UND Alumni Magazine Summer 2020

ALUMNI

M A G A Z I N E Summer 2020 | Volume 103 | Issue 3

LEADER, HEALER, SERVANT, WARRIOR Tribal councilwoman, doctor, and veteran,

Dr. Monica Mayer, ’95, reflects on a life of service to the land and people she knows and loves.

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UNDalumni.org Photo by Sam Melquist

JOIN THE

SHAREHOLDER SOCIETY With your gift of any size, you are helping to build a home for the next generation of business leaders.

As a member of the Shareholder Society, your name will be proudly displayed within the Nistler College of Business & Public Administration, inspiring future UND students who will walk these halls.

Contact Kim Woods, ’82 701.​777.​4106 | kimw@​UNDfoundation.​org

MARY KNOWS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE

#UND d u o Pr Mary Locken

SVP/Wealth & Fiduciary Division Manager

UND educators and leaders provided me with the solid foundation I have used throughout my career, employing effective analytical skills and cultivating relationships with people and community organizations. The leadership skills I acquired at UND help me direct our team in providing high-caliber fiduciary expertise and trusted guidance to our clients.

Bell Bank’s Pay It Forward mission of stewardship aligns perfectly with UND’s key initiatives to educate people in personal development and leading by helping others!

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bell.bank | Member FDIC

from the

Photo by Sam Melquist

EDITOR

After reading a story about her community leadership in response to the coronavirus pandemic, I knew I wanted to interview Dr. Monica Mayer, ’95, for a potential feature in this issue.

I’d first read about Dr. Mayer back in 2017, when she testified before the United Nations on the issue of human trafficking and widespread abuse of Native American women. At the time I was working on a project with the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS), where Monica earned her medical degree. The SMHS has since introduced the world’s first Ph.D. program in Indigenous Health. More recently, the SMHS announced that, thanks in part to its INMED program, for the third-straight year it is the nation’s top producer of American Indian physicians. Dr. Mayer is a product of the premier medical education obtained right here at UND, and as you’ll read, she has put her education and experience to work in helping so many people.

I can’t help but think about Dr. Mayer’s embodiment of UND’s “brand pillars” – the building blocks that define who we are: She is a doer who is always ready to make an impact on her people and her home in North Dakota.

INSIDE

Those values make UND special, and I see them reflected in her and the rest of the alumni featured in this magazine. Every one of our Sioux Award and Young Alumni Achievement Award winners; author Larry Watson, ’70, ’72; critical care nurse Caleb Behm, ’17; neurologist, writer, pilot and researcher Billy Hoffman, ’15, and so many others make the University of North Dakota’s story worth telling.

Alyssa Konickson, ’06 Editor, UND Alumni Magazine P.S. At the time of printing, many of our in-person fall events had recently been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit us at UNDalumni.org or on social media for ongoing event updates.

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THE LIVES OF LARRY WATSON

Praised for his tales of the American West, best-selling author has a new book out as his previous novel hits the big screen.

By Milo Smith

UND Alumni Magazine | Summer 2020

IN THIS ISSUE 14

COVER STORY

GOOD MEDICINE Dr. Monica Mayer, ’95, answers a calling to serve her people.

By Alyssa Konickson, ’06

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CONTENTS From the CEO

10 From the President 11 On Campus 14 Features

40 Class Notes 46 In Memoriam 48 UND Babies & Celebrations 50 Giving Circles

36 Locker Room

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CARING FOR THE SICKEST OF SICK Caleb Behm, ’17, BSN, RN, CCRN, treats patients on the front line of COVID-19.

By Jenn Lukens

UNDalumni.org

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VOL. 103 NO. 3

SUMMER 2020

CEO DeAnna Carlson Zink, ’86

UND Alumni Magazine Editor Alyssa Konickson, ’06

Lead Designer & Photographer Sam Melquist

Writers Milo Smith; Jenn Lukens; Alyssa Konickson, ’06 Contributing Writers Patrick C. Miller; Connor Murphy, ’15; Dima Williams; Alec Stocker Johnson,’17; Kyle Doperalski

Contributing Photographers Sara Titera; Milo Smith; Shawna Noel Schill, ’06; Russell Hons; Dave Wallis; Paul Dols; Sanford Health; Staff Sgt. Kimberly Hill

Marketing & Communications VP of Operations Bob Knutson, ’79

Associate VP of Engagement Sarah Prout, ’07

Senior Director of Public & Media Relations Milo Smith

UND Alumni Association & Foundation Board of Directors Chair Sara Garland, ’68, ’72 Vice Chair Dr. John Gray, ’87

Directors Darla Adams, ’84, ’85; Lisa Barnes, ’88; Cindy Blikre, ’91; Scott Fredericksen, ’74; Angie Freeman, ’91; Phil Gisi, ’82; Mike Hamerlik, ’84, ’88; Marten Hoekstra, ’82; Jonathan Holth; Dr. Michael LeBeau, ’02; Rick Lee, ’78; Doug Mark, ’86; Chuck MacFarlane, ’87; Rob Mitchell, ’74; Karen Phillips, ’77; Jim Poolman, ’92; Jodi Rolland, ’92; Dave St. Peter, ’89; Karen Thingelstad, ’89; and Chad Wachter.

Ex Officio Dr. Andrew Armacost; Nancy Peterson, ’90; Jed Shivers; Dr. Debbie Storrs; Dr. Joshua Wynne, and DeAnna Carlson Zink, ’86.

The UND Alumni Magazine (ISSN 26896753) is published four times a year by the University of North Dakota Alumni Association, 3501 University Avenue, Stop 8157, Grand Forks, ND 58202-8157.

Periodical postage paid at Grand Forks, ND 58201 and other offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the UND Alumni Magazine, 3501 University Avenue, Stop 8157, Grand Forks, ND 58202-8157.

For inquiries about advertising, additional copies, reprints, submissions, or general comments, contact 800.543.8764, 701.777.5819 or AlumniMag@UNDalumni.net.

BLEED GREEN

Did you know that you can opt to receive your Alumni Magazine electronically instead of in the mail? If you’re interested in going green, email your request to AlumniMag@UNDalumni.net.

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from the Dear alumni and friends,

The University of North Dakota has the greatest alumni and friends. I can say that with complete confidence after we set a fundraising record for the second fiscal year in a row!

To have raised a record $80.1 million after receiving $67.7 million in gifts and commitments in the previous fiscal year is amazing, especially given the upheaval surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

Through your generosity, we will be able to impact the lives of UND students today and well into the future.

To learn more, please watch our 2020 State of the UND Alumni Association & Foundation Address. You can find it at UNDalumni.org/ Address.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

UND Alumni Magazine | Summer 2020

CEO Nistler CoBPA

One of the goals accomplished during fiscal year 2020, which ended on June 30, was the financing of the new Nistler College of Business & Public Administration. Thanks to a generous lead gift from Werner and Colleen Nistler and the contributions of many alumni and friends, a new building will rise on University Avenue. $50 million in private gifts were matched by $20 million in state dollars. I want to thank North Dakota legislators for their collaboration in this public/private partnership.

Together, we truly are building the future!

Homecoming With the health and safety of our alumni and students our top priority, we made the difficult decision to cancel in-person Homecoming events on October 5-10.

ANOTHER RECORD YEAR

And, we set up a separate program to help with another pandemic-related concern: whether students could afford to return to campus this academic year.

At one point this spring, 8% of UND students had not reenrolled for the fall semester.

That sobering fact led us to launch the Open Door Scholarship program, aimed at providing tuition dollars to those most affected by financial troubles.

We want to be able to offer students immediate assistance to help them receive their UND degrees. A $300,000 fund has been established to match gifts to the program 1:1.

You can learn more about the UND Angel Fund at UNDalumni.org/AngelFund and the Open Door Scholarship program at UNDalumni.org/OpenDoor.

Please consider making a gift to help students pursue their dreams.

Remembering Tom DiLorenzo I’m still at a loss to process the fact that my friend and our former provost, Tom DiLorenzo, was killed this summer, just weeks after leaving Grand Forks.

Tom retired from his provost duties at UND on June 1 and was tragically gunned down just a few weeks later during an early morning walk with his wife in Charleston, South Carolina.

Tom’s tenure at UND was marked by his strong advocacy to always do what was best for students and his caring and upbeat attitude. He was a great partner and advocate for our organization, was happy to put in the time working with our Board of Directors, gave to a variety of philanthropic causes at UND, and was always asking what more he could do.

An endowment fund has been set up in Tom’s honor. You can find out more at UNDalumni.org/ TomDiLorenzo. My sympathies to Tom’s family and friends. He will be greatly missed.

Photo by Sam Melquist

The decision was made by the UND Alumni Association & Foundation Board of Directors Executive Board in collaboration with UND President Andrew Armacost and UND Athletics.

See page 19 for more information.

We still want to celebrate and recognize this year’s Sioux Award and Young Alumni Achievement Award recipients. You can read their biographies starting on page 20. Please visit UNDalumni.org/homecoming for the latest Homecoming information.

Helping students during a crisis I am so proud of the work that has been done by the administrations of interim President Joshua Wynne and current President Andrew Armacost to deal with the pandemic.

Throughout this difficult time, they have kept their focus on what is best for the students of this great University. Students back on campus August 24 are to follow a set of safety precautions outlined in the Healthy Hawks Smart Restart. You can find out more at blogs.und.edu/coronavirus.

When the pandemic took hold in the country, UND students were sent home and many suffered financial hardships as they and those supporting them lost jobs. At the time, the UND Alumni Association & Foundation put a renewed emphasis on the UND Angel Fund, which helps students during times of crisis. The funds are administered through the Division of Student Affairs & Diversity, which has set up an online application for students to request help. As of printing, more than $162,000 had been raised to support the Angel Fund with more than 170 students receiving critical aid.

Board of Directors To the credit of our board members, our May board meeting was successfully conducted online rather than in Grand Forks. I am grateful for the guidance this group provides and their dedication to the University of North Dakota. I want to thank three of our board members who have served out their terms and retired from the board in June: Doug Podolak, ’72, Linda Laskowski, ’72, ’73, and Carrie McIntyre, ’88. Joining our board are two new members, Scott Fredericksen, ’74, and Dave St. Peter, ’89.

Thank you for all that you do for this University and its amazing students.

Sincerely,

DeAnna Carlson Zink, ’86, CFRE UND Alumni Association & Foundation CEO deannac@UNDfoundation.org UNDalumni.org

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UND Alumni Magazine | Summer 2020

ON THE SHOULDERS OF

GIANTS

Since 1889, the University of North Dakota has been standing on the shoulders of giants — students, faculty, staff, alumni, and a community of supporters who have made it what it is today. The year 2020 has been no different. This year, a record $80.1 million was given in support of UND, shattering previous fundraising records. Thank you. To hear more about how UND alumni and friends continue to provide steadfast support in uncertain times, watch the State of the UND Alumni Association & Foundation Address at UNDalumni.org/address.

Photo by Sam Melquist

UNDalumni.org

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FROM THE PRESIDENT

Photo by Shawna Schill

The path forward

President Andy, first lady Kathy, and “first dog” Sadie officially report for duty at their new home on UND’s campus.

After a long and unplanned delay, Kathy and I are at last on the University of North Dakota campus.

On June 23, we awoke in University House to the sight of the sun rising over the English Coulee, ready to experience our first full day in our new roles.

Since then, we’ve been acclimating ourselves to the community while learning about the proud history and traditions of the University.

While we are confident in our plans to minimize risk, we also have the option to revert to online education should it become necessary. Rest assured, our goal is to consider all likely scenarios and have necessary precautions in place.

As pleased and excited as I am to begin my tenure as UND’s president, I’m aware of the challenges ahead. For example, UND is opening for the fall semester, offering a mix of on-campus and online courses because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

We’ve designed our fall operations to minimize risk, especially for our campus members and the citizens of Grand Forks. Our approach to the reopening has relied on careful, thoughtful and thorough planning with much input from faculty, staff, students and others.

Recent national events of racial turmoil and unrest have demonstrated that institutions of higher learning must be mindful of our role in facilitating and modeling discussions around this sensitive topic to bring about greater understanding and positive change. In the months ahead, UND will undergo the process of examining its operations and its curriculum to identify opportunities for each member of our campus to be treated with a greater sense of respect and dignity. There is no better place to achieve a rich understanding of each other, our backgrounds and our cultures than at UND, with our commitment to critical thought and discovery. This is what it means to be One UND.

As you may know, Josh Wynne, dean of the School of Medicine & Health Sciences and vice president for Health Affairs, was appointed chief health strategist by Gov. Doug Burgum to assist the state of North Dakota with its COVID recovery efforts.

UND is most fortunate to count on Dr. Wynne as a valuable resource with a broad range of knowledge and experience as UND returns to its vital roles of teaching and learning.

In late June, UND received permission from the State Board of Higher Education to take down Memorial Stadium, which served as home to the University’s football team for 74 years. While it’s sad to lose a facility that’s provided many fond memories for UND students and alumni, it’s important to me as a 30-year U.S. Air Force veteran to see that whatever facility replaces Memorial Stadium, it continues to honor those who fought and died in World War I.

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UND Alumni Magazine | Summer 2020

I am proposing that we save some of the materials and architecture from Memorial Stadium for incorporation into a new facility that continues to pay tribute to our veterans.

Finally, there is good news on the construction of the Nistler College of Business & Public Administration.

The City of Grand Forks Jobs Development Authority is investing $1.33 million, pushing us over the $50 million threshold to earn state matching funds of $20 million and to begin building. Not only will this new facility occupy a key location on campus of which our community can be proud, it will also enable the modern learning needed to develop the next generations of business leaders who will drive economic development and help create a more diverse and resilient economy for our state.

Kathy and I are thrilled to be in North Dakota at the University of North Dakota. I look forward to meeting and working with our wonderful University alumni in the days ahead. #UNDproud

President Andrew Armacost

ON CAMPUS

REMEMBERING

TOM DILORENZO Tributes pour in from around the nation after the tragic death of recently retired Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

The tragic shooting death of recently retired UND Provost Tom DiLorenzo on July 17 in Charleston, S.C., caused an outpouring of memories and comments from University alumni, students, faculty, staff and the greater Grand Forks community.

DiLorenzo was shot during an early morning attempted robbery in downtown Charleston while on a walk with his wife, Suzanne Austin, Charleston police reported. He died an hour later at a local hospital.

DiLorenzo retired from UND on June 1 of this year.

Austin began her new job as Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at the College of Charleston on July 1. Three teenagers have been arrested in connection with the shooting.

The news of DiLorenzo’s death hit the UND community hard. And although his seven years at the University had been controversial at times, the number and depth of DiLorenzo’s relationships reveal a side of the man less well-known to the public.

Retired UND President Robert Kelley, who hired DiLorenzo as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs in 2013, said their working relationship was based on complementary abilities, mutual respect and humor. Sometimes at the end of a trying day, Kelley would seek out DiLorenzo in his Twamley Hall office.

“We’d shut the door and talk about politics, economics and issues we’d been having,” he recalled.

“Tom enjoyed using the words ‘analytics’ and ‘solutions.’ He always wanted to find solutions.

“I used to tease him and say, ‘Tom, I’m here at the end of a hard day, and I need some analytics. I’m here for some of your solutions,’” Kelley chuckled. “It would always make him laugh.”

DiLorenzo’s ability to analyze and solve problems was what Kelley valued about the UND provost.

“Tom had a way of approaching issues that permitted finding solutions,” he said. “He had a very analytical way of doing it that helped him reach decisions.

He would use his keenly honed intellect to help me resolve some of the issues my office was facing.”

Sara Garland, chair of the UND Alumni Association & Foundation Board of Directors and former chief of staff to retired North Dakota U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad, knew DiLorenzo both on a personal and a professional level. Once UND’s lobbyist in Washington, Garland is now retired and lives in Virginia.

“He would come to Washington, D.C., several times a year, and we’d talk about family, the University, various issues, politics and those sorts of things,” she said. “I got to know him well. We both had grandchildren, which was another link in our friendship.”

In 2018, Garland led an effort on the 50th anniversary of her UND class of 1968 to raise money for an endowment for student scholarships. DiLorenzo attended a reception for the group during UND’s homecoming and addressed members of the class.

“What he did took me completely by surprise,” Garland remembered. “He gave our class endowment a $5,000 personal contribution. It was the kindest, most thoughtful thing. I told him that I will never be able to thank him enough. It was just wonderful and heartfelt act on his part. I will be forever grateful to him for that.”

DiLorenzo was thoroughly committed to the Foundation, attending and speaking at board meetings as UND’s representative.

“We didn’t get lip service from Tom,” Garland said. “He was truly committed to the organization because he understood the connection. He knew UND’s students were going to benefit from the work of the Foundation in terms of student and faculty endowments.”

Read the full tribute to Tom DiLorenzo at blogs.UND.edu/UND-today/2020/07/ remembering-tom-dilorenzo/. /// — by Patrick C. Miller

UNDalumni.org

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ON CAMPUS

F E AT U R I N G

IN THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY RANJU DHUNGANA

Student’s life has taken her from a refugee camp in Nepal to a prestigious U.S. State Department scholarship, via UND.

By Connor Murphy

GRATEFUL AND INSPIRED

Ranju Dhungana, who was born in a refugee camp in Nepal and now attends UND, is the University’s latest recipient of a U.S. government-sponsored Critical Language Scholarship.

Photo by Shawna Schill

As a New England college professor in the early 1800s, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow observed, “Music is the universal language of mankind.”

And from a Nepali refugee camp in 2009, nearly two centuries after and a world away from Longfellow’s time, young Ranju Dhungana proved the truth of the American poet’s saying.

For Dhungana, who spoke Nepali and was born in that refugee camp, music was what connected her to Hindi, the primary language of neighboring India.

When she moved to Grand Forks at 11 years old, music once again helped Dhungana get a handle on a language – this time, English – and later, master it.

Dhungana is UND’s latest recipient of a Critical Language Scholarship, a competitive summerabroad language program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. This summer, despite the challenges of the coronavirus, she is reconnecting with Hindi, the language she had started to learn in her youth.

The base of knowledge and language skill provided by the scholarship program could be a launchpad for the senior’s intended career in medicine.

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UND Alumni Magazine | Summer 2020

Communication and healing

CLS goes online

The psychology major and honors student’s inspiration to take a pre-health emphasis at UND was long in the making, albeit through tragedy.

Dhungana thought she would be going to the northern state of Rajasthan, in India, for a summer of language and cultural immersion.

There, she would have been living with a host family while covering a year of language coursework in a 10-week period.

“I’ve always known that I wanted to go into medicine,” Dhungana said.

Life in the refugee camp was difficult for her family. Her parents fled from Bhutan amid civil unrest and violence, and necessities such as electricity and clean water were scarce. Medical services, both in supplies and personnel, were especially lacking.

So, when her father suddenly fell ill, his affliction proved to be fatal. He died due to lack of antivenom or antitoxin for a snake bite.

Dhungana remembers those times and the pivotal role that communication played. In pursuing the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS), and, in turn, picking up where she left off with Hindi, Dhungana hopes to be able to communicate with patients in their native language.

“My goal is to be able to speak with people who would normally require an interpreter,” she said. “People feel more secure in having that connection with a nurse or doctor, and they’re more open to talking about things.”

For a time, it seemed like the coronavirus brought the entire program to a halt. But then, around the end of the spring semester, an announcement came that the 10-week language courses would be offered online.

In her application essays, Dhungana reflected on her upbringing in a Bhutanese-Nepalese camp, her love of Hindi music, and the challenges of coming to the United States at 11, barely understanding English.

Yee Han Chu, UND’s fellowship opportunities coordinator, who had been working with Dhungana nearly every step of the way and has gotten to know Dhungana and her story, is impressed by her resilience and how many challenges she has overcome to excel at UND. “I’m so grateful for the fact we have people like Yee Han, otherwise I don’t think I would have known about this scholarship,” Dhungana said.

“I’m so grateful for all of the opportunities that I’ve had through UND.” ///

ON CAMPUS

FINAL BEAM On Wednesday, April 29, UND held a beam raising ceremony signifying the placement of the final structural beam for the new Memorial Union. The completion date is anticipated for fall 2021.

Photo by Shawna Schill

Serving rural America UND’s Rural Health Information Hub, a national rural health information center, has received $14.5 million from the Health Resource and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to continue its work as the nation’s rural health information source. Located at the Center for Rural Health within the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, RHIhub will continue to serve rural communities and other rural stakeholders, helping them access the full range of available programs, funding, and research that can enable them to provide quality healthcare and improve the health of rural residents.

Statement honors valley’s original inhabitants UND released a Land Acknowledgement Statement that “seeks to show respect, recognition and gratitude to Indigenous Peoples who call the land home.” The UND Land Acknowledgement Statement reads as follows: “Today, the University of North Dakota rests on the ancestral lands of the Pembina and Red Lake Bands of Ojibwe, and the Dakota Oyate – presently existing as composite parts of the Red Lake, Turtle Mountain, White Earth Bands, and the Dakota Tribes of Minnesota and North Dakota. We acknowledge the people who resided here for generations and recognize that the spirit of the Ojibwe and Oyate people permeates this land.

As a university community, we will continue to build upon our relations with the First Nations of the state of North Dakota – the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Nation, Spirit Lake Nation, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.”

UND welcomes students back to campus UND has developed a plan, called Smart Restart, to repopulate campus this fall as concerns about coronavirus infections persist across the country. The Smart Restart efforts rest on three pillars – education, hygiene and testing. Physical distancing and reducing density in residence halls, in classrooms and in offices, a mixture of online and in-person classes and a requirement to wear face coverings are all part of the plan, which strives to provide a safe, quality UND experience.

Between March and July, 50 staff volunteers took on the herculean task of contacting nearly 10,000 UND undergraduate, prospective and non-degree seeking students individually by phone, email and voicemail in an effort help them cope not only with the transition to online education, but also with disruptions, uncertainty and unplanned problems caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Learn more at blogs.UND.edu/coronavirus.

EERC fueled by $17M grant UND’s Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) was awarded nearly $17 million in April from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy for a project that will directly support Project Tundra, a carbon capture, utilization and storage research and development project led by Grand Forksbased Minnkota Power Cooperative. Another $7.9 million in non-DOE funding from the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC), through Minnkota, as well as Computer Modelling Group Ltd. and Schlumberger, brings the total funding to $24.9 million for the CarbonSAFE Phase III project.

UNDalumni.org

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FEATURE

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UND Alumni Magazine | Summer 2020

HER NAME IS

GOOD MEDICINE With the sight of a leader and the heart of a warrior, Dr. Monica Mayer, ’95, brings her healing touch home to serve her people.

By Alyssa Konickson, ’06 Photography By Sam Melquist

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A

s a child, Dr. Monica Mayer, ’95, often brought injured animals – cats with wounded legs or birds with broken wings – into her rural New Town, N.D., home. She nursed them back to health, healing fractured bones with popsicle sticks and tape and bottlefeeding abandoned nurslings.

She was given the name Good Medicine – “Xubaari Cagi” – by her grandmother according to custom of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation (also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes), becoming her great-grandmother’s namesake.

Despite her caregiving nature, at the time a future career in medicine was not on her radar. She didn’t like school enough to obtain a medical education, and her grades were starting to show it.

Monica recalls a time as a high school freshman when her father, a farmer, set out to teach her and her sisters a lesson after a stretch of poor academic performance.

“My dad was a good man who took good care of his family,” she said. “He was a German fellow, you know, and Germans get up at the break of dawn and work all day, every day, till sunset.”

He drove them out to a farm field, about 15 miles from town, with nothing but a small sack lunch and a set of instructions: pick all of the rocks in the northwestern corner of the field – by hand – and put them into one pile – and only one pile. “When I come back, it better be done,” he said.

He returned around supper time to find his three daughters dirty, sore, and hungry. They were in tears, crying from a day of grueling labor. “He said, ‘Mama said you girls don’t like to go to school and you’re not getting good grades,’” Monica recounts. “‘So, we figured you might as well get used to how your life’s gonna be.’”

That was a turning point for Monica.

Armed with their father’s grit and their mother’s sage advice: “Love the Lord first, love your family second, and love to serve others third,” she went out into the world.

Forced to pivot An all-state basketball player, Monica was fortunate to receive a scholarship to play ball at Williston State College (formerly the University of North DakotaWilliston). When her two-year associate’s degree was complete, she was more concerned with continuing her basketball career than her education. So, she headed south, joining the women’s basketball program at Northern Arizona University. Very quickly after arriving on campus, however, she suffered a careerending knee injury.

“It changed my whole course of life,” Monica said. “Now, I had to really start using my brain.”

She completed a bachelor’s degree in science education and taught for a short time before feeling pulled toward a career in medicine. In her eyes, however, there was no easy path. “I always made excuses: 1. We don’t have any money; 2. I’m not smart enough; 3. I’m a girl – and girls didn’t go into medicine in those days; and 4. I’m Indian,” she said. “I had four strikes against me.”

Monica, however, wasn’t raised to make excuses, and she wasn’t raised to take the easy path.

So, she joined the Army.

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CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

Dr. Monica Mayer is an enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation. As someone who has earned a great place of honor among her tribe — a veteran, an elder, and a tribal councilperson — she adorns a traditional Native American war bonnet for ceremonial purposes. The headdress is made of genuine eagle feathers, a mark of high respect, and it is worn while leading out in powwows and other events.

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

Dr. Monica Mayer, ’95, serves the Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Nation Tribal Business Council, representing the North Segment of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. “I think I’ve given hope to young girls, and others, that they can run for office,” she said.

She is up for reelection in 2020.

“Love the Lord first, love your family second, and love to serve others third.”

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A call to service Like many who sign up for the military, Monica considered it a high honor.

“Indian Country really honors veterans and people who pay service. They’re thought of very highly as warriors, you know, protecting the rights of the people,” she said. “I come from a family that has done a lot of service.”

Additionally, she sought tuition assistance for medical school and she wanted to gain some experience that would help her get accepted.

After serving six years (1984-90) in the U.S. Army Reserves as a medic and medical supply specialist for the 477th Medical Corps Company in Grand Forks, she was accepted into the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS) and attended on a scholarship through Indian Health Service (IHS).

“I was very grateful to the IHS scholarship and I remember telling (longtime associate dean of SMHS) Judy DeMers that I was going to serve in Indian Country,” Monica said. After completing her residency, she returned to New Town, on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, as a provider of family medicine.

Climbing the ladder Monica’s experience, helpful nature, and affinity for following procedure quickly moved her up the ranks into clinical administration. Before long, she was chief medical officer at the Belcourt, N.D., hospital, and soon was promoted to chief medical officer for the IHS’s Great Plains Area office, serving 19 medical facilities in four states.

During that time, she faced down public health crises that plague Native American communities, particularly diabetes, heart disease, and – perhaps most troubling to Monica – addiction.

According to the CDC, the rate of overdose deaths among Native Americans increased 519% from 1999 to 2015 — more than any other group — and it remains well above the national average.

As she witnessed loved ones become devastated by the opioid epidemic, her mother’s words, “love to serve others,” rang in her ears. She made the difficult decision to leave her hard-earned and high-ranking post at IHS in exchange for making a direct impact back home.

Leaning on her education and experience practicing medicine, she ran for Tribal Business Council, the governing body of the Three Affiliated Tribes. She would represent the North Segment of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, where New Town – the reservation’s largest community – is located.

“My mother – my best friend and mentor – said ‘it’ll be just like medicine, only you’re taking care of people in a different way,’” Monica said.

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She won by a landslide, becoming the first and only female physician to serve a tribal council in all 573 federally recognized tribes in the United States.

Rebuilding When Monica returned to New Town at the beginning of her four-year term in 2016, she drove streets patrolled by packs of dogs and lined with trash, neighborhoods baring condemned buildings and broken-down vehicles. Visible signs of drug use dotted the scenery. “There were needles laying in the alleyways, tin foil in ditches,” she remembers.

She got to work, forming teams focused on housing and maintenance, and increased law enforcement from three staff members to 17.

She breathed new life into Main Street, opening a laundromat, carwash, quick lube, and a wrecking yard. Up next: A daycare center.

“They’re not big moneymakers, but these are good services for our community,” Monica said.

She’s hired a staff more than 80 strong, and insists that they all become trained in CPR, Narcan administration, ethics, and more. She encourages them to run for community, tribal, and school board leadership positions.

Fighting for youth In 2016, the New Town school had a 52% graduation rate. Attendance hovered around 55%. Just four years later, with Monica teaming up with the district superintendent, the graduation rate was closer to 90%, and the Class of 2020 graduated the most Honor Students in decades.

Monica has made it her mission to see that youth have the tools and motivation to achieve academically: every child receives a backpack filled with school supplies and the top 10 gradeearners in each class are rewarded with a bicycle.

“I always tell the kids that an education is the only guarantee in life and the one thing that absolutely no one can take from you. And you make a living off it and take care of your family,” she said. “I figure that if I keep pushing academics, getting educated, and working hard during my time in office, it’ll have its payback somewhere down the line.”

Fighting for elders The age of COVID-19 brings new challenges in caring for an aging population, and the pandemic has hit tribal communities nationwide especially hard. The second Monica heard the word “pandemic,” her medical instincts kicked in. The North Segment – which houses about 300 elders (60 and older) quickly instituted a curfew, halted travel, limited gatherings to less than five people, and strongly encouraged the use of masks.

Monica’s staff made sure elders’ homes in their segment were safe, properly equipped, and accessible. They have consistently handdelivered care packages to all elders, stocked with Clorox wipes, Kleenex, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, medications, and grocery store gift cards. Monica provided thermometers, pulse oximeters and blood pressure cuffs, along with instructions on how to use them.

“As a doctor, I never practiced medicine to make patients dependent upon me,” she says. “I try very hard to empower them with information on how to take care of themselves.”

Still, Monica says that the coronavirus, though very serious, isn’t the most pressing health crisis in her segment.

“So far (in late June), we’ve got no deaths from COVID,” Monica says. “But we have multiple deaths weekly from drug activity and overdoses.”

A world stage “Doc M,” as she’s affectionately known to the people in her community, continues to do what she can to provide health education and combat addiction, diabetes, and other public health concerns.

Shortly after being elected to Tribal Council, she read a report from the National Institutes of Health in which data revealed the high rates of abuse among Indigenous women.

“Native American women are raped, assaulted, molested, and murdered 10 times more than any other race of women in the United States,” Monica said. “That piece of data was astounding to me.”

Monica was introduced to Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the United Nations’ special rapporteur for Indigenous Peoples when Tauli-Corpuz visited the U.S. to further investigate the epidemic of violence against American Indian women. Sharing a mutual passion for the protection of women and families, she invited Monica to testify before the U.N. in Geneva, Switzerland, on the need for continued vigilance in fighting human trafficking specific to tribal communities.

Adorned in her traditional Native American headdress, or war bonnet, with genuine eagle feathers, the Human Rights Council couldn’t help but take notice of Monica. “You only get three minutes, so everyone else gets up to read so fast that you can’t understand them. But I spoke very loud and very clear and very slow. And I got everybody’s attention.”

She’s still got everybody’s attention. She heals, leads, serves, and fights for her people, and her name is Good Medicine. ///

UPDATE

OCTOBER 5 - 10, 2020 The UND community has made the difficult decision to cancel in-person Homecoming events in 2020 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The 2020 Sioux Award Ceremony and UND Athletics Hall of Fame are postponed until 2021. The Nistler College of Business & Public Administration plans to hold a virtual groundbreaking on Oct. 9.

Events hosted by the UND Alumni Association & Foundation are canceled, in addition to the UND Homecoming Parade and on-campus student events.

UND’s football game against Missouri State will not be played on Oct. 10.

Get updates at UNDalumni.org/homecoming and calendar.UND.edu.

! s n o i t a l u t a r g Con

SIOUX AWARDS UNDALUMNI.ORG/ SIOUXAWARDS

The Sioux Award is the highest honor given by the UND Alumni Association & Foundation for achievement, service, and loyalty. Since its inception in 1962, this distinguished award has been presented to leaders in government and business, high achievers in various professions, and alumni who have dedicated their lives to service for others.

The Young Alumni Achievement recipients are role models for future generations on campus, as they prove that success can come to those with focus, drive and a willingness to work hard.

This year’s in-person Sioux Awards ceremony has been postponed to 2021. While we have to wait a year to celebrate in person, we couldn’t wait to introduce you to this year’s award winners. Turn the page to learn more about them.

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Erwin Martens, ’83, ’85, believes in serendipity – defined by Merriam Webster as “the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.”

Perhaps it’s illustrated in the juxtaposition of his humble beginnings and his later success.

Or perhaps it’s better told in how he met his wife, Colleen (Finnen), ’84, ’85, during his second stint at the University of North Dakota when they realized they came from the same small corner of Canada and had so many common acquaintances.

“Whenever I felt that serendipity was in the neighborhood, I always knew that good things would happen,” Erwin says.

Growing up in Cartwright, Manitoba, in a home without running water and little insulation and attending a one-room schoolhouse, Erwin knew his ticket to the world had two options: work on the telephone lines or become a hockey player.

A scholar at heart, he decided he would use his hockey prowess as a catalyst for achieving his academic goals – to study computer science at an institute of higher education. So, in 1976, he showed up to a UND hockey practice, looking for a spot as a walk-on. His initiative paid off, and Erwin would go on to co-captain the team, leading it to an NCAA National Championship in 1980.

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At that time, his educational pursuits took a detour.

Just 3 credits shy of earning his bachelor’s degree, Erwin hopped a plane to Germany, where he played two seasons in a professional hockey league.

“It became evident that the market wasn’t too deep for 26-year-old ex-hockey players, so I decided that it was a good idea to come back to school to complete my education,” he jokes.

It was then that he met Colleen, an aspiring speech pathologist, and asked her on a date to the Chester Fritz Auditorium, where they took in a performance of the Vienna Boys Choir.

“I guess I felt like I met the whole package. He was smart, fluent in German, he knew a lot about history and music and art. And then of course, he had this business side, but he was an athlete as well,” Colleen says. “And I come to find out that he grew up only 30 miles from where my mom and dad grew up, and all my relatives lived. It was pretty ironic.”

Or, one might say, it was serendipity.

As they bonded over sweets at Wilkerson Dining Center – Erwin admits to having a weakness for desserts and Colleen, who never ate hers, gladly let Erwin indulge in her extras – they didn’t yet realize what the future had in store.

In 1985, shortly after completing their master’s degrees, Erwin in economics and Colleen in speech pathology, the Martens got married, kicking off a lifelong adventure that would span seven cities, three countries, and two continents.

From a rented studio apartment furnished with lawn chairs and a single mattress in Winnipeg, Colleen found her first job in a hospital in Hamilton, Ontario. Shortly thereafter, software

“Without North Dakota, there is no Martens family.” consulting company Coopers & Lybrand hired Erwin in Toronto, where he subsequently founded Analytic Information Management, Inc., a financial software consulting firm.

On a sales trip to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, his fluency in German paid off when he struck up a friendship with a German professor who was working for Credit Suisse Group.

That chance meeting kicked off a 20-year career in risk management – at the time an unknown term.

COLLEEN, ’84, ’85, & ERWIN MARTENS, ’83, ’85, SIOUX AWARD RECIPIENTS

The story of Erwin, a former risk manager for TIAA-CREF, and Colleen, a speech pathologist, begins at UND.

STORY OF SERENDIPITY

Erwin and Colleen Martens met at UND in the early 1980s. They’re pictured here in Hancock Hall.

working as a speech pathologist in hospital settings, an international school, an early intervention program, and as a volunteer with special needs children and stroke victims, an activity she still enjoys today.

“I have gotten so much satisfaction out of my career, and I feel like I’ve been able to make a positive difference in many people’s lives,” Colleen says.

“We both are so grateful for our educations,” she adds, and the gratifying feeling of giving back to help today’s students is what spurs their service and philanthropy at UND. “Everyone talks about risk management now, but you know, even 10 years ago, it wasn't on people's radar,” Erwin says.

management was brand new, and they didn't have anybody else with my skill sets.”

By that time, the Martens had added a daughter, Alyssa, to their family, and took a vacation to Florida. Coincidentally – or as Erwin would have it, serendipitously – the trip to the U.S. coincided with a job opportunity in New York.

He built and managed the firm’s Global Market Risk Management function before joining Putnam Investments as Managing Director and Chief Risk Officer, where he served until serendipity called again – this time to TIAA-CREF, a top financial services provider in the academic, research, medical, cultural and governmental fields. He joined the company in 2003 as Chief Risk Officer with a mandate to build a robust risk management team and advocate for a risk-aware management culture. He led the Fortune 100 company through the 2008 financial crisis before his retirement in 2011.

As Colleen and the kids hung out on the beach, Erwin flew up to New York to be interviewed by Lehman Brothers. Now in his late 30s, Erwin says it was a bit late to start on Wall Street. “But risk

During the 25+ years of caring for her children – who she considers her greatest achievement – and supporting her husband during his demanding career, Colleen had one of her own,

The Martens, with their 5-week-old son Liam, moved across the world to Switzerland, where Erwin was Head of Global Market Risk Management and Deputy Head of the Global Risk Management Group for Credit Suisse from 1991-97.

Erwin has served on the UND Alumni Association & Foundation Board of Directors, and the family supports initiatives at UND, ranging from student-athlete scholarships and an annual Communication and Sciences Disorders colloquium to a high-tech telescope and the music department.

“I just think it's really important to give back if you are blessed to have a life like we’ve had,” Colleen says. “And the University North Dakota was always there for us.

“Without North Dakota, there is no Martens family.” /// — Alyssa Konickson, ’06

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WERNER NISTLER, ’68 SIOUX AWARD RECIPIENT

Founder of Touchmark retirement communities makes transformational gift for future UND students.

During Homecoming 2019, Werner Nistler, ’68, stood before a crowd in the Gorecki Alumni Center to honor him and his wife, Colleen, for making the lead $20 million gift for a new College of Business & Public Administration building.

Earlier, it had been revealed that the College would be renamed the Nistler College of Business & Public Administration in their honor.

The UND Band marched into the room playing the school fight song to kick off the celebration and a group of students wearing Nistler CoBPA t-shirts filed in as the student body president thanked the Nistlers.

Finally, Werner spoke to those assembled.

“My hope for all of you is that you live a life full of fun and reach out to others to help them along,” he said. “As they say, we walk this way but once, and I want to walk the very best way I possibly

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can. I hope you take what is here and pay it forward; do what you can to help society. When we use our talents and work with others, we can make a significant difference in the world.”

The event touched the Nistlers deeply.

“That was truly incredible,” said Werner when reflecting on the ceremony. “The highlight was the band playing. They were passionate about playing those instruments. It felt really good.”

North Dakota upbringing Werner grew up on a farm near Golva, North Dakota, and lived in nearby Beach, North Dakota, during his high school years. He and six of his nine siblings attended UND. After arriving in Grand Forks, Werner went to work as a dishwasher in the Smith Hall cafeteria to pay for college. He worked his way up to cook and eventually became the student manager of

the cafeteria, a job he held for his last three years on campus.

Werner began his accounting career after receiving a master’s degree from Arizona State University and spending two years in the Army.

It was during a time when he served as the secretary-treasurer for a chain of nursing homes/ retirement communities that he had the idea for a new kind of community.

As he traveled to the company’s properties, he was saddened to see couples separated when one needed more care than the other. He had a vision to create retirement communities where couples could stay together by providing a continuum of services. Touchmark was born in 1980 from that vision.

He met Colleen when she was hired as an accountant with Touchmark. Colleen and Werner have six children.

TRANSFORMATIONAL IMPACT

Werner and Colleen Nistler attend a celebration in recognition of their generous gift to build the UND Nistler College of Business & Public Administration.

Photo by Sam Melquist

Today, Touchmark, based in Beaverton, Oregon, operates 14 full-service retirement communities in 10 states and one Canadian province, including communities in Bismarck, Fargo, and Sioux Falls and one in development in McKinney, Texas. The Nistlers have also owned medical records processing companies along with several other businesses.

Culture of excellence From day one, Werner says they have operated with five values: excellence, teamwork, hospitality, integrity, and compassion.

“If you take the first letter of each of those five words, it spells ‘ethic.’ We always try to do what is right for the resident, what is right for our team members, and what is right for us as an organization. It is not so much about money that you make, it’s about how you are taking care of people. These values brought that forth.”

Nistler gives credit to his entire Touchmark workforce for the success of the company.

Team members meet each day to talk about the standards by which the company operates.

“As a result, it reminds everyone of our giving culture. We strive to be the very best at taking care of our residents and we want to treat our personnel the very best we can. Having

a company of givers is what Touchmark is all about.”

Building project

Werner says he has been contacted by many Nistler relatives who heard about the name being associated with the acclaimed UND College of Business & Public Administration.

In 2019, Werner and Colleen stepped forward to be the lead donors on a new building for the College of Business & Public Administration.

Werner says they committed to the project after seeing what he called a “wave of excellence” on campus.

“This gift is a tribute to the entire Nistler family. I want to recognize them for all the hard work over the years that the Nistlers brought forth to better their local communities.”

“We just thought this would be an appropriate gift to make to such a wonderful University and for a wonderful cause. It is a tangible way to thank all of the UND professors for the awesome education I and my six siblings received as well as acknowledge the inspiring work of today’s professors who are teaching the leaders of tomorrow. It is a way to give back not only to UND, but to the state of North Dakota as well.”

Werner and Colleen attended the 2019 Sioux Awards as honored guests. They received a standing ovation from the 800 people in attendance when they were asked to stand and be recognized for their gift.

Werner and Colleen also thought their gift might be an inspiration to students well into the future.

“All of a sudden, young students realize, ‘Hey, there are people out here who really care.’ And if they have that attitude that somebody cares about them, that’s going to give them confidence and that’s going to take it to another level. That next level is going to be going out and doing good in the world, and that then feeds on itself.”

Sioux Award

Having experienced the awards banquet, Werner says he is looking forward to receiving his Sioux Award. He says it’s an honor to be in the company of the prominent people who’ve received the award.

“I feel very fortunate and lucky.” /// — Milo Smith

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Michael Brown, ’80, ’82, is well known for his titles of officer, doctor and mayor. From the outside looking in, it took some gumption for the visionary to pursue, and succeed in, three entirely different careers. He attributes his advantageous approach in life to growing up as an “Air Force brat.”

“New house, new friends, new school and new opportunities. I loved it,” Mike said of his childhood spent mainly in England and Japan.

He earned his Bachelor of Science in 1972 and his Master of Arts in 1974 from Baylor University.

After graduating, Mike enlisted in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and was stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base (GFAFB), where he served as ICBM Missile Launch Control Officer, Commander and Instructor from 197578. Just one course short of earning his MBA, he enrolled in the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), fulfilling his lifelong dream to become a doctor.

“UND changed my life. The opportunity and the privilege to be in healthcare – it’s quite an honor.

I think education is the greatest gift we can give our children.”

After getting his feet wet as a GFAFB Medical Corps OB/GYN, Mike practiced at Altru Health System in Grand Forks where he served as

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Chairman, Chief and Director of Altru’s OB/ GYN Department during his 30-year career. He delivered more than 3,000 babies before retiring in 2019.

The late Dr. Rodney Clark, OB/GYN attending physician for third-year medical students, was Mike’s role model. It was Dr. Clark who taught him to remain calm in the delivery room, a trait

it keeps you relevant. And they challenge everything you do, so you better be paying attention,” he chuckled.

His leadership style was molded early on as an Eagle Scout, a rank earned in Okinawa, Japan.

“That’s where I learned how to follow, then how to lead,” he explained. Known as a bridge builder, Mike’s “sunshine approach” as he says,

“I think we need to give our children the tools to adapt to this ever-changing world.

Education at UND does that.”

Mike later became known for by patients and staff alike.

Mike returned the favor to SMHS and became an attending physician for medical residents.

“It keeps you current, it keeps you informed,

has empowered those under him and built trust among colleagues and across sectors. He likens it to patient care: “I think it's important to listen. At the end of an appointment, if you stand there with your hand

MICHAEL R. BROWN, M.D., FACOG, ’80, ’82 SIOUX AWARD RECIPIENT

Former longtime Grand Forks mayor and OB/GYN has given decades of service to the region and country.

TOWN & GOWN

Then-Grand Forks Mayor Mike Brown visits with UND students on campus in 2018.

Photo by UND staff

laid the groundwork for an internship program at City Hall for university students. As a mentor for UND Honors students, he imparts years of earned wisdom.

“We are training our kids today for jobs that don’t yet exist, you know, so we have to be creative,” said Mike. “I think we need to give our children the tools to adapt to this ever-changing world.

Education at UND does that.”

on the doorknob and ask, ‘Is there anything else?,’ you’re already gone. But if you’re sitting down, your patient feels freer to ask a question.

And sometimes, it’d be a very serious question about suicide or depression, so I’m glad I sat back down because now, I can make a difference,” he explained. “You have to recognize the problem, diagnose the problem, and deal with the problem to get the best outcome.

And that’s how I approached issues in the city.

Evidence-based practice serves you well, no matter whether it’s military or city government or medicine.”

Mike was elected as the 26th mayor of Grand Forks in 2000 and acted as the city’s longestserving mayor with consecutive terms through June 2020. Under his leadership, the city saw a growth in population and sales tax revenue triple. He represented the shared best practices on a state and national level and in an appointed seat with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Advisory Board.

Mike spoke about significant markers on his mayoral portfolio including leading the recovery efforts after the flood of ’97, changes at the GFAFB, city beautification and downtown improvement projects, event centers and facilities as well as responding to the 2008 recession, the opioid crisis, and the recent pandemic.

Mike’s Boy Scout troop’s motto “keep it simple, make it fun” is what centered his vision on the big picture when the weight of leading a city felt heavy. He played the parts with a smile – competitor in the Friends of the Greenway Chili Cookoff, a willing victim of Relay for Life’s dunk tank and judge for the annual children’s ArtWise Art Show.

As Mike passed the mayoral baton on June 23, he was quick to give credit to the team of people around him. A similar response followed when asked about his Sioux Award: “I was dumbfounded to learn I was a recipient because it’s quite an honor. I mean, it’s like the highest honor of my professional life, and it’s something I will cherish forever. I think it really validates the work we’ve done. I think life is a team sport and I think we have to win together.”

As for future plans, Mike and his wife, Ann, a former Altru pathologist and 1989 UND SMHS graduate, will be spending more time with their new grandbaby ... and gardening. “I love to grow things – maybe it goes back to OB.” Applying his “sunshine approach” throughout 10 years of military service, 20 to the city of Grand Forks, and 30 to women and babies in the region, the officer/coach/mayor deserves to catch some rays. /// — Jenn Lukens

As Mayor, Mike placed a strong emphasis on youth programs while personally and professionally investing in the University of North Dakota. In addition to paving the way for research and facility advancement at UND, he

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COL. TERRANCE E. SEVERSON, USAF (RET.), ’65 SIOUX AWARD RECIPIENT

Telecommunications professional and veteran’s love for UND grows by the year.

The memories Terry Severson has of the University of North Dakota go way back. He was 4 years old when his father returned from the Army after World War II and moved his family to Grand Forks to pursue an accounting degree at UND. Terry remembers living in the brand-new Tin Huts while attending a nearby two-room schoolhouse. “Dad left with his degree, and I left with my first-grade report card in 1949.”

After several relocations, the oil boom drew the Seversons to Tioga, N.D., which Terry considers home.

Terry returned to UND years later as a student himself and took up many extracurriculars, including freshman and varsity football, Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, Blue Key Honor Society, Student Senate, and UND’s Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC).

“Back in those days, UND being a land grant college, the requirement was that all able-bodied male non-veteran students take two years of ROTC,” Terry said. “So, there were a thousand of us walking around campus wearing green or blue uniforms on drill days.”

That requirement led to a lifelong career as Terry was commissioned a Second Lieutenant from the AFROTC program, simultaneously earning

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a Bachelor’s of Electrical Engineering, and went on to serve on active duty for 27 years in communications-information assignments in three countries, nine states and the Pentagon.

Terry retired in 1992 at the rank of Colonel.

Among his successes was the establishment of the initial air-ground data link for Operation Looking Glass, an airborne command and control center devised during the Cold War era, and his command in the Philippines was recognized as the best communications unit in the Air Force.

While at Squadron Officer School in Alabama, Terry graduated first in his class of 775 officers.

“That’s when the lightbulb went off in my mind that this kid from rural North Dakota can compete with officers from big name institutions. ... I realized I didn’t have to take a back seat to anybody,” he said.

After working for several large and small companies following retirement from the Air Force, he cofounded Trace Systems Inc., in 2006. The Virginia-based telecommunications services and systems company contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense and employs 350 people around the world.

Whether commanding troops or navigating the business world, the challenges have

outnumbered the victories in Terry’s career, but he says that’s to be expected. The famous words from Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech have long held a place in Terry’s mind and on his desk. He summarizes: “You are the individual on whom all the responsibility and authority lie. Somehow, you have to set the tone and set the path. It’s not just accepting the congratulations – those are few and far between.

Most of the time, it’s solving problems and getting the job done, regardless of the difficulties and criticisms.”

While Terry fulfilled his ambition of seeing the world, visiting North Dakota became a growing priority. His late wife, Diane, encouraged the trips with their two boys and later, the purchase of a townhome in University Village near UND’s campus.

“After bouncing around the world with the Air Force and seeing lots of places and doing a lot of things, my closest associations are from North Dakota. I find those connections the most rewarding,” said Terry.

Over the last decade, he has flown home to attend annual hockey series with former roommates and fraternity brothers, the late Dave Koland, ’64 and Mike Lodoen, ’65 (2018

“Be proud, be confident, and work hard at whatever you choose to do.”

A DIFFERENCE-MAKER

A face-to-face meeting in early 2020 connected UND junior Shahmeer Kanwar, ’21, to his scholarship donor, Terry Severson, ’65. Both call Western North Dakota their home and chose to pursue electrical engineering at UND. Photo by Sara Titera

Sioux Award recipient), and Steve Lodoen, ’67. One of those trips led to a meeting with College of Engineering & Mines (CEM) Dean Hesham El-Rewini, who invited Terry to help establish an Executive Board. Terry holds a place of leadership within CEM – officially as the Executive Board’s chair and unofficially as a sounding board for present and past deans.

Administration and the CEM. Additionally, they have contributed to the Collaborative Energy Complex (CEC), established CEM and Football Scholarship Endowments, and Terry named the Terry and Diane Severson Computer Lab in the CEC. Terry is quick to donate toward special initiatives that directly benefit students and has become a catalyst whose gifts motivate others.

Terry credits his father for his commitment to UND: “My dad’s degree was very important to him. He was the only one of the five brothers who completed high school. He made a practice of giving back to the school, and I wasn't completely oblivious to it – I saw it and it made an impression.”

The Sioux Awards are a familiar scene to Terry, who accompanied his parents and later his college roommates to the dinners. Now, the room will be applauding the man who has used his UND preparation to serve his country and give back to his university.

To honor his parents, Terry and Diane established the Harold L. and Io A. Severson Faculty Fellow in Entrepreneurship Endowment which supports collaborative entrepreneurship activities between the Nistler College of Business & Public

faith in me than I probably had in myself.”

In addition to a 2020 Sioux Award, Terry was inducted into the CEM Alumni Academy Class of 2013 and was recognized as a 2019 Fighting Sioux Football Legend.

The advice he has for current UND students is this: “You don’t realize how well-prepared you will be. You’ll be able to compete with anyone – if you want to. UND is recognized as a first-class operation, a first-class institution. Be proud, be confident, and work hard at whatever you choose to do.” /// — Jenn Lukens

“I remember being quite impressed by those who received the awards, thinking the recipients had exceptionally high accomplishments, but I never imagined I would be in that same position,” said Terry. “The people to whom this would mean the most are my wife and parents. They had more

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Lisa Wheeler, ’75, ’82, had a legacy to uphold.

She followed a long line of family, from cousins to grandparents, who all earned degrees from the University of North Dakota.

the Association of Academic Physiatrists.

“My parents said we could go to any university we wanted, as long as it was in Grand Forks, North Dakota,” she says. “They believed that we could get as good of an education there as anywhere. And you know, I think they were probably right.”

After four years, Lisa decided that she wanted to return to North Dakota. “My father was a lawyer and I had a sister and brother-in-law attending UND Law School so I decided to try law school and work in the ‘family store.’”

Unsure of which area of study she wanted to pursue, Lisa embarked on her education with one goal in mind: to learn a skill. And so, she pursued her Bachelor of Science degree in physical therapy, becoming a member of UND’s fifth graduating physical therapy class. As an undergrad she worked at the UND Alumni Association under the guidance of Earl Strinden.

Upon graduation, she worked at Mercy Hospital in Devils Lake, N.D., and nine months later moved to Columbus, Ohio, to work at Ohio State University Medical Center’s rehabilitation facility for patients dealing with spinal cord injuries, head injuries and strokes. While working there, Lisa was on the rehab team led by Dr. Ernie Johnson who is considered to be the founding father of

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The work, she says, was rewarding. “I absolutely loved it, but it was emotionally exhausting.”

In fact, when her law school application asked why she wanted to attend, she merely stated that she wanted to work with her dad and sister.

“I didn't appreciate that an essay on describing my love of the law would have been more appropriate,” Lisa laughs.

She returned to UND, this time to the School of Law, in 1979. To pay for her continuing education, she worked as a physical therapist on weekends at the rehab center in Grand Forks.

During Christmas and spring break vacations she would drive to clinics in Greenbush and Roseau, Minnesota.

“In my physical therapy studies, I knew that if I understood everything in a specific book for a specific course, that I would do OK,” she said.

“That’s not so in law school. It was a totally different kind of education.”

After earning her juris doctor in 1982, Lisa moved to Bismarck to work in her father’s law firm.

“It was hard to go from physical therapy where you’re nurturing to the legal profession where there’s conflict.”

So, in August of 1987, when John Korsmo offered her the opportunity to enter the field of real estate law reading abstracts for The Title Company of Fargo she jumped on it, seeing it as a chance to continue practicing law without the stress of trial work. After four months, Lisa convinced John to start a law firm with her.

When John made the decision to divest, Lisa bought the hard assets to the company, taking over as president of one of the first independent escrow and closing companies in the state and continuing her role in the law firm.

A natural leader, Lisa says she didn’t “manage” anyone or anything – but she taught herself accounting, HR, and how to read financial statements. When she bought the company, it employed five people. Under Lisa’s leadership,

LISA WHEELER, ’75, ’82 SIOUX AWARD RECIPIENT Physical therapist-turned-attorney and owner of The Title Company of Fargo comes from a long line of UND faithful.

LUCKY TOSS

Lisa Wheeler, ’75, ’82, was honored to be asked to throw the coin toss prior to the Oct. 26, 2019 UND Football game vs.

Montana State.

Photo by Russell Hons

When considering today’s students, Lisa has some advice: “Take an accounting class, take a business class, and stay connected to your university. Give $50 a year if that's what you can budget – it’s enough to keep you connected.

And the rewards that come with continuing that relationship throughout your career are so great.”

She has generously supported various UND initiatives throughout the years, including scholarships for students at the School of Law and the Department of Physical Therapy, the UND Athletics High Performance Center, and more.

The Title Company grew to 28 employees and three attorneys before her retirement in 2015, when she sold the majority of the company stock to her sister, two nephews and other key employees. Her nephew-in-law purchased the law firm from her.

“It was a great career and a great opportunity, and I was just lucky,” Lisa says – noting that interest rates were relatively low during most of her tenure and North Dakota weathered the impact of the 2008 recession better than many areas of the country. “It’s the story of my life – I have enjoyed an abundant amount of luck.”

In the early days, The Title Company was predominantly run by women. “It wasn’t until years later that we hired a few men – and it wasn’t that we didn’t want them, it’s just that the women were more qualified,” Lisa said, reflecting her mother’s early feminist positions.

Lisa is proud that she not only led a successful company, but that The Title Company provided an opportunity for other women to gain valuable experience in the real estate industry. Many of her employees went on to become leaders in the Fargo-Moorhead community, mortgage lending industry, and trusted and valued employees in various national title insurance companies.

She lent her leadership experience to the UND Alumni Association & Foundation Board of Directors, serving out three 3-year terms including one term as chair of the governance committee.

“I was really blessed to be on the board of the Alumni Association,” she said. “I got much more out of it than I contributed. I am certain of that.”

She has also served on the North Dakota Board of Medical Examiners, Pelican Group of Lakes Improvement District, and the City of Fargo Board of Adjustment.

When asked what she considers her greatest accomplishment, she doesn’t hesitate. It came on October 26, 2019, when UND head football coach Bubba Schweigert asked her to throw the coin toss at the Fighting Hawks football game vs.

Montana State.

“As I’m walking on the field, Coltyn Sanderson said to me, ‘You know, no pressure Lisa, but every time we win the toss at home, we win the game.’”

The Fighting Hawks won the toss, and won the game in a 16-14 thriller against a nationally ranked opponent.

Must’ve been that UND legacy luck. /// — Alyssa Konickson, ’06

UNDalumni.org

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2020 YOUNG ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

PETER STENEHJEM, ’07 YOUNG ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENT Fourth-generation North Dakota businessman continues family’s commitment to serving others.

As a fourth-generation member of a banking family, you would think that it was natural for Peter Stenehjem, ’07, to study business at the University of North Dakota. But the Watford City, North Dakota native and 2020 Young Alumni Award recipient spent his freshman year debating whether to pursue a future in medicine or finance.

Despite the facts that his great-grandfather founded First International Bank & Trust (FIB&T) and he’d worked for the bank since he was 15, Stenehjem says his family tree also has a lot of medical professionals. His decision to stick with banking was influenced when he returned to work for the bank the summer after his freshman year.

“I started going on customer calls with my dad and other lenders and I started appreciating seeing businesses expand or construct a new building. I just thought that was an amazing way to help clients. And I loved that kind of customer interaction.”

Stenehjem greatly enjoyed his time in Grand Forks; he jokes that his mother says he got an “A” in Social Life. One of his fondest memories involves body hair removal.

It all started when he and friend Dave Wedin, ’08, mentioned on a local radio program that they should wax their chest hair, like the scene in a then-recently released movie. Stenehjem says they were only joking when they suggested they’d follow through in order to raise donations for Hurricane Katrina relief.

Soon, the duo was receiving national attention for their fundraising idea, appearing on cable news programs. Before they knew it, they and several of their friends were getting waxed in the tailgating area before a 2005 UND football game. The group raised $20,000 for hurricane victims.

Stenehjem was on the radio because he was a

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member of the Sioux Crew, the student athletic booster organization. He says he got a lot of realworld experience as a Sioux Crew leader when he had to help keep the books, solicit local businesses for donations and advertising, and work as part of a group.

Stenehjem says he’s proud of the company’s roots in his hometown of Watford City and happy to be working with his family in support of community banking. He says the number of community banks in the U.S. has shrunk from a high of 20,000 to around 5,000.

The Student Managed Investment Fund was also a training ground for Stenehjem’s career. The Fund allows students to work with donor-provided money to make real investments.

“I refuse to let us become one of those statistics.

The bank we are today is not the bank that we’re going to be tomorrow. As a tightly held company, we can be nimble and we can also have a longterm focus because we are not necessarily worried about the next year or two. We are focused on what’s going to happen in year three, five, or year 10.”

“I loved my experience with the Student Managed Investment Fund,” said Stenehjem. “You either celebrated successes or dealt with your failures.

You received firsthand knowledge of how the markets work.”

Upon graduating in 2007, Stenehjem went into the family business. He is currently the president of First International Bank & Trust, a community bank with assets of around $4 billion and about 700 employees in 28 locations in North Dakota, Minnesota and Arizona.

In addition to his current role, Peter is a director of Watford City Bancshares, Inc., and is a member of the FIB&T Board of Directors and the Strategic Planning Committee. Peter is involved in several entrepreneurial ventures, including Alati Energy, Stenehjem Holdings, Stonehome Brew Pub, and Stonehome Brewing Company, Outlaws Bar & Grill, and JL Beers. He is also managing partner of Stenehjem Development.

A leading member of the North Dakota business community, Peter is on the FMWF Chamber Board of Directors, the Sanford Health Medical Board of Directors (Fargo Region), and the Dakota Medical Foundation Governance Committee. He was named to Prairie Business Magazine’s 40 Under 40 in 2016, and Independent Community Bankers of America’s 40 Under 40 in 2020.

As an example of how nimble FIB&T can be, the bank handled 2,000 federal Paycheck Protection Program loans as part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. About one in every four North Dakota PPP loans went through FIB&T with the state receiving high marks for how quickly it helped employers secure funding.

When he first moved to Fargo several years ago, Stenehjem says he was a “joiner.” Getting involved in Chamber of Commerce events, economic development organizations, and charitable work helped him get to know his new community. Now he, his wife Stacy and children Evelyn and James are firmly established in Fargo.

Growing up, Stenehjem saw his parents actively supporting any number of causes in Watford City and beyond. That commitment to serving others is something that stuck with Stenehjem through his time at UND and in his current beliefs about philanthropy.

“If you want to be a strong community bank, you have to be active within that community.” /// — Milo Smith

LU JIANG, ’12

YOUNG ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENT Program manager with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has a passion for helping others overcome challenges associated with socio-economic disparity.

Lu Jiang, ’12, can point to two decisive moments in time that have helped shape the person she is today.

The first happened in the 1930s in China, when her grandmother made the choice to pursue an education. “Nainai,” as Lu calls her, grew up at a time when literacy was minimal for all people, especially for women. But, says Lu, “She was driven by a strong desire for independence and agency at an early age, and she knew that higher education was the only path for her.”

Nainai went on to become a nurse and steadfastly supported her family for years to come.

The second turning point came in 2008, shortly after Lu had graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management, political science, and international relations. Her family was reeling from the historic financial recession of the time, and Lu had a choice: start searching for a job or chase her dream of obtaining a juris doctor degree.

Upon a chance meeting with a particularly accommodating admissions officer from the University of North Dakota and being offered the UND School of Law Diversity Scholarship for all three years of law school, she chose the latter.

“I was really impressed by UND, and I was amazed that not only do they talk about commitment to diversity, but they put resources behind their diversity principle,” she said.

After graduation, Lu spent a few years in private practice, where she specialized in employment law. Still, she had an overwhelming desire to do more to improve the lives of others. “Ultimately, I wanted to impact change on a global scale,” she said.

Like any good lawyer, she began researching nonprofit organizations that make a global impact. That’s when she learned about the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic family foundations in the world whose guiding principle is “all lives have equal value.” The Foundation supports initiatives spanning vaccine delivery, global health research, and Lu’s passion: education.

“Law school taught me more than legal theories and civil procedure. It taught me how to be rigorous in my approach, how to think critically, and it also taught me a strong sense of discipline,” – all traits that Lu highlighted in her application to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Today, Lu is a program manager in the U.S. Program there, with an overarching goal to close the educational and achievement gaps to improve outcomes for Black, Latinx and lowincome students.

“My vision is that all learners have the opportunity to receive high-quality education, from cradle to career, and are empowered and supported to receive an education that leads them to a job with economic mobility,” Lu said.

She recalls her grandmother taking the daunting step of pursuing an education and how it ultimately afforded opportunities to her father, and in turn, to Lu herself. With a pledge to carry forward Nainai’s legacy, Lu lives a life of service and philanthropy. At UND, Lu created the Equal Justice Endowment for law school scholarships.

At Seattle Central College, she established the Lu Jiang Women’s Empowerment Endowed Scholarship to promote education to diverse women who’ve overcome obstacles.

say, ‘Don’t worry about the stock market; invest in education,’” Lu said. “Because the outcome that you gain transcends time, place, and barriers.”

Her philanthropic philosophy also connects education to health.

Lu’s family immigrated to the U.S. when she was a child and she grew up in a humble household in a predominantly white neighborhood. During that time, she became seriously ill with a throat infection. Doctors at a community health center called International Community Health Services (ICHS) saved her life and provided uncompensated care. In true Lu fashion, she vowed to give back to them someday by helping them in their mission to provide culturally appropriate care, and today she serves on the ICHS Foundation Board of Directors.

“I recognize that health and wellness is just as important as getting an education,” Lu said.

In addition to her involvement with ICHS, she serves on the President’s Resource Council at Seattle Central College, the Asian Americans/ Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy Seattle/Puget Sound Chapter, coaches the International Community School Varsity and Junior Varsity Mock Trial Teams, and mentors a student at the UND School of Law. Lu often cites a quote by Michelle Obama: “When you walk through that open door of opportunity, you don’t slam it shut behind you.

You hold it open.” And, she adds, “I am gracious and grateful, but I also think about what I need to do with the remainder of my life to hold that door open even wider for others to walk through.” /// — Alyssa Konickson, ’06

“If somebody asked me, ‘What is the investment that can get you the greatest return?,’ I would UNDalumni.org

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FEATURE

MOVIE MAGIC

Kevin Costner and Diane Lane star in an adaptation of UND alumnus Larry Watson's book, "Let Him Go." Though filmed in Canada, the movie is set in North Dakota and Montana.

Photo Courtesy of Focus Features

N

orth Dakota-born author Larry Watson, ’70, ’72, is having a banner year. Not only did his 12th book, “The Lives of Edie Pritchard” come out in July to critical acclaim, but a movie based on one of his previous works will be released later this year starring Kevin Costner and Diane Lane.

Like many of his books, “The Lives of Edie Pritchard” is set in North Dakota and Montana. The book’s jacket description says it is “a multigenerational story of the West told through the history of one woman trying to navigate life on her own terms.”

In its review, “Publishers Weekly” writes, “Like in the best works of Richard Ford and Elizabeth Strout, Watson shows off a keen eye for regional details, a pitch-perfect ear for dialogue, and an affinity for sharp characterization. This triptych is richly rewarding.”

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Watson originally thought the book would focus on twin brothers falling in love with the same woman, but as it progressed Edie, a woman whose good looks define her, stood out to him as the protagonist.

“I just found her a fascinating character,” said Watson. “She was a small-town woman who was pretty and popular in high school and that sort of became her identity. She feels stifled by the fact that she just cannot assert an identity of her own apart from the way that others, men especially, see her. So all the parts of the novel [set in different times periods] are a part of that ongoing struggle in her life.”

North Dakota roots Watson was born in Rugby, North Dakota. When he was five, his family moved to Bismarck, where he graduated high school and attended Bismarck Junior College (now Bismarck State College). After being out

THE

LIVES OF

LARRY

WATSON

Praised for his tales of the American West, best-selling author Larry Watson has a new book out as one of his previous novels hits the big screen.

By Milo Smith ///

of school for a year and getting married to his high school girlfriend, Susan Gibbons, he came to the University of North Dakota where he would earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English.

“We loved our years in Grand Forks,” said Watson. “My time at UND was everything to me. I had wonderful classes. I had brilliant teachers. I was sort of awestruck for much of my time there. When I started taking creative writing classes, I got exactly the kind of encouragement I needed. ... It was a really important time in my development.”

While working on his doctorate at the University of Utah, Watson seemed to bypass the struggling author route when he found a publisher for his first novel, “In a Dark Time.”

“I'm embarrassed to say it; it was so easy that I was completely deceived about what the process was going to be like.”

Watson was working on the novel as his dissertation. He sent 50 pages off as part of a fellowship application. While he didn’t get the fellowship, one of the screeners had been an editor who was about to become a literary agent. He asked Watson for more pages, and eventually sold the book to a publisher.

“I got a modest advance and we really needed the money so it felt wonderful. I’d heard and read all those tales of agony and searching for an agent and a publisher and I barely had to lift a finger.”

Did he feel guilty that it had come so easily?

“No. Because, for the next 13 years, I could not get another novel published,” Watson said with a laugh. “I was living up to my part of the bargain—I was writing novels—but I could not find a publisher who was interested.”

UNDalumni.org

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PROLIFIC WRITER

Larry Watson, ’70, ’72, has published 12 novels, including his latest, “The Lives of Edie Pritchard,” released this summer.

Photo Courtesy of Susan Watson

The breakthrough When his second book finally found a publisher, it was hailed as a major work. “Montana 1948: A Novel” was named “one of the top 100 novels of the West” by “San Francisco Chronicle” and “a significant and elegant addition to contemporary American fiction in general” by “The Washington Post.” Published in 1993, the book also won the Milkweed National Fiction Prize.

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“I was simply relieved. I wasn’t sure I’d ever have another novel published. Not even in my wildest fantasies did I imagine that I’d have a book with the kind of success that that novel had.”

The book and movie tell the story of George and Margaret Blackledge. After their adult son dies in a farm accident, they go in search of their only grandchild after his mother remarries into a troubling family.

Adapted for the screen

The Blackledges travel from western North Dakota to eastern Montana in their quest, while in the movie the action moves in the opposite direction. Otherwise, the movie is quite faithful to the book.

Watson’s profile is about to expand further with the release of the movie “Let Him Go” based on his 2013 novel of the same name.

“‘If you can write 100 words a day, you can write a novel in a couple of years.’

Suddenly, it just seemed possible. It didn’t seem daunting.”

Watson says that even though he was not involved in writing the screenplay, screenwriter/director Thomas Bezucha (“The Family Stone,” “Monte Carlo”) did seek his thoughts.

“He and I had some conversations over the years before the movie was made and I’d seen the script. I liked and trusted and respected him a lot. I thought he was so skilled at what he does, and since filmmaking is such a different medium from novel writing, I just said ‘Hey, I did my thing, I wrote the book, and now it’s your thing.’

I was able to separate myself.”

Larry and Susan got to visit the movie set in the Canadian province of Alberta last year. Director Bezucha even put them in a scene as extras.

Watson says it was surreal to hear his words spoken by famous actors on the set, although he was often unsure if they were his words or Bezucha’s.

“Once I’ve finished something I’m usually finished — it even begins to fade from my mind. ... So every once in a while, I would hear a line from Diane Lane or Kevin Costner and I didn’t know if I’d written it or not. It would sound familiar, but I wasn’t sure.”

Focus Features has moved back the release of “Let Him Go” from August to November 6.

The writing process Up until he retired in 2018, Watson was also a full-time English professor, first at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and later at Marquette University. Watson said he would often tell his creative writing students that they were in this together.

“I would do the assignments myself so we could talk about them, and we could share our experiences of working on these sometimes difficult exercises.

Watson says he picked up a valuable tip when a visiting writer encouraged students to try to write at least 100 words a day.

“He said ‘If you can write 100 words a day, you can write a novel in a couple of years.’ Suddenly, it just seemed possible. It didn’t seem daunting. …You can fit 100 words on a postcard. Sometimes you only have 15 minutes, but 15 minutes can give you your 100.”

Most days, especially now that he is retired from teaching, Watson writes more than that. And as he writes, his imagination often has him setting his tales in his home state.

“I’ve been called a writer of the American West. I always thought I was writing ‘Northerns.’ Of course, there’s no such thing as a Northern … But I guess, at some point, I felt as though this was territory that I could claim. No one else had taken it over.

“Though I’ve lived outside the state longer than I lived there, I will always be from North Dakota. It will always be a special place to me.” ///

UNDalumni.org

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LOCKER ROOM

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

Before their season was cut short due to COVID-19, track & field and cross-country squads were trending upward under new head coach Christine Engel.

F

rom the San Joaquin Valley to the Red River Valley, the last year has been a year of change for Christine Engel. Hired away from Fresno State a year ago to lead the University of North Dakota track & field and cross county programs, Engel has seen a lot of change over the last 12 months.

Engel, who has previous coaching experience in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Mountain West Conference and The Ivy League to name a few, oversaw several changes to the record book in her first year at the helm with a total of 51 new entries on the program’s all-time top-10 chart.

School records were set in the women’s distance medley relay, women’s 60-meter hurdles, women’s 100-meter hurdles, women’s pentathlon, men’s heptathlon and the men’s weight throw.

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In the fall, to go along with the changes in the track and field school record book, there were four all-conference cross-country performances at The Summit League championships. Junior Madison Overby along with seniors Hannah Oscarson and Erica Eades were recognized on the women’s side as well as freshman Luke Labatte earning the honor for the men. At the NCAA cross country regional, the women’s squad enjoyed its best finish in Division I history during Engel’s first year in charge.

Oscarson continued to make her presence felt at The Summit League Indoor Championship, scoring 21 points by finishing second in the 5,000-meters and 3,000-meters while coming in fourth in the mile.

ROOKIE SEASONS

UND's new track & field and cross country coach Christine Engel led the Fighting Hawks, including freshman Luke Labatte, to a multiple-record-setting season.

Photo by Dave Wallis

A native of New Jersey, Engel wasted no time on the recruiting trail, working to rebuild the men’s distance program in an effort to reach levels of success unseen in this millennium.

Junior College All-American Sylvester Kibarar highlights the class with proven success at the collegiate level. The transfer from Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College placed seventh overall, and fourth among sophomores at the NJCAA Cross Country Championship, finishing behind signees of distance powers Arkansas and Iowa State.

New assistant makes immediate impact Before Engel got too far down the recruiting trail, she had an open assistant coaching position to fill. She chose former Arkansas All-American

Cale Wallace, who was serving as a volunteer assistant coach at his alma mater. An All-American in the distance medley relay with personal records of 3:40 in the 1,500-meters and 8:41 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Wallace made an immediate impact on the distance recruiting scene for the Fighting Hawks.

Engel and Wallace signed four of the top 27 finishers in the boys 2019 Minnesota Class AA State Cross Country Championship, led by Buffalo High School product Nick Oak who finished sixth overall. The talented group of four will join Minnesota native Labatte to bolster the men's distance roster.

The distance coaching staff of Engel and Wallace teamed to reach further than the upper Midwest to round out the men's recruiting class with signees Tyler Jackson of Cherokee (N.J.) High School, who won the 1,600-meters at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Indoor Meet of Champions.

On the women’s side a more balanced class signed to compete for the Fighting Hawks. Distance ace Cornelia Wohlfahrt, a two-time Austrian National Senior Champion highlights the women distance signees.

As some things change, others stay the same – in the field, the throws group under the direction of assistant coach Drew Jones continued to shine.

The throws group was led by senior Adam Mehr who broke his own school record in the weight throw on multiple occasions including three times in the same day at the UND Tune Up. On the women’s side, the high point was senior Makayla Keefe who improved to second all-time at North Dakota in the weight throw.

Jones, who recruited and developed former UND thrower Molli Detloff into a three-time All-American continues to add high caliber studentathletes to the throws group with a pair of highly decorated high school state champions in Eve Goldstein of Somerset (Wis.) High School and Kenna Curry of Elk Point-Jefferson (S.D.) High School. Goldstein and

Curry will add immediate quality depth to Jones’ throws crew in one of the nation’s top throws conferences.

Hurdling to success Assistant Coach Dan McCarty’s group turned in a solid indoor season with senior Erin Brown leading the way finishing second at The Summit League Indoor championships in the 60-meter hurdles. McCarty mentored Brown as she bested her own school record on numerous occasions over the last two seasons. McCarty led sophomore Jack Vetsch and junior Erica Benson each to school records in the indoor multievents.

In the lone outdoor meet of the season, in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Brown became the only hurdler in program history to finish the 100-meter hurdles in under 14-seconds clocking a time of 13.96 to set yet another school record. The meet saw 12 other Fighting Hawks take event wins and two meet records including Brown’s 100-meter standard and Eades’ 800-meter time of 2:10.09.

Junior Destinee Rose-Haas hurled the discus 163-11 (49.97) which was further than the previous meet record but finished second in the meet.

McCarty — who also coached a UND All-American last year, Kyley Foster — welcomes a promising group of women jumpers and sprinters for 2020-2021 including three-time Alaska state hurdle champion Brooklyn Gould.

The changes continued as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the nation and the world, preventing the outdoor season from completion for the first time at UND since the flood in 1997. As the university, athletic department and track and field program continue to navigate the future with Engel leading the way, more changes and history will be made. /// — by Kyle Doperalski

Overby nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year Senior Madison Overby, a three-time All-Summit League runner who will soon begin dental school at Harvard University, has been announced as a nominee for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year.

The NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility in their primary sport and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service, and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.

Overby earned All-Summit League honors during the 2019-20 cross country and indoor track & field seasons, and Academic All-Summit League distinction during the indoor and outdoor track & field seasons.

The Austin, Minn., native helped set the indoor distance medley relay record on Feb. 15, running the opening leg at the South Dakota State Indoor classic, her final of three school records she set with the Fighting Hawks during her career.

She also finished in the top 10 in eight different events at the University of North Dakota.

Off the running paths, Overby served three years as the track & field program’s representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and was Sports Editor for The Dakota Student, UND’s student newspaper.

Like other spring sport student-athletes, Overby’s season was cut short.

Though the NCAA has granted these student-athletes with waiver exceptions to compete next season, Overby has decided to pursue her graduate studies at Harvard University in the prestigious Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM).

Overby’s name was submitted by UND to The Summit League, where it will now select up to two nominees each from the pool of school nominees. Then, the Woman of the Year selection committee will choose the Top 30 honorees – 10 from each division.

UNDalumni.org

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LOCKER ROOM

FROM TURF TO SURF

UND Football’s Graham DeVore creates on-the-water food delivery business.

FOODSKI

UND Football defensive end Graham DeVore (left) and his friend, Dylan Dierking, deliver food via Jet Ski on White Bear Lake (Minnesota) as part of their new business venture.

Paul Dols | Press Publications

Photo by Russell Hons

bit and in a couple of days said, ‘let’s give it a shot.’

What’s the harm? It’s a good experience, and we can make a little money.”

The company motto is “You buy – we fly.”

DeVore and Dierking are Mahtomedi High School graduates and now are studying marketing and entrepreneurship at their respective universities.

DeVore planned to get an internship in Grand Forks this summer but the coronavirus pandemic altered his plans.

L

ike all of us, UND football defensive end Graham DeVore’s life was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The marketing major, however, turned alteration into innovation.

This summer, DeVore and his high school friend Dylan Dierking started a business on White Bear Lake (Minn.) in which customers buy food from a lakefront restaurant. Then, “Foodski” picks it up and delivers to your boat or dock via Jet Ski. “(Dierking) has a dock there, and we had got some food and were sitting there and came up with the idea,” DeVore said. “We just said this would be kind of cool and something to do. We looked into it a

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UND Alumni Magazine | Summer 2020

So, the duo has found another way to gain on-thejob experience. Creating a business plan, getting the necessary permits from the White Bear Lake Conservation District, and a crash course in insurance needs have taught them more than they bargained for.

“It’s just fun being on the water,” he said.

As an added bonus, Foodski has been met with positive reception.

DeVore is back in Grand Forks now to prepare for UND’s 2020 football season, but he’s hopeful the business can continue in future summers.

“Super positive and supportive,” DeVore said. “People say it’s such a good idea and concept. We’ve even been getting job applications. People want to work for us, which is cool. ... (But) for now, we prefer to keep it to us.”

“I think it’d be cool to push it forward and see how far we can go,” DeVore said. “I’m not really able to help run it now with football. I’m helping in other ways, but on the water it’s just my friend Dylan. It’d be cool to see where we can take it."

The 6-foot-4, 255-pound junior-to-be grew up going to the lake. His family owned a cabin near Brainerd, Minn.

DeVore is expected to begin the 2020 season as the starting defensive end for the Fighting Hawks. /// — by Alec Stocker Johnson, ’17

OPEN DOORS FOR

STUDENTS As a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, students have had to reevaluate their educational goals. In fact, we have seen a dip in freshmen and returning undergraduate enrollment this fall.

The Open Door Scholarship provides tuition assistance to help students finish their degrees here, at their UND home.

Make their dreams possible by opening the door a little wider for students this year.

UNDalumni.org/opendoor

CLASS NOTES 1953

Robert Hale, ’53, published his fourth book, “Imagine That!,” in late 2019. It is available on Amazon.

1963

Lawrence Merbach, ’63, ’67, has retired after 50 years teaching mathematics and science at North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton. Despite his retirement, Merbach plans to teach Calculus III for the fall semester.

1966

Myron Wentz, ’66, has retired from USANA Health Sciences, Inc. He founded the Utah-based company in 1992 and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

1967

1974

William McKinnon, ’74, ’81, ’83, ’87, is this year’s Outstanding Rural Health Professional for North Dakota. He is Medical Director of Regional Operations for Altru Health System.

1977

Jack Eakman, ’77, has released his new book “Thank You for Leading” on Amazon/Kindle.

1978

Alan Berg, ’78, ’80, has retired from Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center after practicing medicine for almost four decades.

Denise Lajimodiere, ’78, ’96, ’06, has written “Stringing Rosaries,” a book about American Indian boarding schools.

Jim Erickson, ’67, recounts the unforgettable saga of the Mount St. Helens eruption in his new book “Memories of Mount St. Helens.”

1979

Phil Jackson, ’67, HON ’08, is prominently featured in ESPN’s new hit documentary, “The Last Dance.”

1980

1973

Nancy (Borgeson), ’73, and Marlon Hvinden, ’74, have recently published “Heroes Next Door,” a book on World War II veterans from Benson County, N.D.

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UND Alumni Magazine | Summer 2020

Nestor Jaramillo Jr., ’79, has been promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer by CHF Solutions in Eden Prairie, Minn.

Debbie (Fowler) Swanson, ’80, ’13, has won the North Dakota Public Health Association Outstanding Service Award. She is Director of Grand Forks Public Health.

1981

Erling Martinson, ’81, ’83, has been presented with the Outstanding Rural Health Career award by UND's Center for Rural Health. Dr. Martinson is Family Medicine Specialist and Medical Director with Nelson County (N.D.) Health System.

1982

Chris Manos, ’82, has been hired as an EDA AmeriCorps VISTA with the Montana Business Assistance Connection.

1983

Susan (Swanke) Goltz, ’83, ’88, has joined the Duluth (Minn.)

Library Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Lynne (Kaizer) Sears, ’83, was named one of the Top 10 Nurses for 2020 in the Madison, Wis., area by the Wisconsin State Journal.

Lynne is a nurse practitioner in the pediatric intensive care unit at the American Family Children's Hospital in Madison.

1984

Tim Huckle, ’84, retired as President & CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota in January 2020 after 33 years of service.

Dean Opp, ’84, ’91, has retired after more than 30 years as director of the Summer Performing Arts program in Grand Forks.

1986

Jim Sweeney, ’86, is president of Fargo Jet Center, which has been ranked in the top 10 percent of all aviation service companies in the world by pilots in the 2020 Aviation International News (AIN) FBO Survey.

1987

Dr. Susan Haig, ’87, was presented with the American Ornithological Society’s Peter R. Stettenheim Service Award, which is given to a senior ornithologist who has provided extraordinary service to the ornithological community.

Sue (Amundson) Leupp, ’87, is the new administrator at the Good Samaritan Society in Mohall, N.D. Mollie (Garry) Raymond, ’87, ’89, is the wife of newly appointed Space Force Chief Gen. John “Jay” Raymond, making her the first military spouse in the newly created sixth branch of the military.

1988

Marilyn (Kroble) Vetter, ’88, was named vice chair of Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever within the organization's National Board of Directors.

Sandi (Pittack) Welch, ’88, ’90, has retired as an elementary school counselor. She served Grafton (N.D.) Public Schools for the past 19 years.

1989

Dan Gaustad, ’89, ’94, is the new city attorney for Grand Forks.

1990

Kelsy (Hanson) Boyd, ’90, was promoted to chief financial officer

by Sonic Foundry in Madison, Wis. Mike LaMoine, ’90, has been selected as the North Dakota male high school coach of the year. He served as interim head coach of the state champion Grand Forks Red River boys hockey team.

1991

Marla (Quem) Berge, ’91, joins the Energy & Environmental Research Center at UND as an administrative assistant.

Leann Bertsch, ’91, is Senior Vice President of Corrections at Management & Training Coporation (MTC) based in Centerville, Utah.

Anthony Kiendl, ’91, has been named CEO and director of Vancouver (B.C.) Art Gallery.

Jeff Zander, ’91, has been promoted to Vice President by VISIONBank in Fargo.

1993

Kelly (Rahn) Radi, ’93, was named a finalist in the Inspiration category of the 30th annual Midwest Book Awards for her book “Wonder-FULL: Activate Your Inner Superpowers (No Cape Required).”

1994

Karen Nyberg, ’94, HON ’14, has retired from NASA after nearly 30 years at NASA’s Johnson Space Center supporting human spaceflight, including 20 years as an astronaut and two spaceflights totaling 180 days in space.

CLASS NOTES

APPLAUSE FOR ALUMNI

Caring for the sickest of sick

Caleb Behm, ’17

RISING STAR OF NURSING Caleb Behm treats patients on the frontline of COVID-19.

Photo by Sanford Health

Caleb Behm, ’17, BSN, RN, CCRN, was working nursing shifts at Sanford Medical Center’s intensive care unit in Fargo when COVID-19 hit. He remembers the urgent request that came midMarch for volunteers to staff the new special care unit (SCU), a converted hospital floor that would go on to house over 270 COVID-19 patients over the next four months.

With three years of nursing experience, no kids at home nor any underlying health conditions, Caleb considered himself a good candidate. He signed up to join the other brave doctors, nurses and medical staff caring for those afflicted with the disease. “It was very scary that first day driving to the unit because I just didn't know how easily we could catch this.” His fears were valid – Cass County became a hotspot in North Dakota, with 46% of total cases as of July 30.

Like many health care facilities, Sanford transformed Broadway Medical Center’s third floor from an infusion center into a negative airflow, COVID-19 special care unit. As the facility was trying to adhere to rapidly changing CDC guidelines, Caleb and his team were treating some of the sickest patients they had ever seen.

He remembers one in particular — one of Sanford’s first COVID-19 patients to be intubated. While the medical provider prepared to perform the procedure, Caleb tried to ease the patient’s fears.

“I told him, ‘We're just trying to get ahead of the game here. We're trying to get this breathing tube

in to help you.’ And he said, ‘I trust you. Whatever you need to do you can do it.’”

The patient was in good hands. Recognized by Sanford, the ND Center for Nursing, and an internationally renowned foundation for being a “rising star” in the nursing field, Caleb is known to put extra effort into his patients. He took care of the intubated patient for several weeks, as did other SCU nurses. Once the patient’s health improved, the entire nursing staff gathered to watch the removal of the breathing tube from the patient’s window. It was a huge victory. The patient was discharged soon after.

“I think it was just such a happy moment on the unit. We all end up taking care of these patients at some point or another, so just seeing that really gave us a charge of energy, like, ‘Okay, we can make a difference in these lives,’” shared Caleb.

While the world has shown collective support for medical workers during this pandemic, Caleb sees it as just doing his job. “What we're doing with these patients is not any different than what we do with our standard patients, besides the extra protective equipment. So, it's actually been neat to show some of the good work that health care professionals do every day.”

Looking back at his time at UND’s College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines, Caleb has a better appreciation for its focus on interdisciplinary training and the opportunities that came out of his involvement in the Nursing

Student Association. Both gave him invaluable experience collaborating with students from other disciplines like physical and occupational therapy, public health and pre-med. He was well prepared for the teamwork that was required of medical staff on the special care unit.

“It was something that most of us had never done before – working with nurses from different floors in a specific way to take care of a mixture of ICU and med/surg patients. So we all had to be very flexible, but we all had the same goal of doing what's best for our patients and getting them better and back to their quality of life.”

Depending on the seriousness of the situation, a nurse can spend nearly an entire shift tending to one patient’s needs. Garbed in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), exhaustion can easily set in. Mental sharpness and physical stamina are essential. Caleb reenergizes with activities he loves like golf and piano. With a decrease in COVID-19 patients in the SCU, he has begun integrating back into the intensive care unit. He summarized how the pandemic has changed his perspective: “It's a very humbling experience how something that we can't even see can totally shut down our world and change our lives. I think it shows some of the vulnerability, but I think the silver lining of it is I can see how we could overcome it. And we have learned a lot from it as well.” /// — by Jenn Lukens

UNDalumni.org

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CLASS NOTES Brian Twete, ’94, ’99, a family nurse practitioner with Northwood (N.D.) Deaconess Health Center, has been named the Outstanding Rural Health Provider for North Dakota.

1995

Rick Holman, ’95, North Dakota House of Representatives, is the Rural Health Legislator of the Year presented by UND’s Center for Rural Health.

Dr. Shawn Stone, ’95, was named the 34th recipient of the George Wythe Award, Buena Vista University's highest honor for excellence in teaching. Stone has been a professor of physics and computer science for 21 years at BVU in Storm Lake, Iowa.

Stanley Stratton, ’95, is the new superintendent for the Riverview School District in Searcy, Arkansas.

1996

Dan Conrad, ’96, has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota.

Ray Grefsheim, ’97, has joined Cornerstone Bank as a senior vice president of business banking in Fargo.

Lindsey (Knoop) Anderson, ’99, recently joined Town & Country in Minot, N.D., as Director of Internal Audit.

Lt. Col. Chad Haman, ’97, has retired from the United States Army after 30 years of service. He lives in Eagle River, Alaska.

2000

Steven King, ’97, has been named Teacher of the Year

by Valley City (N.D.) State University’s Student Senate. King is a professor of social science.

Dawn Mattern, ’97, a boardcertified Family Practice/Sports Medicine specialist with Trinity Health in Minot, N.D., has been named a Fellow in the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine.

1998

Corey Harbott, ’95, ’98, has been appointed district court judge in Minnesota’s Ninth Judicial District.

Justin Johnston, ’98, has accepted the position of assistant principal at Waseca (Minn.) Junior and Senior High School.

Col. Matthew M. Fritz, ’96, is Commander of the 419th Fighter Wing, Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

David Overby, ’98, has been named vice president for technology and safety at South Dakota State University.

Todd Hebert, ’96, was featured in his first online exclusive solo art exhibition, titled “Three Snowmen, Three Bubbles.”

Mark Sipple, ’98, has been named defensive coordinator for Augustana University’s football team in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Bobby Meyers, ’96, has been promoted to chief pilot of charter flight operations at Fargo Jet Center.

Shane Zaback, ’98, made the 2020 Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisor list. He works for Raymond James in Minot, N.D.

1997

1999

Josh Andersen, ’97, was awarded the Presidential Coin for his tireless efforts in managing the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the Emergency Operations Center at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.

Lori (Olmstead) Faleide, ’97, is the Community Healthy Youth Coordinator in Casselton, N.D.

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UND Alumni Magazine | Summer 2020

Hunter Berg, ’99, has been named Executive Director of the Williston (N.D.) State College Foundation.

Joel Bird, ’99, was named to the list of Financial Times 400 Top Financial Advisers. Bird works for Ameriprise Financial in Bismarck.

Shawn Carlson, ’99, has joined Town & Country Credit Union in Fargo as an executive mortgage officer.

Ann Siegle Drege, ’00, received the 2020 President’s Award for Excellence for teaching and learning from State University of New York at Fredonia. She is an associate professor in the Department of English and English Adolescence Education program coordinator.

David Schlafman, ’00, private wealth advisor with Ameriprise Financial in Bismarck, was named to the “Financial Times” list of 400 Top Financial Advisers.

2001

Craig Hashbarger, ’01, is a senior audit manager at Widmer Roel in Fargo.

Ryan Meyer, ’01, ’03, has joined Lux Communities, an Enclave Company, in Fargo, N.D., as controller.

2003

Steve Perez, ’03, ’05, was promoted to Library Manager at Pasadena Independent School District in Texas.

2004

Patrick McClellan, ’04, has been chosen as principal of Chief Joseph Middle School in Bozeman, Mont.

Faye Norby, ’04, won the 350mile women’s foot division of the Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska.

Melissa (Dannenberg) Yackley, ’04, was promoted to vice president, commercial loan officer at Stockman Bank in Billings, Mont.

2005

Dan Eastgate, ’05, has been elected to the Bismarck (N.D.) School Board. He is area director of Bismarck-Mandan Young Life and a Realtor at Venture Real Estate.

Tiffany (Hunter) Ford, ’05, ’18, has been appointed as the state director for the North Dakota Small Business Development Network by the Nistler College of Business & Public Administration.

Vishnu Reddy, ’05, ’09, is associate professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and is leading a team studying the origin nature composition intent and potential impact of asteroids on our planet.

Jim Vasichek, ’05, has been elected to the First United Bank Board of Directors. He lives in Lakota, N.D.

2006

Kaylyn Bondy, ’06, ’20, is Vice President for Student Affairs at Bismarck State College.

Megan (Campbell) Houser, ’06, has been named to Prairie Business Magazine’s 40 Under 40 list as one of the top business professionals under age 40 in the Northern Plains. Houser is HR Manager for AE2S headquartered in Grand Forks.

Heather (Hanson) Jung, ’06, is an administrative associate for retirement services at Heartland Trust in Fargo, N.D.

2007

Jayden Olson, ’07, is Williston (N.D.) State College’s new Athletic Director.

2008

Kayla (Hoerth) Dornfeld, ’08, ’14, teacher, international keynote speaker, consultant and author, was selected as Top Educator of the Year for 2020 by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) for her leadership and commitment to the education industry.

Ryan Thayer, ’08, is the new executive director of Fargo Air Museum.

Garth Wiedrich, ’08, ’19, joins Flint Group in Fargo, N.D., as a senior account manager.

CLASS NOTES

2009

Jeffrey Baumgartner, ’09, has been hired as a senior portfolio manager for the private wealth management division of First International Bank & Trust in Bismarck.

Thomas Dryburgh, ’09, ’11, will join Moorhead (Minn.) High School as a girls basketball coach.

2010

Shaun McAfee, ’10, received the Secretary of the Army Award for Excellence in Installation-Level Contracting. He is a Supervisory Contract Specialist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

2011

Brian Duchscherer, ’11, has retired as Carrington (N.D.) School District superintendent.

Erin (Lowder) Hoffert, ’11, joins the Energy & Environmental Research Center at UND as an administrative assistant.

Andrew Jackson, ’11, has been named a finalist for Alabama teacher of the year. He teaches 4th grade at Eden Elementary in Pell City.

Duane Johnson, ’11, has accepted the position of maintenance information specialist at American Crystal Sugar Company in Hillsboro, N.D.

2012

Bailey Anderson, ’12, ’14, is a Consultant at OpGo Marketing, Fargo, N.D. Lana DeCoteau, ’12, has retired as superintendent of Belcourt (N.D.) School District.

Monique Lamoureux-Morando, ’12, ’15, and Jocelyne LamoureuxDavidson, ’12, ’13, are the 45th and 46th recipients of the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, North Dakota’s highest honor. They live in Grand Forks.

2013

Britt Lindgren, ’13, is the office administrator at Ritter Adair & Associates, PC in Bismarck.

Justin Weber, ’13, has been ordained as priest to serve the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

Xuefei Zhang, ’13, is an analytical chemist at the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at UND.

2015

Luke Funk, ’15, a second-year nursing student at Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Winona, has been awarded the Mark M. Welter World Citizen Award scholarship.

Michael Kocsis, ’15, has been named aquatics director and head coach of the men’s and women’s swim teams at the University of Rio Grande (Ohio).

Erin Rocheleau, ’15, has joined Chrysalis Behavioral Health Services in Fargo, N.D. Wind Spirit Spotted Bear, ’15, has been hired as a multimedia developer by Agency MABU in Bismarck, N.D.

2016

Cameron Dutt, ’16, graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry and is a Lieutenant and Dentist at Naval Station Great Lakes in Chicago.

2017

Zsofia Barandi, ’17, ’19, was among 133 out of 75,000 who took the CPA Exam to win the 2019 Elijah Watt Sells Award for exceptional performance on the exam. Barandi is employed with EY in Minneapolis.

Zach Bohn, ’17, ’18, has joined the Therapy-Rehab Department at Benedictine Living Community of Wahpeton (N.D.)/St. Catherine's Living Center.

Michael Dulitz, ’17, is North Dakota’s Public Health Worker of the Year. He is the Opioid Response Project Coordinator for Grand Forks Public Health.

2018

Danica Dutt, ’18, is a Social Media Specialist at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.

Asia Laudal, ’18, has been named the interim head women's soccer coach at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C. Nikki Myhre, ’18, has been hired by the Minnetrista (Minn.) Police Department – the first female licensed police officer to be part of the department in the past 15 years.

Taryn Pfingsten, ’18, is a new home associate with Heritage Homes in Fargo, N.D. Billie Jo (Haines) Soholt, ’18, is principal of Peter Boe Jr. Elementary in Mayville, N.D. Cole Winbauer, ’18, has been named a representative with Securian Financial Advisors of North Dakota Inc. in Fargo.

2019

Hayley Andresen, ’19, has joined Widmer Roel in Fargo, N.D., a regional public accounting and business advisory firm, as a staff accountant.

Brandon Bochenski, ’19, is the new mayor of Grand Forks.

Meghan Dohrmann, ’19, is a customer service representative for Bank of North Dakota’s student loans program.

Zahra Finnigan, ’19, is a geoscientist at the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at UND.

Dylan Walski, ’19, has been hired as a financial analyst for AE2S Nexus in Grand Forks.

Caleb Wavra, ’19, has been promoted to control systems engineer at American Crystal Sugar Company’s Drayton, N.D., factory.

2020 Mason Bennett, ’20, was picked by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as the eighth overall pick in the Canadian Football League Draft. He is the first UND player to be picked in the first round of the CFL draft since 2001.

Arash Abarghani, ’20, has joined the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at UND as a research scientist. ///

Several readers submitted correct answers to the Spring 2020 “Find the Flame” contest, and three lucky alumni — Cathy Perry, ’75, ’77; Doug Magnus, ’73; and Michael Miller, ’81 — were drawn from the correct entries to win a prize from us.

They found the flame hidden in the graduate’s zipper pull on her graduation gown.

Be sure to search for the flame on the cover of this issue. If you find it, email AlumniMag@UNDalumni.net

Micaela Higlin, ’19, joined Starion as a cash management officer at the downtown Bismarck, N.D., branch.

Angelo Mondragon, ’19, is a new attorney at Scott Stewart Law Office in Langdon, N.D. Amy Quinn, ’19, has been added to South Central Kansas Medical Center’s medical roster as a new physician assistant in Arkansas City.

ALUMNI

M A G A Z I N E Spring 2020 | Volume 103 | Issue 2

W HEN T HE WORL D IS

UPSIDE DOWN

The COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, impacting virtually every aspect of life as we know it. As UND alumni, we press on.

Meghan Taunton, ’19, has been hired by the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at UND as a research engineer.

1

UNDalumni.org Photo by Sam Melquist

UNDalumni.org

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CLASS NOTES

ALUMNI MILESTONES

Young at heart

Sam Sachs, ’36 105TH BIRTHDAY PARADE

Lt. Col. Sam Sachs watches from his front porch as a parade drives by his home during a celebration in his honor in Lakewood, California, on April 26, 2020. The celebration and parade honored the World War II veteran’s 105th birthday. Sachs was an officer with the 325th Glider Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division and landed his glider on the beaches of Normandy during D-Day. Photo by Staff Sgt. Kimberly Hill / California National Guard

I

n his song “Young at Heart,” Frank Sinatra sings, “And if you should survive to a hundred and five / Look at all you’ll derive out of bein’ alive / And here is the best part, you have a head start / If you are among the very young at heart.”

Ten years ago, then-95-year-old Sam Sachs, ’36, listened to that song and was inspired to set a goal: he would live to be 105. “That was an encouragement for me,” Sam said. “And by golly, I did make it 10 more years.” On April 26, 2020, Sam turned 105 in grand fashion – though his birthday celebration didn’t exactly go as planned.

Ivonne Meader, owner and administrator of Mom & Dad’s House, the retirement home where Sam lives in Lakewood, California, had planned a big party to mark Sam’s 105th birthday. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, forced Ivonne to change course. In the spirit of going virtual, she took to social media. A video featuring Sam, a proud U.S. Army veteran adorned in his uniform asking for cards was shared on Mom & Dad’s House’s Facebook page. It went viral.

Local and national news sources converged on Mom & Dad’s House to tell Sam’s story, neighborhood residents came together to stick 105 small American flags in the front lawn, and the City of Lakewood arranged a drive-by birthday parade on April 26, complete with fire engines, classic cars, and even a helicopter flying overhead. Lakewood’s mayor gave a speech, and a U.S. soldier sang “Happy Birthday” to Sam. In Grand Forks, Sam was honored by American Legion Post 6 for exemplary service to the nation, and then-Mayor Mike Brown proclaimed April 26 as Sam Sachs Day.

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UND Alumni Magazine | Summer 2020

By the time his birthday arrived, Sam already had received more than 6,000 birthday greetings.

A month later, that number had grown to more than 8,000.

He is in good health, but his reading vision is beginning to fail, so Ivonne put out a call for volunteers to come to Mom & Dad’s House to read his cards to him, practicing social distancing and other guidelines to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.

The highlight so far? A greeting from President Donald Trump. In his video, Sam said, “I’m wondering how many birthday cards I will get.

I hope I get many of them. And I’m also asking our president to send me a card. What a thrill that would be.”

Sam never expected it to happen. “It was kind of a throwaway line at the end of the video,” he said.

So, what’s the secret to his longevity? He says he began practicing five principles back when he was in his 20s: 1. Everything in moderation, especially junk food. “Don’t go overboard on anything,” Sam says.

2. Exercise. Even when he was teaching full time during the day, night classes a few times a week, and reporting for military obligations a couple of times a month with a family at home, Sam found time to keep up with his weightlifting and running regimen.

3. Stay the middle course. “If you balance a pencil on your finger, it’ll stay on if it’s resting on the middle. But if you put either end on your finger, it’ll fall right off.”

4. Learn how to handle stress. “I think this is the most important,” he says.

5. Marry someone who loves you. Sam met his wife, Ida, at public dance hall. They had three sons, Howard, Larry, and Robert, and five grandchildren. Ida passed away in 2005 at age 84.

Proud to serve Sam grew up in Grand Forks, born to Russian immigrants. He always knew he wanted to serve his country in the United States Army, but first he wanted to become educated, so he attended the University of North Dakota, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business in 1936.

On Dec. 1, 1941, as a First Lieutenant, he was called to active duty with the U.S. Army. Six days later, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war with Japan the following day.

He became a decorated war hero, serving as a paratrooper with the 325th Glider Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division, commonly known as the “Flying Coffins,” which landed in Normandy on D-Day to liberate Europe from Nazi Germany.

In 2019, at age 104, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor, the country’s highest medal, for his service.

In 1950, Lt. Colonel Sachs became a high school business teacher and career adviser until his retirement in 1982. “I loved every bit of it,” he said.

Check out the viral video that started it all at UNDalumni.org/AlumniMag. /// — by Alyssa Konickson, ’06

CLASS NOTES

APPLAUSE FOR ALUMNI

An advocate for aviators

William Hoffman, ’15

who now might be putting off seeking care until their conditions are much further along.

Aviation to biology Hoffman’s interest in aviation and his desire to join the Air Force go back to his youth in Rosemont, Minnesota. He was a member of the Civil Air Patrol as a teen and earned his private pilot license. When his dream of attending the Air Force Academy fell through, he started looking for schools with an Air Force ROTC program and a strong aviation program. That landed him at UND. “I really sort of stumbled into it [UND],” Hoffman said. “But it was the perfect fit. I’m so glad it worked out the way it did.”

Hoffman started in Aviation, but as a sophomore he accidentally took a pre-med biology class instead of the general studies class and found his calling. He graduated from UND with a degree in Biology and attended medical school at Georgetown.

“I feel like I owe a debt of gratitude to UND. It’s a big university, but the professors always knew my name. They were always very supportive and encouraging of the whole group of us who talked of wanting to go to medical school.”

Spare time novel

Photo by Milo Smith

W

illiam “Billy” Hoffman, ’15, is a neurologist with a lot on his mind.

In addition to his medical residency with an Air Force medical center in San Antonio, the airman is researching pilot health and in his spare time has written a novel inspired by that research.

Pilot research

Hoffman says it is common knowledge in aviation circles that pilots are averse to seeking medical attention for fear they will be grounded. While the implications are serious, the accuracy of this belief has not been thoroughly studied.

“If an airline pilot, for example, experiences chest pains, they are technically supposed to ground themselves until it is fully evaluated. … This could be the end to a lucrative career, so it’s like pulling teeth to get them to come in. Interestingly, there is very little published medical literature about this.”

Somewhere in his spare time between earning his medical degree, starting his residency and his Air Force responsibilities, Hoffman turned his interest in pilot health into a work of fiction. “Wings of Deceit” follows the decisions of Captain Robert “Mac” Frank that led him to have a medical crisis in the cockpit during a commercial flight over the Pacific Ocean.

The book then uses flashbacks to explain how Mac arrived at this pivotal moment.

The University of North Dakota of the 1970s even makes an appearance as Mac earns his aviation degree in Grand Forks and meets his future wife.

“I always say there’s nothing like medical education to beat the creativity out of person,” said Hoffman with a laugh. “So, it was kind of nice to have a creative outlet. You don’t make any money by self-publishing a fiction book, but it was a fun opportunity on the side.”

You can find “Wings of Deceit” on Amazon.com.

In his initial anonymous survey of more than 900 pilots last year, Hoffman says he and his colleagues found that 60% of pilots had delayed seeking care after experiencing a symptom and 40% admitted that they had withheld information from their physician for fear of losing their medical certificate.

Hoffman doesn’t rule out writing another novel, but for now he’s focused on his medical residency and research efforts. He is currently soliciting a new batch of aviators to take a follow-up survey on how they handle their healthcare needs in relation to flying (see below).

Hoffman says that’s worrisome because the primary way pilots are screened is to be asked during annual aeromedical exams whether they have experienced any symptoms.

He has three years left on his medical residency and will serve in the Air Force another eight years after that.

Hoffman points to a study of Federal Aviation Administration data that found 5% of fatal aviation accidents in the United States in 2015 were due to medical conditions not being disclosed. Hoffman believes the percentage might be even higher, but autopsies and toxicology reports are not always conducted in accident investigations.

Hoffman’s ultimate goal is to use his continuing research to find ways to advocate for pilots to be able to seek the care they need without retribution. He advocates for establishing a national aviator healthcare advisory phone line where pilots can get medical advice without revealing their identities. Not only could that improve aviation safety, but it might lead to earlier interventions and better treatment of pilots

“They paid for a lot of education, so Uncle Sam owns me for a long time,” Hoffman said with a laugh. “But that’s OK; I knew since I was a kid I wanted to be in the Air Force. And I’m excited to finally do it.” /// — by Milo Smith If you are a commercial, military or hobby pilot, you can participate in Hoffman’s anonymous research survey to improve aviator healthcare by visiting UNDalumni.org/AlumniMag to find a link.

UNDalumni.org

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IN MEMORIAM

It is with great honor we dedicate these pages to alumni and friends of the University of North Dakota who have recently passed away. These members of the alumni family helped ignite the spirit of UND, paving the way for a bright future.

Photo by Sam Melquist

1940s Rebecca (Pond) Boyum, ..’41 Cherokee, N.C. Robert Fosness, ’42 Grand Forks Margaret (Richardson) Skinner, ’42 Hot Springs Village, Ark. Lois Wilde, ’44 Grand Forks Ethel (Lambertz) Dietz, ’46 Saint Paul, Minn.

Marian (Wiken) Hove, ..’46 Grand Forks Margaret (Nelson) Meyers, ’46 Santa Maria, Calif.

June (Hazelton) McCutcheon, ..’47 Minot, N.D. Julie (Parry) Wright, ..’48 Broomfield, Colo.

Joyce (Rosenberg) Strehlow, ’49 Ottertail, Minn.

1950s John Fyten, ’50 Menlo Park, Calif.

George Martin, ’50 Gautier, Miss.

Patricia (Knox) Bushaw, ’51 Highlands Ranch, Colo.

Ruth Johnson, ’51 Pierre, S.D. Robert Kandt, ..’51 Cleburne, Texas Angelo Petri, ’51 Rochester, Minn.

Richard Dobrovolny, ’52 Arlington, Texas William Foster, ’52 Dickinson, N.D. Walter Gersvold, ..’52 Dallas, Ore. Cecil Reid, ’52 Forest City, N.C. Nathan Wilcoxon, ’52 Rochester, Ill. Wayne Anderson, ’53 Columbia, Mo.

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Elaine (Behl) Hale, ’53 Glen Arm, Md. Lyle Johnson, ’53 Fargo A. Elaine (Tsoumpas) Taylor, ’53 Federal Way, Wash.

Dr. Kenneth D. Sandvold, ’54 Stillwater, Okla.

Leroy Hamre, ’55 Bismarck, N.D. Donna (Reisch) McHale, ’55 Bakersfield, Calif.

Richard Nickeson, ’55 Wellesley, Mass.

Gordon Peterson, MD, ’55 Salem, Ore. ElRoy Rakstad, ..’55 Henderson, Nev. John Sorensen, ’55 Rockville, Md. Glen Brynsvold, ’56, ’59 San Jose, Calif.

W. Odin Dahl, ’56 Fargo William Fahey, ..’56 Grand Forks William Frahm, ’56 Oro Valley, Ariz.

James Olson, MD, ’56, ’57 Grand Forks Dallas Fuller, ’57 Freedom, N.H. A. Roger Neuenschwander, MD, ’57, ’58, ’59, Boise, Idaho Jack Reep, ’57 Woodbridge, Va. Richard Sletten, ’57 Glenwood, Iowa Margie (Romberg) Austin, ..’58 Devils Lake, N.D. Calvin Lundberg, ’58 Rochester, Minn.

Dr. L. Joel Swanson, ’58 Rio Verde, Ariz.

Terry Tisdale, MD, ’58, ’59 Spokane, Wash.

Edgar Willems, ’58 Edmonton, Alberta

UND Alumni Magazine | Summer 2020

Earl Allen, Sr., ’59 Minot, N.D. Duane Augdahl, ’59 Minneapolis, Minn.

John Bargas, Jr., ..’59 Roseville, Calif.

Mary Bergstrom, ’59 Chevy Chase, Md. John Kelsh, ’59 Lady Lake, Fla. Judith (Thompson) Mazur, ..’59 Mendota Heights, Minn.

Robin Parke, ’59 Paradise Valley, Ariz.

1960s Robert Colliton, MD, ’60 Kent, Minn.

Patricia (Bettschen) Dietz, ’60, ’68 Hudson, Wis. John Fougeron, ’60 Brevard, N.C. Daniel Goodwin, MD, ’60, ’62 Deerwood, Minn.

Dr. Awad Ismir, ’60, ’63 Shawnee Mission, Kan. Dean Knudsen, ’60 Detroit Lakes, Minn.

Janice (Smith) Lenhart, ..’60 Warren, Minn.

Thelma (Sharp) Miller, ’60 Colorado Springs, Colo.

Robert Peterka, ’60 Waconia, Minn.

Betty (Burreson) Peterson, ..’60 Rochester, Minn.

Arthur Schuschke, ’60 Fertile, Minn.

Gordon Seller, ’60 Aurora, Colo.

Mary Ann (Jereszek) Simmons, ’60 Crookston, Minn.

Dorothy (Prosser) Westlund, ’60, ’63 Grand Forks Rudolph Carlson, Jr., ’61 Westborough, Mass.

Roger Graham, ’61, ’70 Hungry Horse, Mont.

James Johnson, ’61 Sacramento, Calif.

Gary Luckow, ..’61 Crookston, Minn.

Clair Roth, ’61 Minot, N.D. Russell Leroy Wicklund, ..’61 Greenbush, Minn.

John Wright, Jr., ..’61 Boerne, Texas Kenneth Brandt, ’62, ’68 Chanhassen, Minn.

Sandra (Trent) Davis, ’62 Surprise, Ariz.

Leo Hassa, ’62 Seattle, Wash.

Larry Jodsaas, ’62 Saint Paul, Minn.

Blaine Johner, ’62 Hot Springs Village, Ark. Ronald LeClerc, ..’62 Bismarck, N.D. Robert Zimmer, ..’62 Grand Forks George (Georgacas) Alafouzos, ’63 Wausau, Wis. Mary Beth (Kitsch) Armentrout, ’63 Devils Lake, N.D. Marjorie (Bye) Campbell, ’63 Grand Forks Francis Hamerlinck, ’63 St. Paul, Minn.

Janice (Anderson) Klopp, ’63 Thief River Falls, Minn.

Maurice Paulsen, ’63, ’73 Larimore, N.D. Charles Schoenborn, ’63 Michigan City, Ind. Ardell Taylor, ..’63 Fargo Mary (MacMullen) Watts, ’63 Concord, Mass.

Ronald Brickey, ’64 Clyde, Mich.

Judithe (Spicer) Heffron, ..’64 Grand Forks Gahlyn Hegg, ’64 Colorado Springs, Colo.

Verne Hull, ’64 Yankton, S.D. Claudia Johnson, ..’64 St. Paul, Minn.

Heather Johnstone, ’64 Wayzata, Minn.

Patricia (McBride) Leonard, ’64 East Grand Forks, Minn.

Gary Nordmark, ’64 Blaine, Minn.

Russel Sethre, ’64 Fergus Falls, Minn.

James Wendel, ..’64 Spokane, Wash.

Thomas Evans, ’65 Hamilton, Mont.

Dr. Lyle Fogel, ’65, ’75 Southlake, Texas Wesley Luther, ’65 Minot, N.D. Palmer Peterson, ’65 Cloquet, Minn.

Georges Raffo, ’65 Okemos, Mich.

Richard Tyler, ’65 Prior Lake, Minn.

Teresa (Westrem) Bakken, ’66, ’68 Grand Forks Milton Berg, ’66 Northfield, Minn.

Dennis William Boyd, ..’66 Bismarck, N.D. Delores (Fueller) Byboth, ’66 Hudson, Wis. Theodore Weberg, ’66 Thief River Falls, Minn.

Barbara (Lusk) Abrahamson, ’67 Nobleboro, Maine Subhas Bose, ’67 Naperville, Ill. Joan (Prosser) Coats, ’67 Wilton, Calif.

Nancy (Adamson) Ellertson, ..’67 Grand Forks Larry Godejohn, ’67 Cushing, Minn.

Shirley (Miller) Kleven, ..’67 Lakota, N.D.

Lawrence Lium, ..’67 Mansfield, Texas Mark Stenson, ..’67 Lidgerwood, N.D. Dr. Leon Flancher, ’68 Fargo Susan (Barta) Gudajtes, ..’68 Minto, N.D. Lowell Olson, ’68 St. Cloud, Minn.

Curtis Frazee, ’69 Watford City, N.D. Arthur Mitzel, ’69 Jamestown, N.D.

1970s Marvin Berg, ’70 Longmont, Colo.

Tyrone Carlson, ’70 Rochester, Minn.

James Clayburgh, MD, ..’70 Portsmouth, N.H. Earlene (Olson) Guinn, ’70 Columbia, Md. Michelle (Knoblich) Huot, ..’70 Louisville, Ky. Ronald Kelly, ..’70 Rosemount, Minn.

Roland Krause, ’70 Fredericton, New Brunswick R.P. Krishnan, ’70 Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Patrick Oven, ’70 St. Paul, Minn.

Chris Paustian, ’70, ’71 Fargo Kenneth Schultz, ..’70 Minot, N.D. Thomas Skarp, ’70 Athens, Ala. John Standal, ’70 Bonners Ferry, Idaho James Tomlin, ’70 Troy, Mont.

Fred Woodiwiss, ..’70 Minot, N.D. Kenneth Gothberg, ’71 Buffalo, Minn.

Jerry Jones, ..’71 Greenfield, Ind. Charles Murphy, ..’71 St. Paul, Minn.

Jens Strand, MD, ’71, ’73 North Liberty, Iowa Lewis Taylor, ’71 Swan River, Manitoba Aaron Allen, ’72 Cedar Park, Texas Richard Gardiner, ’72 Binford, N.D. Raymond Nygaard, ..’72 Wildrose, N.D. Richard Swanson, ’72 Richville, Minn.

Alta (Lindaas) Bloomquist, ’73 Devils Lake, N.D. Dr. Eleanor Bujea, ’73 Regina, Saskatchewan

Laura (Nieland) Casper, ’73 Overland Park, Kan. Sandra Norby, ’73 Belgrade, Mont.

Victoria Vorachek, ’73, ’75 Hunter, N.D. Glenn Belisle, ..’74 Willow City, N.D. Dennis Grove, ’74 Grand Forks Dr. Hans Gunderson, ’74 Flagstaff, Ariz.

Byron Jacobson, ’74 Kansas City, Mo. Dale Jones, ..’74 Emmett, Idaho Gladys (Gunderson) Keig, ’74 St. Paul, Minn.

Caryl (Holmberg) Pederson, ..’74 Sparta, Wis. Clifford Phelps, ..’74 Grand Forks Larry Potter, ’74 Mapleton, Maine Dr. Michael Rowe, ’74, ’78 Platteville, Wis. James Schieffer, ’74 Grafton, N.D. Douglas Colwell, ’75, ’78 Largo, Fla. Elwyn Krogh, ’75 Fargo Fred Monette, ’75 Shelton, Wash.

Alice (Edgerly) Robinson, ’75 Fargo Donald Clarke, ’76 Oscoda, Mich.

Robert Lembke, ’76 Evanston, Ill. Kathleen (Sivulich) Loughney, ’76 Lewiston, Idaho Dr. John Bujea, ’77, ’85 Regina, Saskatchewan Dr. Norman Machart, ’77 Walker, Minn.

Gary Satterfield, ’77 Tyler, Texas Jeanne (Anderson) Taylor, ’77 Grand Forks Rick Wold, ..’77 Wylie, Texas Richard Gebhart, MD, ’79, ’81 Maple Grove, Minn.

Warren Olsen, ..’79 Fergus Falls, Minn.

Steven Webster, ..’79 Devils Lake, N.D.

1980s Darrel Brendle, ’80 Parshall, N.D. Brad Johnson, ’82 Marietta, Ga. Elizabeth Thomas, ..’82 Portapique, Nova Scotia Gail Van Kesteren, ’82 Grand Rapids, Mich.

Nathan Aalgaard, ’83 Moorhead, Minn.

Paula Boehm, ’83 Bismarck, N.D. Gretchen (Cox) Ryan, ’83 Grand Forks John Burns,’84 Willmar, Minn.

Daniel Powers, ’84 Fargo Timothy Westby, ’86 Houston, Texas Yvonne (Kenner) Bonfield, ’87 Madras, Ore. Larry Gaughan, ’87 Moorhead, Minn.

Joel Pfliger, ’87 Stanton, N.D. Gary Reed, ’88 Bismarck, N.D. Krista (Daniels) Beranek, ’89 Sanborn, Minn.

1990s Michelle (Collette) Donarski, ’91 Fargo Kelly (Atchison) Bieker, ’99 Lincoln, Neb.

2000s Dr. Richard Jaeger, ’00 Victoria, Minn.

Jennifer Chapman, ’03 Holts Summit, Mo. Kirksten Elm, ..’04 Minot, N.D. Dr. Judith Olson, ’04 Fosston, Minn.

Dr. Paul Cline, ’05, ’12, ’17 Jamaica, N.Y. Colleen Murphy, ’05 Seattle, Wash.

Emily (Rousu) Wollin, ’05 Fargo Erika (Olson) Gruenberg, ’06 Grand Forks Erika (Olson) Kahlhamer, ’06, ’11 Thief River Falls, Minn.

2010s Ashley Sweeney, ’11 Manvel, N.D.

FACULTY/STAFF Howard Butler Grand Forks Alice Clark Roseburg, Ore. Loretta Coulter Warroad, Minn.

Tom DiLorenzo Charleston, S.C. Lawrence Hart Grand Forks Marvin Heil Grand Forks Wallace Kurihara, MD Springfield, Ore.

Olivia (Bitz) Ladouceur Grand Forks Dr. Donald Lemon Tampa, Fla. Myrna (Chwialk) Johnson Grand Forks Viola Steers Grand Forks

FRIENDS Carlton Anderson Valley City, N.D. Shirley (Behl) Anderson Morris, Minn.

Marlene (Mosolf) Bates Drayton, N.D. Dr. Edward Donatelle Minneapolis, Minn.

Master Sgt. John Griffith Grand Forks Lawrence Hill Minneapolis, Minn.

Bonnie Holweger Grand Forks

Betty (Wold) Johnson Hopewell, N.J. James Johnston Fargo Isabel (Gulson) Lebacken Grand Forks Marian (Kurtz) Reller Grand Forks Lois Seeger Grand Forks Thomas Shirek Park River, N.D. Marilyn (Hoffman) Skogley Bismarck, N.D. Irene Streifel Jamestown, N.D. Carol Vavra Des Moines, Iowa Herbert Wilson, MD Bismarck, N.D. A double period (..) in front of a year indicates the year that a non-graduate left UND. ///

Honoring an innovator Larry Jodsaas, ’63, lost his battle with Alzheimer’s on April 27, 2020.

Larry was a generous benefactor to the UND College of Engineering & Mines (CEM), establishing the Jodsaas Center for Engineering Leadership & Entrepreneurship. He was inducted into the CEM Alumni Hall of Fame in 2003, served on the National Campaign Steering Committee for North Dakota Spirit | The Campaign for UND, was named North Dakota Business Innovator of the Year in 2006, and was honored with the Sioux Award, the UND Alumni Association & Foundation’s highest honor, in 2008.

After serving in the Navy, Larry entered a 2-year pre-engineering program at the North Dakota State School of Science in Wahpeton, before completing his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from UND in 1962. That same year, Larry began his career at Control Data with an engineering position.

During his 25 years there, he discovered he liked managing electrical engineers better than being one himself and became the Senior Vice President of Quality and Operations Effectiveness. In 1988 Larry became President and CEO of VTC, Inc., a subsidiary company of Control Data, and two years later, he purchased VTC from Control Data for $1 plus its added financial encumbrance.

VTC (Value The Customer), a semiconductor manufacturing business, grew to capture 65% of the worldwide market share of the microchip industry under the direction of Jodsaas. In 2000, Larry sold the brand, sales and marketing portions of VTC, but kept the manufacturing portion and launched his own company – PolarFab – the only privately held semiconductor foundry in the United States. Jodsaas retired in 2005.

UNDalumni.org

47

UND BABIES

FEATURED CUTENESS

CELEBRATIONS

Atticus Francis Johnson was born on June 29, 2019, to Emily and Jason Johnson, ’09.

The family lives in Papillion, Neb.

If you would like your announcement to be included in the next UND Alumni Magazine, send a high resolution photo to AlumniMag@UNDalumni.net. We look forward to helping you celebrate!

1

UND BABIES 1

Linda (Tice) Johnson, ’71, of Midlothian, Viriginia, is pictured with her grandson and her daughter Melanie (Johnson) Weeks, ’05.

2

Parker James Muhs was born March 6, 2020 to Jordan (Thorp), ’14, and Tommy Muhs, ’14. The family lives in Fargo, N.D.

3

Finley Reger was born on March 10, 2020 in Minneapolis to Derrick, ’11, and Courtney (Hoversten) Reger, ’12. Courtney works at Medtronic and Derrick is an air traffic controller at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. They live in Plymouth, Minn.

48

2

4

Sarah (Cummins) Bushaw, ’99, is proud to announce the birth of her granddaughter, Everly Rose Job, on December 16, 2019. Bushaw works at Altru Health System in Grand Forks.

5

Surrounded by her big brothers, Hannah 8 Diane Hanson was born on February 13, 2020, to Shawn, ’92, and Jennifer Hanson. She is the granddaughter to Diane (Biberdorf), ’70, and Robin Hanson, ’71. The Hansons reside in Phoenix, Arizona.

6

Bodhi Gerard Brodeur was born October 31, 2019, to Andrew and Rebecca (Vilhauer), ’04, Brodeur. They currently live in Las Vegas.

UND Alumni Magazine | Summer 2020

7

9

3

Alli (Braasch), ’11, and Shaun Harrison,’10, welcomed their first child, Rhett, on August 7, 2019. The family lives in West Fargo, N.D.

CELEBRATIONS

10

Cassie (Johnson) Taylor, ’12, ’13, and Andy Taylor, ’15, were married at Ralph Engelstad Arena on October 19, 2019.

Cassie is a third-grade teacher and Andy is a physical therapist. They reside in the Twin Cities.

Kim (Cooley) White, ’97, and her husband, Col. Tim White, Ret. USAF, celebrated the high school graduation of their triplets, Tim, Haley, and Connor, on June 1, 2020. Kim and Tim met at the Urban Stampede in downtown Grand Forks just before she won Miss North Dakota in 1995. Together,

they have endured two floods and a hurricane. Their triplets were born on Sept. 10, 2001 – one day before 9/11 – and graduated during the coronavirus pandemic.

Kelsey (Plese), ’16, and Christopher Seeba, ’16, were married April 6, 2019 in Minnetonka, Minn., and currently reside in Fargo, North Dakota. Their wedding party included 11 UND alumni: McKinzie Molde, ’18; Alexandra (Miller) Lodewyk, ’16; Nicole Welle, ’16; Samantha Edwardson, ’17; Eric Christensen, ’17; Leo Plese, ’13; Nicholas Plese, ’13; Gabriel Whitney, ’19; Alexander Martinson, ’18; Andrew Simonson, ’17; and Matthew Magnuson, ’16. ///

4

5

7

9

8

6

10 UNDalumni.org

49

THANK YOU DONORS

UND LEGACIES

A piece of history Nancy (Murdoch), ..’58 & the Rev. Eldred Englerth, ’41; Rachel (Englerth) Fay, ’81, and Alison (Englerth) Harries, ’79

The UND Alumni Association & Foundation sincerely thanks all alumni and friends who have made gifts and commitments to support students, faculty, programs, and places at UND. Thank you for all that you do!

The following donors reached a new giving circle in the Eternal Flame Society between April 1, 2020 – June 30, 2020. * indicates deceased For more information about the Eternal Flame Society, visit UNDalumni.org/EternalFlame

T HO M A S CL IF F OR D

CIRCL E

$100,000 - $999,999 C. L. Linfoot Company Helen A. Dahl* Clifford C. Grosz*

Christopher D. Griffin Dan D. Grossman Roxanne & John Hurley Moorhead Electric Beverly J. Nelson* Robert J. Reinertson* Gayle A. Whitmer Schantzen, M.D. John* & Leone* Schmitz Sharon L. Shaide

Kirk & Karla Marchell

Sandra M. E. Shivers, Ph.D. & Jed M. Shivers

Dave & Mary Maring

Ralph E. Soltis

S Peter & Stacey Stenehjem

Student Aviation Management Association

Stephen & Gretchen Stenehjem Greg & Cindy Thrall The Tom & Frances Leach Foundation Dewel* & Geraldine Viker

P R E SIDE N T ’ S

CIRCL E

$10,000 - $99,999 Accesslex Institute Anderson Steel Erection Services LeRoy A. Anderson* Dr. Andrew & Kathy Armacost James E. Baine Berger Enterprises Caroline M. Chambers Alice T. Clark* CMS, LLC Enterprise Holdings Foundation Envoy Airlines

Tom & Buzzy Thomas Dustin & Stefanie Thornburg Traill Painting Lola Wentland-Hackett

L E G A CY

CIRCL E

The Legacy Circle includes donors who have indicated they plan to give to the UND Foundation through their wills.

Cord & Jean Bye Drs. Steve & Teri Johnson Mark & Priscilla Kovar Norman W. Timmins Roseann Woodward

Dr. John* & Betty Ericson Scott Field Laura Mae Gay Arlene H. Gran*

50

UND Alumni Magazine | Summer 2020

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

UND’s current President Andy Armacost is pictured with a desk that once belonged to the first president of UND, William Blackburn, who served UND from 1884-85, in front of Merrifield Hall and the Eternal Flame. When Blackburn sat behind it, it was housed in Old Main, the first building on campus and the current site of UND’s iconic Eternal Flame, and the desk was later moved to Merrifield Hall.

Photo by Sam Melquist

Nancy (Murdoch) Englerth, ..’58, and her daughter, Rachel (Englerth) Fay, ’81, recently donated a family heirloom rich in UND history back to the University of North Dakota.

Nancy recalls that the desk originally belonged to UND’s first president William Blackburn ... or maybe it was UND’s second president Homer Sprague? Either way, it came into her family’s possession when her father, the late Rev. Eldred Murdoch, ’41, purchased it in the early 1950s when he and his wife, Elizabeth, taught at UND. After his death in 1962, while Nancy and her husband Edward, ’58, along with their daughters Rachel and Alison, ’79, traveled abroad, UND’s Dean Wilkins used the desk in his Merrifield Hall office.

“I remember when Alison and I helped to carry this enormous and very heavy two-piece article of furniture out of Merrifield Hall in 1973 or 1974,” Rachel said. “It has been in my mother’s possession ever since.”

It was Nancy’s wish to gift the desk back to the University from which it came. And we thank her for sharing this rich piece of history. /// — by Alyssa Konickson, ’06

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