Campus News

On October 9, Wisconsin Lutheran College welcomed families back to campus for Warriors Parent and Family Day. The event, which began in 2017, wasn’t held on campus last year due to pandemic restrictions. The 2021 event was one to remember with more than 350 people in attendance.

The day began with a breakfast and welcome from President Johnson in the Campus Center before family members proceeded to Generac Hall for “Major in Minutes” miniclasses. Faculty members presented on a variety of topics and academic disciplines, which allowed parents to get a feel for student’s classroom experience.

Lunch was provided by four of WLC’s Believe in the Green partner restaurants: Chick-fil-A, Jimmy John’s, Rocky Rococo, and QDOBA. The WLC Jazz Band provided entertainment in the Warrior Underground and a classic car show attracted the attention of hot rod and antique car enthusiasts. After lunch, many families participated in a service project titled “Comforting the Community.” The activity consisted of families making tie blankets for children in foster care along with handwritten notes of encouragement. The blankets and notes will be distributed to foster families within Kingdom Workers’ support network, along with a Christian children’s book.

Reflecting on the day, Debbye Hartwig, grandmother of WLC student Christian Lee, shared: “Everyone was enjoying themselves on this beautiful campus filled with love and Christ, who is at the center of all our lives. My husband, Jim, and I, along with Christian’s parents, thank all the people who gave excellent presentations and all the other staff who worked to make sure this was a successful day. WLC is truly a gift from God.”

HELPING THOSE IMPACTED BY HURRICANE IDA

At the end of August, Hurricane Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, hitting Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama especially hard. More than a million people were without power and there was widespread flooding. In an effort to help, WLC hosted a donation drive with students, faculty, and staff donating items that could be delivered down to New Orleans by truck by campus Pastor Wayne Shevey. He was inspired to get involved in the relief effort after speaking with WLC’s head football coach Eric Treske about some Warriors football families being impacted by the hurricane. “Coach Treske shared the concerns that his players from New Orleans had for their hometown and asked what could be done. I knew that the WLC family could do something special by supporting the people suffering loss and needs in that area. If our students collected donations to be sent, there would be the issue of how to get those goods to New Orleans

and distributed in a timely fashion. As I listened to the excitement being generated and knowing I have some flexibility on campus, it was a simple decision to offer my time to transport the collected items,” Shevey said. The donation drive “We have to look at what is was split up by going on around us and be willing to be uncomfortable, then act with compassion.” student residence including Stimac and Fischer Halls, Aspire, apartments and houses, commuters, as well as faculty and staff. The grand total of materials donated was around 3,000 pounds. Working on a relief effort like this one for Hurricane Ida also exemplified the college’s servant leadership mission. “We have to look at what is going on around us and be willing to be uncomfortable, then act with compassion. Jesus could read hearts and minds and we cannot do that, but we can show the heart of Jesus by caring for the needs of others,” said Shevey. “When people see how we care about them, the doors to the Good News of Christ’s most important work of salvation will open up so we can lead them closer to eternal life.”

CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP LUNCHEONS

In October, the Center for Christian Leadership hosted i3 power luncheons for business leaders in both Milwaukee and Madison. The keynote speaker at both luncheons was Dee Ann Turner, CEO of Dee Ann Turner & Associates, LLC, threetime best-selling author, and a 33-year veteran of Chick-fil-A.

Turner was selected as the i3 speaker through a connection to Jeremy Bock, executive director of the Center for Christian Leadership. When they were introduced last year, Turner was finishing her book Crush Your Career and was looking for people to help with her launch team. About 20 students in WLC’s Leadership Certificate Program served on her launch team, along with some faculty and staff members. Turner asked how she could help WLC and was happy to address the audience at the i3 events.

WLC RECOGNIZED IN NATIONAL RANKINGS - WLC is ranked 18th in the nation by Washington Monthly in its 2021 listing of Bachelor’s Colleges. The publication also included WLC in its ranking of Best Bang for the Buck Colleges; WLC is 15th on a list of 371 ranked schools in the Midwest.