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Graduation pg. B1
T h u r s d a y, A p r i l 2 7 , 2 0 1 6 | U s i s h i e l d . c o m | v o l . 4 7 i s s u e 3 2
Sophomore remembered as ‘sweet, beautiful’ by Sarah loesch editor@usishield.com @seloesch
Halee Rathgeber was always smiling. “She always had a smile on her face,” Ashley Thomas said. “Even if it was simply walking by her and waving at her she was always smiling from ear to ear.” Despite never attending school together Thomas and Rathgeber had been friends since they were eight and
Rathgeber nine years old. Thomas’s
mother worked for Rathgeber’s dad which started their friendship. Rathgeber, a 20-year-old nursing major, was found dead from a single gunshot wound to the head Monday morning at the Alcoa soccer fields in Warrick County. The Warrick County Coroner said the investigation is being considered a homicide. “We were always with each other since day one when he became my mom’s
boss,” Thomas, 21, said. Thomas said if the two weren’t at her house they were at Rathgeber’s mom or dad’s house. “We were together so much that her dad even had drawers for me at his own house because he counted me in as their family like I was one of his own,” Thomas said. The two also spent a lot of time at Skateworld, a local skate rink in Evansville. Thomas said Rathgeber
was the type of person to help others and make sure everyone was OK. “She always put her family and friends first no matter what,” Thomas said. Thomas said she will always remember a day she spent in Rathgeber’s room attempting to catch “some type of flying gerbil.” “It would fly across her room,” Thomas said. “We spent hours trying to get that just laughing and having the time of our lives.”
Thomas said the animal was hard to catch, but it was fun just to be with Rathgeber and see her smile. As the two got older they didn’t talk everyday, but Thomas said she spoke with Rathgeber only a few days before she died. “(We were) talking and laughing about how her mom takes her cat to work with her everyday,” she said. “It was just so funny to us because she’s always been that type of person to
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‘Mistakes help make you’
A family affair
Graduate overcomes obstacles
Bueltel named as 2017-18 SGA president by riley Guerzini news@usishield.com @rguerzini
Photo courtesy of Michaela Livengood
Michaela Livengood (far right) and members of her business fraternity particpate in a competition this year.
by Gabi Wy features@usishield.com @GabiCWy
At a number of points throughout her college career, Michaela Livengood wasn’t sure she was going to make it. In a few days, she’ll walk across the graduation
stage and be able to say she did. As a first-generation college graduate, the senior business management major said her first roadblock came with a family member pushing back from financially supporting her. “My dad is legally contracted to pay some of my tuition, but he blew up
and said it was my fault to make him pay for an education I didn’t need,” she said. “I remember sitting in the residence hall crying because I thought I had to leave.” Livengood’s grandparents ended up taking out a loan to keep her in college. “My family isn’t welloff at all, so it was a really
big deal,” she said. “There were other times that I was so close to not being able to come back because of money.” In the spring semester of Livengood’s junior year, she was diagnosed with Grave’s Disease, an immune system disorder affecting the thyroid.
Katelyn Bueltel said her family’s involvement in SGA has helped her prepare for her new role in the organization. The sophomore business administration major was elected SGA President Saturday beating out lone competitor and incumbent President Christina Lutes. “I was just really happy that the hard work paid off for campaigning and working with the exec team,” she said. Bueltel is the sister of former SGA President Alexa Bueltel and former Attorney General and Chief Financial Officer Brett Bueltel. “She is highly involved at USI, and she has a good understanding of the university and the students,” Alexa Bueltel said. “She’s very personable, and it’s easy for students to talk to her. I think that makes her a strong advocate for them.” She said her sister was open about asking questions about the position, and she is willing to adapt to anything that comes her way. Alexa said her sister was able to see a different perspective of what the position entails. “When I was SGA President, I leaned a lot on my advisors and my exec
President Bennett and Bueltel
board,” she said. “I told her to count on them and be reliant on them, but also try and make connections outside of SGA.” Alexa said she ran for President as a junior and believes her sister is ambitious for running as a sophomore. “I think she can handle the responsibility though,” she said. Katelyn Bueltel said she tried to separate herself from her sister as a freshman. She didn’t join SGA until this year. “When I first came to USI, people would ask me as a freshman if I was going to be SGA President,” she said. “I was like ‘absolutely not, no’ and here I am. I really fell in love with the USI campus and the students. I am really excited to carry on her legacy.”
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Softball’s offense stalls against Quincy by taylor o’neil hall sports@usishield.com @TayloOHall318
No. 5 Southern Indiana lost its final home game of the season after losing game two of Monday’s doubleheader against Quincy. With the loss, the team sits at 2-2 in the last four games after entering its final series of home games on a seven game tear. Game one started with USI in a 4-1 hole as the bottom of the second inning began. Starting freshmen pitcher, Jennifer Leonhardt (231), allowed four runs and six hits to the nine batters before being pulled in the second inning. Quincy added two more runs in the fourth and another in the seventh after
sophomore utility player, Caitlyn Bradley (7-3), took over the pitching duties. When the team came up to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning, it was down 7-1 and Quincy had five times as many hits with 15 compared to USI’s three. In the seventh, USI rallied back by adding six hits and six runs from the nine batters faced to tie the game and force extra innings. Senior catcher, Haley Hodges, added another home run to her growing record when she hit the ball deep to left center with USI down 7-5 for a two-run shot that tied the game at seven. “I got up there and tried to do whatever I could,” Hodges said. “I wanted to get on base, get a single or something and keep things rolling, but I’ll take a home
2017 - 2018 EDITION OF
run instead.” With Quincy going three up three down in both the eighth and ninth innings, USI had a chance for the walk-off win as the bottom of the ninth started. Southern Indiana added a leadoff single from senior shortstop, Lexi Reese, and senior Alisha Ludwig came in to pinch run for Reese. Marleah Fossett reached base on a fielder’s choice and a throwing error by Quincy shortstop, Lindsey Greene, saved Ludwig as she was heading for second. Quincy starting pitcher, Emily Griskell (10-12), loaded the bases after she hit senior right fielder, Grace Clark, with a pitch. With only one out against Southern Indiana, junior third basewoman, Mena Fulton, walked up to home
plate ready to aim for the sacrifice fly that would send Ludwig home and secure the walk-off. Fulton entered her final at bat 0-of-4 on the day including a ground out to end the bottom of the seventh. Fulton swung at the first pitch she saw and popped up a single to left center. As soon as the ball hit the ground, Ludwig was off and running towards home. Ludwig reached the plate before Quincy catcher, Kay Bettendorf, had time to turn around and tag her giving USI the 8-7 walk-off and saving them from three straight home losses. “I had been in a pretty nasty slump lately,” Fulton said. “I was just trying to get a sac-fly or something through the infield and far enough back that we could
at least tag Alisha and get one run because that’s all we needed.” With Fulton’s hit, USI ended the day going 12-of39 (.308) at the plate after picking up nine hits in the final three innings of play. USI couldn’t follow up their miraculous comeback in game one with a win in game two. Instead, the offense only produced three hits 3-of-23 (.130) and added one run in the 4-1 loss. “Quincy went up there and they swung,” head coach Sue Kunkle, said. “They had nothing to lose.” Kunkle said she knows the team’s struggles aren’t due to any physical alignments, and instead they can be traced to a lack of confidence. “We’re in a little bit of a funk right now,” she said.
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Quincy improved to 1626 and 8-18 GLVC after picking up the win in game two. This isn’t the first time USI has dropped a game against a sub .500 team. Of the team’s 10 losses, seven of them have been to teams at or under .500 when they played against USI. After winning game one Monday, USI (40-10, 19-7 GLVC) passes the 40 win mark for just the second time in program history and the first time since 1998 when they finished 48-17. USI ends the regular season in St. Louis with doubleheaders against Missouri-St. Louis Saturday and Maryville Sunday.
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