starting on page 20.

On steps L to R: Sara Hoppe ’24, Jane Koll ’21, Clea Wachtler ’24, Chloe Anderson ’24, Jane Bodensteiner ’24 and Nicole Molitor ’24.

On bricks L to R: Anna Webb ’23, Jackie Townsend ’23, Morgan Rolph ’24, Ashlee Vyskocil ’23 and Callie Anderson ’23.

Use your smart phone to take a picture of this QR code and enjoy a short video of this year’s choir caroling!

Winter 2020 | 3

NEWS

First-Ever Doctoral Programs on CSB Campus

Nursing Cohort Increased to Serve Broader Community

On Nov. 20, the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University began accepting applications for a new graduate program in nursing, with the first cohort of students beginning the program in fall 2021. These will be the first graduate-level degrees ever awarded on the Saint Ben’s campus.

“Over the last eight to 10 years, we’ve had an increased number of applicants” to the CSB/SJU nursing program, said Julie Strelow, associate professor and chair of the Nursing Department.

“This year, we had our highest number of applications (103) submitted to the nursing program.”

“This is a program that has been under consideration for a number of years,” said Professor Carrie Hoover who, along with Visiting Assistant Professor Jennifer Peterson, is co-chairing the new graduate nursing program. “In 2019 we worked with the Hanover Group to conduct a thorough feasibility study. And we concluded that there is a solid market for a program like this. Our alums have been asking for this for a number of years.”

Fortunately for those applicants and for those to come in future years, the cohort size has been raised from 54 to 72 – a 33% increase – following formal approval by the CSB and SJU administrations.

All three of the graduate tracks listed below will be offered in a hybrid format. The Doctor of Nursing Practice programs can be completed in three years when attending full-time.

Program options • Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) – Family Nurse Practitioner track • Doctor of Nursing Practice – Leadership track • Master of Science in Nursing Education Program highlights • Guaranteed clinical placements • Electives for specialty practice areas • Eligibility to become certified as a Nurse Educator and/or Nurse Executive • One-to-one mentorship for DNP project • Graduate assistant teaching scholarships available (limited quantity) • Discounted tuition available for CentraCare and VA employees • Part-time options may be available

“We’re able to better serve the broader community by supporting the growth and development of nurses that are going to be entering the profession,” said Strelow.

“By increasing our cohort sizes, we’re also helping put more nursing leaders in the community.”

According to Strelow, this wasn’t a decision made lightly.

“We had to think very carefully about how we were going to create this experience so that it wasn’t just more numbers at the expense of everything else,” she said. “We still needed to speak to the quality of the program and meet our accreditation standards (by the Minnesota Board of Nursing and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education).”

The bottom line is that the increased cohort size means fewer rejections. “It’s very, very difficult for us to turn away qualified students. It’s very disheartening,” Strelow said. “There’s a shortage of nurses (nationally), and there’s a shortage of nurse leaders. It’s very hard to turn away students.”

You can learn more about these new programs at csbsju.edu/graduate-nursing-programs.

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NEWS

New Global Health Minor Starts in Fall 2022 “Students have been finding ways to explore their interest in global health on their own initiative – from the Global Health Affairs Club, which has a large and active membership, to the Global Medical Brigades trips that students take every year,” Block continued.

“The momentum for [a] global health minor has been apparent in recent years, as students have expressed growing interest in exploring global health challenges,” said Ellen Block, associate professor of sociology at CSB/SJU. “Even before COVID-19, global health has been on our students’ radar – from Ebola to the Zika virus to health disparities in our own communities, these are issues that impact everyone and that students care deeply about.”

Now, thanks to a $143,563 grant from the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language (UISFL) Program through the U.S. Department of Education, CSB and SJU will soon be offering an interdisciplinary minor in global health that takes a liberal arts approach to the study of health within a global context.

The new minor will likely begin in fall semester 2022, but classes will be offered for the 20-22 credit minor in spring semester 2021.

“The global health minor, which builds on significant expertise among faculty across disciplines at CSB and SJU, will finally be able to give students some academic foundation in this important area of interest,” said Block, who will serve as the grant’s director.

The courses and training provided by the minor will help students analyze some of the most pressing problems that shape our world, preparing students for exciting careers in health care, public policy, international service and more. This timely program particularly complements majors in the sciences.

UISFL’s funding will support initial development of the minor. Funds will support revising and developing new courses for the minor; establishing new healthrelated experiential learning opportunities in South Africa and Minnesota organizations that serve Spanish-speaking constituencies; and sponsoring faculty professional development around teaching global health.

Students in the new minor specifically will: •C ritically analyze global trends and issues that impact health and wellbeing at local, regional, national and transnational levels; •L earn how cultural and linguistic values and practices, as well as unequal structures, impact people’s experiences of health, illness and healing globally; •C losely examine the connections among socioeconomic, historical, political and biological determinants of health, and their importance to global public health; •D emonstrate an increased understanding of programs, policies and social movements that aim to address and improve health; • I mprove problem-solving and analytical skills through an increased appreciation for the complexity of global health research through experiential learning.

Give CSB Day Tops Half Million – Shatters Record

Can’t Stop Her Now On Wednesday, Oct. 14, the entire Saint Ben’s community came together to add to the unstoppable momentum our Bennies are building every day. With the amazing help of a generous group of matching grant donors, 949 alumnae, parents, faculty, staff, friends and students rallied to contribute an incredible $562,131 in one 24-hour period toward scholarships at Saint Ben’s.

The total smashed the $500,000 goal and is a single-day giving record for Saint Ben’s.

“There are so many good people who believe in this college and the students we serve,” said Maggie Weber Utsch ’00, director of annual giving. “I want to thank everyone who contributed and everyone who shared and amplified our message, inviting other people to give and support CSB and our students.”

Winter 2020 | 5

NEWS

CSB Shines in College Rankings Multiple Sources Cite the Strength of a Saint Ben’s Education.

In August, the website Zippia found, for the second year in a row, that SJU and CSB were the number one and two schools in Minnesota for employment placement.

SJU had a 95.16% job placement rate.

CSB’s employment placement rate was 94.88%. Among leaders of the 50 states, SJU ranked 10th overall, while CSB’s rate was higher than 37 state leaders.

In the 2021 US News and World Report rankings of national liberal arts schools, CSB is ranked 96th nationally (tied with four other schools), and SJU is ranked 102nd nationally (tied with nine other schools). Both CSB (68th) and SJU (73rd) are listed among the best value schools, and “A-Plus Schools for B Students” (the schools aren’t ranked numerically in this poll).

Using the Department of Education’s College Scorecard data, Zippia searched for the college in each state with the highest listed job placement numbers 10 years after graduation. Zippia then sorted every college in the country from the highest employment levels to the lowest. Any college that did not have this data or suppressed it was excluded from the running. Zippia opted to focus on the best four-year colleges to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. Zippia then selected the college with the highest rate of employment in each state, rounding to the second decimal point for readability.

The U.S. News rankings of National Liberal Arts Colleges focus almost exclusively on undergraduate education and schools that award at least 50% of their degrees in the arts and sciences.

Changes to the rankings methodology this year include the introduction of two outcome measures pertaining to graduate indebtedness. This year’s rankings gave less weight to SAT/ACT scores, high school class standing and alumnae/i giving rates.

CSB and SJU are once again ranked among the top 10 baccalaureate schools nationally for both mid-length study abroad and the total number of students who studied abroad, according to Open Doors 2020, the annual report on international education published by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. CSB and SJU are ranked No. 6 among baccalaureate schools with 320 students who studied abroad in mid-length study abroad programs during 2018-19, the most recent data measured by the IIE. CSB and SJU are ranked No. 9 among baccalaureate schools with 494 students who studied abroad during the 2018-19 school year. That was an increase of 51 students from the 2017-18 report.

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Finally, CSB is ranked 75th as a best social mobility school. This indicator measures how well schools graduate students who received federal Pell Grants. Students receiving these grants typically come from households whose family incomes are less than $50,000 annually, though most Pell Grant money goes to students with a total family income below $20,000.

CSB/SJU (listed jointly) was one of the 386 schools listed in the 29th annual Princeton Review guide. Unlike other rankings, this one does not rank schools in numerical order. Instead, its list appears in alphabetical order.

The Princeton Review college rankings are entirely based on surveys of college students, who rate their schools on dozens of topics and report on their campus experiences exclusively for this project. The ranking lists are based on surveys of 143,000 students at the 386 colleges in the book.

The Washington Monthly 2020 College Guide and Rankings bills itself as “the socially conscious alternative to U.S. News and World Report. Washington Monthly ranks schools on how well they serve the country as a whole – by recruiting and graduating non-wealthy students, encouraging student activism and producing research and technologies that create high-paying jobs and address threats like climate change.”

In these rankings, CSB was ranked No. 31 among national liberal arts schools and SJU No. 60. CSB was the second-highest Minnesota liberal arts college, trailing only No. 19 Carleton College.

Washington Monthly also found CSB to be No. 8 and SJU No. 62 in its “Best Bang for the Buck” category among 372 colleges in the Midwest. CSB was No. 1 among Minnesota colleges.

Both schools were listed in three categories by College Consensus. Among best national liberal arts schools, CSB was No. 62 and SJU was No. 89 of 100 schools ranked. CSB was No. 13 and SJU No. 25 among the best Catholic schools in the country. CSB and SJU were Nos. 1-2 in Minnesota in this category. Finally, within Minnesota, CSB was sixth and SJU 10th among all state institutions.

College Consensus uses comprehensive methodology which allows every institution to demonstrate what they do best. Students who are actually present day to day have as much say about their college as experts who have never visited, making sure that all those perspectives mean an even playing field for every college and university.

NEWS

Community Engagement Days Offer Content, Connections One of the quirks of this year’s block schedule is that there is a Friday left open at the end of each block in order for faculty to wrap up grading and prepare for the next block. Of course, the safest course of action is for all students to spend those Fridays on campus, safely within their usual bubbles – rather than treating these like long weekends and scattering to interact with lots of new people.

To make staying on campus as attractive as possible, the Student Activities office developed Community Engagement Days. Each of these Fridays is packed with outdoor activities, panel discussions, programs, presentations and performances. The highlight of each one is a signature event featuring prominent speakers on timely topics. It’s a dedicated space for the important learning that happens beyond the classroom at Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s.

You can find links to recordings of any of this fall’s three signature events at csbsju.edu/community-engagement-days.

September 25 Kathleen Hall Jamieson

October 23 Ibram X. Kendi

November 20 Eboo Patel

Dr. Jamieson delivered our 14th Annual Eugene J. McCarthy Lecture. She is the Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication of the University of Pennsylvania and director of the university’s Annenberg Public Policy Center. (She’s also an alumna of Saint Benedict’s High School!) Dr. Jamieson delivered her lecture on “Russian hackers, trolls and #DemocracyRIP.”

Dr. Ibram Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is the author of three New York Times bestsellers (“How to Be an Antiracist,” “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” [co-authored with Jason Reynolds], and “Antiracist Baby”) as well as “Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,” which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction. His streamed lecture and interactive Q&A in October was presented in partnership with CSB/SJU Fine Arts Programming and Student Development.

Dr. Eboo Patel is the founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), a non-profit organization that is working to make interfaith cooperation a social norm in America. He is the author of four books and dozens of articles, has spoken on more than 150 campuses, and served on President Obama’s Inaugural Faith Council. In November he spoke on building communities where sources of difference become sources of strength – where shared humanity and communal aspirations compel dialogue, not division.

Dr. Patel was presented in partnership with the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, and Concordia College.

Winter 2020 | 7

NEWS

Update on Enhanced Collaboration Earlier this year, the Joint Strategic Visioning Committee of the CSB and SJU Boards of Trustees announced a commitment to a single leader and a common board for the two colleges. Work toward that goal continues.

Since 2018, the two boards have been working toward stronger integration of governance and leadership structures to simplify processes and decision making across the two institutions.

Earlier this year, the Joint Strategic Visioning Committee announced a commitment to a single leader and a common board for CSB and SJU. The move to a single president and a common board is a complex undertaking with far-reaching implications. Our accrediting body, the Higher Learning

Commission (HLC), considers the move to a common board and a single president a “change of control,” which triggers a review of a number of legal and regulatory matters. These are complex issues and, according to board chairs Barb Brandes (CSB) and Dan McKeown (SJU), “We are confident that we will find the legal and regulatory way forward, and all parties are committed to the end goal, but we need a little more time and work.”

The HLC has indicated we could begin a search for a single president when we submit our application for consideration of the change of control. However, because we are not yet ready to submit our application, we are holding off on engaging the search for a single president.

For this 2020-2021 academic year, the CSB and SJU interim presidents, Laurie Hamen and Eugene McAllister, have common aligned goals, according to Brandes and McKeown. A priority is implementing key actions toward stronger integration of CSB and SJU, including consolidation of essential functions at CSB and SJU and holding Leadership Team meetings jointly.

McNeely Center Names 2020 Entrepreneurs of the Year The Donald McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship is an interdisciplinary center focused on “inspiring the entrepreneurial spirit” throughout the campus community through curricular, extracurricular and community events for students of all majors and class years. Since 2011, the McNeely Center has presented Bennie and Johnnie alums with their Entrepreneur of the Year awards. In November, this year’s awards were presented (albeit, without the traditional ceremony and celebration).

CSB Entrepreneur of the Year: Jennifer Dugan Roth ’91 CEO and Co-founder GrowthMode Marketing During her 20-plus year career, Roth has cultivated a passion for and expertise in B2B marketing that she channels into meaningful marketing strategies that help her clients achieve real growth.

GrowthMode has been recognized by Inc. Magazine as a fastest growing company in 2020 – ranked in the top 25 percent.

GrowthMode has also been recognized by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal as a 2020 Twin Cities Largest Agency, as a 2020 Best Web Developer in St. Paul and is a WBENC-certified enterprise.

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SJU Entrepreneur of the Year: Dennis Carlson ’86 Chairman and CEO WeDriveU Since founding WeDriveU in 1988, Carlson has led WeDriveU’s growth as the leader in shuttle transportation solutions. His vision for transforming transportation has been featured by the Financial Times, Fox Business News, The New York Times and The Mercury News. His entrepreneurial spirit inspired the company’s early growth as the leader in professional chauffeurs who drive executives in the executives’ personal cars, and he continues to advance WeDriveU’s vision to address clients’ evolving mobility challenges with workplace and campus commuting solutions for companies, universities and hospitals.

CSB/SJU Social Entrepreneur of the Year: Angela Untiedt Jerabek ’90 Founder and Exec. Director BARR Center® Jerabek began her career in education as a licensed K-12 teacher and a secondary school counselor in Minneapolis. She used her passion to help students succeed by becoming the founder of BARR Center, which is a nationally recognized non-profit organization that builds strong school communities. BARR Center supports student success by improving school culture, school climate and educator effectiveness, and has served more than 100,000 students in more than 180 schools. As the executive director and founder of BARR Center, Jerabek provides thought leadership and operational oversight of the organization and the national network of BARR educators.

NEWS

The Longest Offseason BY | LEAH RADO

When Rachael Click and the College of Saint Benedict softball team stepped off the field on March 9 in Tucson, Arizona, the end of her team’s season was the last thing on her mind.

who ran three and four practices a day to accommodate her 38-woman roster. “They have approached all of the starts and stops with grace and the understanding that if we continue to give 100% every time we are able to be in the water, we will come out strong.”

From virtual Bingo and trivia to glowin-the-dark scavenger hunts to themed workouts, coaches have learned to get creative to keep their teams engaged and connected. And while the end of the offseason and start of the competitive season is still unknown, coaches and athletes continue to make the most of their time together – whether on Zoom or in person.

The Bennies had just wrapped up a 1-0 win over the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford behind 16 strikeouts from sophomore pitcher Grace Gilmore. None of us knew it at the time, but that game would be the last of 2020 for any Bennie squad.

“We had no idea of the storm that was brewing that was about to take over athletics, education and our lives,” said Click.

That week, the sports world quickly shut down. And on March 13, the NCAA announced the cancelation of all winter championships and the entire spring season, starting what would become the longest offseason in history for CSB athletics. On July 31, the offseason was

extended* when the MIAC presidents voted to postpone all athletic competition through Dec. 31.

Practices, workouts and team activities continued throughout the fall in accordance with state, local and college guidelines. Teams began by practicing in pods of no more than 10 athletes, then slowly grew to include the whole roster.

There have been complete shutdowns when COVID numbers on campus got too high, but coaches learned quickly to make the most of each and every session they had with their teams.

“I feel very lucky to have a focused, positive and patient team,” said CSB swim and dive coach Mandy Wolvert,

“I really have to give the credit back to this group – specifically the captains – for attacking this school year with such a positive attitude and great perspective,” Click said. “They were robbed of a season last year and the future is still unknown, but this team and the coaches are having a blast together. When adversity hits, people can have one of two reactions: they can feel sorry for themselves and crumble, or they can rise to the challenge and be positive, strong leaders that make coaches like myself so proud.”

“In a world where everything is restricted and our social worlds are limited, being able to be part of a team has never meant so much,” Wolvert added. “While our groups may be small, we still get to be together, doing what we all love. I tell them that I am thankful for every day we have in this sport and we need to make the best of it.” *At the time of printing, the MIAC Presidents were scheduled to meet on Dec. 14, 2020, to make a decision regarding competition for winter sports like swimming/ diving in 2021. A decision on fall and spring sports like softball will be made at a later date.

LOOK AT HER GO • #BENNIENATION and gobennies.com.

Winter 2020 | 9

AMERICAN WOMEN AND COVID-19: THE PANDEMIC REVEALS AN URGENT CALL TO ACTION BY | DR. SUCHARITA SINHA MUKHERJEE

The global COVID-19 pandemic is a once-acentury catastrophe. And, like all catastrophes, the burden of COVID-19 has been uneven and has fallen disproportionately on the shoulders of women.

However, COVID-19 did not create gender inequalities in America. Instead, by bringing to the fore persistent gender inequality in labor markets and the burden of unpaid work disproportionately done by women, it has laid bare the urgent need to address gender inequality for furthering the economy forward.

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THE “HEALTHY” ECONOMY? No other statistic captures gender inequality in the economy as starkly as the wage ratio between female and male earnings or the gender wage gap which, despite increasing from its low value of 62% in 1979, has remained quite stubbornly in the 80-82% range since 2004. Median labor income earnings for women have stagnated since the 1990s and female median income as a percentage of male income was around 77% according to the 2018 Census data.

Females comprise only 27% of the top 10%, 16% of the top 1%, and 11% of the top 0.1% of labor income earners. On the other end of the spectrum, the percentage of females in poverty has consistently been higher than the percentage of males. And even with the decline in poverty reflected in the economic boom since 2010, 12.9% of American females were poor relative to 10.6% of American males.

12.9% 10.6%

PERCENTAGE OF AMERICANS IN POVERTY

Race-gender intersectionalities place Hispanic and Black women at the bottom of the ladder, and the gender wage gap within each group means more females in poverty than males in each racial group (Chart 1). Contrary to popular perception about minimum wage workers, the National Women’s Law Center notes six out of 10 minimum wage workers are women, including two-thirds of such workers in Minnesota. A disproportionate share of minimum wage workers are women of color.

One truly bright and encouraging spot for American females has been education.

According to latest available data from the National Center for Education Studies, in 2018, more than 90% of females above 25 years had completed high school, compared to 89% of males. Of those females, 35% had a bachelor’s degree or higher compared to 34% of males. Since 2014, females have outnumbered males in terms of this metric for every racial group apart from Asian Americans (among whom males and females both have high college achievements).

Another data point showcasing the hard work and commitment of women is that, in almost every year for which labor force data is available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), female labor force

MINIMUM WAGE WORKERS ARE WOMEN participation rates have steadily increased (Chart 2). The booming labor market since 2017 had been progressively drawing more females into the labor market and, to the delight of economists, American females occupied a majority (50.04%) of the payroll jobs in January 2020, prompting hope for “self-reinforcing” equality in the labor market (according to labor economist Betsy Stevenson). Further, data supports the finding that an increasing number of women in the labor force helps increase men’s wages as well.

CHART 1

EARNINGS (in current dollars) 1500 1250 1000 750 500 250

Total Women

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White Men

African American

Asian

Hispanic

Michelle Budig and Paula England of the University of Pennsylvania have found a 7% wage penalty for American women, per child. This penalty is partially explained by loss of experience and duration of employment (full- or parttime). Their finding is supported by data showing that even though female graduates start employment at a more equal footing, females above the age of 35 earn significantly less than their male counterparts, and male earnings relative to female earnings increase from 1.3 times in the age cohort 20-34 to 2 times in the age cohort 55-64.

CHART 2

LABORFORCE PARTICIPATION RATES (Population above age 16) 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 1950 Women

1960 Men

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2019

Total

The juxtaposition of these facts is bewildering. If women have higher rates of college graduation and have been entering the labor market in big numbers, why are they still earning less than their male counterparts? It is true that both men and women with higher education earn more than those with lower levels of education.

It’s also true that the gender gap is lower for women with college degrees (but not for those with master’s or professional degrees). But economists largely agree that the level of education is shedding less and less light in explaining the gender wage gap. More potent explanations (according to multiple economists including Francine D. Blau and Lawrence M. Kahn) come from the nature of occupations females are engaged in, the duration for which they are engaged in those jobs and the extent to which their traditional gender roles as homemakers and mothers impede or enable them to engage in the paid labor market.

Gender segregation of occupations in the labor market from the BLS data shows that while women are largely engaged in management and professional jobs and services like education, health care and legal services, within those occupations they hold lower-paid positions. Women find roles like public relations and fundraising managers (71%), human resources managers (74%), dietitians and nutritionists (92%), nurse practitioners (87%), paralegals

and legal assistants (89.6%), and preschool and kindergarten teachers (98.7%). Not surprisingly, each of these jobs pays substantially less than lawyers, physicians and surgeons, general managers and operations managers, which are maledominated positions within the same broad category. Persistent gender roles and stereotypical expectations from women (and men) explain why women disproportionately occupy these positions.

According to the latest American Time Use Survey, men worked in their paid employment 48 minutes more than employed women and full-time employed men worked 0.6 hours more than full-time employed women. However, on the days they did household activities, the women spent 2.5 hours in housework compared to 1.9 hours for men. Further, in households with children below 18, married mothers employed full-time spent 1.37 hours caring and helping household children compared to 0.88 hours for married fathers employed fulltime. And in households with children below six years, married women employed full-time spent 2.27 hours on average on caring for children compared to 1.34 hours for married fathers. It is important to note that this division of labor has been pretty much consistent over time, and gender roles are sustained even in the growing percentage of families where wives outearn husbands.

While all of this sounds quite dismal, it can be directly tied to the lack of legislation which has proven beneficial for furthering gender equality in our peer countries in Scandinavia, Western Europe or Canada.

Legislation favoring gender equality in U.S. labor markets has been largely absent and political support for such policy has been sporadic or missing altogether. An obvious testimony to this is the fact that the United States is one of the only nations in the world without federally mandated paid family leave. Another example is the lack of support for the Paycheck Fairness Act, which was introduced in Congress in 2009 to strengthen the 1963 Equal Pay Act and eliminate loopholes which sustain genderbased pay gaps. The bill lies in the U.S. Senate 11 years hence, even though it was passed again in the House of Representatives as recently as 2019.

A combination of these factors meant a pre-pandemic economy where American females, under the double burden of domestic duties and paid work, were operating on a largely unequal playing field.

While an increase in skill and bargaining power in a tight labor market seemed to be serving them, the pandemic all too obviously revealed the fragility of those gains.

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WELCOME TO THE “SHE-CESSION�

The SARS-CoV-2 virus has instigated one of the worst recessions in modern memory, in large part due to the lockdowns or shutdowns triggered by the social distancing measures required to slow the transmission of the virus. According to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), there was a 32.9% decline in Real Gross Domestic Product in the second quarter of 2020, reflecting the sudden decrease in economic activity. Women accounted for 55% of those who lost jobs.

While labor force participation rates for both females and males have recovered from the jolt of the lockdowns in April, the gap between male and female participation rates has increased, showing that more females have dropped out of the labor force (Chart 3).

Not only have women withdrawn from the labor force, a relatively large percentage of those in the labor force have been unable to find re-employment, as evident from the high female unemployment rates since the beginning of the pandemic.

Female unemployment rates have been consistently below male unemployment rates since the 2000s and, at the height of the Great Recession in 2009/10, female unemployment rates were nearly 2 points lower than male unemployment rates. Analysis indicates that recessions typically hurt male-dominated sectors like manufacturing and construction and female unemployment is boosted as women typically take up employment to boost household income. While the booming labor market in recent years has led to unemployment rates converging between sexes, the COVID-triggered lockdowns in

WOMEN ACCOUNTED FOR

OF THOSE WHO LOST JOBS CHART 3

2020 LABORFORCE PARTICIPATION RATE (Population above age 16) 70

65

60

55

50 Jan Women

Feb

Mar

Men

Source: Calculated from BLS data

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Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

a majority of states have disproportionately affected women. As lockdowns have relaxed and unemployment rates for both males and females have come down in recent months, the 8.5% unemployment reported in the economy in August 2020 reflected a more than 1% higher unemployment rate for females relative to males (Chart 4).

CHART 4

In particular, women comprised 57.6% of the total employed in service occupations according to the BLS in 2019. This is the broad category of occupations hardest hit by the pandemic, with 13.4% unemployment.

Looking within this category, some of the highest rates of unemployment for men and women were in food preparation and serving-related occupations, followed by personal care and service occupations, both of which were occupations employing a majority of females.

MALE AND FEMALE UNEMPLOYMENT RATES 2020 16

meaning that people need these services (e.g., haircuts), many of which are a relatively low share of the budget, and therefore do not vary much with income.

This also implies that, unlike previous recessions where demand could be stimulated to help boost manufacturing and construction, the uncertainty of the pandemic and social distancing triggered by it will not lead to a rise in the demand for services like salons, restaurants, daycare centers and nursing homes any time soon, and some of the gains made by females in the labor market may be lost permanently.

The National Women’s Law Center reports that women workers were just two of every five workers gained back in September.

14 12 10 8 6 4 2 Jan Women

Feb Men

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Total

The sharper impact of the pandemic on female employment is a reflection of the gender-based occupational segregation of the labor market discussed above. Sectors like hospitality, education and health care, which absorb a majority of females, have been worst hit by the pandemic. As state and local governments lay off workers, a larger share of these workers are women as well.

Within these sectors, women are less likely to work in jobs that allow telecommuting and more likely to work in jobs requiring faceto-face interaction. Even as small business owners, women are more likely to own businesses requiring customer interaction.

Another broad area engaging females was management, professional and related occupations, where females accounted for more than 70% of those employed in education, training and library occupations.

Unemployment in these occupations was among the highest and more so for women than men. Other female-dominated occupations like office and administrative support also figure among those with the highest unemployment rates.

THE SHARPER IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC ON FEMALE EMPLOYMENT IS A REFLECTION OF THE GENDER-BASED OCCUPATIONAL SEGREGATION OF THE LABOR MARKET.

Most female-dominated service-sector jobs, unlike the male-dominated ones in manufacturing and construction, are generally considered “recession-proof,” Winter 2020 | 15

MOTHERS ARE

3X

MORE LIKELY

THAN FATHERS TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MOST HOUSEWORK AND CHILDCARE DURING THE PANDEMIC

The pandemic has not only hurt sectors engaging more women, it has also increased the burden of unpaid work on the women who are still employed. The Kaiser Family Foundation survey found a larger percentage of women with children worried about potential income and/or work hours lost due to the pandemic than their male counterparts. And economic reporter Chabeli Carrazana observed earlier this year that women have reduced their work hours more than men for caregiving labor.

BLS data shows that a higher percentage of females (35.8%) relative to males (29.2%) were identified as “job leavers” in August 2020. And while the BLS does not document the cause, considerable anecdotal evidence suggests that pandemic-driven closure of schools and daycare centers is directly associated with the decline in female labor market participation. McKinsey & Company’s 2020 report on Women in the Workplace reveals that in the corporate sector, mothers are three times more likely than fathers to be responsible for most housework and childcare during the pandemic, and mothers are spending an extra 20 hours a week on these activities – almost half as much as a full-time job.

It is important to note the effect that these pressures are having on women across the board, including ones with decisive voices within organizations, thus potentially erasing decades of strides toward equality.

McKinsey & Company note the effect of the pandemic as a “critical moment for corporate America” where “exhausted or burned out” women workers are struggling under the pressure of added childcare responsibilities. The weight of gender norms is heavy on women, many of whom feel “negatively judged because of caregiving responsibilities during the pandemic” or “unable to bring their whole self to work.”

Women leaving the corporate workforce could stall or reverse the painstaking progress women were making during pre-pandemic times. This raises concern, given that women were already a minority in the corporate sector, compromising 47% of workers at entry level with a mere 38% presence at the managerial level and only 33% at senior manager or director. Those numbers for women of color are even more concerning – 18%, 12% and 9% respectively.

16 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

THE WAY FORWARD Benefits of gender equality for an economy make sense both intrinsically and instrumentally. Some estimates suggest that increased participation of women in the labor force has led to the U.S. economy being $2 trillion larger than it would have been otherwise. Yet we have largely ignored policies promoting gender equality, particularly related to the workplace.

The pandemic is cruel, exhausting and messy. But, ironically, such moments in history provide a chance to gain perspective and take action. For example, the Great Depression ushered in the New Deal to provide a stronger foundation for the American economy. This pandemicdriven she-cession presents us another such opportunity to support and enact lasting change.

The notion of choice is central to the American economic system. It is, therefore, imperative to have policies which provide that freedom by creating an institutional framework supporting equality. Skills and education acquired by American females aren’t enough when we’re living in an environment where they have less time and energy for paid work.

While an increasing number of Americans favor equality in the household and workplace, mothers continue to be looked upon as primary caregivers. We also hurt men by continuing to implicitly support the male breadwinner model. It is about time we realize that fundamental changes in social norms are necessary to help women, men and the economy. While some research suggests that fathers may be forced to change their gender roles and increase their time spent in childcare, more immediate changes may be possible through public policy.

Our reluctance to enact family friendly policies including childcare support has in large part been guided by our belief in families as private spaces. However, given that families are critical producers and nurturers of children who become future taxpayers and productive citizens, it is imperative to view families with a broader view deserving of public support. By revealing the obvious ties between the public and private work spheres, the pandemic has

shown that family friendly policies related to childcare are unavoidable. Affordable childcare is increasingly out of reach for middle income families and average spending on childcare is around 10% of family income for families with children below 5 years. According to Rasheed Malik, senior policy analyst at the Center for American Progress, that percentage is even higher for low-income families.

vulnerable to losing their livelihoods. As we battle misogyny in varied forms from sexual harassment to mansplaining to the different standards we have for female leaders vis-à-vis males, we need to pay attention to the inequalities within our homes and realize that all these inequities are part of one continuum which reinforces women’s secondary position in society and in particular the public sphere.

To begin with, the 1993 Family Medical Leave Act needs to be strengthened to extend paid leave and childcare support for both women and men. Unattended bills like the 2017 Childcare for Working Families Act, introduced again in 2019, deserve serious attention. The pandemic has already triggered some positive changes such as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), passed by Congress in March 2020, which provides among other things paid family medical leave for COVIDrelated issues including childcare needs.

The FFCRA is, however, incomplete as it is related specifically to the pandemic and it provides only two-thirds of salary for only 12 weeks and is mandatory only for private employers with between 50 and 500 employees. The bicameral Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act is another great example of policy which, by providing childcare support, would help women, men and society.

It is also important to understand that lasting change cannot make a difference without a fundamental change in the way we view work and expectations for different genders. American women have been fighting an uphill battle for equality for centuries. As a society, we have failed to support them and encourage their effort while benefitting from their paid and unpaid care. And as a society, we must now support efforts which help them have – as Mary Wollstonecraft put it in 1792 – true power “over themselves.”

In the process, we will also benefit men and society as a whole.

As we deliberate on family friendly policies, we also need to keep in mind policies for bumping up the federal minimum wage, which would disproportionately benefit women. Important to mention among these workers are childcare workers, 96% of whom are women, who are paid among the lowest of any category in the economy.

Once again, legislation remains incomplete with the bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour by 2025, passed by the U.S. House, remaining stuck in the Senate.

COVID-19 has drawn attention to the need for us to develop a holistic view of our economy beyond the stock markets and attend to our caregivers, our mothers and our essential workers, who not only get paid less for their labor but are also most

Dr. Sucharita Sinha Mukherjee is a professor of economics and the Economics Department Chair at CSB/SJU. Her research centers on economic development, economics of gender, gender and development, Asian development and pedagogies in economics.

IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT LASTING CHANGE CANNOT MAKE A DIFFERENCE WITHOUT A FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE IN THE WAY WE VIEW WORK AND EXPECTATIONS FOR DIFFERENT GENDERS. Winter 2020 | 17

PERMISSION

REST BY | ELLEN HUNTER GANS ’05

18 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

“New research shows COVID-19’s impact on gender” - FORTUNE “Working moms are hit harder by the pandemic” - FORTUNE “COVID-19’s detrimental effect on gender equality” - CATALYST.ORG “Study reveals gender inequality in telecommuting” - YALE

These are all real headlines. Perhaps you saw some of them? Or perhaps you just read Dr. Mukherjee’s fantastic analysis in the pages leading up to this page?

On the other hand, perhaps you didn’t have time to read the articles because you are the article.

You’re exhausted. You’ve been in survival mode for months. You have the sense that there’s an imbalance, an insidious force tilting things too heavily toward you, but you’re too busy keeping the boat upright to figure out where the leak is, let alone plug it.

We hear you.

We are you.

You are not alone.

Regardless of what’s on your plate – whether you’re nursing a baby or the “kids” are back home again (for how long, exactly?!) – whether you’re supporting a vulnerable relative or missing your own support system – whether you’re holding up the community or holding on by your fingernails … it’s a lot.

Here’s the thing: It has been a lot for a long time. We were captaining that boat long before March 2020 and we took over the helm from the mothers and aunties and grandmothers and teachers and godmothers and mentors who captained it before us.

Women are conditioned to gauge our own value, to a large extent, based on who we are to other people. That has been entrenched for millennia. We are neighbors, mothers, spouses, sisters, employees, leaders, daughters, friends. You can’t shed these roles (nor would you likely want to). But you can stop conflating the role with your fundamental worth.

There’s probably already self-talk that’s resisting this idea.

While you’re at it, you can also stop conflating your productivity with your fundamental worth.

Right. And those things will still be there in 30 seconds, or five minutes, or a few hours, or whatever you can make space for. Those roles aren’t going away, and neither are your to-do lists. We know that women will likely be the social longhaulers picking up the pieces after this pandemic finally abates. But you don’t have to white knuckle through until then.

You’ll be better equipped to show up in the way you want to, for all of those things and more, if you give yourself permission to pause and rest.

Now, more than ever, in the midst of a crisis most of us never imagined, hear this: You are worthy. You are enough.

You’ve heard this before, right? Probably on an inspirational t-shirt or Instagram post. But did you really hear it?

Consider this your formal invitation to let that in. If you’re reading this, you are enough as you are, and you are worthy.

Right now, that worthiness includes being worthy of rest: judgment-free, no excuses, just because rest.

Take a pause. Give yourself permission to just be. No judgment. For this moment, treat yourself like you’d treat another Bennie who came to you – worn down, scared, tired, spread too thin and having all of that exacerbated by an unrelenting feeling of being not enough.

But the dishes …

But the kids …

But the work piling up …

But the looming global economic collapse …

The rest of this magazine will be here, too. Put it away for a bit.

This is the opposite of a call to action. It’s a call to rest.

WE’LL WAIT. YOU’RE WORTH IT.

Winter 2020 | 19

S S E C C U OF S

20 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

By the time you receive this magazine, the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University will have just concluded one of the most unusual semesters in the history of either institution. The ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated some odd and sometimes awkward changes and restrictions in nearly every facet of campus life. There were challenges, frustrations, disappointments and missed opportunities, to be sure.

But, in the midst of all the weird, as we sift through the rubble of what went on, it turns out there just might be some gems worth polishing. We’ve found some successes worth carrying forward when all is said and done.

Winter 2020 | 21

Stretched-out move-in

Knock, knock English Department instructor John Kendall sees an upside in this year’s proliferation of video meetings. “I’ve found that meeting with students individually is actually easier,” he says. “Now, that’s not to say I’d rather meet via Zoom – in person is ALWAYS best. However, when students have a writing question or an advising question, they actually don’t have to get out of their chair to ask – they can jump into my virtual office hours. Zoom knocks on my door for them.

When the wackiness is over, I’ll continue to offer the Zoom virtual office hours as an alternative to physically coming to my office.”

First-year move-in day at Saint Ben’s is traditionally chaotic as nearly all first-year students roll in on a single day. It’s exciting and energetic and nearly everyone looks forward to it. It wasn’t broken, so no one really thought about fixing it.

Associate Professor Alicia Peterson, chair of the Chemistry Department, agrees. “Having all these meetings virtually has helped reduce barriers to access,” she observes. Beyond that, she’s seen advantages for faculty. “Having department and campus committee meetings virtual has allowed more people to attend who previously were not able to.”

Live and learn

This year though, things needed to be spread out. First-year movein was stretched out to cover not just Thursday but also Friday morning. All students were assigned a three-hour block of time for their arrival and move-in and were directed to their residence hall’s check-in zone. “We assigned students their times based on geographic locations in the buildings, managing elevator use and also making sure that sisters were moving in at roughly the same time,” says Christy Brown, director of residential life and housing.

Check-in zones were located outdoors to eliminate bottlenecks – which they did with great success. And, as the days went on, students, families and even staff all commented frequently that they preferred having a more scheduled, longer move-in process.

“I don’t know if any of us were expecting that,” says Brown, “but we were glad to hear it. And it is certainly something we’re considering for future move ins.”

Reoriented orientation Traditionally, Orientation Weekend for first-year students goes on from the moment they arrive on move-in Thursday through the end of the weekend. CSB and SJU pride ourselves on our sense of community, but … it’s a lot.

This year, with a goal of reducing face-to-face time with large groups, the Student Activities team created a website using Canvas, our learning management system. “It wasn’t meant to take the place of in-person orientation, but it allowed us to deliver a lot of that content in a different way,” explains Lacey Solheid, associate director of programming and orientation. “We could never replace the treasured in-person experience of orientation. But using Canvas lets those students get the content on a platform they’ll be using for their classes. So they are already exposed to Canvas by the time they get to class.”

22 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

None of us have ever navigated a pandemic like this before. So accounting professor Boz Bostrom (SJU ’95) gets a pass for an early misstep in Block A. For the next blocks – and moving forward into spring semester – he’s come up with a better way. Kicking off Block B, Boz posted on Facebook: “My goal isn’t to be perfect the first time out, or really anytime out for that matter. Rather, I just try to get a little better each time. In A block, I went to have students introduce themselves on Day 1, which due to masks and social distancing turned out to be one of the dumber ideas I have had. So, for the new batch of students in B block, I used a private Flip Grid page to have them post a mask-free welcome video. I had the TAs also post a welcome video so that the students know who else they can reach out to. I will then watch these videos several times between each class, and should have all 33 of their names down within a couple days.”

Strange Stories of Success

Holding courtyard

“Many of our buildings were built in an era when courtyards were a big part of design,” notes Ryan Gideon, executive director of facilities. “But, for years, they have gone largely unused other than for a visual break if you were in a space overlooking one. With COVID, these courtyards have provided us a means for faculty to lead classes in open air. We created plans a year ago to enhance some of these courtyards and draw people in. COVID has been a spark for making that happen.”

Patricia Kent, assistant professor of voice in the CSB/SJU Music Department, has been making use of one of the courtyards in the Benedicta Arts Center (BAC). “These open spaces give students another way to connect with the outdoors and I’m so grateful we were able to utilize them this fall to give voice students an opportunity to sing for each other and to have face-to-face lessons.

At our first outdoor studio class, the students commented how much fun it was to see and perform for each other, even with masks!”

“We have construction plans in place to add improvements to the north BAC patio, including decorative lighting and ability to charge electronic devices,” says Gideon. “Mary Commons courtyard was used a lot this fall for lunches and social gatherings. We installed a gas fire pit to extend its use later into the year.”

Virtual rock stars This fall, in an effort to deliver safe and socially distanced leadership development training for student leaders, the Student Activities team hired speaker and musician Jason LeVasseur of the Rock Star Project to hold five weekly virtual training sessions.

“I refuse to allow this pandemic to be the focus of my entire college journey – it is just a minuscule part of it. I am focusing on being very intentional about how I live these next few months of my college journey. I am more grateful.

Finding joy in the little things. And most importantly, being more present. The loss of my uncle to COVID was a wakeup call for me to live my life with a sense of urgency.’’

Angela ’21,

political science major

“Personally, I feel like virtual events are looked down upon by lots of people,” says Lacey Solheid, associate director of programming and orientation. “But I don’t think people should be so quick to write it off. I have been able to see some incredible engagement by our students with the presenters and their fellow students during the presentations. I think we will definitely be looking at how we can use and leverage technology to deliver highquality content to our students. We definitely won’t be doing everything online, but we have had some really great successes.”

Winter 2020 | 23

Hitting it out of the park

COVID crucible?

“I might be an outlier in my thoughts on teaching in the block format, but I found some things to celebrate,” says Roy Ketchum, associate professor of Hispanic studies and Latino/Latin American studies. “Because of the pace, we had to dive right in, and students responded well. By the second day, they had warmed up to each other and were already willing to take some risks and be vulnerable with the learning process. I felt like students were generally more present in the classroom and more engaged listeners – particularly to each other.

Sometimes this semester, it’s been less about “ideas we’ll carry forward” and more about “opportunities to stretch our ‘think differently’ muscles”. Early in the semester, accounting professor Boz Bostrom (SJU ’95) posted on Facebook: “I’ve teamed up with Johnnie alums Scott Becker (SJU ’77) and Cary Musech (SJU ’80) in teaching a course on Private Equity. Had COVID not hit, tonight’s class would have been held in a typical classroom. But due to COVID and social distancing limitations, only about half the students could have attended in person and the rest would have watched online. So, we hauled out my PA system, projector, screen, tables, etc. and held the class at the Saint John’s baseball stadium, and it was perfect. Tonight, we won.”

“I think that masks, social distancing, etc. are going to be the new normal for a while. I am very appreciative that CSB/SJU has implemented so many policies to promote these things and to keep everybody safe.’’

Britta ’22, biology major

24 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

“Using the hybrid technology may have had something to do with that. Out of necessity, we became comfortable with pausing, asking people to repeat, adjust the volume or step into the mic or camera. I think the little bit of extra effort we often had to make demonstrated that each voice was valued, whether it was coming from down on the floor (in the classroom) or from up in the cloud (connected remotely).

“I also found that students collaborated well both in the classroom and in projects that I assigned for them to complete on their own.

I think the intensity of the experience helped cultivate a genuine feeling of community. In a group where half the students were first-years and this was their first college experience, that was important. On our closing day, I offered an opportunity for them to share some words of gratitude and hope for each other. All the way around the circle (COVID appropriate, of course), they were eager to stay in touch and keep looking out for each other. It had something to do with what they had shared together in relation to the course content (a new Culture and Social Differences course) but I think it also had a great deal to do with the intensity of being and learning together in the block format.”

A truly global classroom Kingshuk Mukherjee, associate professor of global business leadership, has taught his Operations and Supply Chain Management class since 2008. This semester he was able to give it a positive new twist.

This semester, the four-credit class partnered 30 CSB/SJU undergrads with 11 master’s students from Thakur Global Business School in Mumbai, India, via Zoom. Students participated in online classes and projects together.

“This is the first time we have partnered virtually with our partner in Mumbai (Thakur Institute of Management Studies and Research, of which Thakur Global Business School is a part) to have a student-to-student exchange,” says Mukherjee. “We have professors from both institutes involved as co-coordinators, along with departmental and institutional support.”

Strange Stories of Success

Studying supply chain management with input from international voices makes perfect sense to Elena Branca ’21, from Plymouth, Minnesota. “This is the epitome of what our global business leadership major is trying to prepare us for,” she says. “Our world is dependent on a diverse set of strong business leaders from all over. We work better together.”

“We are all virtually connected now,” explains Mukherjee. “This ‘global classroom’ will be a new trend for higher education. The hyflex technology, along with the cameras in the classroom, gives an added effect of being in a real class with a global group of students.”

Learning to adapt

Creating Connections Gina Honek ’19 is the residence director for Regina Hall. And one of the most common things she heard from her residents early this fall was, “I want to meet new people.”

Most years, orientation groups are constructed drawing from across the first-year residence halls. “This year, orientation groups tended to be made up of people that lived on the same floor,” Honek explains. “And that made perfect sense. But it limited connections across halls.”

So Honek developed Creating Connections. “The premise is simple,” she says. “I send out a link that asks about interests and three words they would use to describe themselves. After a certain deadline, I gather the data and start matching students.”

“I definitely picked the interesting year to be an RA,” observes Stephanie Honnold ’22. “I think the hardest thing about being an RA in COVID times is making those connections with my residents – whether by Zoom or meeting in person while social distancing.

Learning to adapt to change quickly has been one of the most important things I have learned this year.”

The global business leadership major from Minnetrista, Minnesota, is crystal clear in her personal priorities and what she stresses for her residents: “I am here to get my education on campus. All the restrictions are straightforward and, if the restrictions are what keeps us on campus, then I’m going to follow them. Many of us have been affected by COVID-19 in some form – whether having the virus ourselves or knowing a loved one who’s had it – so we know the importance of keeping each other safe.”

Matches meet up for a meal or a movie or an activity – all based on their shared interests.

In just the first block, Creating Connections paired up around 20 individual students and another 15 sets of roommate pairs – so roughly 50 students. “I find it powerful when bright, young college minds are able to unite over new experiences and interests and exchange meaningful dialogue,” Honek concludes.

“I’m so glad to be back on campus at least for a little bit, so I can remind myself how good it feels to be surrounded by my peers in my own environment before we get sent home again. I think I’ve learned to not even expect the unexpected – you have to just roll with anything thrown your way and trust that things will be better in a few years.’’

Kayla ’22,

history major

Winter 2020 | 25

I’M A BENNIE

MELISSA PETRANGELO SCAIA ’96 STANDING AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE “My time at CSB prepared me for looking at global issues and analyzing them and their human impact,” says Melissa Petrangelo Scaia ’96. And the global issue that has driven her career is domestic violence.

After graduating from Saint Ben’s, Melissa went on to Hamline University to pursue her master’s (writing her thesis on the effects of domestic violence on children) and her doctorate (writing her dissertation proposal to address supervised visitation, children and domestic violence).

Today she is an international expert on violence against women and serves as the director of international training at Global Rights for Women. In January 2019, she piloted an international research project to determine if it is viable to work with domestic violence offenders using videoconference software such as Zoom.

26 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

“We did that study for one year and then COVID-19 happened,” she says.

“We never knew when we started this research how important it would be during COVID-19.”

The findings of that report proved crucial in helping domestic violence offender programs to continue during the global pandemic. “During COVID-19, domestic violence murder and incidents have dramatically increased around the world,” Melissa continues. “Here in the United States, calls to prevention hotlines have increased by 30%.”

Before her role at Global Rights for Women, Melissa served 17 years as director of a domestic violence shelter and also worked as director for the iconic Duluth Model domestic violence prevention program. The Duluth Model was an innovative development in its multi-disciplinary approach. According

to the Duluth Abuse Intervention Programs website, communities employing the Duluth Model have “shared policies and procedures for holding offenders accountable and keeping victims safe across all agencies in the criminal and civil justice systems from 911 to the courts.”

Major at CSB

Melissa is proud of her Bennie roots, and this fall she was able to pay that forward a bit by welcoming a Bennie intern into her research. “Hannah Sobhani (’22, political science major from Burnsville, Minnesota) was critical in our research on how domestic violence offender programs are using videoconference technology,” she says.

Favorite Bennie memory

Political science

First-year residence hall Margretta

Favorite class: Any class with Professor Phil Kronebusch I loved debate in political science classes and living on campus with all women. I also loved the concerts on campus and J-Term classes.

CLASS NOTES

MILESTONES

1998 Jodi Friedrich Berndt was appointed to

the American Association of Critical Care Nurses’ (AACCN) board of directors for a three-year term. The AACCN is a specialty nursing organization with a membership of over 120,000 critical care nurses across the nation.

1957 S. Stephana Choong, OSB, celebrates

her 60th jubilee this year. After taking her vows in 1960, she taught science courses at Saint Benedict’s Convent in St. Joseph, Cathedral High School in St. Cloud and St. Cloud Hospital, where she instructed nursing students. After earning a Ph.D. in plant physiology from the University of Minnesota in 1978, she taught at the University of Minnesota-Morris before taking a research scientist position at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis. While teaching and research were her ministries before she retired in 2006, S. Stephana was one of nine founding members of St. Andrew Kim in 1973, a Korean parish in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

1999 Charitie Meyer Herbst was named

manager of community solutions at Sourcewell (Staples, Minnesota) in July ’20. Four years ago, she started at Sourcewell as the regional county contract coordinator, managing social services contracts for a five-county area. She was also the coordinator for the Region V+ Adult Mental Health Initiative. Charitie completed her MBA in Dec. ’19.

2008 Jessica Handwerk Wildes was

promoted to Communications and Economic Development Director for the City of West Bend, Wisconsin, July ’20.

1978 Laura Norton retired after 42 years as

a flight attendant (from North Central to Republic to Northwest to Delta Airlines), Aug. ’20.

2016 Molly Minnerath is a master of divinity

graduate student at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, scheduled to graduate in May ’21.

2017 Kenea Andrews earned her master

of public health degree from Mercer University, Aug. ’20.

2018 Ryan McCanna is a freelance writer based in the Twin Cities.

MARRIAGES 2010

2010 Hadley McIntosh Marcek is a volunteer

contributing writer for Geobites, a platform focused on sharing scientific research for a general audience. One of her written pieces is called “Unexpected consequence of permafrost thaw: Potentially less methane released to the atmosphere.”

She also started a blog, “Engaging with Environmental Scientists.”

1984 Nancy Bishop Polomis was named to the

Best Lawyers in America 2021 list. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the most respected peer review publication in the legal profession.

1987

2015 Alyssa Chromy Hutcherson and her spouse, Michael, launched an online children’s ministry business: TrueBearTV. They are a TV studio that makes children’s shows from their home: a mixture of puppetry and animation.

2012 Allison Plunkett was recognized by Best Lawyers as “One to Watch in America,” Aug. ’20.

’10

2014 Lauren Kessler was named a 2020

’87

JEANINE BRAND, an assistant

county attorney in Cass County, was named a judge for the 9th Judicial District by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, July ’20. Brand, who has 25 years’ experience as a prosecutor, primarily handles sexual assault, domestic assault, child endangerment, protective-order violations and controlled substance cases in Cass County.

Michelle St. Martin Fischbach is the 1988

United States Representative-elect for Minnesota’s 7th congressional district after defeating incumbent Collin Peterson with 53.4% of the vote (to Peterson’s 39.9%).

She will assume office on Jan. 3.

1991 Patricia “PK” Kriha, senior vice president

for employee health and benefits at Marsh & McLennan Agency, is a 2020 Women in Business award winner from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, July ’20. PK received this award because of her outstanding professional achievements, leadership qualities and contributions to the broader Twin Cities community.

Finance & Commerce Rising Young Professional, Aug. ’20. Lauren is a Colliers MSP senior associate.

Mai Choua Yang, also known as Yao Yaj, was featured in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (July ’20) for her role as executive director of the Minnesota Hmong Chamber of Commerce, which she does simultaneously with her position at the St. Paul Area Chamber.

ENISE KINGSLEY TO D MATTHEW NIESEN, MARCH ’20 2012

Julie Zaborowski completed a master’s degree in business in Leuven, Belgium (June ’19) and now works as a digital technology analyst at Accenture in Brussels, Belgium.

2015 Kayla Bolland-Hillesheim earned her

doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Minnesota, Aug.’20.

Nicole Cornell, MS, OTR/L was recently published as a pediatric occupational therapist in The Message newspaper for her research article addressing the spiritual needs of both parents and children with special needs.

’12

ANGELA EBBEN TO PETER HOLUPCHINSKI ’10, DEC. ’19

Krystal Heinen earned her doctor of pharmacy degree from the University of Minnesota, May ’20.

2013

Jill Kraemer to Taylor Johnson, Aug. ’20

For complete news and notes from classmates and to post your notes, go to BenniesConnect: csbalum.csbsju.edu or email us at csbalumnae@csbsju.edu.

Winter 2020 | 27

CLASS NOTES

2015

’15

JESSICA ALKIRE TO PATRICK MARTIN ’20 (SOT), MAY ’20 2015

Emily Gould to Conor Mckenna, Sept. ’20

Kelly Jo Hanlon to Logan Busch, Aug. ’20 Elizabeth Hansen to Ismail Umer, June ’20

’15

TAYLER-BRIANNA HUSTON TO ERIC BOYSEN ’15, JULY ’20 28 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

2016 Emily Boettcher to Oliver Johnson, Sept. ’20

Joslyn Brugh to Bobby Thomas ’15, June ’20

Olivia Irwin to Sean Ring, Sept. ’20

2017

Katie Monahan to Michael Fischer ’15, Aug. ’20

Margaret McGraw to Daniel Moore, July ’20

Anna Schaefer to Desmond McKeown ’15, Sept. ’20

Megan Schroeder to Ambrose Puttman, July ’20 Amanda Tate to Isaac Nelson, June ’20

Meredith Liu to Trent Matthes, July ’20

Rachel Wolfe to John Celander, June ’20

2018 Samantha Athmann to Luke Jokela, Sept. ’20

Aryana Chellgren to Zachary Schneider, 2019 Aug. ’20

Amanda Whebbe to Ryan Fuxa ’15, April ’20

Breanna Gates to Mitchell Kuck ’16, Aug. ’20

2016 Stephanie Bierman to Jake Peterson,

Hannah Schumacher-Renner to Andrew Ducote, June ’20

Aug. ’20

CLASS NOTES

’19

EMELINE BRUDWICK TO DANIEL GILLIS ’18, SEPT. ’20

BIRTHS / ADOPTIONS 2003

’03

DARCIE WALDVOGEL BOOGAARD & TIMOTHY BOOGAARD, BOY, BENJAMIN, SEPT. ’19 2004 Heidi Ramler Fletcher & Paul Fletcher, boy, Hayes, June ’20

2005 Annikah Colon Moaratty & Sean Moaratty, boy, Oren, June ’20

ANNA BARTON TO JOSHUA AMACHER ’18, AUG. ’20

’18

’05

ATASHA HETRICK WARD & N JOHN WARD, GIRL, CECILIA, MARCH ’20 Winter 2020 | 29

CLASS NOTES

2006 Danielle Purcell Lohbeck & Eric

2008 Raeleen Rasmussen Fandrich &

2010

Danielle Simpson Pellitteri & Tim Pellitteri, boy, Joseph, April ’10; girl, Ryhan, Sept. ’15; girl, Drew, April ’19

2009 Brooke Miller Carrow & Jacob

Jennifer Tong Kroll & Chase Kroll ’09, boy, Tristan, July ’20

2007 Alice Lousberg Kindseth & Kyle Kindseth,

2010

Lindy Watanaskul & Zachary Bikus ’07, girl, Corrine, June ’20

Katherine Mandelin Houglum & Tim Houglum, girl, Sophie, Aug. ’20

Lohbeck, boy, Hayden, June ’20

girl, Ava, April ’20

Robert Fandrich ’08, twin girls, Gracelyn & Makenzie, Aug. ’20

Carrow ’11, boy, Carter, Sept. ’20 hayla Swartz Blaschko & Paul S Blaschko, girl, Lydia, Aug. ’20

LAUREN GOOLEY BRANDT & BEN BRANDT, GIRL, LILY, JUNE ’20 30 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

andy Libbesmeier Krippner & Mark M Krippner, boy, Barrett, July ’20

Katie Schlick Lisson & Todd Lisson, boy, Henry, Sept. ’20

2012 Katie Elmquist Grausam & Andrew Grausam ’11, boy, John, Aug. ’20

’10

CLASS NOTES

2012 Michelle Peltz Hoffman & Jason

2013

Alyssa Sinner Meuwissen & Josh Meuwissen ’12, girl, Lydia, July ’20

2014 Melissa Stuckey Hardy & Preston

Hoffman ’08, boy, Caleb, July ’20

Jennifer Josephs O’Leary & Travis O’Leary, boy, Liam, July ’20 Cassandra Dorschner Pauly & Clint

Pauly, girl, Annie, Dec. ’19

ikayla Mages Bruggeman & William M Bruggeman, twin boys, Brody & Weston, Sep. ’20

2015

Hardy ’14, boy, Jerah, May ’20

Sara Tiemens Lee & Garrett Lee ’14, boy, Gavin, May ’20

Alexandrea Milan Pendergrass & Ben Pendergrass, girl, Penelope, July ’20

E mily Roberts Roane & James Roane ’14, boy, Henry, Aug. ’20

2013

ICOLE BEHNE ELFERING & NICHOLAS ELFERING ’13, N BOY, ADAM, AUG. ’20

’13

talk LET’S

’15

J ENNIFER KRETSCHMER TERSECK & JOHN TERSECK ’15, GIRL, HARPER, AUG. ’20

Let’s start the conversation now, so your voice can carry on through generations. A legacy gift of any size pays exponential returns. It’s an investment in ambitious, promising women – women who will honor your legacy with transformative, world-changing impact. Make a bequest through your will or trust, name CSB as a beneficiary, or establish a charitable gift annuity.

The choice is yours.

Your legacy is in good hands.

’13

Contact Gigi Fourré Schumacher ’74 at gschumach001@csbsju.edu or 320-363-5480 and learn more.

Winter 2020 | 31

CLASS NOTES

2015

my Knutson Hall & Jacob Hall ’14, A boy, Andrew, Sept. ’20

Hailey Schwietz Martell & Thomas Martell, boy, Charlie, June ’20 Jennifer Schmitz Sonnenburg & Joshua Sonnenburg, boy, Carter, May ’20

2016 Alyson Pulvemacher Happ & Adam Happ ’15, girl, Rylee Jo, July ’20

Emily Stommes Nikko & Josh Nikko, girl, Claire, July ’20

2017 Tess Troyak Reller & Jeremy Reller ’17, girl, Etta, Sept. ’20

Emily Tamm Schlangen & Bryan Schlangen, boy, Hank, July ’20

DEATHS 1931 1935 1939 1940 1942

Hildegard Lorsung Gappa, May ’14 Julia Kulla Peters, March ’09 S. Helen Kilzer, OSB, June ’17 Renee Rosenberger Kreilkamp, Aug. ’14 Maxine Bradford Cerise, Aug. ’13

S. Lois Klimek, OSB, Jan. ’09

1943

Frances Whalen Murphy, June ’17

Gloria Welna Posterick, April ’13

S. Sheila Quirk, OSB, Dec. ’97

1944

Serena Puetz Buckhaus, Oct. ’16

S. Britta Coyne, OSB, Feb. ’05

1944

Marie Rotta Fowler, Dec. ’19

Laverne Wirth Mayerhofer, Jan. ’13

1977 William Ellenbecker ’14, son of

Kathryn Anderson Ellenbecker & John Ellenbecker ’78, Aug. ’20

Betty Jean Smith Traut-Szujewski, Sept. ’13

1980 Bernard Lenz ’54, father of Kathryn

1947 1949

S. Sheila (Shirley) Rausch, OSB, Aug. ’20

1981

Helen Diemert, July ’20

Therese Towey Murray, Aug. ’20

1950

Jean LaBerge Mickelson, July ’20

Caroline Petsch Bardoulas, July ’20

Mary “Margaret” Simon Scheller, mother of Anne Scheller Flynn ’85, June ’20

1952 Barbara Pluth Thomes, mother of Catherine Thomes Behrens ’80, Sept. ’20

1963 Meredith Lindrud, Sept. ’20 1964 Rose Marie Schoeneberger Prietzel, April ’20

1967 Janet Mullenberg Jones, mother of Lisa Jones Tepolt ’93, July ’20

1968 1973

Mary Flynn Nantell, Aug. ’20

ildred Gans, mother of Carol Gans M Jansen, Judith Gans Anderson ’74, Janice Gans Poepping ’77 & Mary Gans Schmitz ’82, Sept. ’20

K athryn Schnobrich, mother of Susan Schnobrich Anker & Debra Schnobrich Schleper ’81, Sept. ’20

Lenz Martin, March ’20

harles Greene, father of Debra Greene, C July ’20

1984 George Gottfried ’58, father of Julianne

Gottfried Malcolm, Elizabeth Gottfried Tilak ’87, Kathryn Gottfried Randall ’91 & Sarah Gottfried ’02, July ’20

Rita Evans, mother of Mary Kay Evans Sinner, Sept. ’20

Marlene Vogel, mother of Joan Vogel Skluzacek, Aug. ’20 William Erpenbach, father of Theresa 1985 Erpenach Rosehthal, Aug. ’20

Gregory Cummings ’56, father of Anne Cummings Schmidt, Aug. ’20 Ann Cronin, mother of Sheila Cronin, 1986 Aug. ’20

Edward Kaz, father of Trude Kaz Sowada, Aug. ’20

Robert Tomsche, father of Kim Tomsche & Kelly Tomsche Winter ’94, April ’20 Jean Hammar, mother of Christine 1987 Hammar Rosenhamer, July ’20

Sigrun Hovland, mother of Heidi Hovland 1988 & Karen Hovland Peterson ’91, Aug. ’20

Sandra Motzko-Frahm, July ’20

1989

F rances Sorenson, mother of Amy Sorenson Goettl, July ’20

Barbara Carlson, mother of Christine Carlson Pounds, Sept. ’20 Robert Stoermann, father of Julie 1991 Stoermann Notsch, July ’20

ichard Balow, father of Susan Balow R O’Connor & Kristin Balow Giles ’94, Sept. ’20

Zeno Gohman, father of Linda Schwab, Sept. ’20

YOU THINK YOU LIKE SAINT BEN’S, BUT DO YOU

REALLY? CSB and SJU on social media are great, but the CSB Alumnae Association has a whole stream of alum-specific content to keep you up-to-date and connected. Like and follow us everywhere!

32 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

facebook.com/SaintBensAlums linkedin.com/groups/64647 twitter.com/saintbensalums instagram.com/SaintBensAlums

Arlene Zurn, mother of Julie ZurnPfaffendorf, Sept. ’20 Kathleen Friedrich, mother of Lynne 1992 Friedrich Schaffler & Catherine Friedrich, Sept. ’20

1993 Brandie Johnson Fortado, July ’20 1994 Rudolph Gapko ’60, father of Lisa Gapko Barker, June ’20

Andrew Oravetz, father of Greta Oravetz 1996 Kramer, July ’20

Diane Lange, mother of Kerri Lange Timm, July ’20 Jack Sullivan, father of Bridget Sullivan 1997 Hammond, Sept. ’20

Mark Mitchell ’97, spouse of Megan Morrissey Mitchell, Aug. ’20

CLASS NOTES

Lynne Larson, mother of Christie 1998 Larson Hamak, Sep. ’20

1999 Colleen McLaughlin, Aug. ’20 Richard Casey ’67, father of Andrea Casey Rieck, Erin Casey ’01 & Meghan Casey ’03, Sept. ’20 Ceylon Mace, mother of Jennifer 2000 Mace Andrew, Sept. ’20

Martin Moser, father of Kelsey 2004 Moser Stokkeland, July ’20

2005 Amanda Marek, Aug. ’20 2006 Nicholas Briese ’06, spouse of

Nicole Huebner Briese, July ’20

Daniel Schmidt, father of Corrine Schmidt & Mary Schmidt Nyhus ’12, July ’20 Diane Nolan, mother of Michelle 2008 Nolan Hawkins, Sept. ’20

Bruce Hendrickx, father of Melissa 2009 Hendrickx, Feb. ’20

2013 Christine Cohen, July ’20 2014 Claire Kelly Jansen, July ’20 Thomas Justin, father of Callie Justin, 2016 Sept. ’20

Gregory Marquette, father of Quinn 2020 Hynes-Marquette, Aug. ’20

THEY WANT TO KNOW! Your friends – your classmates – Bennies who’ve never met you. … They want to know about the important moments and milestones in your life. So let us know so we can let them know. Tell us about your promotions, awards, babies, weddings and loved ones whom you’d like folks to remember.

It’s not bragging, it’s just sharing.

Register in BenniesConnect at www.csbsju.edu/csb-alumnae to stay up-to-date all around. Or simply email csbalumnae@csbsju.edu.

Life is better when

BenniesConnect When Bennies connect, old friendships thrive and new friendships blossom.

Use BenniesConnect to submit class notes, update your address, check on a friend and plant the seed for more meaningful connections— both personally and professionally.

To register, go to www.csbsju.edu/csb-alumnae and click on the BenniesConnect link.

Winter 2020 | 33

BENNIE CONNECTION

1 1.

This group LOVES celebrating Bennie Day at Shakopee Area Catholic School, where there are a total of 15 CSB/SJU alums on the school and parish staff! Pictured are Julie Dawson Larsen ’03, Joan Pfaffinger Fering ’83, Jenna Odenthal Heimer ’12, Bruce Doyle ’79, Allison Notermann Mertz ’02, Courtney Bush ’03 and Kati Hoen Mousel ’02.

2. T hese class of 2007 Bennies met on Aurora D and have been besties ever since! They gathered for a little late-night soul-filling session on Bennie Day 2020 in true social-distance fashion. From top to bottom: Megan Kurtz Engelke, Beth Miller Griffin, Jenny Gray, Sarah Meyer Thompson, Abbe Coen McCabe, Megan Peterson Christofield and Megan Mastrian Young.

3. E lizabeth Schneider ’06 did not want to miss the opportunity to share her spirit on Bennie Day 2020. She posted on Instagram, “Happy Bennie Day to the amazing Bennies I get to call my sisters and friends, the Bennies who helped make a Saint Ben’s education possible for us and the Bennies of today, tomorrow and beyond. Once a Bennie, always a Bennie!”

4.

These lovely alumnae work together at Oak Ridge Elementary School of Leadership, Environmental and Health Sciences in Eagan, Minnesota. They were showing their pride on Bennie Day 2020.

L to R: Nancy Reesor Snodgrass ’86, Colleen Fosbury Frank ’00, Michelle Martinez ’20 and Liz Schroeder ’02.

5.

When they couldn’t meet up on Bennie Day 2020, this group organized a socially distanced meet-up in Otsego the weekend before. Pictured are Heather Niemi Merritt ’00, Kristi Kelly Laliberte ’00, Kelly Hruska Klinepier ’00, Jill Koenig Wines ’99 and Karen Ronningen Jones ’99.

34 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

3

2

5

4

BENNIE CONNECTION

6. B ennies gathered in June ’20 in Grapevine, Texas, at the wedding of Hannah Schumacher-Renner ’18.

Pictured are Michelle Ozanich ’18, Hannah Schumacher-Renner ’18, Madison Morris ’17, Lauren Rabe ’18 and Mikaela Wand ’17.

6

7

8

7. Madison Morris ’17 (left) shares a special wedding moment with the bride, her sister, Maggie Morris Graves ’14, Sept. ’20. Maggie married Dylan Graves ’14 on the Saint John’s campus.

8. M ary Weber ’13 took time to show her Bennie pride on Instagram with a colorful “Wohooo!” for Bennie Day 2020.

9. Both Bennies and Johnnies shared their love and best wishes in August at the wedding of Breanna Gates ’19 and Mitchell Kuck ’16. Back row, L to R: Jared Nelson, Chase Luebker ’16, Nathan Kuck, Mitchell Kuck ’16, Breanna Gates Kuck ’19, Ryan Phillips, Joe Risinger ’16 and Mitch Wollin ’16. Front row, L to R: Madi Green, Ashley Gates, Macy Kelly ’17, Sidney Schiffler ’20, Ally Kubista ’22 and Alex Johnson ’20.

9 Winter 2020 | 35

SUSTAINERS GET THE

BIG PICTURE WHEN YOU SPEND JUST A FEW MINUTES SIGNING UP TO BECOME A SAINT BEN’S SUSTAINER ONLINE, YOU’LL GET …

• the comfort of knowing your regular (monthly or quarterly) gifts are providing real scholarship support for today’s Bennies.

• the peace of mind of knowing your gifts happen automatically – there’s nothing for you to remember.

• the pride of knowing that your comfortable, recurring gifts quickly add up.

And now you’ll also get this great set of four colorful notecards, showing off some of the most identifiable parts of our campus.

Mail them as greetings or keep them for yourself as colorful reminders of a place you’ll always be able to call home.

MEET THE ARTIST Maggie Eli ’17 is a graphic designer here at Saint Ben’s. As a student, she majored in art, with emphasis on book art and computer art, and added a communication minor. Though she works remotely from her home in Washington State, her heart never leaves this campus. So when we asked her to capture some of her favorite sights and spots, she knocked it out of the park with a series of colorful prints that pop off the page. We hope they bring about great memories of your own connections to campus!

LEARN MORE AND BECOME A SAINT BEN’S SUSTAINER TODAY AT GIVECSB.COM/SUSTAINERS.

36 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

GENEROSITY

Clarifying Your Legacy BY | GREG SKOOG (SJU ’89)

Jennifer Bruns Myers ’03 was a psychology major and a track and field athlete at Saint Ben’s.

“My senior year I took a sports psychology class,” she recalls.

“And I loved the whole concept.

Once I found out that I could marry two disciplines together – sports and psychology – I’d discovered my direction. So I moved on to graduate studies to further my education and I really focused on what it meant to be a female in a sports world, or a health and fitness world.”

Today she’s come full circle and works to trigger that same level of excitement while instructing on health psychology topics at Concordia University-St. Paul. At the same time, she’s a consistent giver toward scholarships at her alma mater.

“Currently, my dollars go to our Bennie Gamechangers – I support the track and field and cross-country teams,” she says. “I hate the idea that a girl would be denied the opportunities I had just because the financial resources wouldn’t be there. I just can’t speak highly enough about my years on the track team. That really cemented for me what it means to demonstrate loyalty, demonstrate empathy, demonstrate stewardship … and then be able to go and apply that in the real world.”

Recently Jennifer discovered the connection Saint Ben’s Alumnae Association has with FreeWill – and the ability to create a will quickly, and for free. “It was easy. It was just a few clicks and some yes-or-no questions.

The hardest part, honestly, was finding a notary,” she laughs.

She wasn’t quite sure what to expect, though she acknowledges that she and her husband have a fairly straightforward financial situation. “We didn’t have a lot of complicated financial questions that needed to be answered. So, for me, it was the perfect tool for my husband and I to fill out and give us some peace of mind.”

Beyond the speed and simplicity of FreeWill, Jennifer was impressed with the flexibility. “It’s changeable. If your financial circumstances change, you

change it. But it was great to have a template – a starting place. I think that’s what’s scariest for a lot of people.”

Since then, she hasn’t been shy about her enthusiasm. “I did let everyone in my social circle know,” she admits. “You know, we like to group-text our stuff, so I took a little picture and said, ‘I’ve got my paperwork all ready here!’ ” For a young alumna, Jennifer found the experience a little eye-opening. “It does make you think about your legacy. What are my priorities right now? What is my purpose? What kind of things am I hoping that I’m demonstrating to others with my role modeling and behavior?”

Find out more about getting your quick, easy, free will today at freewill.com/will/getstarted.

Winter 2020 | 37

NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID TWIN CITIES, MN PERMIT NO. 93723

INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT 37 South College Avenue St. Joseph, MN 56374 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

We’re counting on you ... and so are they.

CSB/SJU Referral Day

January 15, 2021 We’re counting on you to help us recruit an amazing group of new Bennies and Johnnies!

At the same time, young people you know are counting on you to unlock $4,000 in scholarships for them – and with the Alum Referral Scholarship, all it takes is your referral.

Start thinking about the students in your life, then watch for details on this 24-hour sprint to collect a broad and diverse collection of referrals. We’re all counting on you!

Visit csbsju.edu/refer today to learn more.