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Sophie Ortmeier - “Dana Patterson Inspires Others”
Dana Patterson Inspires Others
By J1 Reporter Sophie Ortmeier
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Dana Patterson has a full calendar including all her children’s activities, dinner for each day and much more. Patterson is a spouse to Steve and mother to three children, two daughters and a son. Megan is a junior at Marian, Grace is a freshman at Marian, and Steven is in eighth grade at St. Roberts. She works at Creighton University in the Heider College of Business. She works for an economic institute where she puts together student groups and programming. She also brings in speakers for the students and the public.
Patterson was born in Little Rock, Ark., but moved multiple times throughout her life. She has two older siblings, a sister, and brother. They were a very athletic and competitive family. She grew up playing soccer and basketball. She would travel a lot for soccer; she even missed thanksgiving one year. She attended Burke High School.
During high school she was involved in sports. Dana was also a “decent” student and was involved in the National Honor Society. “I was friends with a lot of different people from clubs and sports,” said Patterson, “but had three close friends who I am still friends with.”
For college she attended Lincoln first, earning a spot on the Husker soccer team. Playing a college sport impacted her experience because she had limited time to take classes. “I had to have a routine down by the first couple weeks,” Patterson said. On top of that, she was involved in a sorority- Kappa Alpha Theta. About half way through college she transferred to Oklahoma because her parents moved there after she went to college. Patterson wanted to be closer to her family, after losing both her grandmas and her dad got sick. She continued to play soccer at the University of Oklahoma. Being in a college sport helped her make connections and gave her close friends. She did not want to give up soccer. She says, “If I could do it again, I would.” While playing, she suffered from multiple injuries. She had three knee surgeries, a broken wrist, and a broken nose. This does not impact her children today as they are all involved in multiple sports. After college she moved back to Nebraska from Oklahoma because her parents had moved to Nebraska.
Her role model is her dad because she looked up to him throughout her lifetime. He died in 2009, but got to meet all his grandchildren before passing. “He was smart and funny; he taught me business and insurance,” Patterson said.
The morals she lives by are God first, family second, and community third. If she had all the money in the world, she would not tell anyone, then potentially move and travel. She would also donate to her church. Finally she would get a new sign for Tranquility Soccer Complex in Omaha. Patterson said, “I would get a new sign because it bugs me every time I see it.”
Since she works full time at Creighton and has a family, she says, “It is hard, but I just need a quiet moment to myself to be a better person when overwhelmed.” She enjoys going on drives to cool off or taking a day to hang out with her friends. Additionally, she tries to plan accordingly.
A moment when she was helping someone and it ended up helping her was when she helped her friend get through a divorce. Seeing her friend go through this tough situation made her grateful for her family and want to hug her husband and kids. It also made her more thankful for everything she has.
Unforgettable moments for her were the birth of her three children. Each births of her and her husband was different. She is grateful for her family, friends and health. Her life motto is to not take things so seriously and enjoy yourself because life is too short.
The Patterson family in 2021: Megan, Steven, Dana, Steve, Grace.
