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A commitment to future opportunities

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Paul and LaVonne (both 鈥63) Batalden鈥檚 commitment to endow 绿茶直播 faculty with future opportunities has deep roots鈥攖hree generations deep, in fact鈥攁nd a spiritual foundation grounded in lives well-lived.

Paul鈥檚 grandfather, a fisherman who grew up just off the west coast of Norway and lost a brother at sea, decided in 1871 to move to Minnesota and take up farming. His name was Christian Olson, a name so common that his mail often wound up in the wrong hands, prompting him to change it to Batalden, after the island where he grew up. That first Batalden, an active supporter of education and child development, took special note of Augsburg Seminarium, which Norwegian Lutherans had founded in Marshall, Wisconsin, in 1869 and moved to Minneapolis in 1872. His youngest son, Abner Batalden, enrolled there and, despite some interruptions, earned a history degree in 1935.

Abner, Paul鈥檚 father, was also committed to education and understood the struggle it involved. 鈥淗e was going to school during the Depression, when Augsburg was having trouble staying open. The students, many of whom were the first generation to attend college, were living hand-to-mouth, working and paying tuition. Augsburg was living on those tuitions,鈥 says Paul.

Abner started the student employment service at Augsburg, worked at the publishing house, managed the bookstore, and, after a few years away, returned to take a position in the development office. He helped raise funds for the first science building, now being replaced by the Hagfors Center for Science, Business, and Religion; Paul remembers going to the dedication as a child. It was Abner鈥檚 idea to establish, in 1980, a convocation and lecture series known as the Batalden Symposium on Applied Ethics.

鈥淎pplied ethics covers every discipline, every walk of life. It was the way he lived his life,鈥 says Paul. 鈥淓thics scholars say that ethics is the application of morals to everyday life. In his mind, the life he lived was grounded in moral values, which for him were Christian. It was so fundamental, and he saw it in many lines of work.鈥

鈥淓thics were looked upon as a philosophical endeavor, but he saw it as much broader,鈥 adds LaVonne, who married Paul three weeks after graduation. The two had met in a freshman English class and shared a love for science. After a globe-spanning career in pediatrics and public health that expanded their knowledge of other cultures, Paul remains active as professor emeritus at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Geisel School of Medicine, and LaVonne retired recently as associate professor of natural sciences at Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire. They still travel widely but now live in St. Paul, close to their family.

Although they had initially wanted to endow an ethics chair, they realized that building upon Abner鈥檚 foundation would serve more people. Along with Paul鈥檚 brother, Stephan Batalden 鈥67 and his wife Sandra, they have endowed what is now the Batalden Faculty Scholar Program in Applied Ethics, which covers the seminar series and also offers two years of release time to faculty members, who often pass along stipends to students involved in their projects. Recipients come from various fields, so far including nursing, sociology, religion, and environmental studies.

鈥淚t鈥檚 perfect. Paul鈥檚 father had a vision for the future, and we have brought it into the 21st century,鈥 says LaVonne. 鈥淲hat pleases us is that it maintains the idea of service grounded in theology and ethics, and we have broadened that.鈥

Paul, who served on Augsburg鈥檚 Board of Regents from 1979 to 1990, cites his concern for education鈥檚 future in our culture, which depends heavily on the voluntary sector, unlike government supported health and welfare in Europe. Colleges cannot rely on tuitions alone, and religious institutions can no longer bridge the gap.

鈥淲e realized that Augsburg had basically no endowment, and it鈥檚 clear that that pattern of financial support would not lead to more creative and flexible programming. We want to make sure that this program is secure,鈥 Paul says. 鈥淐ollege offered us a liberal arts education, and we are deep lovers of the liberal arts. We see their relevance to everyday life the same way my father saw ethics in everyday life.鈥

The couple also believes in doing what you can. They cite a favorite poem by David Whyte, quoted here in part:

Start close in,

don鈥檛 take the second step

or the third,

start with the first

thing

close in,

the step

you don鈥檛 want to take. . .

. . .

Start right now

take a small step

you can call your own

don鈥檛 follow

someone else鈥檚

heroics, be humble

and focused,

start close in . . .

 

 

 

 

A Generous Family

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Jean and Phil Formo

鈥淕o west, young man!鈥 was the mantra guiding the young Philip Formo in his college selection. But after graduating from Pacific Lutheran University in 1968, he must have heeded a different axiom: 鈥淵es, you can go home again.鈥 Home again he came, not only to finish a special education degree at St. Cloud State University and a divinity degree at Luther Seminary, but also to pick up the Formo family legacy where it left off鈥攁t Augsburg.

Now a retired ELCA pastor, Phil, his wife, Jean, and their niece, Dawn, are the primary Formo forces behind not one, not two, but three separate scholarships honoring various family members and extending generosity to future Augsburg students.

鈥淚 was the first person on both sides of the family not to go to Augsburg,鈥 says Phil. 鈥淢y mother met my father in chemistry class there. She was in nursing and needed help, and he was good in chemistry. They also both sang in the first Augsburg choir concert that ever took place, after the men鈥檚 chorus and the women鈥檚 chorus merged.鈥 His parents, Jerome and Winifred, both 鈥37, were extremely dedicated to Augsburg and stayed deeply involved in all things Auggie throughout their lifetimes. Jerome received a Distinguished Alumni Award in 1983 and was also a Regent Emeritus.

In 2009, Phil designated proceeds from their estate to establish the Jerome and Winifred Formo Scholarship for music majors or those with a strong interest in choral music directing. Seven students have already benefited from this fund, but it was not the first Formo scholarship. That distinction belongs to the David J. Formo Scholarship, which was established in 1979 and is awarded annually to a junior or senior student who has successfully overcome adversity to achieve academic and extracurricular excellence.

鈥淢y brother David graduated from Augsburg in 1964 and became a U.S. Navy commander whose plane went down in the Mediterranean Sea on November 3, 1979, the same day that Iran took U.S. captives. Before that, he had delivered to the Shah of Iran the gift of a new jet. It鈥檚 really a small world,鈥 mused Phil.

The scholarship to honor his brother was the first for the Formo family, but not the last. When Phil retired in 2011, he decided to write a book about his maternal grandfather, Andreas Helland, who immigrated from Norway in 1889, attended Augsburg Seminary, and served there as New Testament professor for 35 years. 鈥淗e was also very involved in fundraising. In those days you did everything, and he was really good at stewardship. One of his daughters, Beatrice, married Norman Anderson, who was the fundraiser for the first science building at Augsburg, and they were all there for the groundbreaking. My grandfather was the first to give a major gift,鈥 Phil recalls.

Proceeds from Phil鈥檚 book, Papa鈥擜 Life Remembered, along with contributions from his own family and his parents鈥 estate, fund the Andreas Helland Scholarship, established In 2012 for students with financial need and academic achievement. 鈥淓ducation is so important, but we all know how expensive college is,鈥 Phil says. 鈥淚f students can get through in four years instead of five or six, they will have saved the equivalent of two years鈥 salary.鈥

Phil is sold not only on the value of affordable education, but also on the value of Augsburg. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been amazed by what Augsburg, long known as a conservative Lutheran school, has become. What they are today is just awe-inspiring鈥攖heir involvement in the community and openness to everyone is incredible. Culturally, they have really been able to reach out, to take minorities seriously,鈥 he says. 鈥淔or the only ELCA college in the city, what a unique opportunity.鈥

A Bountiful Blessing

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Out of family tragedy, springs student opportunity

The Lester A. Dahlen Family Endowed Scholarship is a bountiful blessing. It rewards 绿茶直播 students鈥 hard work and provides financial assistance, while also assuring the family of Rev. Lester Dahlen that their family鈥檚 values will live on at Augsburg and be carried into the world. 鈥淎s graduates go on to their lives after Augsburg, we hope they will be loving Christian people wherever they are and that they will touch whomever they can with the love of Jesus,鈥 explains Barb (Dahlen) Cornell.

A blessing today, the scholarship sprang from a family tragedy more than 50 years ago. In 1966, when Barb was 18 and her sister, Ginny (Dahlen) Baali 鈥72, was 16, their brother Paul died in a plane crash with fellow Augsburg senior Jerry Pryd. Paul was pursuing a social studies major and physical education minor and, like his father before him, he played on the Auggie baseball team. To memorialize their son and highlight the importance of Augsburg to their family, Rev. Lester Dahlen 鈥39, 鈥42 and Marian Dahlen established the Paul Dahlen Memorial Scholarship to help students who had Christian purpose, demonstrated academic achievement and participated in extracurricular activities.

Blessed by Augsburg

Ginny (Dahlen) Baali ’72 and Barb (Dahlen) Cornell

鈥淥ur family鈥檚 connection to Augsburg started with Dad,鈥 explains Barb, who supports the scholarship along with Ginny. A Minneapolis native, Rev. Dahlen enrolled in Augsburg in 1935 and quickly became involved in athletics, choir, student government and other organizations. 鈥淎ugsburg helped prepare him for God鈥檚 calling and to be a man of faith and missions,鈥 she continues.

鈥淓ver since we were little kids we heard about Augsburg from our dad,鈥 remembers Barb. Rev. Dahlen often brought the family to concerts, games and other campus events and, in later years, he sometimes wore Paul鈥檚 letter jacket. He was grateful for his lasting friendships with Augsburg greats Leland Sateren 鈥35, Edor Nelson 鈥38, Ernie Anderson 鈥37, Sig Hjelmeland 鈥41 and others.

After graduating from Augsburg Seminary, he served several parishes during the course of his 40-year career. The family did mission work in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and Rev. Dahlen also served as Lutheran Free Church Director of World Missions and staff member of the American Lutheran Church Division of World missions. 鈥淎ugsburg was in his heart always,鈥 remembers Barb. Their mother also held Augsburg in high regard: Marian worked in the financial aid office and joined the Augsburg Associates to provide volunteer support.

A Lasting Memorial

When Marian passed in 2003, memorial gifts boosted the scholarship fund. When Rev. Dahlen passed in 2012, a portion of his estate and memorial gifts further augmented the fund. Around that time Ginny and Barb fine-tuned the scholarship criteria to clarify their parents鈥 intent and more closely represent their family鈥檚 values. 鈥淏arb and I have continued to be representatives of the scholarship,鈥 explains Ginny, who supports other Augsburg programs in addition to the family fund. The scholarship gives priority to students who are involved in campus ministry and pursuing a major or minor in physical education, and who demonstrate financial need and academic achievement. 鈥淧eople who have a faith background should come to the school and be blessed by it,鈥 says Barb.

And after graduation? 鈥淚 hope that scholarship alumni will be Christian witnesses to those around them, reach out in love and share their faith with others,鈥 says Barb. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important that Augsburg鈥檚 Christian legacy be nurtured and encouraged for all the students who will attend and be blessed by the school. That鈥檚 why we want to continue with this.鈥

-Kara Rose

Orville and Gertrude Hognander Endowment Fund

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鈥淚 guess you could say that if it weren鈥檛 for Augsburg, I wouldn鈥檛 be here,鈥 said Joe (Orville C.) Hognander, Jr. with a chuckle. The retired naval officer and private investor has deep Augsburg roots: his grandfather, Reverend Lars R. Lund, graduated from Augsburg Seminary in 1912 and his parents, Gertrude Lund and Orville Hognander, met during their Augsburg Class of 1936 freshman registration.

Reverend Lars R. Lund, ’12

Gertrude and Orville shared a lifelong love of music. Gertrude began playing the piano when she was five and subsequently played the organ in her father鈥檚 church while still in her teens. Orville, who also grew up surrounded by church music, supported his dad鈥檚 ministry by serving as announcer for the family鈥檚 weekly WDGY radio program of music and the spoken word. Joe recalls hearing classical music regularly in their home, especially from their complete collection of New York Philharmonic Orchestra鈥檚 78 RPM records in the pre-FM聽radio days.

Gertrude Lund and Orville Hognander

While students at Augsburg, both Gertrude and Orville were deeply involved in the newly formed choir, Gertrude as piano accompanist and Orville as the announcer/business manager. Most notably in 1935, he created and produced the 鈥淗our Melodious,鈥 a weekly radio program on WCCO featuring the 50-member choir. He also planned and arranged the choir鈥檚 first tour, which covered 20 concerts and more than 2,000 miles.

After Augsburg, the Hognanders served their communities in many ways. Gertrude became a teacher and music education supervisor in Escanaba, Michigan, before marrying Orville and moving to Minneapolis in the early 1940鈥檚. She became organist and director of several church choirs and joined, among other groups, AAUW, the St. Louis Park Woman鈥檚 Cub, and the United Nations Association of Minnesota, eventually becoming president of those associations. In 1973, she received Augsburg鈥檚 Distinguished Alumni Award.

Orville began work for the Tennant Company as a salesman in the Detroit area, advancing rapidly to become vice president at age 31 and member of the Board of Directors eight years later. At the same time, he rose through the ranks of the National Sales Executives, becoming vice chairman in the early 1950鈥檚. Sadly, at age 43 he suffered a major stroke that paralyzed his right side and required him to re-learn how to walk, talk, and write. Through great determination, he succeeded and was able to resume his responsibilities at Tennant, where he negotiated foreign business agreements that opened markets in Europe and Japan.

Joe (Orville C.) Hognander Jr.

Joe recalls how his father gave great thought to where his money should go when he was no longer here. It was a difficult decision but in the end he chose to support those organizations and causes that had been of greatest importance to him during his life.

After he died in 1997, his will provided money to Augsburg College to create the Orville and Gertrude Hognander Endowment Fund, which specifies full tuition funding for an outstanding junior and senior in the Music Department. The department faculty selects the recipient based on past performance during their freshman and sophomore years at Augsburg or another college as well as their potential for future distinction.

鈥淭he scholarship鈥檚 goal is to provide a strong incentive to encourage and reward excellence for those in the music field,鈥 noted Joe. 鈥淚 have been very impressed with each one of the past winners.鈥

Strong Behind-the-Scenes Supporters

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鈥淭hree old-timers鈥 – The Egertsons and their 1930 Model A Ford Coupe.

David Egertson and his wife, Edith, never attended Augsburg College, but their family ties and commitment to the Lutheran Church certainly explain their enthusiasm for the place.

鈥淲hen I was young, I wasn鈥檛 interested in college, and as it turned out, I did fine without it,鈥 says David, a former railroad marketing executive whose extended family included several pastors and one bishop. 鈥淭he idea of a Christian education meant a lot to my father, but he couldn鈥檛 afford to attend college. If one of his kids expressed an interest in college, Dad encouraged and helped to send them to Augsburg. Three of my brothers and two of our children went there.鈥

David and Edith Egertson celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in June 2016.

To honor their father鈥檚 values, David鈥檚 brother, Darrell Egertson 鈥55, an Augsburg Regent Emeritus, established the Ernest S. Egertson Scholarship in 1992 to provide encouragement and financial assistance to students preparing for a Christian service vocation.

鈥淐hristian service was what my dad stood for, and that鈥檚 what the family wants to honor,鈥 says David. 鈥淒arrell and his wife Helga were the early supporters of the聽scholarship, but Edith and I soon became involved. At first we made smaller contributions, but now that we鈥檙e doing legacy planning, we want to include Augsburg College in our estate. Our Christian heritage means so much to us. We want to pass that along.

鈥淏ecause of my work, we moved around a lot鈥攚e lived in seven cities and 12 different homes. Faith and church are the central focus of our life, so we always got involved with a Lutheran church.聽We are charter members of the congregation where we now worship here in St. Louis. Edith was the first organist at this church and is still engaged in music, including singing in a church octet,鈥 he says.

Making lefse is an annual ritual for the Egertsons.

The Egertsons like that Augsburg is located in the heart of Minneapolis, where they once lived, and where students from all walks of life have the opportunity to be exposed to Christian faith and values that may influence them indirectly. 鈥淲e hope the scholarship will help someone who couldn鈥檛 go to college otherwise. The idea is to make a difference, and to us, this is a way of spreading the gospel,鈥 David says.

The Egertsons also like knowing that years from now, their endowment will change the life of someone they鈥檝e never met by offering them an education and exposing them to the possibilities of Christian service. As David puts it, 鈥淭o us, the endowment is a gift that keeps on giving鈥攊n perpetuity. That鈥檚 the beauty of it.鈥

Wefring Establishes Scholarship to Honor Edor Nelson

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Larry Wefring’s established a scholarship聽in tribute to the encouragement he received as a youth from his late neighbor Edor Nelson ’38.

鈥淐hildren need a lot of guidance, and it鈥檚 good to have a coach on your side as you鈥檙e growing up. He was a coach to me,鈥 Larry Wefring says of Edor Nelson, the legendary Augsburg coach who died in 2014 at age 100. Wefring鈥檚 $100,000 estate gift will establish the Edor Nelson Memorial Scholarship, but it should be noted that Wefring neither attended Augsburg nor played football for Nelson. Their relationship went far deeper.

鈥淪ports are a fabulous teacher of life,鈥 Wefring acknowledges. 鈥淭hey teach you that you win some and you lose some, but what鈥檚 important is that you work together. To be successful in the business world, you need to be a team player.鈥 While he now understands this concept, traditional sports were not accessible to Wefring while he was growing up across the alley from Edor Nelson鈥檚 family in south Minneapolis.

Wefring was diagnosed with epilepsy at age seven. Subject to seizures and heavily medicated, he was often targeted by bullies and decided to drop out of public school in 9th grade. Leaning on the support and encouragement offered by Edor Nelson, he enrolled in Minnehaha Academy instead. Having learned electrical and woodworking skills from his handyman grandfather, Wefring had helped his neighborly coach wire his basement. In return, Nelson offered his young neighbor rides to school. They became friends.

鈥淟arry had his frustrating days, but my dad kept telling him that he could be somebody, that he shouldn鈥檛 listen to anyone who said otherwise. My dad was a genuine people person, one of those comforting guys you could sit and talk to. He and my mom were always there for Larry, and Larry realized that. Now he is giving back,鈥 says Bruce Nelson 鈥71, Edor鈥檚 son and Augsburg鈥檚 A-Club Advancement Manager.

Naysayers pronounced Wefring too dumb for college, but Wefring went anyway, earning a psychology degree from Mankato State University. He found yet another mentor in Stanley Hubbard, who hired him at Hubbard Broadcasting, where he worked happily for more than three decades before retiring in 2006 to care for his aging parents. He struggled with his disability for much of that time, adjusting his medications to reduce brain fog and, in 1987, undergoing successful鈥攁nd life-changing鈥攅xperimental brain surgery in Canada.

Wefring lauds Hubbard for teaching him servant leadership, for showing him that Protestantism and the work ethic are two sides of the same coin, and for inspiring all to 鈥渁lways do the right thing.鈥 But ultimately, Wefring concludes, it was education that turned his life around.

鈥淚 was already at a disadvantage, but education offset that. That鈥檚 really, really important to remember.

鈥橝s a man thinketh, so he is,鈥欌 adds Wefring, whose Lutheran faith and spirituality have always guided him. 鈥淭rouble is a blessing. It lets you look for the paradoxical nature of life, and learn to be captain of your own ship. But you have to have a dream.鈥

The Edor Nelson Memorial Scholarship will target students who have a disability, physical or otherwise, and who also aim high. 鈥淚 told Edor that I wanted them to have a dream, and he said, 鈥業 do too,鈥欌 Wefring says. 鈥淎nd then I told him that I also wanted them to have an extra burden to bear, something that makes graduation tougher than it is for most people. And he said, 鈥業 do too.鈥 We were always on the same wavelength.鈥

Wefring never considered a scholarship in his own name, much preferring that it honor someone as well-known and revered as his former neighbor. He finds being able to share his legacy with institutions that mirror his faith and world view a blessing, and more than enough reward for a life well-lived.

鈥淚 gave it my best shot,鈥 he says. 鈥淢y dream has come true and then some.鈥

鈥 Cathy Madison

 

A Year at Augsburg, and an Impact for Life

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It took just one year for Augsburg to make its indelible mark on Marlys Morland 鈥54, who has pledged a sizeable increase to the Marlys B. and Robert Backlund Morland Scholarship, established in 2011 as part of the couple鈥檚 estate plan.

鈥淚 really did like Augsburg. The Christian influence was so sincere, and faith entered into everything,鈥 says Marlys. 鈥淚 was there when Bernhard Chistensen was president. His wife used to come over to the dorm for an evening talk with us. They were just good, kind people.鈥

One thing she remembers about her year at Augsburg was a dentist鈥檚 visit to her health class, where he had to listen to student complaints about rising dental care costs. Coincidentally, she had to have three wisdom teeth removed that summer. The $150 bill meant that she had to drop out of school, even though she was working 20 hours a week at Swedish Hospital, making 93 cents an hour.

鈥淚 found out partway through the year that other college students only got 76 cents an hour, so I was lucky. But I never got a penny from my parents鈥攖hey couldn鈥檛 afford it鈥攁nd I knew I wasn鈥檛 going to be able to go back to school,鈥 she says. Instead, she took a national Lutheran youth leader鈥檚 advice to move to Helena, Montana, where she discovered her love for working with young people and also taught adult Bible classes. She went on to become a parish worker in Portland, Oregon, where she met her husband. The couple settled in Newberg, Oregon, in 1971.

When the youngest of their three children entered school, Marlys finished her degree at Portland State University and taught elementary and junior high school for 25 years. She retired early to travel with her husband, Robert, until he died in 2008.

Thanks to her career and extended family experience, she understands the special challenges and struggles that even the most academically gifted students face. 鈥淲e designed our Augsburg scholarship to support the StepUP program. We also support students who are majoring in Bible and planning to go on to seminary,鈥 she says. 鈥淭here is such a need these days. I don鈥檛 want them to have a lot of debt when they are ready to start their work.鈥

Marlys notes how much Augsburg and its student population have changed. She grew up near Alexandria in Holmes City, population 65, where 鈥渨e went to the Swedish Lutheran Church. We knew people who went to the Norwegian Lutheran Church, and some who went to the Finnish Lutheran Church, but we thought the Germans were really different,鈥 she recalls.

She embraces the Augsburg of today. 鈥淲e meant well, but we didn鈥檛 think about helping the community. We were struggling just to take care of ourselves, and everyone was just like us,鈥 she says. 鈥淭oday students are reaching out and helping others in the community who aren鈥檛 just like them. That is so important.鈥

鈥 Cathy Madison

Giving Back to a Transformative Education

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Shelby Andress ’56 has believed in the transformative power of an Augsburg education since she was a student. She has stayed聽engaged with the College by continuing to connect with students, and she hoped to support them in the future. Augsburg was life-changing for her husband, Jim Andress ’51, as a student who came to campus after service in the World War II.

Early in their lives, Shelby 鈥56 and Jim 鈥51 Andress made a commitment to give back. At age 12, Shelby began to tithe as a young member of the Luther League, and she and Jim continued to give away 10% of their earnings during their lives.聽After Jim passed away, Shelby established a scholarship in his memory.

Gift of Insurance Will Support Future Auggies

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Purcell
Chris Purcell ’10

Whether in the world of commerce or philanthropy, Chris Purcell 鈥10 is not one to waste time. Since graduating, he has already tackled three big jobs, enough to preoccupy any young mover and shaker. Yet giving back has also been front and center, and he has had the foresight to designate life insurance policy proceeds to fund a full-ride scholarship for a future Auggie.

鈥淎ugsburg has done a lot for me, and I want to give back, especially financially since I was a beneficiary of financial aid,鈥 he says. 鈥淎nother way is to go back and network, and I encourage my classmates to do so, too. One of the most valuable things we can offer is our networks, to bring more Auggies into good companies.鈥

Purcell works for Amazon, most recently in Seattle as a buyer on the men鈥檚 fashion team, but soon in New York City as an advertising strategist. Amazon recruited him from Target, where he worked after a stint handling mergers and acquisitions for a now-defunct Minneapolis investment bank.

鈥淚 saw myself going out to Wall Street, so I started out as a finance major and then added economics,鈥 says Purcell, who grew up in Northfield, the son of a carpenter and a middle school math teacher who strongly encouraged his educational aspirations. Recruited as a baseball player and the recipient of a Regents鈥 Scholarship, he loved moving to the big city and finding such a diverse, inclusive community within it.

鈥淎ugsburg feels much bigger than what it really is. You have a very small community right there on that three-square-block campus, but so much is going on all around you,鈥 he says. He also discovered 鈥減henomenal professors鈥 such as and , found a 鈥渧ery inspirational mentor鈥 in Marc McIntosh, and treasures the formative advice he received from baseball coach .

鈥淗e used to say, 鈥楲ife鈥檚 not fair, I鈥檓 not fair, deal with it.鈥 Those words have helped immensely in getting me through tough situations,鈥 says Purcell. 鈥淎ugsburg helped me build my social abilities, which is extremely important in any corporate environment, and gave me critical reasoning ability. That鈥檚 the huge benefit of a liberal arts background. You learn things outside your main focus, and you learn to understand broad concepts as well as the specific issues you鈥檙e taught to deal with.鈥

His insurance gift will help a future student, preferably a baseball player with an interest in business, learn to navigate obstacles like the ones Purcell encountered when trying to break into the post-recession job market. Despite the bleak prospects, professors, mentor and coach urged him to keep fighting until he found something. That is exactly what he did.

鈥淎ugsburg set me up really well,鈥 he adds. 鈥淕o Auggies!鈥

Endowed Scholarship Inspired by Study Abroad

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Miriam ’68 and Ron Peterson on a trip to Asia in October 2015.

鈥淲hat an opportunity for me! The most incredible thing is that I鈥檓 going to be able to meet the people,鈥 says Miriam Peterson 鈥68, who is donating her IRA distributions to fund the Miriam Cox Peterson Scholarship. Soon there will be enough to cover travel and study abroad for a scholarship student, preferably one studying Spanish or another language. Peterson will not only get to meet the recipients, but also share the stories that have inspired her for seven decades so far.

Peterson grew up in St. Paul, where her wanderlust and appetite for learning began early. Her father, who had grown up in poverty but saw the world while serving in the Navy, nourished his family鈥檚 cultural curiosity. For example, he assigned a theme to their annual vacations; their 鈥淟incoln year鈥 meant travel to various Lincoln tourist sites.

At school, second grade was Peterson鈥檚 鈥済olden year. I had the most wonderful teacher. Our whole class went by train to Red Wing for a day, and she would do all sorts of special projects. She only taught for one year, but she鈥檇 have reunions with our class, and I kept in contact with her through high school. She and her husband ended up being missionaries in Hong Kong.鈥

The teaching seed firmly planted by high school graduation, Peterson discovered Augsburg: 鈥渃omfortable, welcoming, and ever so much better than the other colleges I visited.鈥 The first in her family to attend college, she majored in English and education but also wanted to continue her high school Spanish. She was thrilled that classes were small and weekly seminars were held in teachers鈥 homes. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the norm. I was a part of their lives, and they were a part of mine,鈥 she says.

Miriam and Ron Peterson with Shanghai in the background.

For eight weeks between her junior and senior years, and for a year after college graduation, she lived in Mexico, thus paving her future path. 鈥淭hat made all the difference,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t widens your whole perspective on the world. You can talk about or think about travel, but if you go to another place, it鈥檚 different.鈥

After earning her master鈥檚 degree at the University of Illinois, Peterson taught Spanish in the St. Paul Public Schools from 1970 to 2005. She followed her early mentor鈥檚 footsteps, taking her students on trips and teaching them language not just through studying grammar, but through culture, cooking, holiday traditions, even soccer. Even after she retired and taught weekly beginning Spanish classes at the Center for Global Education, she used Fisher-Price little people and Monopoly money to set up play scenarios and make classes fun, which her adult students very much appreciated.

Peterson stays fluent by translating, once during a medical mission to Nicaragua, and, while visiting a Spanish-speaking country, 鈥渢alking to everyone in the market,鈥 as her patient husband, Ron, sometimes complains. As head of the outreach committee for Galilee Lutheran Church, Roseville, she has also visited students in Tanzania, where she was impressed by the generosity of those who have so little.

She is also impressed by Augsburg鈥檚 continuing commitment to service here at home. 鈥淭hey embrace the city鈥攖ending gardens, feeding people, using their proximity to the University of Minnesota to good advantage. And the second chances they鈥檙e giving to students are pretty remarkable,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t makes me proud to be a part of it.鈥