Winter 2021 Quarterly

WINTER 2021 800 WEST COLLEGE AVENUE SAINT PETER, MINNESOTA 56082

Why

Love Winter

We

From right to left: Anna Sexton, Malia Kabis, Ally Rakow, Abby Moe, Andrea Cruz Bracamontes, and Itzell Martinez—all sophomores—celebrate their first on-campus, in-person Homecoming from the first row of the student section of Hollingsworth Field. It was a beautiful

Thru-hiker Emily Ford ’15 on the coolest season

day for alumni, students, parents, staff, and friends to be together, including a 36-21 football win over Concordia in the MIAC opener.

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WATER WORLD Out on George Lake, it’s hands on (your paddles) learning

5

A DEEPER DIVE A new use for the Dive space: the Center for Inclusive Excellence

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CLASS NOTES What your fellow Gusties have been up to

For Alumni, Parents, and Friends WINTER 2021 | VOL. LXXVII | ISSUE 4 STA F F Chair, Board of Trustees Scott Anderson ’89 President of the College Rebecca Bergman Vice President, Marketing and Communication Tim Kennedy ’82 Vice President, Advancement Thomas Young ’88 Director, Alumni and Parent Engagement Angela Erickson ’01 Director, Editorial Services Stephanie Wilbur Ash | sash@gustavus.edu Alumni Editor Philomena Kauffmann | pkauffma@gustavus.edu Visual Editor, Production Coordinator Anna Deike | adeike@gustavus.edu Design Brian Donahue | bedesigninc.com, Jill Adler | adlerdesignstudio.com, Sydney Stumme-Berg ’22 Contributing Writers JJ Akin ’11, Sara Cronk ’22, Rachel McCarthy, CJ Siewert ’11, Miguel Sousa

Before the Gustavus choirs sing the first notes at Christmas in Christ Chapel, CHRIS BLASCHKO has already been at work for days—giving the students a stage for their talents.

Chris is a one-man moving crew at Gustavus. With experience gained in his years on a Navy supply ship, Chris is the person the College calls upon when it’s time to move lab equipment, classroom desks, or biology specimens. His biggest challenge comes every December. The choir risers for Christmas in Christ Chapel are an 1,800-piece puzzle that take three days to assemble.

Gustavus depends on people like Chris. They might work behind the scenes, but their skill and experience are invaluable. So is their commitment to our students.

Gifts to the Gustavus Fund also don’t get the spotlight. But they are essential. Together with the gifts of other members of the Gustavus community, your contribution provides the foundation for the College’s mission-driven work. The Gustavus Fund sets the stage for our students to develop their talents and shine.

Please give to the Gustavus Fund today. Without the dedication of people like Chris, Gustavus would not be able to serve students. Without your gifts to the Gustavus Fund, their good work would be impossible.

Contributing Photographers Jean Burns, Nick Campbell ’18, Terry Clark Photography, Emily Ford ’15, Corbyn Jenkins ’20, Lucy Johnson ’24, Lydia Kalenze ’21, SPX Sports, Evan Taylor ’12, Nick Theisen ’15, LynnAnne Vesper ’93, Ryan Weber ’22, Luke Yang ’22, Jesse Yeakle, Gustavus Adolphus College Archives Printer John Roberts Company | johnroberts.com Postmaster Send address changes to the Gustavus Quarterly, Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement, Gustavus Adolphus College, 800 W. College Ave., Saint Peter, MN 56082-1498 GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE Saint Peter, MN 56082 507-933-8000 | gustavus.edu Articles and opinions presented in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or official policies of the College or its Board of Trustees.

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The Gustavus Quarterly (USPS 227-580) is published four times annually by Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter, Minn.

Periodicals postage is paid at Saint Peter, MN 56082, and additional mailing offices. It is mailed free of charge to alumni and friends of the College. Circulation is approximately 32,500.

Gustavus Adolphus College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association.

Sculpting in Schaefer Fine Arts during an evening snowfall.

Chris Blaschko

GIVE TODAY! The Gustavus Fund | gustavus.edu/give

IN THIS ISSUE

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HANDS ON (YOUR PADDLES) LEARNING

The first lab of Geochemistry of the Environment was all hands on deck as students dropped canoes into George Lake.

12 22 29

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THE WONDERS OF A GUSTIE WINTER

On the hill and out in the world, Gusties brace for and embrace the “coolest” of seasons.

KEEP WALKING

Emily Ford ’15 thought she knew winter. Then she solo

IN EVERY ISSUE

thru-hiked Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail in February.

4

VÄLKOMMEN

26

FINE ARTS

5

ON THE HILL

28

HERITAGE

ENDOWMENT ON THE RISE

9

SHINE PROFILES

35

MY GUSTAVUS

36

GUSTIES

44

VESPERS

Even during the darkest days of the pandemic Gustavus boasted success—with the growth of the endowment

24

SPORTS

led by the Gustavus Investment Committee.

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GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2019

2

Hands On (Your Paddles) Learning

The first lab session of Geochemistry of the Environment was all hands on deck in September. Students— mostly first- and second-years—dropped canoes into George Lake on a warm Tuesday to collect water samples, gather data, and make field observations. The class is an interdisciplinary partnership between geology and environmental science, and most students aren’t majors in those departments (though this kind of open-ended, collaborative research exploration has changed the course of a few student lives). “Students brings their backgrounds with them to the field,” says professor Julie Bartley. “We don’t give them a formula or worksheet with a prescribed list of things they have to do. Instead, they’re exploring water quality together.” Because science is a shared adventure, bow to stern.

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GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2019

Välkommen WITH NEW EYES

I remember the first campus snow of my first year of my presidency. I walked along Eckman Mall in awe of the campus’s transformation. I had been to campus often as a Gustie parent and as a member of the Board of Trustees, so I knew the beauty of this place in all seasons. Still, that first winter of my presidency remains special. One day I walked out of my office in the Edgar M. Carlson Administration Building and it was fall, autumn leaves drifting from the sky.

Then, the white flakes. The next day, I woke to the hill as a whole new world, covered in a clean blanket of snow. I fell in love with our campus all over again.

This year on the hill, as we cautiously emerge from a global pandemic, the move toward winter is both a new beginning and a return home. The return of in-person classes has reminded us all of the power of learning in community. The ability for students to work collaboratively with faculty and staff has reinforced

Scott P. Anderson ’89, MBA (chair), Senior Advisor, TPG Capital Catherine Asta ’75, JD, Attorney at Law Grayce Belvedere-Young, MBA, Founder and CEO, Lily Pad Consulting Rebecca M. Bergman (ex officio), President, Gustavus Adolphus College Suzanne F. Boda ’82, Former Senior Vice President, Los Angeles, American Airlines Robert D. Brown, Jr. ’83, MA, MD, Staff Neurologist, Professor of Neurology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, and John T. and Lillian Matthews Professor of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic Kara K. Buckner ’97, President/Chief Strategy Officer, Fallon Worldwide Janette F. Concepcion, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Concepcion Psychological Services Edward J. Drenttel ’81, JD, Attorney/Partner, Winthrop & Weinstine Bruce A. Edwards ’77, Retired CEO, DHL Global Supply Chain John O. Hallberg ’79, MBA, Retired CEO, Children’s Cancer Research Fund John M. Harris ’92, PhD, Associate Director, Protiviti Mary Dee J. Hicks ’75, PhD, Retired Senior Vice President, Personnel Decisions International

competitions have brought forth our students’ tremendous potential. Our campus has begun to feel more like itself.

Keith N. Jackson ’89, JD, Assistant General Counsel, Aon

And this year, we come to winter with new eyes, filled with gratitude for the things we missed last year. For our sophomores, the Class of ’24, this academic year is their first with in-person classes, sports, fine arts performances, and co-curricular activities. That class, as well as the rest of our campus community, is experiencing a Gustavus that, after 18 months of disruption, feels new, special, and wonderful.

Last year, we often could not be physically together, and yet we learned how to stay connected while physically distant. The theme of our 2021 Christmas in Christ Chapel service, “We Shall Go Forth Singing,” reminds us to move forward with a song in our hearts no matter the circumstance. This year, I will welcome all of winter, the way snow falls on the Granlund sculptures, the way the Evelyn Young Dining Room, filled with students, glows as I leave my office in the evening, the way the trees trimmed with lights brighten Eckman Mall with cheer.

This winter, I will feel blessed. I hope you will too.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

B OA R D O F T R U S T E E S

The Rev. Alicia A. Hilding ’08, Co-Pastor, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, New Prague, MN; President, Gustavus Adolphus College Association of Congregations

the best of Gustavus liberal arts. In-person fine arts performances and athletic

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G U S TAV U S A D O L P H U S C O L L E G E

Yours in community,

The Rev. Peter C. Johnson ’92, Pastor of Service and Small Groups, St. Andrew Lutheran Church Paul R. Koch ’87, Managing Director–Private Wealth Advisor, Senior Portfolio Manager, Koch Wealth Solutions, RBC Wealth Management Dennis A. Lind ’72, Chairman, Midwest Bank Group, Inc. Jan Lindman, MBA, Treasurer to the King, The Royal Court of Sweden The Rev. Dr. David J. Lose, Senior Pastor, Mount Olivet Lutheran Church Gordon D. Mansergh ’84, MA, MEd, PhD, Senior Behavioral Scientist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (serving in a personal capacity) and Past President, Gustavus Alumni Association Mikka S. McCracken ’09, Program Manager, WW CSPXT, Amazon Jan Ledin Michaletz ’74, Past President, Gustavus Alumni Association Thomas J. Mielke ’80, JD, Retired Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Kimberly-Clark Corporation Bradley S. Nuss ’97, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Nuss Truck & Equipment Marcia L. Page ’82, MBA, Founding Partner, Värde Partners The Rev. Dr. Dee Pederson, (ex-officio) Bishop, Southwestern Minnesota Synod, ELCA

Rebecca M. Bergman President, Gustavus Adolphus College

The Rev. Dr. Dan. S. Poffenberger ’82, Senior Pastor, Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church Karl D. Self ’81, MBA, DDS, Associate Professor, University of Minnesota School of Dentistry Kent V. Stone ’80, Retired Vice Chairman, U.S. Bancorp The Rev. Heather Teune Wigdahl ’95, Senior Pastor, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church

ON THE HILL

One of the goals of the new Center for Inclusive Excellence is to make a space where “you can be who you are, and where you are appreciated for who you are.”

A DEEPER DIVE

In February of 2020, the space formerly

old Dive dance floor is the performance

express their culturally diverse talents

known as The Dive (once a swimming pool,

area. The rest of the Dive space can hold

and skills on the mic,” says Kareem

once offices, once a café and coffee house)

an ample audience; it’s quadruple the size

Watts, assistant director of the Center

transformed again. Now it is home to the

of the former Diversity Center space in

for Inclusive Excellence, who joined the

Center for Inclusive Excellence, formerly

Jackson Campus Center.

Gustavus community in 2020. “Place and

One can’t help thinking that the Artist

Audiences show up. The last four Lyrical

space are very important, especially for

Cafés have maxed out COVID-19 and

underrepresented students, to feel a sense of

Formerly Known as Prince would be

post-COVID-19 room capacities. Gusties

belonging,” Watts says.

pleased, particularly by one of the most

have turned out with enthusiasm to receive

The Center for Inclusive Excellence

popular events coming out of the Center:

students’ artistic truths about (so far) Black

welcomes all folks to the new space. Attend

the Lyrical Café.

history and future, women’s history, Latinx

campus events that promote diversity,

heritage, and the first-generation college

equity, inclusion, and social justice. Meet

experience.

and become acquainted with someone who

Every fourth Friday, students and other members of the Gustavus community share their music, poetry, dancing, and other performance art in an open mic setting. The

“Everyone is invited and this is an opportunity for BIPOC students to

you believe is unlike yourself. It is dedicated space for finding common ground.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

known as the Diversity Center.

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ON THE HILL

ALUMNI AND FRIENDS STUDY TOUR TO THE HOLY LAND Gustavus invites you to travel to the Holy Land with alumni and friends, led by professor emeritus Darrell Jodock and Chaplain Rev. Grady St. Dennis ’92. From their own travels, they’ve crafted a journey to engage your mind, body, and spirit. Daily devotional thoughts and educational sessions accompany and enhance each experience. Registration is open now.

Oct. 10–23, 2022 Visit gustavus.edu/president/tours to learn more.

“WE SHALL GO FORTH SINGING” Christmas in Christ Chapel will be a celebration of resilience through song, dance, and spoken word. It will feature the Gustavus Choir, Choir of Christ Chapel, Christ Chapel Ringers, Gustavus Symphony Orchestra, Lucia Singers, and dancers.

Dec. 2–Dec. 5 In partnership with Heroic Productions, Christmas in Christ Chapel will be broadcast online on December 4 at 7:30 p.m. CST and archived. See gustavus.edu/events/ccc.

LUND ON THE RISE Construction continues on “The Wedge,” the 72,000 square-foot expansion of Lund Center that will include new cardio and strength training facilities, group workout rooms, a student lounge, and offices for athletics coaches and staff. In keeping with campus tradition, locally-quarried Kasota stone was installed on the exterior of the addition before glass was installed in October.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

“The Wedge” and the rest of Phase I will conclude in April. Phase II—renovation of the existing building—will then begin.

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Over

9,000 Approx.

weekday morning services have been held in Christ Chapel

3,500 PIPES in the Christ Chapel organ

YEARS

of Christ Chapel

6 INAUGURATIONS of Gustavus Presidents held in Christ Chapel (excluding interim Presidents)

Frank Barth 1969 | Edward Lindell 1975 | John Kendall 1981 | Axel Steuer 1991 | Jack Ohle 2008 | Rebecca Bergman 2014

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Social Justice Events have been held in Christ Chapel

187 FEET Christ Chapel Spire Cross is 187 feet high

8 Royal Visits 8 visits by Swedish Royalty from 6 different family members

Countess Estelle Bernadotte 1962, 1964 | Princess Christina 1972 King Carl XVI Gustaf 1976 | Prince Bertil and Princess Lilian 1979 King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia 1982, 1996, 2012

47 CHRISTMAS IN years of

CHRIST CHAPEL

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

MLK Lectures | MAYDAY! Lectures | Building Bridges Conference

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ON THE HILL

CAMPUS SOCIAL @gustavusadolphuscollege @gustieathletics

INSTAGRAM

TWITTER

@gustavusadolphuscollege Vintage Gustie planners show Rundstrom Hall in 1947, still etched with the words: “May all who thru these portals pass bring peace and joy within.” Some things never change! #tbt @gustavus @gustavusadolphuscollege

Behind the scenes at the virtually

Amid a statewide drought, geology majors CJ Miller and

reimagined Nobel Conference 57!

Elizabeth Lawrence have spent this summer taking water

#whygustavus #Nobel57

samples to study the quality of local rivers.

@gustavusadolphuscollege It’s a beautiful summer day to finish off the first week of classes

#whygustavus @gustavus The Gustavus Homecoming court poses at halftime with royalty

Follow /gustavusadolphuscollege

FACEBOOK

Jack DeGonda and Gigi deGrood! #whygustavus

Welcome to your home on the hill Class of ’25!

—With 40 percent of you graduating in the top 10 percent of your high school class, you are poised for success at Gustavus. #Gusties25! #gogusties #whygustavus

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | FALL 2021

10:00 a.m. Time for Reflection

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For the most part, technologies are neither evil nor good.

They are implemented by human beings and human institutions, and so we have to shape those institutions in the right ways.

—Dr. Pilar Ossorio at Nobel Conference 57: Big Data REvolution

Follow @gustavus @gustiealum

SHINE: ROLAND THORSTENSSON From boreal winter to spring flowers THE PROFESSOR EMERITUS AND FORMER DIRECTOR OF SCANDINAVIAN STUDIES ON ONE OF HIS LEGACIES: THE SWEDEN TODAY PROGRAM.

Fifteen or so years ago, college president James Peterson asked Thorstensson to design a custom program to Sweden for Gustavus students. Thorstensson hesitated—among other reasons, he was close to retirement. Then he thought, “Why not try to put together a program unlike all others that exist?”

The result is the unique and popular Sweden Today program: a semester in Sweden that even includes a stay above the Arctic Circle. The course immerses students in “both the northernmost and southernmost parts of this long country,” he says, from a few weeks in Lapland during the boreal winter to the extreme south of Sweden near the contiguous European continent in the spring. “From extreme white winter to verdancy and spring flowers,” Thorstensson says.

He also wanted student to experience all different aspects of Swedish culture and life—urban and rural, highbrow and more popular culture—as well as different kinds of nature and geography.

And, he says, “They had to experience Sweden among Swedes, those whose ancestors had lived there for centuries and those who had recently made Sweden their home.”

A Swede himself, from a farm in Småland, Thorstensson came to Gustavus when he was 24.

During their first few years here, he and his wife, Edi, were head residents in Uhler Hall. Today, almost 50 years later, they can see Uhler from their kitchen window, and near their front yard is the hill where Thorstensson learned to ski. “Fancy that. A Swede who learned to ski in the U.S.!” He still skis, and writes (in two languages), and stays active with Gustavus. He is pictured here in a sweater from another Nordic area, the Faroe Islands.

Now led by multiple professors, the Sweden Today

COMMUNITY

program is still popular with students in all majors.

Above the Arctic Circle, Thorstensson taught about the Sami, the indigenous people of northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland. “I wanted students to gain an understanding of and appreciation for Sami culture,” and carry that appreciation to indigenous cultures here.

ON THE HILL

SHINE: LILY ENGEBRETSON ’22 “The Nature Girl” SHE THRIVES IN THE MOST EXTREME CONDITIONS, AND SHE’S CREATING SPACE FOR EVERYONE IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS.

While sub-zero temps can drive even the hardiest Gustie indoors, Engrebretson straps on skis and leads the Mahtomedi High School Nordic Ski Racing team on the trails.

The sport takes grit, confidence, and self-motivation. It also kindles a love of winter, a love that has brought Engebretson back to the trails year after year.

“My eyes water when I’m skiing, so I get ice crystals that stay on my eyelashes,” she says. “It’s a magical feeling, and I feel like such an outdoors Nordic woman warrior when that happens.”

Now an assistant coach for her old high school team, Engebretson finds Nordic skiing a great way to boost mental health by staying active in the winter. At Gustavus, she encourages people to get outdoors year-round, to the point where her friends have affectionately dubbed her “the nature girl.” During the pandemic, she began leading meditation sessions in the Arb, and she’s spearheading a new electric bike program at Gustavus. She also helped establish a campuswide composting system, a big step toward the College’s goal to minimize waste.

Sustainability is personal to Engebretson. It means preserving a beloved sport that depends on a stable climate. And it means cherishing outdoor spaces that bring her peace as a human being.

“The Arb was the first place that felt like home to me on campus,” she says. “Two months into school, I walked into the prairie and the sun was setting, and it finally clicked that this is my space, and this is what will comfort me.”

An environmental studies and communication arts/literature teaching major, Engebretson wants to teach high school English at a magnet school affiliated with an outdoor learning center. She also plans to continue coaching, thus uniting the many passions she’s cultivated throughout her four years.

If there’s one thing she hopes to teach, it’s this: “Get out there.

Walk through the prairie, pick apples, nap in the Arb. It opens

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Climate change threatens Nordic skiers with unusually warm temperatures that can put the sport on pause for weeks. It also threatens the most vulnerable communities. Engebretson connects her sustainability work with a larger push for climate justice. “I’m very scared of the day we wouldn’t have snow,” she says.

JUSTICE

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

your eyes to so much of what the world has to offer.”

SHINE: ERIK GULBRANSON Life on the Ice IN ONE OF THE COLDEST PLACES ON EARTH—AND 250 MILLION YEARS IN THE PAST—HE PREDICTS THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET.

Oppressive cold. Deafening silence. Neverending day (or night). Low atmospheric pressure that warps the human body.

Nevertheless, Professor Gulbranson and his international colleagues have ventured to Antarctica five times over the past decade to study its ancient history in the hopes of predicting our future under climate change.

“We call Antarctica ‘the ice,’” he says. But turn back the clock 250 million years, and the glaciers we know today give way to forests of wildlife.

Gulbranson’s mission is to find fossil records of that bygone age, in often daring fashion. Whether he’s working at 13,000-foot elevations or jumping out of moving helicopters, every day is an adventure.

“I completely fell in love with working down there; there’s no experience that parallels it,” he says.

Gulbranson’s team is the first group in the world to use tree ring dating on fossilized trees from Antarctica. Before, scientists had to generalize climate data across centuries or millennia, but tree rings provide “an unprecedented perspective on paleoclimate,” he says.

He and his colleagues spend months collecting fossils from a lone campsite. In a place cold enough to freeze cooking oil, everyday tasks take on new challenges. One surprising comfort: SMS messaging.

Aside from texting friends and family, Gulbranson’s teammates are his only human connections. “We’re totally reliant on each other,” he says, which has led to close bonds even in the most isolating place on Earth.

The same can’t be said for Gustavus, where he’s discovered “a really unique cohort of students and wonderful undergraduate researchers.

For 10 years, Gulbranson has worked with the same core group of international collaborators. Though they study life millions of years ago, their work hypothesizes the future of species. “Antarctica Antarctica is one of the best places in the world to study the evolution of fossil plants,, and how that part of the world responds to climate change,” he says.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

E XC E L L E N C E

“I couldn’t imagine a better climate to work in.”

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The

Wonders of a

Gustie

Winter BOTH ON THE HILL AND OUT IN THE WORLD, GUSTIES BRACE

Our Winter Top 25 Hot List IT’S AN ADVENT CALENDAR OF THE

BEST

OF THE BEST.

FOR AND EMBRACE THE “COOLEST” OF THE SEASONS. HERE’S TO THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE SNUGGLY!

“WHO DECIDED TO BUILD THIS CAMPUS ON A HILL?” Sharon (Peterson) Silcocks ’62 asked in the Jan. 12, 1962 issue of the Gustavian Weekly. She went on to note that undergrads were confident there would never be a colder month than the January of ’62, and its hardships would be regaled for generations.

None of us here at the Quarterly have ever heard tale of January 1962, and it holds no weather records.

There are plenty of other, more dramatic winter tales on the hill.

The 1940 Armistice Day Blizzard, for instance, was likely the first time the college was officially “closed” for winter weather. The Great Storm of 1975 (the “Storm of the Century”) caused Mary Englar ’76 to declare, “My long years of hardening in Minnesota couldn’t stand up to the five-foot drifts in the Co-Ed parking lot,” and to speculate that Uhler might not make it to spring. (Spoiler alert: It did. It’s still here.)

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

And then there’s the Halloween Blizzard of 1991. See page 19.

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Winter on the hill also means snowshoeing in the Arb, Gustavus hockey, frequent Fika with coffee and sweet treats from the Caf, and many other formative and heartfelt experiences that make Gusties hardier, and hardy storytellers. “Winter is not a season,” Minnesota author Sinclair Lewis wrote, “it’s an occupation.” And for the alumni in these pages, winter is a large part of their life’s work. “Minnesota?

Yeah, it’s cold but it’s not such a bad place to live,” Englar wrote in the Weekly. Still, she probably walked up the hill both ways to get to class. And, like Gusties everywhere, delighted in telling the tale.

If you choose not to find joy in the snow, you will have less joy in your life but the same amount of snow.

1

St. Lucia

2

Snuggling up

Holiday Frost-Your-Owns

6

7

8

Traying down Old Main Hill

Broomball

3

Building a snowman

4

Snow ’mocking

5

Winds of Christmas

9 10

Snowshoeing in the Arb

Christmas in Christ Chapel

11 12 13 14 15 Lutefisk

Tropical plants in Olin Hall

Caroling

The Star Children

Shorts below zero

16 17 18 19 20 The Borgeson Cabin

The night sky

Trees covered in frost

The winter prairie

Fresh snow on Eckman Mall

21 22 23 24 25

Cold weather Gustie Gear

Tree decorating

Fika

Old Main, always

Sundogs over Christ Chapel

Chicken Noodle and Dumpling Soup #1 favorite winter food from the Caf according to an informal poll of current students. Close second: any dessert.

250

pounds of lutefisk served at Gustavus in December

“I used to think, how do people even live in below zero temperatures?”

Winter newcomers Serena Small ’22 and Sanjeeda Shutrishna ’22 on what they've learned the past four years.

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hours to plow all campus sidewalks and parking lots after a snowfall greater than two inches

30-40 people removing snow (by plow,

snowblower, or shovel) after such a snowfall

Small grew up mostly in Miami, Fla.; Shutrishna in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Winter in Dhaka means “it might be a little foggy in the morning,” says Shutrishna. Says Small, “My idea of cold was very limited. I thought snow would be like cotton—very soft.”

Well... “I learned that snow can be hard, like hail,” says Small. In winter, “the campus

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

seems so. much. longer.” She learned about seasonal depression, Vitamin D, and the

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importance of staying active in winter. Shutrishna learned “that when it snows, it’s not actually very cold. But when it doesn’t snow, that’s when it’s cold.”

4 a.m. time snow removal starts

it started snowing, not even very much,” says Shutrishna. “I said, ‘Mom! I have to call

140

you back!’ because I was so overwhelmed with how beautiful it was.”

used each winter

Her sophomore year, Shutrishna stopped focusing on the cold and instead focused on how beautiful winter is. “It’s a different type of beauty, and you have to really be in it to appreciate it.”

And there will always be that first time: “I was talking on the phone to my mom and

tons of salt and sand mixture

A Polaris Adventures trip in Steamboat Springs, Col., one of many available adventures around the northern U.S.

Consider the Snowmobile...

Tim Bruss ’07, senior manager of Adventure Operations for Polaris, on the pleasures of winter powersports.

Three Scandinavian Reads

Tim: Currently Polaris has 35 outfitters who run adventures in snow across the

Winter’s Tales by Isak Dinesen,

northern part of the U.S. We offer “business in a box”—that means we provide

a collection of stories by the

outfitters with the latest machines (snowmobiles and tracked, heated Rangers)

Danish author Karen Blixen,

and the ability to make adventure experiences in a safe way, with waivers, safety

writing under a pseudonym in

and operation training, personal locator beacons, and gear. Our job is to find

1942. She also wrote Out

the most epic ride locations and create adventure experiences. When someone

of Africa.

is asked, “Have you ever been on a snowmobile?” I want them to say, “Yeah, and it There are so many kinds of winter out there. One of our coolest snowmobile rides is

Ice Around Our Lips edited

by David McDuff, a robust

in Silverwood, Colorado. It’s a totally different experience than, say, the Black Hills of

collection of Finland-

South Dakota.

Swedish poetry.

Snowmobiles are powerful and exciting. You can climb a mountain in 90 minutes and get to epic locations inaccessible by any other means of transportation. You can ride all

Fairy Tales

day, every day, and never see the same thing twice.

by Hans Christian Andersen, some old

Polaris snowmobiling adventures in Minnesota can be found in Two Harbors,

favorites and some

Grand Marais, Ely, Tower, and Brainerd. adventures.polaris.com.

new to discover.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

was awesome.”

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A Winter’s Romance

There is no bad weather, only bad clothes.

The love story of Jennifer (Brown) Weber ’93 and Eric Weber ’95 as told by their daughter, Ryan Weber ’21 Ryan: It was Valentine’s Weekend and Case Day, 1992. Gustie Julie Wenschlag Wagner ’94 was having a party at her mom’s house.

My mom had seen my dad in the cafeteria earlier. He had gotten injured playing intramural hockey, and he had bandages around his head. She thought he was hot, I guess. She was like, “Oooh. He’s damaged.” Both my parents went to

Lessons from the Sled Dogs

Julie’s party. They danced to Garth Brooks. Let’s just say there was some

They know what they’re doing, and they love it, says winter adventure lead LynnAnne Vesper ’93.

drinking involved. For a week after they would just run into each other in the cafeteria. I don’t know.

Vesper took the Winter Expedition J-Term course in 1993, which ignited a fire

Maybe my mom was stalking him. Their first

for snow that turned into 30 years of leading advanced winter camping trips, winter

“actual” date was a frat

photography workshops, and dogsled adventures. Here’s what she’s learned

party in a barn. The next

from the dogs.

year, they both worked

Pay attention to how the past has shaped you. “I have come to appreciate

in the basement of Olin.

the Inuit sled dogs’ genetic heritage as hard-working animals who have lived alongside

They got married in Chapel in

Native people in the Arctic for many hundreds, if not thousands of years,” says Vespers.

June 1995, right after he graduated.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

They’ve been married now for 26 years!

16

“Every time we hook up the dogs, it is like touching a piece of history.”

Discover your happiest work—and be happy doing it. Sled dogs are useful

The 12 Days of Ugly Holiday Sweatshirts Katie Pearson ’16, Sadie NovakKlug ’18, and Tessa Mann ’18

Have fun out there. “A lot of people on our trips have fun recounting the dogs’

TOP 5 BEST “WORST WALKS ON CAMPUS”*

antics at the end of the day. We can go places with them that we couldn’t get to under

1. Sohre to Jackson Campus Center

our own power, and we have more fun doing it.”

2. Co-Ed (Norelius) to Schaefer

Left: Vesper leading an outdoor winter photography workshop. Right: Sled dogs doing what they love to do.

simply by doing what they love to do. “It is amazing to watch how much they love to work, to pull.”

Be strong. “So many times I have been amazed at how impervious the dogs are

Fine Arts (which begins with

to hardship. If it’s cold, or windy, or the snow is blowing sideways, they seem to say,

the walk across Parking Lot B, aka

‘Bring it on.’ The sled dogs remind me to embrace whatever the day brings.”

And as it relates to photography, it’s okay to take a bad photo. “If you are sneaking up on a dog (or any animal), snap a picture so you at least have something,” she says. Fill the frame with your subject (one subject), and experiment with backlighting. “The classic advice says, ‘Don’t shoot into the sun because you will get

“the Tundra”) 3. Complex to Swanson Tennis Center 4. Pittman to Co-Ed if you have a crush at Co-Ed 5. Rundstrom to anywhere

silhouettes.’ But if you can block the sun with something interesting, say a big pine tree or a snowshoe, you can get some great effects with backlight.”

*an informal poll of students and staff

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

Audrey Shattuck ’17

17

What’s So Great About Pond Hockey?

For starters, it’s some of the best hockey you’ve ever seen, says Justin Pagel ’94.

A former Gustavus hockey player and longtime men’s high school hockey coach in Minnesota, Pagel definitely knows indoor rink hockey.

And then there’s pond hockey. “The real hockey!” Pagel jokes. Since 2013, he and a group of friends have owned and operated the charitable North American Pond Hockey Championships. What’s the difference between pond hockey and indoor hockey?

The rules, which make it more competitive. There’s no goalie. You can’t lift the puck.

You have to jam it into a hole in a board, not a net. There’s no icing

“If not, winter.”

Scandinavian Studies professor Kjerstin Moody ’98 ruminates on Nordic notions of the season.

and no offsides. And the playing area is smaller. “It’s all about

“It’s not so much a season

strategic positioning of the puck,”

as it is a state of mind,”

Pagel says.

Moody says, quoting the

Weather is a factor. Like the

title of Canadian poet

alumni classes who were there in

Anne Carson’s translation

1974 when Lund Center was just

of Sappho. Winter, in so

an open-air hockey rink, you better have a shovel ready. “We’ve had so much snow we’ve

many aspects, is the season

had to blow and shovel every five minutes. We’ve had minus 20 degree weather where

of not doing.

we’ve had to circle the cars and trucks around us to finish a game.” In 2016 and 2017,

Not that there’s anything wrong with

the ice was too thin for pond hockey, though other events—street hockey, cornhole,

that. In Moody’s Introduction to Scandina-

bands—carried on.

vian Life and Culture course, she asks the

Equipment is basic. Shin pads and a helmet. That’s it. Mask, cup, elbow pads, even

class what they think Scandinavian life and

gloves are at your discretion, “though teams are creative with their jerseys.”

culture means. “In the last few years, I’ve

It’s perfect when played at between zero and 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Says

noticed the concepts of hygge and lagom,”

Pagel, “The ice is crispest and hardest then. It’s the best.”

co-opted into popular, Instagram-able

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

Americanism, she says. “Hygge at home

18

Ankle burners to rink rats, anyone over 18 can assemble a team and play at the North

in 10 steps! Buy this kind of candle, these

American Pond Hockey Championships. There are divisions for women’s, men’s, and

slippers, this mug! Everything from Coun-

mixed gender teams. (Note: the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships, held on Lake

try Living to CNBC is trying to get to the

Nokomis in Minneapolis, has different divisions.) Though you’ll see some of the best

bottom of it. But how can you wrap a way of

players in the state, “it’s really about getting outside, having beers, and telling stories,”

life into a 20-second sound bite?”

Pagel says. “The prize for winning a championship is a sweatshirt.” The monetary prize

Look instead to the legends and magic

goes to worthy causes. In eight years, the North American Pond Hockey Championships

tales. Says Moody, whose PhD is in Scandi-

has raised more than $1.3 million for a variety of charities.

navian Literature with a focus on translation and poetics, “They were told to young ones

This year’s North American Pond Hockey Championships will be Feb. 10–13 on

gathered around the fire to teach and ex-

Excelsior Bay on Lake Minnetonka. It will benefit the Minnesota/Dakotas chapter

plain things. They inspire hope and grit. And

of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. pondhockeylakeminnetonka.com

sometimes they have a happy ending.”

SPORTS! It’s a long winter filled with competitive Gustie spirit in basketball, hockey, gymnastics, indoor track & field, and swimming and diving.

Melissa Young-Kruse ’92 and her Buick Regal in 1991. Photo

by Jenny Monge Nichols ’93 for The Gustavian Weekly.

One Oral History of the Halloween Blizzard of 1991 We can’t let the 30th anniversary slide by without a Gustie weighing in. As told by Tammi Wenstrom Congdon ’93.

Tammi: I’m not even sure it was on our radar. We were more interested in what we were wearing to the Halloween parties. My roommate Lisa (Miller) Krapf ’93 and I were Crayons, red and green. We went to an O.K. frat party, down on Washington, when it was lightly snowing. At the party, people mumbled, “Wow it’s really snowing.” At some point we were like, we gotta get out of here.

When we left, Lisa and I could hardly walk because of the two feet of snow, but also because our costumes were so narrow! There were about 20 of us trying to walk up College Avenue, just a bunch of idiots, all in costumes, in the wee hours of the morning, trying to make our way home to ’Plex in a blizzard. Someone was dressed as the tooth fairy, bare-legged. We did it in single file, staying on the path Darin Zielsdorf ’92 broke for us. He took one for the team to get us home. I mean, the hill was a little Mount Everest.

I worked part time at a nursing home near campus. Very early that morning, they called and said no one else could get there. I said, “I can’t even get there!” They said, “We’re coming to get you on a snowmobile.” I dragged Lisa out of bed and we walked toward Three Flags for breakfast. As we got closer, we realized we were walking on top of the bushes outside the Union. The Cafeteria was on disaster mode—just huge bins of cereal and bread and milk.

I stayed at the nursing home for two days. The workers that made it in took turns caring for people, cooking in the kitchen, and sleeping on a cot. My friends, twins Robert and David Congdon (both Class of ’93), had a rusty brown Suburban with chains on it. They went around parking lots and in town pulling random people out of snow. Helping others, that’s kind of the Gustie way. They picked up a lot of pizza too.

There was a three-hour wait for Domino’s.

For at least two or three days there was no class and no campus security. We did take advantage of that. We did get cafeteria trays going and sledded down those hills.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

No one was punching cards.

19

The Future of Winter Says scientist Jason Smerdon ’98, it will be warmer and wetter because of climate change in Minnesota.

When Smerdon, a Pullman, Wash. native, experienced winter on the hill, it marked the first time he had ever “seen ski masks used for anything other than robbing a bank.”

Whether Gusties will need ski masks to fight frigid Minnesota winds in the future is uncertain. To know more, Smerdon, now a leading climate scientist at Columbia University, dives into the past, finding natural climate records in everything from ice cores to cave deposits. Mapping climate across thousands of years allows Smerdon and his colleagues at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory to understand natural variations in climate across history, how those variations are being disrupted by human activity, and to assemble predictive models for the future.

“By far the most uncertainty about the future has nothing to do with climate models— it has to do with us.”

—Jason Smerdon ’98, Smerdon Climate Lab, Columbia University

Climate models rely on the same science responsible for daily weather forecasts, but on a larger scale. Though they can’t project the future with absolute certainty, they are reliable tools that should inform our decision-making in the present, just as weather forecasts help people decide whether to pack sunscreen or an umbrella.

The models project Minnesota winters are going to get warmer and wetter without drastic reductions in greenhouse gases, creating domino effects that will hurt the state’s agriculture, tourism, and other livelihoods.

Jokkmokk or Narnia ?

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

“A changing climate is not just about average temperature or precipitation conditions,

20

but also about the intimate ways in which climate influences Minnesota communities,

It’s Jokkmokk, according to chemistry and

economies, public health, and ultimately the state’s cultural identity. What is Minnesota

environmental studies professor Jeff Jer-

without brutal winters to complain about?”

emiason, who led the Semester in Sweden

Surely not the same place where Smerdon got involved with environmental activism

program in 2015. “It’s such a beautiful place,

alongside fellow Gusties. Now, today’s student activists are the ones helping Smerdon see

where you can go walking on trails and

hope beyond the overwhelming challenges of climate change.

come up to herds of reindeer.” Students in

“The future is very uncertain and full of significant risk, and on my darker days I am

the program do just that. They also attend

very concerned. But I am inevitably buoyed by the passion, intensity, and enthusiasm

the Jokkmokk Winter Market, with tradi-

of the students I have the privilege to teach, and the larger youth movement in the

tions that date back to the Middle Ages, and

world today. It gives me the greatest of hope for a future that will live up to our best

study the culture of the indigenous Sami

of intentions.”

people. (For more, see page 9.)

How To Preserve Winter According to Paul Thompson ’70, founder of the climate advocacy group Cool Planet and skier of 40 Birkebeiners.

When Thompson returned from the Peace Corps to teach elementary school in Wisconsin, he thought he’d give this new 55-kilometer crosscountry ski thing, a Birkie, a try.

It was 1979.

The American Birkebeiner, which

He’s been doing it ever since.

began in 1973 as a race between

He has always participated in

Cable and Hayward, Wis.,

Birkies and other ski events to raise

is modeled after the Birke-

money for a cause. “Back then, I was

beinerrennet, a 54-kilometer

concerned with hunger and poverty,” he says. Around the 1990s, after the birth of his

cross-country ski race in Norway.

son, he asked himself, “What kind of future are we leaving for our kids as our climate

That race commemorates the

is breaking down?” He founded Cool Planet (coolplanetmn.org) in 2007 to inform and

year 1206, when members of the

inspire people to be fit, have fun, and take action for a healthy and sustainable home,

rebel Berkebein political party

neighborhood, and planet. He, and the hundreds of thousands of dollars he’s raised

carried the two-year-old heir

while staying fit and enjoying winter, are living proof, “that you’re never too old to make

to the Norwegian throne from

a difference.”

Lillehammer to Østerdalen to

Extended cross-country ski races—including the Birkie—are now almost always

Trondheim.

dependent on machine-made snow; the Birkie was even cancelled in 2017 because of warm weather. Now Thompson asks himself. “How does the Birkie organization offset its carbon footprint? How can a skier train on a carbon budget?”

Other tips from Thompson for preserving winter as an individual and as a member of a community: Make personal choices that feel right for you to lower your carbon footprint and to encourage others to do the same. Get involved in policy making at all levels. Trust that climate action is happening all over the world and that you are not alone in your efforts to mitigate it. Other people are waking up—or have been awake—to the high stakes and urgency and are doing what needs to be done. There are no guarantees, but it’s worth the effort. And if you want to do a Birkie: “Get your butt out and start training! And work to preserve winter. Because without winter, it

“Can you imagine Minnesota without winter? We’ll lose our biggest bragging piece!”

—Paul Thompson ’70, climate activist and Birkie enthusiast

doesn’t make any difference to train for a Birkie.”

researchers went to Ecuador to collect data on a glacier at 16,000 feet on the volcanic mountain of Cayambe. The team included (among others) art professor Betsy Byers, researchers Emily Dzieweczynski ’19 and Bri Jol ’20, and filmmaker Evan Taylor ’11. Rapid glacial melt and changing precipitation patterns have made agriculture there less and less viable, prompting movement to cities as well as emigration out of the country.

“Ecuador is a really good example of a place where there are immediate and direct climate change impacts happening,” La Frenierre says.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

In June of 2019, geography professor Jeff La Frenierre and a team of

21

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

Keep

22

“If you are equipped, nature will hold you and teach you what you need to know.”

—Emily Ford ’15

Ford in her gear room in Duluth. A geology major, she'd done plenty of hiking and backpacking before her Ice Age adventure, collecting prairie seeds across the country and camping along the Superior Hiking and Border Route trails.

THE ICE AGE TRAIL

Walking

Eau Claire

Wisconsin

Green Bay

Madison

Milwaukee

Emily Ford ’15 thought she knew winter. Then she thru-hiked the Ice Age Trail. In February. With only a sled dog, Diggins.

Post-holing. It’s when you hike through deep snow without skis or snowshoes. Imagine stomping your leg into crusted snow up to your knee, then doing the same with your other leg, then pulling the first leg straight up, then doing it again. And again. And again.

“I thought I knew how to persevere,” Emily Ford ’15 says. Then she post-holed in below zero temps for days, sometimes at a rate of half a mile per hour. “There were times I would just look at Diggins and say, “If you have to pull my body through this forest, don’t let me stop hiking.”

They did not stop. Emily and sled dog Diggins—named for Olympic gold medal skier Jessie Diggins, daughter of Deb (Robinet) Diggins and Clay Diggins, both Class of ’82—persevered through everything the Upper Midwest in February can throw at you.

And after approximately 1200 miles and 69 days, including a weeklong cold snap that dropped temps to 30 below, Ford became the first woman, first person of color, and first openly queer person to solo winter thru-hike Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail. She is only the second person on record to do so.

As the head gardener at Glensheen Mansion in Duluth, she’s as busy as her bees outside from April through October. In winter, she puts gardens and beehives to bed.

Last year, when she heard about the Ice Age Trail (which traces glacial retreat), the geology nerd in her awoke. She packed her gear, fired up her Instagram, borrowed Diggins, and went to meet her winter.

Every day on the trail was a surprise encounter. “I thought I knew winter,” she says.

“But there’s a difference between going to your home and putting up your home on a negative 30 degree day. Does nature want you to survive? Honestly, I don’t know.”

A whole community of people did. Many heard about her—through news stories,

Be Like Emily in Winter

community groups, trail clubs, schools, and social media. Her Instagram followers blew and their homes. A whole class of fourth graders came out to meet her.

She embraced this new community with characteristic gusto. “At Gustavus, I learned what community looks like at an extremely aggressive scale,” she laughs. “I learned

• “ Say yes, but know your boundaries too.”

• Read Wintering, by Katherine May • Follow her on Instagram

how to love on people really well.” Though she solo hikes, “Building a community is

@emilyontrail, as well as the

important to me. Especially the trail community itself.”

hashtags #blackpeoplehiking and

A community of Ford lovers gathered at Interstate State Park on March 6 of last year to watch her take her final steps. As she walked off the Ice Age Trail, “I stumbled onto my purpose,” she says, at least as she understands it today, in this moment in her life. “It’s to tell people that the outdoors are open to you. To say, ‘Yes, and…’ Women, people of

#blackfolkscamptoo, and watch the short documentary film about her, Breaking Trail.

• “ Let go of everything you

color, queer people, everyone really, I want to show everybody that you can go out and

hold on to the rest of the year

do things that are difficult. You can do anything.” •

and just listen.”

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

up. On the trail, friends and strangers offered up food, water, encouraging notes, money,

23

SPORTS

Kate Holtan ’22 shot past longtime record holder Val (Flom) Ashland ’86 in Gustavus career kills this season.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

KILLING IT

24

Having her fourth season of volleyball

tallied her 1,000th career dig this season,

part of such great teams that opened up

cancelled in the fall of 2020 due to the

joining Katie Olstad (1992–94) as the

the opportunity for me to reach these

pandemic and a truncated spring season,

only two players in program history to

accomplishments,” Holtan says. “Our

shortened even more because of strict

record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. Holtan

team definitely has made it an emphasis to

COVID-19 protocols, Kate Holtan (Sr.,

is the top attacking outside hitter in the

climb back to the top of the conference

Rochester) saw the opportunity to return

MIAC this year, leading the league in

this year. We focus on taking the season

for a full season this fall as a blessing.

total kills, and has shot past Val Flom

one game at a time, but we do recognize

(1983–86) as the school record holder in

our potential and hope to make a great

career kills.

run as we approach playoffs.”

“Ultimately, my love for the sport and respect for the Gustavus volleyball program were my leading motivations to return,” Holtan says.

The decision has paid off in more ways than one.

A three-time AVCA All-America honorable mention selection, Holtan

The individual milestones have

Along with her admiration for the

reflected in the team’s success as well.

sport and the Gustie volleyball program,

Holtan plays a key part in the Gusties

Holtan’s decision to return for a fifth

sitting at the top of the conference

year was supported through her holistic

standings and ranked in the AVCA Top-

experience at the College. “I love so many

25 poll. “I’m very grateful to have been

things about being a Gustie,” Holtan.

2021 Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees EIGHT OF THE NINE members of the Gustavus Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2021 have been inducted for their accomplishments as student-athletes, while one was inducted as a coach.

Beth DeLaRosby (Two

Bobby Kroog

Amanda Parker

Harbors), was a five-time All-American,

(Bloomington),

a two-time national champion gymnast

is the only three-

(2004 all-around and vault), nine-time

in the 50 free at the 2004

time All-American

All-American, and three-time CoSIDA

NCAA meet. She led

in Gustavus men’s

Academic All-American.

the women’s swimming

soccer history

She won the 2002 Honda

& diving team to two

and was the 2005

Award as the Division III

MIAC championships

MIAC Player of

female athlete of the year

in 2002 and 2004 and

the Year. Kroog,

in gymnastics as well as

was an eight-time MIAC

a midfielder, guided the Gusties to two

the NCAA Postgraduate

MIAC championships and three NCAA

Scholarship in 2005.

highlighted by a third-place finish

event champion.

(Ames, IA) was

tournament appearances, including a national runner-up finish in 2005.

N.D.) earned three CoSIDA Academic

the men’s basketball team to two MIAC championships and four appearances at the NCAA tournament, including a runner-up finish in 2003. Espenson, a

Ben Sherer (Bismarck,

Audrey Lenoch (Pine Island),

All-America honors, three All-

earned three All-America honors at

Conference selections, and was the

three different positions for Gustavus

2004 MIAC Baseball Player

softball. Lenoch, an

of the Year. Sherer, a first

shooting guard, earned

infielder, earned All-

baseman, ranks in the

NABC All-America

Conference honors

program’s top-10 in

honors, was named the

all four seasons

nearly every offensive

2004–05 MIAC MVP,

and ranks in the

statistical category

program’s top-five

after playing in 156

history with 1,281 career

in nearly every

career games.

points.

offensive statistical

and ranks 12th in program

Tom Thorkelson (Granite Falls)

category.

Tara Houlihan Whiting (Sioux

coached 54 All-Americans and five

Falls, SD), won consecutive NCAA titles

Lyndsey Palen Crossley

national champions in throwing

in women’s tennis doubles in 2005 and

(Rochester), won consecutive NCAA

events since 1985. He was track &

2006 with partner Lyndsey

titles in women’s tennis doubles in 2005

field head coach from

Palen Crossley, and was a

and 2006 with partner Tara Houlihan

1999–2009 and

five-time All-American.

Whiting, and was a four-

She won 145 career singles and doubles

time All-American. She earned the 2006

capped his tenure with a sixth-place finish at the 2009

matches. She also was

Arthur Ashe Award

women’s national

an All-Conference

and Chris Evert

meet. He continues

volleyball player and

Award, and won 156

to serve as the

career singles and

Gustavus throws

graduated with a record 1,226 digs.

doubles matches.

coach.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

Doug Espenson (Mankato), led

25

FINE ARTS

Alums Britta Joy Peterson ’08 (left, with Christian DeMarais ’11) and Sara Brown ’01 (right, with professor emeritus Doug Huff) at the opening of the Rob and Judy Gardner Laboratory Theatre in February of 2020, where they first met.

WHEN TWO FINE ARTS ALUMS MEET This fall, director and choreographer

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

to make the work accessible. “You don’t

about [Peterson] is that she is extremely

need to be an expert at accessibility to

there, an immersive dance installation

open to the expertise that the rest of her

make your work accessible,” she says.

at the John F. Kennedy Center for the

team is bringing to the process. I enjoy

Performing Arts.

very much her clarity and her generosity

at Gustavus: “Trusting in the skills that

of spirit in collaborating.”

you’ve amassed, and trusting in your

It featured scenic design by alum Sara

26

Says Brown, “What I really appreciate

Britta Joy Peterson ’08 debuted already

Brown ’01.

already there is an immersive

That’s one of the things she learned

ability to be vulnerable and ask for help,

The two actually met on campus in

installation designed for small, timed-

that’s the way to begin,” Peterson says.

February 2020, on an alumni panel that

entry audiences who explore, indulge,

Brown offers a similar lesson: “Run

was part of the celebratory opening of

and play in a sensory labyrinth of dance

towards things you do not understand

the Rob and Judy Gardner Laboratory

and design. Dancers were recorded

but are curious about,” she says. “I

Theatre. Peterson remembers listening to

individually and spliced together to

end up doing a lot of dance work…

Brown talk and feeling “so inspired and

project the performance onto the walls

because I welcome the challenge of

aligned with her values. It feels like I’ve

of the space. Peterson worked with the

creating spaces that are not tied to a text

known her now for years.”

Institute for Human-Centered Design

necessarily,” she says.

MUSIC INTERNATIONAL TOUR: Gustavus Wind Orchestra Jan. 19–Feb. 1 Home Concert Feb 12, 7:30 p.m., Christ Chapel Minneapolis Convention Center, Feb. 18, 6:30 p.m.

GWO will embark on a 16-day tour of Spain and France, followed by a home concert in Christ Chapel and a featured performance at the Minneapolis Convention Center as part of the Minnesota Music Educators Association Midwinter Clinic.

The Tour theme is “Drawing Inspiration,” and is centered on Omar Thomas’s “Come Sunday.” GWO will be joined by guest faculty artists Heidi Johanna Miller, Karrin Meffert-Nelson, and companion course professor Glenn Kranking ’98.

HONOR CHOIR FESTIVAL, March 14 The Festival brings together outstanding high school singers and for an exciting one-day experience. The festival

Battle at the River Bottom, Kristen Low, 2020–2021, painted, carved, and sanded basswood with charcoal, 30 x 41 inches

concert features performances by the Gustavus Choir, the St. Michael–Albertville Concert Choir, selected vocal soloists, and the 125–voice Festival Choir.

ART AND ART HISTORY Until Jan. 25

GUSTAVUS JAZZ ENSEMBLE, March 19

Battle at the River Bottom: Drawings and Videos

The Jazz Ensemble will play an intimate show at the

by Kristen Lowe

main room at Crooners Supper Club in Minneapolis in the

Hillstrom Museum of Art

afternoon.

This exhibit features recent works by faculty artist Kristen Lowe—richly-painted soft wood, hand-carved in intricate

THEATRE

patterns, over which detailed charcoal scenes of animals in

Feb. 17–20, 2022; Gardner Laboratory Theatre.

landscapes are drawn.

by Stephen Adly Guirgis

Feb. 7–25

Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus. Should he be forgiven or

Traveling McKnight Artists Exhibition

punished for all of eternity? The Last Days of Judas Iscariot

Schaefer Gallery

tells the story of a court case over the fate of Judas Iscariot

A traveling exhibition of artworks by recipients of the

through flashbacks of his childhood and testimonies of

McKnight Fellowship for Ceramics from the year 2020. The

historical and biblical figures as each side debates whether

Fellowship recognizes and supports outstanding mid-career

Judas goes to Heaven or is condemned to purgatory.

ceramic artists living and working in Minnesota.

UPCOMING Dec. 2–5

Dec. 10, 10 a.m.

Performances and exhibits

Christmas in Christ Chapel 2021 “We

Winds of Christmas

are often livestreamed and/

Shall Go Forth Singing” will be a

The sounds of the holidays in Christ

or archived for viewing at

celebration of resiliency through song,

Chapel or virtually, featuring the

home or on devices. Visit

dance, and spoken word. See page 6

Gustavus Wind Orchestra and Gustavus

gustavus.edu/finearts to

for more.

Wind Symphony.

learn more.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot

27

Heritage “MOM, I NEED A SKI SWEATER.” That’s what Tau Mu Tau sister Barb Raitz-Gaugert ’65 said when she heard the news that she had been nominated by fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi for the roll of Frost Queen. The Queen reigned over a winter weekend designed to give students a muchneeded break from academic pressures: dances, live music, winter sports, and a talent show.

Her mother quickly came through.

Then, in sweaters, Raitz-Gaugert and eight other nominees waited in the cafeteria to find out who would be the next queen. A student dressed as Jack Frost delivered the news by bestowing upon Raitz-Gaugert a royal bouquet and a shining silver crown, complete with fur bonnet.

Despite an ironic case of the cold that weekend, she proved herself deserving of the crown, even scoring the winning goal in a game of broomball.

Other royal duties included presiding over a post-coronation dance in the Union and a queen’s reception in

“Oh, it was a surprise, and it was definitely an honor,” says Queen Barb Raitz-Gaugert ’65 today from her home in Phoenix, Ariz, where there is little to no need for governance over frosty weekends.

Rundstrom Hall. It all provided a sense of community when students needed it most. “The winter can get a little down and dreary and cold, and the weekend brought people out in spite of that.”

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

WHAT WAS FROST WEEKEND? It first appeared in 1949, with a breakfast of

28

“Flap-jacks, fried and served by some of your favorite campus characters,” organizer Arlene (Nelson) Donaldson ’50 told the Gustavian Weekly. It was followed by ski jumps, toboggan races, and a hockey match between faculty and students, among other activities. Save for a short resurgence in 2012 and 2013, the tradition seems to have ended in 1988. It went out with a bang—with a viewing of the movie Top Gun followed by a Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis lookalike contest. Belated congrats to Phil Maurer ’91 and Laura (Bonkoski) Nixon ’90 on their uncanny resemblances.

Endowment Even in the darkest months of the pandemic, Gustavus boasted bright successes.

One of these was the growth of the College’s endowment.

Rise ccording to a national survey of

college and university endowments, several schools in Minnesota saw a drop in their endowments during 2019–2020.

Yet the growth of the Gustavus endowment during this time more than offset the annual draw. So, while other schools saw the value of their endowments shrink, Gustavus finished with a gain, surpassing $200 million in market value in June 2020.

Since then, the line on the endowment graph has shot up. At the midpoint of this year, the value of the Gustavus endowment passed $270 million—an all-time high.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

ON THE

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This phenomenal increase is due to a combination of factors.

different donors for different purposes. It would be as if your IRA

First is the generosity of Gustavus alumni, friends, and families.

was divided into accounts for groceries, utilities, and so forth, and

Donors directed a large part of those gifts to the endowment.

you had to spend the money only for those purposes. Part of the

The second factor driving the endowment’s growth is smart investing. The endowment functions somewhat like your retirement account. You make contributions over the years and entrust those

endowment can be used for the College’s general expenses, but most funds are restricted to a specific purpose.

Just as utility bills and groceries are good uses of your savings, so

savings to fund managers or financial advisors, with the aim of

are the purposes of restricted funds. Right now, endowment funds

building your nest egg. Gustavus has benefited from savvy alumni

are paying for scholarships, endowed professorships, student research

who manage endowment investments. In terms of annual returns,

fellowships, equipment for science labs, databases for the library,

the College’s endowment consistently outperforms its peers.

and travel for sports teams and music ensembles. The more the

What does the endowment do?

Your retirement account is a good analogy for understanding

endowment grows, the greater the amount of the draw. The greater the draw, the more that can be used for these immediate needs.

Gustavus is already acclaimed for its academic programs and

how the endowment ensures a stable financial future for

high-quality student experience. “Compared to schools with

Gustavus. Money is being invested for use decades from now.

larger endowments,” President Bergman has said, “Gustavus offers

At the same time, the College is drawing from the endowment

a lot.” Think of how much more Gustavus could offer with an

for current needs. In consultation with the Board of Trustees,

endowment of $400 million. Or $500 million––with an annual

President Bergman and the cabinet draw somewhere between 4.5

draw of more than $20 million.

and 5 percent from the endowment each year. In 2020, the draw amounted to $8.6 million.

Here is where the retirement-account analogy stops. When

Endowed scholarships bring talented students to campus.

Endowed professorships put talented teachers in the classroom.

Endowed program funds make sure they have resources they need

you withdraw money from your IRA, you spend the money

for an exceptional learning and research experience. This is what

wherever you want. College endowments don’t work that way.

we all want for Gustavus today. This is what we all hope for the

The endowment is made up of numerous funds established by

Gustavus of tomorrow. This is what the endowment provides.

$300,000,000 $280,000,000 $260,000,000

HISTORICAL ENDOWMENT VALUES

ENDOWMENT SPENDING

MAY 31, 2010–AUGUST 31, 2021

FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020

$240,000,000 $220,000,000

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

$200,000,000

30

$180,000,000

Other Restricted Purposes

$160,000,000

(including departmental support and student-faculty research)

$1.5 million

$140,000,000 $120,000,000

Library Support $.3 million

$100,000,000 $80,000,000

Endowed Chairs and Faculty Salary Support $1.2 million

$60,000,000 $40,000,000 $20,000,000

Scholarships and Financial Aid $3.0 million

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2021 May May May Aug

$8.6 Million

Unrestricted Budget Support $2.6 million

WH Y WE G IVE :

Joanell Sletta Dyrstad ’64 and Marv Dyrstad “THE MISSION IS TO GIVE YOUNG PEOPLE A HIGH-QUALITY EDUCATION, AND THE COLLEGE DOES THAT.”

JD: I grew up in St. James and went to Augustana Lutheran Church. Every fall, our Lutheran League youth group went to Gustavus. I fell in love with the College during those visits.

Gustavus was the only school I applied to. Fortunately, I got in.

MD: We bought the Corner Drug in Red Wing in 1968, and later consolidated two other drug stores. Along with being a practicing pharmacist, I was a student preceptor for internship rotations for the College of Pharmacy. Over the years, we taught a significant number of students. Eventually, I served as president of the Minnesota Pharmacists Association and the

The two met when they were in college and working

APhA Foundation.

at Joanell’s uncle’s pharmacy. When Joanell walked in the first day, Marv said to her uncle, “Holy smokes!

JD: Marv and I were both involved with a number of

You didn’t tell me she was that cute.” Family set the

organizations; I served nine years on the Gustavus Board of

example for service and giving. “Our parents were

Trustees, and I’m currently on the Executive Council of the

ordinary, hard-working, middle-class Americans,”

Minnesota Historical Society.

Joanell says. “They helped others simply because that’s

Marv and I were always being invited to serve in some role

part of what you do.”

or another. We would discuss how the opportunity would affect the family and the business, but then we supported each other’s League of Cities conference, when I was mayor of Red Wing,

JD: For me, giving to Gustavus is personally important. I am

and Arne Carlson called to invite me to be his running mate in

thankful for the wonderful experience I had there, for the

the governor’s race. I called home, and our daughter answered.

wonderful opportunities. I am thankful for the education I

She was in high school at the time. I told her what Arne had

received and the friendships that developed. Still today, I have a

said. Right away she said, “Go for it, Mom!”

strong group of Gustavus friends who continue to get together.

I feel strongly about what the College is doing today to educate

MD: In serving as a board member, we try to get a feeling for whether that organization is truly doing what it professes. Is it following its mission? Gustavus does this well.

young people.

I fell in love with the College years and years ago. And I still love Gustavus.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

activities. I like to tell the story of when I was at a National

31

“THIS IS ALL OPPORTUNITY.” GUSTAVUS INVESTMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR MARCIA PAGE ’82 ON HOW THE COMMITTEE OF DEDICATED ALUMNI (AND SOME STUDENTS) HAVE GROWN THE ENDOWMENT WITH SOUND VALUES, SMART INVESTING, AND GOOD BUSINESS.

How does the Investment Committee oversee the

Because of the unique nature of this capital, there is an

endowment?

opportunity for what we in the investment business call “alpha”––

MP: The Committee operates as a fiduciary, which means we

returns that exceed the general markets. Overall, if you have a

have ethical and legal responsibilities to manage the endowment’s

long-term time horizon like the endowment, private equity is an

interests ahead of our own. It’s a very high standard, and the

excellent investment option.

committee takes it very seriously.

The Board of Trustees is ultimately responsible for the

So managing the endowment is a unique challenge:

endowment. The Investment Committee has latitude to hire

you’re aiming for both long-term gains and immediate

managers who manage the actual investing. It’s very important

income.

that the Committee members have experience across different asset

MP: Absolutely. When constructed thoughtfully, this is achievable.

types, so that we can assess the quality of these potential managers.

And here I have to give a call-out to the Committee members.

The Committee gives our chosen managers specific mandates

They’re all Gusties with decades of experience in various investing

depending on their investing expertise.

areas. They make my job look easy.

What guides your decision-making in overseeing

This past year was a real test of the Committee’s

these managers?

strategy.

MP: First of all, the Committee is guided by the endowment’s

MP: What the Committee did was stay the course and continue to

basic purpose to provide annual income to the College, between

invest. On the liquid side of the portfolio, the Treasury securities

4.5 to 5 percent of its underlying value. These are critical dollars

performed beautifully, just like we planned. Early in the pandemic,

that fund scholarships and support the overall budget.

we sold some of those Treasuries to have a cash cushion until we

Roughly 60 percent of the portfolio is in liquid strategies, mostly in equities, both domestic and international. There is also

saw how the College would fare.

And look where we are now.

a portion dedicated to conservative fixed-income strategies, like US Treasuries and high-quality bonds. If the equity markets have a

Students and alumni at some schools have called for

tough time, those fixed income investments provide a hedge. Plus,

divestment from certain companies. How does the

we are able to access those dollars in the event of a crisis.

Committee ensure that the College’s investments

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

The other 40 percent of the portfolio is allocated to private

32

reflect the College’s values?

strategies: a combination of venture capital, buy-out strategies, and

MP: One of the biggest trends over the last two years has

growth-equity strategies. There are also some conservative, fixed-

been an emphasis on ESG matters––Environmental, Social,

income investments, as well as real estate.

and Governance. Our consultants evaluate potential investment managers in regard to ESG. The Committee also uses these criteria

Does private equity bring greater risk?

when we assess new managers, and as we monitor

MP: Private equity has certain advantages that you don’t get in

their work.

publicly traded equities. The investor generally has more agency

This attention to ESG has broadened how markets think about

and decision-making rights in how the underlying business is being

responsible investing. It’s good for investors because we can

operated. What you give up is liquidity. We can’t call up and ask for

influence how managers make investment decisions. And it’s good

our money back the next day.

business.

The endowment is at the doorstep of $300 million—driven by the performance of the markets over the last 12 months, as well as a combination of donor gifts and a focus on equity strategies, both publicly-traded and private.”

—Marcia Page ’82

The investment committee also includes student

Partners with George Hicks ’75 and Greg McMillan, built that

members.

business, and raised a family, I looked around and said, “Where

MP: This was the brainchild of professor Kathy Lund Dean. Two

are the women? Where is the diverse talent?” Less than 5 percent

or three students go through a rigorous application process, and

of global assets are allocated to women and underrepresented

they sign a non-disclosure agreement. Then we put them to work.

talent. MPowered Capital was founded to commit capital to

Last year, students combed through the portfolios of each of our

diverse and underrepresented talent in the investment business.

managers to find out where the real engines of our returns have been.

This new venture ties in with my personal commitment––and the commitment of the Gustavus Investment Committee—to diversity,

MP: When I retired in 2015, after having co-founded Värde

equity, inclusion, and sustainability at the College.

This too is great business. This is all opportunity.

A BO UT T H E I N V E ST M ENT CO M M ITTEE AND STRATEGY The Investment Committee of Gustavus Adolphus College is comprised of talented individuals with outstanding business and investment experience. The Committee, along with the assistance of an outside consultant, reviews the Investment Policy Statement, sets the overall asset allocation, and monitors investment performance on a quarterly basis. The intentional philosophy of the Committee is to maintain a highly diversified portfolio in order to reduce the volatility of the total endowment fund.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

Tell us about your new initiative, MPowered Capital.

33

2021–22 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

G USTIES

Michael Bussey ’69 , (president) senior consultant, Donor by Design Group, LLC J. C. Anderson ’82 , (vice president) partner/ attorney, Lathrop GPM

Gusties Are Shining For the past six years, it’s been my privilege to serve on the Gustavus Alumni Association Board of Directors and, in that role, to get a closer look at the incredible efforts to provide an exemplary education for Gustavus students. Despite the challenges facing higher education today, the College—and you—are showing the world that Gusties do indeed shine.

The Gustavus Alumni Association’s mission is to engage current and future alumni (all 28,000 of us!) in lifelong relationships with Gustavus and with each other. I could not be prouder of how so many of us have deepened those relationships over the past several years. A few examples include: ➔ More than 800 alumni have referred students through the Alumni Referral Scholarship program since 2016 ➔ A greater percentage of alumni give gifts today compared to five years ago; events like Give to Gustavus Day invite record numbers of contributions from around the world ➔ This year, 400+ Gustie mentors will offer valuable career support and advice for students, a nearly 50 percent increase over the past five years ➔ The revamped (and super fun!) Reunion Weekend has helped renew thousands of Gustie relationships since 2017 ➔ Record numbers of volunteers serve as Class Officers, Chapter, Officers, and in other roles to keep classmates and fellow alums connected On behalf of the Board, please accept our gratitude for your generous support that allows Gustavus to thrive. Let's continue to lean into the vision for the Gustavus Alumni Association: that members play a vital role in strengthening the Gustavus community, serve as ambassadors of the College, and are champions for all Gusties.

Go Gusties!

—Mike Bussey ’69

34

Alumni Association

Esther Mulder Widmalm-Delphonse ’08 , (secretary) attorney, labor law, United States Department of Labor

INCREASED ALUMNI CONNECTEDNESS AND SATISFACTION How have things changed? Reflections from the 2016 and 2021 Alumni Surveys Overall, how connected did you feel to Gustavus while you were a student?

93%

83%

Jessica Martinez ’15 , (treasurer) Academic Dean for Grade 9, assistant to the principal, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School Rick Barbari ’91 , head of IT economics, US Bank Melinda Moen Batz ’86, business manager/ partner, Good Leadership Enterprise s Mark Bergman ’79 , president and owner, Bercom International, LLC Mary Booker ’91 , executive director, student financial services, University of Delaware, Newark Sarah Schueffner Borgendale ’06 , managerrecruiting, inclusion and diversity, Fredrikson and Byron, P.A. Jen Brandenburg ’02 , pharmacist Torin Dougherty ’16 , solution architect, Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing

7%

17%

2016 2021

2016 2021

moderately or highly connected

slightly or not at all

Bruce Ensrud ’90 , senior financial consultant, Parable Wealth Partners Alissa Fahrenz Rowley ’13 , analyst, Excelsior Energy Capital Rebecca Wold Freeman ’98 , associate pastor, Mount Olivet Lutheran Church Amy Zenk James ’94 , sales and outreach director, Meadow Woods Assisted Living Jillian Hiscock ’05, director of college and career success, Genesys Works Twin Cities

Overall, how connected do you feel to Gustavus now?

37%

44%

63% 56%

Todd Krough ’85 , senior investment officer, Tealwood Asset Management Bill Laumann ’66 , retired schoolteacher/ librarian, Albert Lea ISD #241 Katherine Medbery-Oleson ’02 , professor, speech communications, Bellevue Community College

2016 2021

2016 2021

moderately or highly connected

slightly or not at all

John Moorhead ’68 , retired co-owner, Lindskoog Florist Craig Nelson ’70 , retired, teacher on special assignment, LeSueur/Henderson ISD Jace Riggin ’16 , assistant director of admissions, Macalester College Deb Johnson Rosenberg ’79 , director of retirement plan consulting, Stiles Financial Services, Inc.

14%

increase in satisfaction with the Gustavus alumni experience from 2016 to 2021

Mary Anderson Rothfusz ’83 , retired attorney Mark Scharmer ’77 , retired executive vice president, insurance operations, Federated Mutual Insurance Company Marcia Stephens ’73 , retired financial advisor Matt Swenson ’06, director of CEO communications, Cargill, Inc. April Valentine ’92 , assistant director for immigration, Purdue University Calumet

CLASS NEWS and information to be included in the Alumni section of the Quarterly should be sent to: Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement, Gustavus Adolphus College, 800 West College Avenue, Saint Peter, MN 56082-1498 alumni@gustavus.edu | 800-487-8437 | gustavus.edu/alumni

GUSTIES

MY GUSTAVUS Scott Fransen ’86 COMMUNICATION STUDIES, BUSINESS/PSYCHOLOGY MINOR “I GREW UP IN EDEN PRAIRIE WHEN IT WAS A VILLAGE. I RODE MY SNOWMOBILE TO THE HIGH SCHOOL TO REFEREE BASKETBALL GAMES.”

I explored a lot of different schools, and what it came down to was the visit. The campus won me over. I was given a tour by a football captain and I thought he was a really nice guy.

Plus it was far enough away yet close enough if I needed to get home for something.

I thought I would play two sports—football and basketball. I soon realized that you do have to study! I did play rugby in the spring.

I grew up in a media family and enjoyed what I knew about the business. What Gustavus provided was a well-rounded academic experience in that major. Tucking in psychology with business, I did feel prepared to start my career.

Having grown up in Minnesota, I never want to give up winter. I do notice differences in winters now in terms of how cold it is and how much snow we get even compared to when I was at Gustavus. I lived in a double-wide trailer in town one year and we were snowed in for three days. I lived on Lake Washington one year and we were snowed in for four days.

Snow doesn’t bother me. I look forward to it. I like to ice fish. I like to ski. I love to chase pheasants with my dogs in the snow. I love fires in the fireplace.

If you want to enjoy winter more, find that activity that you might have some interest in, and then find a mentor to get you going in it. And if you don’t like it, try something else. There are people, organizations, that want to help you have some fun in the winter. And don’t go do it when it’s butt-ass cold and twenty below. Wait until the sun shines and it gets warmer, when you can find joy out there.

IN 2009, Fransen bought Ron Schara Productions, which produces (among other shows and content) the long-running Minnesota Bound.

“As a communication company, we’re storytellers and passionate about the outdoors: individuals, events, and attractions.”

GUSTIES

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Roger Hanson, Cedar Falls, IA, faculty emeritus of the University of Northern Iowa, still enjoys good health, lives on his own, and walks about a mile every day. He has good memories of touring and singing with the Gustavus male chorus.

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Donald Wulf, Sacramento, CA, has written a booklet entitled Once Upon a Time…

It is about courtship, wedding, and marriage. Don and his wife, Barbara (Lunstead ’50), have been married over 70 years.

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Vahan Y. Assadourian, Eugene, OR, has published a book entitled Conch MIA, about a Vietnam veteran who is captured and imprisoned near the end of the war. It can be found on Amazon. He is in the publishing stage of his second and third books.

Susan Elam O’Connor, Pemberton Ridge, NB, is growing her own food and studying jazz piano in an online course.

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GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

Fred Hanson, Saint Peter, continues to help his son farm Oak View Farm, a 450-acre farm with about 4500 hogs. He is active in church and in the Farm Bureau organization.

36

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Doug Scheunemann, St. Anthony, has retired from his work as a senior vice president for US Bank and has been working on a fishing boat in Alaska the past three years.

Judith Jagusch Johnson, Stillwater, a retired professor from the design department at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, continues her painting and illustrations and was recently featured at an art exhibit titled, Judith Johnson: Minnesota Artist held in Stillwater.

Alan Anderson, Northfield, retired from executive service with the Boy Scouts in 2012 and has since been volunteering with his Rotary Club’s Climate Action Team and with Citizens Climate Lobby.

Debbie Stewart Anderson, Northfield, retired as a medical technologist for Allina Health Systems in 2014 and is enjoying grandkids and taking karate classes.

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Betsy Crews Carnahan, Edina, is a retired critical care nurse at the University of Minnesota Medical Center.

Gladys Harris, Memphis, TN, continues her position as a personal care outcomes/nurse manager for Methodist Hospital.

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Bryan Klingberg, Blaine, retired after 37 years as a middle-level U.S. and international school educator. Most recently, he taught at Concordia International School, Shanghai.

80|

Mike Eddy, Hudson, WI, received the 2021 Post-Secondary Educator of the Year award from the Minnesota Association for Career and Technical Education Administrators (MACTA). Mike has been teaching

filmmaking and video production at Century College since 2007.

Marilee Johnson Hedberg, La Crescent, is director-partner solutions for Scholarship America.

Ann Newgard-Larson, Detroit Lakes, is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church and has been substitute teaching in the Detroit Lakes School system.

81|

Darcy Winter, Minneapolis, is president/ owner of D.E. Winter & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services.

82|

Mike Fuhs, Eden Prairie, is controller for Symphony Senior Home Care.

83|

Catherine Tucker, Gainesville, FL, spends his winters in North Carolina volunteering at the senior center and summers in Michigan where he works at a museum as a greeter guide.

87|

Bob R. Adams, Mound, is partner-interim/ outsourced CFO with Growth Operators.

John Streufert, Lake City, IA, is the head voicer for Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, in Lake City. A voicer regulates the tone of organ pipes.

88|

Laurel Jorgensen Jordan, Doha, Qatar, is head teacher for physical and health education at Qatar Academy, an international school.

Amy Noer, Greensboro, NC, is a registered nurse with a masters in nursing from the University of Washington, Seattle.

91|

Bjorn Ingvoldstad, Sandwich, MA, is a professor of communication studies at Bridgewater State University.

Andrea Martin, Portland, OR, is a physical therapist at Adventist Health, Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in Portland.

99|

Jason Tatge, Bucyrus, KS, is the senior vice president of AGI SureTrack for Ag Growth International.

Heather Boyd Marx, Blaine, has been named to The American Lawyer’s 2021 inaugural list of Midwest Trailblazers. The Trailblazers represent agents of change who have moved the needle at their respective firms, making significant marks on practice, policy, and technological advancements in their areas of legal practice.

Stephanie Waldman Myers, Baltimore, MD, is the acting director of decision support and strategic information in the Office of Disability Policy at the Social Security Administration.

Kimberly Olson Wimmer, Littlefork, was promoted to executive vice president/general counsel for TruStar Federal Credit Union in International Falls.

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Jill Bisbee, Galesburg, IL, was named the recruitment, retention and student success officer as part of her role as a field placement specialist for counselor education and college student personnel at Western Illinois University-Quad Cities.

94|

John Bower, Farmington, is the chief operating officer at Precision Gasket Company (PGC) and was named an Emerging Leader in Manufacturing honoree by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s 2021 Minnesota Manufacturing Awards.

Dan Seaberg, Annandale, is co-owner of Spilled Grain Brewhouse in Annandale.

97|

Sarah Peterson Martin, Minneapolis, is a senior client partner for Fair, Isaac and Company.

98|

Karl G. Sundquist, Virginia, is an attorney and partner with the law firm of Colosimo, Patchin & Kearney.

Rachael Albertson McKinney, Sacramento, CA, is the CEO for Sutter Davis Hospital in Davis, CA, and was recently named a 2021 Woman Who Means Business honoree by Sacramento Business Journal.

01|

Molly Grisham Altorfer, Cedar Rapids, IA, is head women’s golf coach at Mount Mercy University.

Kim Johnson Lo, Fountain Inn, SC, is a global mobility expatriate administrator at Lockheed Martin Corporation in Greenville.

02|

Curtis Baldus, Conway, SC, has been named special teams coordinator for the Red Wolves at Arkansas State University.

Katie Beck Foss, Murfreesboro, TN, has published a book called

03|

Jack Evans, St. Paul, is the senior corporate counsel at Midcontinent Independent System Operators in Eagan.

04|

Ian W. Keesey, Lincoln, NE, is an assistant professor of biological science at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

05|

Emily Ayers-Johnson, Coon Rapids, is a home healthcare registered nurse with Accurate Home Care in Otsego.

06|

Brianna Sander Borka, Duluth, is a substitute teacher at Duluth Edison Charter Schools and has established a Free Little Art Gallery in Duluth, allowing her community to both temporarily display their art and find pieces to take home with them.

Brian Goldner, Cromwell, is the vice president of exploration for Talo’s Tamarack Nickel Project.

07|

Violeta Hernandez Espinosa, Burnsville, is the coordinator of equity and inclusion for Independent School District 196.

Tim Koerner, St. Paul, released his children’s book, What Does A Screen Mean? via St. Paul publisher, Beaver’s Pond Press.

Tim also works as a caseload director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities.

08|

Ali Chorley, Lakeville, is a faculty member in the addiction studies program at Metropolitan State University, teaching the prevention of community substance use problems.

Katherine Thompson Hendrickson, Owatonna, is a case manager with Rice County Social Services.

Kyle Nelson, St. Paul, is a quality engineer for Stryker Medical.

Culture Quest with Ian Grant ’91, new on PBS Grant has spent 30 years at the intersection of art and culture since studying art history, history, and peace studies at Gustavus. This fall, his new program, Culture Quest, premiered on PBS. It takes him to Western Mongolia, Ghana, Japan, Puerto Rico, East Timor, and Northern Australia. “A big part of what I’m going after here is showing people that culture is made of real people living real lives,” Grant says. As he traveled the world, Grant uploaded videos, photographs, and written reflections for Gustavus political science and art history classes. He also set up Zoom interviews so students could interact directly with artists and cultural leaders on location, and he returned to campus to discuss his travels with Gustie students.

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Jessica Wood, Clear Lake, IA, has restored a corner drug store in Clear Lake and renamed it Charlie’s Soda Fountain. It has a retro feel and menu. She is also leasing the rest of the building for office space.

Marie Burr Jordan, New Hope, completed her MBA from Saint Mary’s University in May 2021.

11|

Kimberly Braun, Minneapolis, is a visiting assistant professor at Gustavus Adolphus College in the theatre department.

Elizabeth Coco, Minneapolis, is a project management consultant at Northside Funders Group, Minneapolis and is founder and principal consultant at E. Coco Consulting.

Laura Goebel, Shoreview, completed her doctorate of nursing practice in May and is working at M Health Fairview Masonic Cancer Clinic in Minneapolis.

Jeannie Webber Ribbel, Onalaska, WI, is a nurse practitioner in maternal fetal medicine at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse.

14|

Alex Brodjeski, Savage, after completing his master’s in health and human physiology at the University of Iowa, is now the strength and conditioning coach at Carleton College.

Tory Clark, Columbia Heights, is executive director of Northcountry Cooperative Foundation.

Patrick Dolan, Fort Collins, CO, is the video coach for the Texas Stars.

Collin Munoz, Jackson, is a special education teacher for Riverside Elementary School at Jackson County Central School District.

15|

Zachary Dilger, St. Louis Park, is the engagement leader for Thrivent’s Northland region.

Nathan Friedley, Arden Hills, graduated from St. Catherine University with a master of science in nursing in March and is a nurse for M Health Fairview East Bank.

Sara Kullberg Pearson, Minneapolis, graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School and will start dermatology residency at the University of Minnesota.

Ryan Schultz, Chicago, IL, is a senior actuarial consultant for Ernst & Young.

Ben Thrash, Temple, TX, is a company commander in the U.S. Army.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

Constructing the Outbreak, Epidemics in Media and Collective Memory. She is also a professor of communications at Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro.

Colin Mullen, Duluth, is co-founder and owner, along with his wife, Laura, of Bent Paddle Brewing Co. Jessica Risco, Los Angeles, CA, a former English as a second language teacher, is now an actress and filmmaker.

Alec Sonsteby, Woodbury, is a professor and department chair, library and information, at Metropolitan State University.

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GUSTIES

Karmen Yoder, Somerville, MA, is an internal audit analyst for United Health Group.

16|

Megan Kauffmann, Saint Peter, is a social worker in the emergency room at Mayo Clinic Health System, Mankato.

Jace Riggin, Minneapolis, is the assistant director of admissions at Macalester College.

17|

William Seeberg, Northfield, is a physical therapist for Tucson Orthopedic Institute.

Lindsey Taylor, Madison, WI, is a conservation programs coordinator for Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin.

18|

Jennifer Williams, Plymouth, received her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Bethel University in May 2021.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

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38

Camryn Heckel, Minneapolis, is a behavioral health personal advocate for CIGNA. Minh Ngoc Le, Hanoi, Vietnam, is a support business analyst for Confluence in Ho Chi Minh City.

Carly Onraet, Bloomington, is a maintenance contract associate for ConvergeOne. Anastasia Rutz, Minneapolis, is a fulfillment operations lead for Target.

21|

Chase Androff, Richfield, is attending graduate school for physical therapy at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Ashley Beckman, Owatonna, is an accounting advisory associate for Boulay.

Elsa Beise, Edina, is a sales administrator for Summit 360.

Tommy Bigaouette, North Mankato, is employed by State Farm Insurance.

Amelia Bjorklund, Bloomington, is the listing manager-investments for NAI Legacy.

Josie Blake, Waukegan, IL, is a college coach for College Possible.

Maheemah Bokhoree, Midlands, Mauritius, is attending a graduate program for chemical physics at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Gunnar Bosking, Cedar Rapids, IA, is a management representative for SAP Concur.

Gabby Bowlin, Winona, is a sales development representative for Fastenal Company.

Halley Brocker, Ankeny, IA, is attending graduate school for social work at the University of Iowa.

Marshall Browne, Littleton, CO, is attending a graduate program for veterinary medicine at the University of Missouri.

John Campisi, Thornton, CO, is enlisted in the United States Navy.

Hailey Concepcion, Stillwater, is attending graduate school for food anthropology at University of London.

Nicole Cundiff, Blaine, is attending graduate school for Victorian studies at Saint Andrew’s University, Scotland.

Mallory Denzer, Coon Rapids, is attending graduate school for counseling and psychological services at Saint Mary’s University.

Sam Deyak, Iowa City, IA, is an armor officer with the United States Army.

Vanessa Dimick, Northfield, is an ICU nurse for Mayo Clinic Health Systems in Rochester.

Alec Donald, Billings, MT, is a counselor for Christikon.

Evie Doran, Rosemount, is in law school at the University of Minnesota.

Nicole Feldhake, Rosemount, is a tax associate for CliftonLarsonAllen.

Austin Fest, West Des Moines, IA, is a strength and conditioning intern for the University of Iowa.

Nick Fischer, Courtland, is a service leader at Kwik Trip.

Holly Fitterer, Fredericksburg, VA, is a Latin teacher at Spotsylvania County Public Schools.

Thomas Fitzloff, Mankato, is a global forwarding agent for CH Robinson.

Gabriella Garry, Eagan, is a project manager for Boom Lab. Maya Gerads, Champlin, is attending a doctorate program for acute care nurse practitioner at the College of Saint Scholastica.

Jeremy Gilbertson, Maple Plain, is a field research technician for Great Basin Institute.

Wyatt Gillette, Saint Peter, is a financial analyst at Ameriprise Financial.

Robert Goor, Anoka, is working for Trane Logistics.

Sophia Gottlick, Rockford, IL, is attending a graduate program for public administration at the American University.

Alyssa Granholm, Esko, is attending a graduate program for higher education at the University of Minnesota.

Joseph Griffith, International Falls, has enlisted with the United States Army.

Trajan Grimsrud, Rochester, is a second Lieutenant for the United States Army.

Kaitlyn Gruber, Richmond, is attending a graduate program for chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Matthew Halder, Ankeny, IA, is attending graduate school for nutrition at Iowa State University.

Meghan Harper, Appleton, WI, is a medical assistant for Fox Valley Pulmonary.

Emma Hauser, Plymouth, is a juvenile probation officer intern for Dakota County Community Corrections.

Taylor Hemme, Eden Prairie, is attending a graduate program in kinesiology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Megan Herbert, Saint Michael, is a sales development program manager for UnitedHealth Group.

Daisy Hernandez-Barguiarena, Edina, is a youth specialist for Casa de Esperanza in St. Paul.

Melanie Hoffa, Chanhassen, is a behavioral therapist at Angel Academy.

Logan Holley, Fort Worth, TX, is an audit associate for RSM. Scott Huston, Palos Heights, IL, is an area manager for Amazon.

Merritt Imhoff, Eden Prairie, is a project management and marketing intern for Options Exteriors.

Emee Jagielski, Saint Joseph, is a behavioral health administrative specialist at Nystrom and Associates.

Marietta Johns, Stillwater, is a financial advisor for Ameriprise Financial Services.

Christian Johnson, Buffalo, is working as a professional baseball player.

Melanie Johnson, Belle Plaine, is an infant teacher at KinderBerry Hill.

Natalie Johnson, Maywood, IL, is attending graduate school for oboe performance at Northwestern University.

Lydia Kalenze, New Brighton, is attending graduate school for speech-language pathology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Sara Kasel, Leroy, is attending graduate school for public policy at Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

Isabella Klabough, Elysian, is attending graduate school for mental health counseling at Idaho State University.

Taylor Kline, Pine City, is a registered nurse for Sanford Health.

Reidun Kubisa, Hopkins, is working at the Minneapolis Health Department.

Kourtney Kulseth, Richfield, is a GIS analyst for Sentera.

Adam Kunkel, Madison Lake, is a registered nurse for Mayo Health Systems.

Sena Laanonh-Kappauf, Rochester, is a medical technologist for QC Lab. Wren Leith, Mankato, is attending graduate school for mental health counseling at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

William Leneave, Medina, is attending graduate school for law at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Kelsey Leppert, Faribault, is attending graduate school for

Robbinsdale School District.

Megan Morris, Sauk Rapids, is working at Seams Unlimited.

Ashley Neuenfeldt, Bloomington, is an actuarial consultant for the Travelers Company.

Anh V. Nguyen, Hanoi, Vietnam, is a business intelligence intern for RBC. Megan Nipe, Burnsville, is a program coordinator for Lake Wapogasset Lutheran Bible Camp.

Owen Nkurunziza, Kigali, Rwanda, is a recruiter for Lifetouch.

EmMarie Norton, Rochester, is attending a nurse residency program at University of Wisconsin Health.

Kathleen O'Brien, Le Sueur, is a team member at City Year.

Jordyn Olson-Merrick, Duluth, is attending graduate school at the Pacific University College of Optometry.

Jacob Padilla, Fall Creek, WI, is attending graduate school for sustainable business at the University of Miami Herbert Business School.

Andrea Post, Minneapolis, is an inventory manager and assistant grower at Tangletown Gardens.

Sofia Ramos, West Fargo, ND, is a registered nurse for Sanford Health.

Logan Ries, Saint Cloud, is a private equity intern for CliftonLarsonAllen.

Ingrid Rischmiller, Chanhassen, is a behavioral therapist for Minnesota Autism Center.

Tyler Rock, Savage, is a sales development program employee for UnitedHealth Group.

Hannah Rupp, Pittsford, NY, is attending graduate school for speech-language pathology at Nazareth College.

Faith Schermerhorn, Elko New Market, is attending graduate school for library and information science at Saint Catherine University.

Carolyn Schwartz, Lakeville, is an actuarial leadership and development intern for Travelers Insurance.

Lauren Scott, Apple Valley, is working for Fairview Ridges Emergency Room and Masonic Children’s Hospital.

Megan Setterlund, Alma, MI, is a project management associate at Boom Lab. Madelyn Smerillo, Eden Prairie, is an administrative and production supervisor for Nova Group.

Lydia Spann, New Harmony, IN, is a conservation technician for Gibson and Pike Soil and Water Conservation.

Isabel St. Dennis, Edina, is attending graduate school for speech, language, and hearing sciences at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Jessica Stauber, Saint Joseph, is attending graduate school for speech pathology at Saint Cloud State University.

Laura Stickney, Inver Grove Heights, MN, is a developmental intern with 826 MSP and is attending graduate school for creative writing at Hamline University.

Corrine Stremmel, Brookings, SD, is an intern for Mortenson Construction and Mpls.St.Paul Magazine.

Rachel Studer, Maple Grove, is a graduate student in data science at the University of WisconsinMadison.

Bethany Tennis, Hayward, is attending graduate school for land resources and environmental science at Montana State University Bozeman.

Titania Thao, St. Paul, is an AmeriCorps member with College Possible.

Samantha Tonjes, Eden Prairie, is a gymnastics coach at Tags Gymnastics.

Avery Troy, Blaine, is working for College Possible.

Carolyn Turnquist, Excelsior, is a project management associate for Boom Lab. Ginger Valentine, Delano, is doing a marketing and advertising fellowship for Tennis for America.

Jacob Veness, Farmington, is working for the United States Army.

Katelyn Weide, Sartell, is an audit associate for Boulay.

Riley Wentink, Chaska, is a behavioral health administrative specialist at Nystrom and Associates.

Elizabeth Whitcomb, Mendota Heights, is attending graduate school for public health at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Quincy Yangh, St. Paul, is the recipient of a Fulbright English teacher assistant grant to Taiwan and will teach there for the 202122 academic year.

Aimen Zara, Islamabad, Pakistan, is attending graduate school for public relations and corporate communications at Georgetown University.

WEDDINGS Jamey Garner ’97 and Jameson Powers, 06/01/19, Tucson, AZ Amanda Miller ’13 and Aaron Thauwald ’12, 07/31/20, Rochester Anna Michel ’14 and Mik Nelson, 12/31/20, Lawrence, KS Sara Kullberg ’15 and Andrew Pearson ’15, 05/01/21, Minneapolis Zachary Burrington ’16 and Jenna Kivley ’18, 06/12/21, Elk River Sofia Boda ’20 and Benjamin Hylen ’20, 10/17/20, Minneapolis Jenna Anderson ’20 and Jack Ryan, 05/01/21, Savage

BIRTHS Gavin, to Joe Pike ’02 and Megan Pike, in May 2021 Mavis, to Rachel Kuykendall Kelley ’05 and Forrest Kelley, in March 2019 Evelyn, to Noelle Salmonson Carlson ’06 and Kevin Carlson, in July 2021 Arthur, to Kat Coughlin Coda ’09 and Nathan Coda, in March 2021 Colin, to Ryan A. Michaelis ’10 and Allison Schulte Michaelis ’11, in April 2021 Homer, to Brian A. Smith ’11 and Katherine Martinson Smith ’11, in May 2021 Finley, to Amanda Nagel ’13 and Ethan Nagel, in May 2021

IN MEMORIAM Anne Dahlberg Hatch ’43, Anchorage, AK, on 6/23/21. She lived to be 101 years and was a wife, mother, and elementary school teacher. She is survived by her five children including Barbara Hatch ’73.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

physical therapy at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Alaina Leske, Hector, is attending NOVA Academy of Cosmetology.

Charlotte Lim, Shoreview, is attending graduate school for international relations at New York University.

Leah Lind, Shoreview, is an associate in technical account management for Tanium.

Brooke Linder, Saginaw, is attending graduate school for dentistry at the University of Minnesota.

Britta Lundgren, Hager City, WI, is a behavior technician at Caravel Autism Health.

Eric Manuel, St. Louis Park, is an analyst for Mercer.

Abigail Mattson, Mankato, is attending graduate school for exercise psychology at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Sierra Mattson, Princeton, is an early education tutor for AmeriCorps.

Callie Mauston, Virginia, is a sourcing analyst for Allianz Life.

Dylan McGregor, Morristown, is a quality curator at Epic Games.

Allie Miller, Champlin, is attending graduate school for school psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Jacqui Miller, Isanti, is attending doctoral school for clinical psychology at the University of Washington.

Samantha Misener, Prior Lake, is working for RSM International Tax Department.

Sara J. Moen, Blaine, is a registered nurse for Sanford Health.

Kelly Montgomery, Apple Valley, is a substitute teacher for

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GUSTIES

REMEMBERING GEORGE B. TORREY ’55 Saint Cloud, on 6/4/21. An Army veteran, he was a successful businessman who ultimately became president and chief operating officer for Herberger’s. George served on the Gustavus Board of Trustees and was awarded a Distinguished Alumni Citation and a Greater Gustavus Award.

He is survived by two daughters and four siblings including Elaine Torrey Magnuson ’59, and was predeceased by his wife, Shirley, and son, David Torrey ’95.

REMEMBERING ADRYN “ADE” SPONBERG ’58 Fargo, ND, on 8/3/21. An outstanding athlete and educator, Ade served as the athletic director at North Dakota State University as well as the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He received a Distinguished Alumni Citation for education from Gustavus, as well as induction into the Athletics Hall of Fame. He is survived by his wife, Donna Elvestrom Sponberg ’58, two children, and a sister,

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

JanaLee Sponberg ’68.

40

James C. Pengra ’46, Mankato, on 5/12/21. A World War II veteran, he had a long career as a regional vice president/manufacture’s representative for Katz Underwear Company and is survived by two daughters.

Harold Overn ’47, Tucson, AZ, on 6/27/21. A World War II veteran, he worked as a real estate broker/ manager. He is survived by his wife, Jean Berg Overn ’47, and two children.

Lorraine Windland Wels ’47, New Ulm, on 6/3/21. A wife, mother, and former social worker, she is survived by a son.

Miriam Bloom Curtis ’49, Salem, OR, on 6/3/21. She was an early teacher of education for the handicapped and is survived by three daughters and a sister,

Millicent Bloom Aycock ’56.

Gene Ann Prink Johnson ’49, Cedar Rapids, IA, on 5/23/21. She was a teacher and librarian in the Robbinsdale School District and is survived by a daughter.

David Frans Larson ’50, Eugene, OR, on 6/29/21. A former ELCA minister who, over a long career, served congregations in Colorado, Iowa, California, Texas and Oregon. He is survived by three children, including Steven ’79.

Adele Lund Brown ’51, Los Angeles, CA, on 4/30/21. She taught for 35 years at Montclair High School in Los Angeles and is survived by a daughter.

Einar S. Dahl ’51, Prospect Heights, IL, on 4/23/21. An Army veteran, he worked as a State

Farm insurance agent and survived by his wife, Catherine, five children, and four stepchildren.

Lowell Helstedt ’51, San Luis Obispo, CA, on 3/9/21. A retired Lutheran pastor he is survived by four children.

Grant E. Peterson ’51, Austin, on 6/18/21. A Korean War veteran, he made his career as a schoolteacher and principal at Adams High School (Southland).

He is survived by three children.

Albert Yngve ’51, Remer, on 7/10/21. Albert, his parents, and brother were all attorneys and practiced law at Yngve and Yngve in St. Louis Park’s first law firm. He is survived by a daughter.

William C. Holmes ’52, Manitowoc, WI, on 7/2/21. The

former president of Holmes Oil, he is survived by children Cynthia Holmes Carlson ’80, Susan Holmes Flessing ’84, and John ’86. He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret “Peg” (Sternaman ’51) Holmes, and sons, Mike ’78 and Bob ’82.

Margaret Olson Reishus ’52, Batavia, IL, on 6/13/21. She was registered nurse and is survived by her husband, Marlin Reishus, and four children.

Elizabeth Hawkinson ReeseMarton ’53, Long Lake, on 4/30/21.

A longtime kindergarten teacher in Robbinsdale School District, she is survived by her husband, William.

Pauline Melin Glenchur ’54, Los Angeles, CA, on 1/22/21. She was a registered nurse working at various locations. She is survived by three children, a partner, and a brother, Malcolm Melin ’56.

Shirley Thornquest Welch ’54, Wayzata, on 1/14/21. A former teacher and play director in Blue Earth, Hopkins, and Robbinsdale school districts, she is survived by two children.

Dean Lovold ’55, Willmar, on 6/18/21. An Army veteran and longtime dentist for the Willmar Regional Treatment Center, he is survived by his wife, Mariette Lovold, three children and three stepchildren.

Marilyn Lundberg Boyce ’56, Maple Grove, on 10/3/20. A retired nurse who worked at the University of Minnesota Hospitals and Chapel View Nursing Home, she is survived by three daughters including Lori Boyce Thomsen ’85 and Patricia Boyce Leaf ’87.

Faye Reber ’56, Minneapolis, on 6/13/21. She had a long career

as an educator at Sheridan Hills School in Richfield and is survived by several nephews and nieces.

Richard D. Hinquist ’57, Minneapolis, on 5/2/21. A successful retail businessman, Dick was a buyer for Dayton’s and later opened his own women’s clothing stores including R.D. Hinquist, Main Street Outfitters, and Hobo.

He is survived by his wife, Mary.

Susan Soldin Thorsheim ’57, Norwalk, CT, on 2/10/20. She worked in the publishing business with Greater Media Newspapers in Freehold and New Brunswick, NJ, and is survived by two sons.

Philip O. Lundeen ’58, Isanti, on 11/3/20. An Army veteran, he returned to work the family farm in addition to operating a sheer press at Hoffman Engineering. He is survived by his wife, Betty, three children, and a sister.

Carol Hadlich PolzinMagnuson ’58, St. Paul, on 6/13/21. She worked as an interior designer, funeral planner for North Heights Lutheran Church, and floral arranger at Linder’s Garden Center. She is survived by two children and two stepchildren.

Ruby “Diane” Fabre Antonsen ’59, Prior Lake, on 5/5/21. A registered nurse who worked many decades at St. Francis Hospital in Shakopee in the family/birth unit, she is survived by a daughter.

David Timm ’61, Carrington, ND, on 6/26/21. An Air Force veteran, he worked for Gerber Industries as a sales representative as well as a designer of agriculture elevator equipment, and is survived by his wife, Claudia.

Jon J. Tollefson ’67, Ames, IA, on 8/1/21. A Vietnam War veteran, Jon was a professor emeritus of entomology at Iowa State University. He is survived by his wife, Carla Rudquist Tollefson ’67; a brother, Lee Tollefson ’68; and two daughters including Kirsten Tollefson Rockwell ’92.

Sandra Dahlquist Kubesh ’68, Olivia, on 7/5/21. She worked as a paraprofessional for special education at BOLD Public Schools and is survived by her husband, Alton, four siblings, and two children.

Mary Ann Johnson ’70, St. Louis Park, on 5/15/21.

She worked periodically as a teacher’s assistant at Lake Ripley Elementary School, Litchfield, and is survived by three sisters and three children.

Otis Terrell “Terry” Kent ’71, Indianapolis, IN, on 5/28/21. A Vietnam veteran, he went on to receive his doctorate of philosophy and was an associate professor at Indiana University–Indianapolis.

He is survived by a brother and two sons.

Suzanne Zenk Miller ’71, South Bend, IN, on 5/10/21. She was the director of continuing education at Indiana University, South Bend.

She is survived by a sister and nephews and nieces.

Rachel Nelson Stenstrom ’78, Hibbing, on 6/27/21. She was a recreational therapist for Fairview in the Twin Cities and is survived by her husband, Scott Stenstrom ’80, her parents, four siblings, and two sons.

Lora Hendrickson Conroy ’86, Rochester, on 7/1/21. She was

the director of human resources at Macalester College in St. Paul and is survived by her husband, Patrick, three children, and her parents.

Timothy Laingen ’89, Minneapolis, on 6/21/21. He was employed by Quality Bicycle Products in Bloomington and is survived by his mother and three siblings.

Kristofor Storvick ’05, Eagan, on 5/25/21. A corporate attorney, he was intellectual property counsel for Starkey Hearing Technologies and is survived by his wife, Gemma Soderholm Storvick ’05, his father, and three children.

John Droege, Green Bay, WI, on 6/14/21. An economics professor at Gustavus from 1960–63, he earned his BA from

Southern Illinois University, his masters from the University of North Dakota and his PhD from the University of Wisconsin– Madison, where he was also awarded the Earhart Foundation Fellowship. He was hired by Green Bay Packaging in 1967, where he worked for 31 years, rising through the ranks to become vice president of industrial relations in 1982. He is survived by his wife, Constance, and their four children.

Dorothy Ferber, St. Paul, on 7/3/21. After graduating from Indiana University, Bloomington in music and English literature, she was director of international student services at Gustavus.

She went on to work at Ecolab as director of secondary research until her retirement in 1993. She is survived by a son and a sister.

NAMES FROM PAGE 42–43 1 Alexandra Zachman ’22, Beckett Zachman, Victoria Zachman ’25, and Michaela Zachman ’19 | 2 Konrad Wernsing ’25, Shane Wernsing ’95, Kimberly Smith Wernsing ’97, and Amelia Wernsing ’23 | 3 Mathieu Dahlen ’93, Greta Dahlen ’25, and Michele Goodwin ’96 Dahlen | 4 Sara Gostomczik Orth ’97, Lizzy Orth ’25, and Jeffrey Orth | 5 Ann Elton, Jillian Elton ’25, and Ryan Elton ’96 | 6 Erick and Matthew Whittaker, Susan Almen-Whittaker ’93, and Kaisa Whittaker ’25 | 7 Jessica Ruud ’25 and Kayla Ruud ’23 | 8 Jeff FitzSimmons ’84, Zander FitzSimmons ’25, and Deb FitzSimmons | 9 Anders Taylor ’25 and Barb Larson Taylor ’93 | 10 Sam Munson, Christopher Munson ’94, Sophie Munson ’25, and Melissa Stage | 11 Lisa Kychenthal, Lori Rutter Anderson ’81, Kallan Kychenthal ’25, and JC Anderson ’82 | 12 Katherine Markert, John Markert, Stacy Solberg Markert ’92, Amanda Markert | 13 Scott Anderson ’96, Fletcher Anderson ’25, Sara Puotinen ’96 | 14 Tom Lennartson ’68, Sue Amundson Lennartson ’68, Gustav Lennartson, Lukas Lennartson ’25, Eric Lennartson ’92, and Amy Lennartson | 15 Lisa Reid, Kayla Reid ’25, and Tony Reid ’94 | 16 Ann Stolle McCready ’92, Abigail ’25, and Scott McCready | 17 Kevin Gahart ’96, Tessa Gahart, Elise Gahart ’25, and Kristin Short Gahart ’98 | 18 Rich Orcutt, Bryan Orcutt ’25, Katie Orcutt ’21, Jan Orcutt, and Nathan Orcutt | 19 Will Losch ’95, Jakob Losch ’25, and Nicole Losch | 20 Jennifer Avery Rands ’95, Megan Rands ’25, and David Rands | 21 Kathy Lipke, Jayce Lipke, Megan Lipke ’25, and J. Eric Lipke ’89 | 22 David Sauer ’88, Caroline Sauer ’25 and Kristine Sauer | 23 Trina Schwakopf, Jordan Schwakopf ’18, Ella Schwakopf ’23, and Jason Schwakopf | 24 Britta Swanson Peterson ’94, Julia Peterson ’25, and Dan Peterson ’94 | 25 Julia Trygstad, Lauren Trygstad ’25, and Rob Crowell ’94 | 26 James Wishart, Madison Wishart ’25, and Sara Loftus Wishart ’98 | 27 Lucy Turner, Erin Johnson Turner ’97, Jackson Turner ’25, and Jonathan Turner ’97 | 28 Paul Erickson, Kari Erickson Whitlock ’99, Macey Whitlock ’25, Drew Whitlock, Karen Erickson, and Tony Whitlock | 29 Lily Gulaid, Ahmed Gulaid ’98, Melissa Gulaid, and Liam Gulaid ’25 | 30 Christopher Piela ’95, Andrew Piela, Lauren Piela ’25, and Melissa LeVesque-Piela ’97 | 31 Diedre Carlson Johnson ’96, Owen Johnson, Alexander Johnson ’25, Joel Johnson, and Aaron Johnson ’23 | 32 Nicole Misewich Brown ’93, Sophia Brown ’25, Christine Olson Misewich ’61, and Trent Brown | 33 Jason Thomas, Bryce Thomas, Sydney Thomas ’25, and Melissa Hummel Thomas ’00 | 34 Kristin Brubaker Kivell ’91, Cecelia Kivell ’25, and Brent Kivell ’91 | 35 Kirsten Staples, Alexander Staples ’25, and Scott Staples ’94 | 36 Benjamin Kiehne ’97, Carson Kiehne ’25, and Kristi Shuck Kiehne ’98 | 37 Joan Hartman ’96, Isaac Hartman ’25, and Liam Shay | 38 Colin Whalen, Connor Whalen ’25, and Sherri Hoikkala Whalen ’90 | 39 Susan Borchard, Mary Linnerooth Petersen ’62, Sara Borchert ’25, John Petersen, David Borhard | 40 Ted Smallfield, Chloe Smallfield ’25, and Stacy Dirnberger Smallfield ’95 | 41 Lucy Gilles, Alison Gilles ’25, and Katie Olstad Gilles ’95 | 42 Dale Kittlesen, Karen Stewart Kittlesen ’57, Jadon Kittlesen ’25, and Debra Ross Kittlesen ’86 | 43 Max Nguyen, Sarah Ulwelling Nguyen ’97, Marcus Nguyen ’25, Mason Nguyen, and Thang Nguyen | 44 Kobi Schuck ’25, Kristin Berg Schuck ’95, Kelly Schuck ’23, and Kyia Schuck | 45 Delinda Galuk Hawkins ’94, William Hawkins ’25, and Sedrick Hawkins ’96 | 46 Chris Barnick ’99, Charlie Barnick ’25, and Alicia Hubbard Barnick ’99 | 47 Harrison Wold ’22, Tami Jergenson Wold ’92, Pete Wold ’92, Gus, Asa Wold ’25, and Greta Wold ’23

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

Richard Blenkush ’62, Shakopee, on 6/30/21. An Army veteran, he taught elementary education for over three decades in St. Louis Park and is survived by his wife, Joyce, and two sons.

David W. Nelson ’62, Excelsior, on 11/9/20. A Navy veteran, he had a long career as a school principal in the Hopkins School District. He is survived by his wife, Mary, a brother, and two children including Julie Nelson Skeie ’89.

Marcia Day Anderson ’63, Fairfield, OH, on 4/29/21. An elementary education teacher who later got her masters of divinity and served as a missionary/professor in the Philippines and Kenya. She is survived by two sons.

Timothy Gamelin ’63, Highlands Ranch, CO, on 6/30/21.

A former ELCA Lutheran pastor who served at various locations in North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, he is survived by his wife, Susan Widstrom Gamelin ’65, five siblings including Daniel Gamelin ’63 and Lili Gamelin ’75, and four children including Tony Gamelin ’88.

Michael Bratholdt ’66, Minneapolis, on 6/1/21. An Army veteran, he worked his whole career as a production coordinator at Honeywell. He is survived by his partner, Bill, and three siblings.

Ronald H. Martens ’66, St. Peter, on 5/29/21. An Army veteran, he owned and operated ABM Equipment & Supply and Highway Manufacturing in Hopkins. He is survived by his wife, Esther Peterson Martens ’66, three children, a stepson, and three siblings: Craig ’62, John ’64, and Ann Martens Fischer ’69.

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GUSTIES GATHER WITH NEW GUSTIES

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For first-years whose parents or grandparents studied on the hill, this academic year carries the joy and nostalgia of continuing the tradition. These are some of the members of the Class of 2025 who were born Gusties.

Names on page 41.

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GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

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Vespers SPARROWS Morning after first snow— outside my kitchen window, gray sparrows flap up and down on a sagging clothesline.

It is a corn dance in honor of sunshine on snow.

What joy in a sparrow’s body as he jumps and eats— a world of red barns, snow, old clotheslines and corn kernels is enough.

No brooding on hunger and death, no suspicion among the sparrows.

I return from seeing a woman, full of joy and dancing in my body— lie awake all night putting away old dreams like a man packing for a long trip.

Now it is clear: her face come to me, and I sink into sleep like childhood, rising hours later to bright sun, sparrows dancing on the clothesline.

In a world of grief, no one has any right to such gifts as I am given; I take them, put on my feathers, and go dance in the snow.

GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY | WINTER 2021

—Bill Holm ’65

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from The Dead Get By With Everything (Milkweed Editions, 1991)

For Alumni, Parents, and Friends WINTER 2021 | VOL. LXXVII | ISSUE 4 STA F F Chair, Board of Trustees Scott Anderson ’89 President of the College Rebecca Bergman Vice President, Marketing and Communication Tim Kennedy ’82 Vice President, Advancement Thomas Young ’88 Director, Alumni and Parent Engagement Angela Erickson ’01 Director, Editorial Services Stephanie Wilbur Ash | sash@gustavus.edu Alumni Editor Philomena Kauffmann | pkauffma@gustavus.edu Visual Editor, Production Coordinator Anna Deike | adeike@gustavus.edu Design Brian Donahue | bedesigninc.com, Jill Adler | adlerdesignstudio.com, Sydney Stumme-Berg ’22 Contributing Writers JJ Akin ’11, Sara Cronk ’22, Rachel McCarthy, CJ Siewert ’11, Miguel Sousa

Before the Gustavus choirs sing the first notes at Christmas in Christ Chapel, CHRIS BLASCHKO has already been at work for days—giving the students a stage for their talents.

Chris is a one-man moving crew at Gustavus. With experience gained in his years on a Navy supply ship, Chris is the person the College calls upon when it’s time to move lab equipment, classroom desks, or biology specimens. His biggest challenge comes every December. The choir risers for Christmas in Christ Chapel are an 1,800-piece puzzle that take three days to assemble.

Gustavus depends on people like Chris. They might work behind the scenes, but their skill and experience are invaluable. So is their commitment to our students.

Gifts to the Gustavus Fund also don’t get the spotlight. But they are essential. Together with the gifts of other members of the Gustavus community, your contribution provides the foundation for the College’s mission-driven work. The Gustavus Fund sets the stage for our students to develop their talents and shine.

Please give to the Gustavus Fund today. Without the dedication of people like Chris, Gustavus would not be able to serve students. Without your gifts to the Gustavus Fund, their good work would be impossible.

Contributing Photographers Jean Burns, Nick Campbell ’18, Terry Clark Photography, Emily Ford ’15, Corbyn Jenkins ’20, Lucy Johnson ’24, Lydia Kalenze ’21, SPX Sports, Evan Taylor ’12, Nick Theisen ’15, LynnAnne Vesper ’93, Ryan Weber ’22, Luke Yang ’22, Jesse Yeakle, Gustavus Adolphus College Archives Printer John Roberts Company | johnroberts.com Postmaster Send address changes to the Gustavus Quarterly, Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement, Gustavus Adolphus College, 800 W. College Ave., Saint Peter, MN 56082-1498 GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE Saint Peter, MN 56082 507-933-8000 | gustavus.edu Articles and opinions presented in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or official policies of the College or its Board of Trustees.

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The Gustavus Quarterly (USPS 227-580) is published four times annually by Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter, Minn.

Periodicals postage is paid at Saint Peter, MN 56082, and additional mailing offices. It is mailed free of charge to alumni and friends of the College. Circulation is approximately 32,500.

Gustavus Adolphus College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association.

Sculpting in Schaefer Fine Arts during an evening snowfall.

Chris Blaschko

GIVE TODAY! The Gustavus Fund | gustavus.edu/give

WINTER 2021 800 WEST COLLEGE AVENUE SAINT PETER, MINNESOTA 56082

Why

Love Winter

We

From right to left: Anna Sexton, Malia Kabis, Ally Rakow, Abby Moe, Andrea Cruz Bracamontes, and Itzell Martinez—all sophomores—celebrate their first on-campus, in-person Homecoming from the first row of the student section of Hollingsworth Field. It was a beautiful

Thru-hiker Emily Ford ’15 on the coolest season

day for alumni, students, parents, staff, and friends to be together, including a 36-21 football win over Concordia in the MIAC opener.

2

WATER WORLD Out on George Lake, it’s hands on (your paddles) learning

5

A DEEPER DIVE A new use for the Dive space: the Center for Inclusive Excellence

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CLASS NOTES What your fellow Gusties have been up to