2 Celebrating 5 Years of WLC Christmas

MISSION STATEMENT

Wisconsin Lutheran College, affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, is a Lutheran liberal arts college for Christian men and women. The college is committed to providing quality teaching, scholarship, and service that are rooted in Holy Scripture; promoting the spiritual growth of students, faculty, and staff; and preparing students for lives of Christian leadership.

PRESIDENT

Dr. Daniel W. Johnson

VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVANCEMENT

Richard Mannisto ’94

WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS

Melanie Buellesbach Adam Heinzen ’06 Lisa Leffel ’98 Jonathan Lorenzen ’11 Curtis Wech ’09, MA ’16 Jeff Wilson

DESIGNER

Amy Kuether ’96

Wisconsin Lutheran College Magazine is published for and distributed free of charge to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the college. For more articles and photos, visit WLC Magazine Online at magazine.wlc.edu.

All letters, news, corrections, and comments should be directed to WLC’s Office of Marketing & Communication, 8800 W. Bluemound Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, publicaffairs@wlc.edu.

If you prefer to receive WLC Magazine electronically or need to update your address, please email friends@wlc.edu. To receive regular enews updates from the college, please share your email address at friends@wlc.edu. Dear Friends,

As we celebrated Founders’ Day just a few weeks ago, we recognized the incredible blessings God has given to Wisconsin Lutheran College over the past 48 years. From a humble beginning with barely two dozen students in 1973 to an enrollment of 1,100 Christian servant leaders, we thank our Lord. However, we are not done growing yet and believe that God has big plans for WLC now and in the future.

This academic year, we witnessed a 32% increase in freshman enrollment, the largest growth among private colleges in the state of Wisconsin. Even today, we have set records on the number of prospective students visiting the campus for fall 2021 enrollment. God continues to out-dream us all!

While we celebrate the blessings of the past, we set our sights on how WLC will continue to thrive in the future. A new strategic plan is underway that will leverage the college’s strengths of Christian servant leadership, academic excellence, and a vibrant campus community. As we embrace our mission, we also seek innovation and sustainable growth so that more students can fully embrace their roles as Christian servant leaders, bringing their whole selves to their work, their families, and the world. Everything we do is a steadfast reflection of our mission so that our students graduate from WLC equipped to embrace their vocational calling with a sense of confidence. We want our students to live out their lives with purpose and make a meaningful difference.

Yes, uncertainty and challenges exist as they always have for the nearly five decades that WLC has flourished. We will not accomplish our goal for growth without help from others. Please share this magazine and share the amazing stories of how Warriors continue to thrive in a pandemic. Thousands of young people and adults would also succeed at WLC, but many do not know we exist. Spread the news about WLC with your family, friends, co-workers, and your entire social media network.

Together we can make a bright future for our world and WLC. Thank you for your prayers and support as we prepare Christian servant leaders for our communities, nation, and church.

Blessings,

Dr. Daniel W. Johnson President, Wisconsin Lutheran College

2 From the President 4 Campus News 8 Value of Christian Higher Education 10 In the Footsteps of St. Paul 15 Three Generations of WLC Volleyball 17 Athletics News 18 Fine Arts News 20 Changing Lives through Scholarships 22 Celebrating 5 Years of WLC Christmas 23 Believe in the Green

Winter/Spring 2021 | Vol. 33, No. 1

On the cover: The new Warriors men's volleyball team began intercollegiate competition in February. WLC now offers 19 NCAA Division III sports. Photo by Jeff Wilson.

Note that some photos in this publication were taken prior to the pandemic.