“Each person is directed to learn, work, and serve with faith-filled purpose,” said McCormick. “At the same time, vocations are not singular or set in stone. They don’t always come with a paycheck. And they may feel ordinary.

“Sometimes the things we are most called to do in life are the most difficult or mundane, but over time, we often find many moments of joy and love, even in those difficult or routine parts of our callings,” she said.

McCormick didn’t have an “aha” moment on a hilltop. Discerning her vocation was a slow process that came into focus at �̲�ֱ��, which invited McCormick to intentionally and systematically consider her life’s purpose. Classes, extracurricular activities, and volunteer roles blended faith, learning, and service as a way of life—and it stuck.

“I love ���ܲ������ܰ���’s focus on holistic, hands-on learning,” said McCormick. “My urban studies and youth and family ministry classes helped me grow in my understanding of faith, religion, community organizing, and more. My participation with Campus Kitchen, campus ministry, and residence life gave me practice planning, leading, and coordinating events. I developed language skills through my Spanish minor and enhanced my capacity to work cross-culturally through my study and internship abroad.”

An unwavering commitment

Augsburg President Paul Pribbenow loves hearing alumni share stories about their vocational discernment, which is “at the heart of the Augsburg experience.” Other universities may integrate the spirit of vocation into their missions, he said, but Augsburg is distinct in its unwavering commitment to help students discover and live out their mission to serve others.

“We call it a three-dimensional education: educating students to make a living, make a life, and build community,” he said. “This combination of experiences means that students gain the education and skills they need to get a job or pursue a profession, and they also learn how to discern the other roles they will play in their lives, all the while learning that everything they do must be done alongside others in community.”

During her freshman year at Augsburg, that emphasis on collaborative, community-focused work inspired McCormick to help establish Campus Kitchen, which is a hunger relief organization that serves Minneapolis and is part of the national Campus Kitchens Project. These and other opportunities to “be the change” helped her realize she could make a difference. McCormick translated skills she gained in event planning and promotion, relationship building, grant writing, and more to other roles on campus and to her work and life after graduation.

“My college experience has so many profound and meaningful memories, and many of them center around people believing I could achieve good things and supporting me through the process,” said McCormick, who was named a “Neighborhood Hero” by the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency in 2005 and won the first annual Sodexo Stop Hunger Award in 2007.

Pribbenow said ���ܲ������ܰ���’s focus on vocation encourages students to see themselves in the possibilities.

“We live in a world marked by scarcity, transactional relationships, and loneliness. Our understanding of vocation runs counter to each of these challenges,” he said.

“We encourage students to see the world through a lens of abundance, to see relationships as meaningful and mutual, and to seek to build community wherever they go. That is the sort of world we want for our students, and we believe vocational discernment is the means that will help them build it.”

Mentors matter

As the Bernhard M. Christensen Professor of Religion and Vocation, Jeremy Myers is among those guiding the university’s vocational mission to “serve our neighbor.” Myers also serves as the executive director of ���ܲ������ܰ���’s Christensen Center for Vocation, which works with partners across and beyond the university to create innovative ways for individuals and communities to discern vocation in a range of contexts.

He is among the faculty who teach required classes that challenge students to explore vocation, diversity, and the role of religion in society.

“At Augsburg, we talk about vocation as the unique ways each person, institution, or community is compelled, equipped, and empowered to make the world more just and sustainable through all the various roles they play,” explained Myers.

“This is incredibly important right now because students are looking for a sense of belonging and meaning in their lives while also pursuing a degree they hope will guarantee a good career. We want them to know that meaning, purpose, belonging, and vocation aren’t elusive ideas hiding in their future, but are available to them right now.”

James “Bear” Mahowald ’13 said he would not have discovered his vocation had it not been for Augsburg faculty mentors—including Myers, Matt Maruggi, and James Vela-McConnell—who modeled what it is to live your truth and vocation.

“When I came to Augsburg, I was less than a year out of rehab and incredibly guarded. But these and other leaders at Augsburg took me as I was and nurtured and guided the good in me,” he said. “They held me accountable in both my schoolwork and in being a human in a complicated world, which allowed me to get to where I am today.

“I’m not sure there is a place outside of Augsburg where my experience was possible.”

Mahowald was part of StepUP® at �̲�ֱ��, a nationally recognized residential collegiate recovery program. The Minnesota native pursued a dual major in sociology and religion while attending mandatory meetings in a sober living community.

“To say my time at Augsburg was life-changing would be an understatement. There is rarely a day that passes where something or someone from my time at Augsburg doesn’t show up in my life. It was my time at Augsburg that taught me that my vocation was more than just a job I might get one day, but a way in which I live my life. It’s about how I show up for others.”

Today, Mahowald shows up for others as a husband and uncle; as a manager with City Year, a national service program; and as a doctoral student in educational policy at Wayne State University in Detroit. He works with students who are “victims of the school-prison nexus,” and he uses his life experiences and lessons to guide them and policymakers.

“My vocation is a combination of living as my true authentic self and using my experiences and the lessons I have learned from mentors to help guide young people,” he said. “I am not sure you find your vocation so much as it is revealed to you through following your heart, your soul, and exposing yourself to a variety of experiences and reflecting on them.”

‘Everyone deserves the opportunity to consider their why’

Writer and activist Chris Stedman ’08 is among those who teach core courses that challenge students to reflect and explore life’s meaning and purpose. Since 2020, he has taught Religion 200: Religion, Vocation, and the Search for Meaning II, which builds on an introductory course of the same name that explores vocation, pluralism, and diversity.

Stedman said he challenges students to consider how they can find vocation, self, and purpose through the stories they tell themselves. The final project is an expression of how each student’s gifts intersect with the needs of the world.

“Each final project is unique, with students sharing how they’ve come to understand what matters most to them and why, as well as their aspirations for how they want to show up in the world and relate to others, considered through the lens of what their communities need,” said Stedman, the author of two books that explore these themes: “Faitheist” (2012) and “IRL: Finding Realness, Meaning, and Belonging in Our Digital Lives” (2020).

The projects have taken many forms, including a 35-page graphic novel, a 15-minute short film, original music, and poetry. Students decide on the format to best express their vocation and story, with the understanding that it can—and will—likely change throughout their lives. Stedman pushes students to consider the application of vocation across cultures and differences.

“The concept of vocation is not exclusively Christian, but some students come into my classroom with assumptions about who it’s for. I try to drive home the idea that everyone deserves the chance to consider their ‘why,’” said Stedman, who also serves as research fellow at ���ܲ������ܰ���’s Interfaith Institute. “I am upfront with my students that I’m a queer atheist with a strong sense of vocation and deep, enduring ties with Augsburg. I hope that my perspective helps drive home that all people, whether religious, nonreligious, or unsure, can benefit from having the opportunity and space to consider life’s big questions.

“My hope is that students finish the semester with a deeper understanding of their values and worldview. These things are of course always evolving, but we can learn a lot about them when we come together across lines of religious difference and explore these questions together.”

Stedman keeps in touch with students who have found their purpose during his class. One student who had intended to “just go where the money was” shifted her focus after Religion 200.

“By the end of the class, she realized she wanted, in her words, ‘more than that,’” Stedman explained. “Now she is a development coordinator for a nonprofit that funds abortion access. Her final project, specifically, shifted the way she understood the world and changed how she saw herself in it. We continue to keep in touch, and it’s awesome to see her living such an inspiring, examined life.”

The student becomes the teacher

The required classes about vocation also made a tremendous impact on Rosie Benser ’13, who appreciated the time and space to reflect on her self-worth and purpose. In high school, Benser was among Minnesota’s estimated 13,000 youth who experience homelessness. She slept on friends’ couches while she attended school—or not.

She “managed to graduate,” and then, “on a whim,” applied to Augsburg. Religion, Vocation, and the Search for Meaning was among her first courses at the university, and it “flipped her understanding of purpose.” Her parents hadn’t attended college and thought vocation was a person’s job.

“I realized that our purpose in life is to apply our greatest skill to the needs of the world, and that no skill or job is any better than another. I am about to become a mom, and it’s a good reminder that some of our most important work is not tied to a paycheck.”

Benser fell in love with school at Augsburg but was still uncertain about her specific role or career. She applied to a few graduate schools but didn’t receive an adequate financial aid package, so she enrolled in AmeriCorps for a year. She discovered her gifts as a teacher and ultimately enrolled in graduate school to study sociology at Syracuse University. As a doctoral student, Benser researches the intersections of poverty and addiction.

“I used to think I needed to be boots on the ground [in service work] to make a difference. I see that through my husband, who is a social worker. But I am good at teaching, and teaching is a need in the world. Through my teaching, I hope to educate and create awareness about important issues. That is meaningful to me. That is my vocation.”

Her time at Augsburg, and specifically the religion classes, taught her how to be “an adult and community member who thinks more globally” about her impact and how she engages with others.

Pribbenow is adamant about that broad interpretation of vocation: “It reflects the multiple ways in which we respond to external forces. It may be a profession, and it also may be roles as parent, sibling, neighbor, citizen, and so forth. In fact, I believe for most people, our vocations reflect multiple intersecting roles that we play in the world.

“Personally, I am an educator by profession—and I am also a parent and sibling and spouse and citizen. I live out my vocation at the intersections of those various roles.”

The Christensen Center for Vocation: Where theory meets practice

The Bernhard Christensen Center for Vocation helps guide this holistic understanding of vocation and its application through learning partnerships and creative initiatives that address pressing needs.

The Christensen Scholars Program is a community of 10 upper-level Augsburg students who spend a full academic year together in a seminar-style course. Christensen Scholars engage in a deeper interdisciplinary exploration of Christian theological reflection and vocational discernment related to their personal lives and the social realities of the world they live in.

The Confluence is a weeklong, on-campus experience held each summer, during which high school students practice vocational discernment, intentional community, spiritual practices, self-reflection, theological inquiry, and experiential learning.

The Riverside Innovation Hub is an incubator for people and communities to explore the public church in the neighborhood. Along with the learning communities, the Hub is launching two additional projects: a book that amplifies young adult voices to the church, and the , an online network where people can learn from and support one another in their work to connect with their local communities, know their neighbors, and become public church.

Top image: Jeremy Meyers speaks at the Christensen Symposium, 2022 (Photo by Courtney Perry)

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Jasa McKenzie ’14 didn’t know much about art when she arrived in Minneapolis from rural South Dakota for college in 2010. For that matter, she hadn’t known much about �̲�ֱ�� before crossing Riverside Avenue on a whim after a University of Minnesota campus visit. A generous scholarship offer led her to enroll at Augsburg.

The art program convinced her to stay.

“When I came to school, even though I didn’t know anything about art, I figured that people don’t know how to be a doctor, and they go to school for that. I don’t know how to be an artist, so I’ll go to school for that,” she said. “The Augsburg art program scooped me up and set me off in the art direction.”

After pursuing curatorial opportunities in New York, Southern California, and Germany, McKenzie is back in Minneapolis, where she now works as the producer of The Great Northern festival. She regularly crosses paths with former professors and colleagues from Augsburg in the vibrant Twin Cities arts scene. When Associate Professor Chris Houltberg shared the news about a gift to establish a named art school at Augsburg, she was thrilled.

“Any success I have—and even just the fact that I know about curating as an option—comes from Augsburg,” McKenzie said. “I feel like if I mention Augsburg, people might think of the nursing program, or maybe science. I’m always like, ‘No—the art program!’”

An Augsburg arts school

The Augsburg Schwartz School of the Arts, first announced in April 2023, brings together the performing, visual, and narrative arts into a single hub of creative exchange at Augsburg. This new administrative structure includes existing programs in art and design, creative writing, film, music, music therapy, and theater, as well as new opportunities to innovate across disciplines.

At a time when access to arts education is increasingly jeopardized across the United States, creating a new arts school might be a countercultural move. But leaders at Augsburg see it as the perfect time to double down on creative expression.

“We’re staking a claim that the arts matter, the arts are essential for everyone, and that in a world moving toward automation, we need creative thinkers and creative problem solvers,” said Houltberg, who was tapped to lead the Schwartz School as its inaugural director. “We’re going to need the outcry and the ability to articulate the human experience, which art has done in all its various forms.”

The Schwartz School was made possible through a transformative gift from Regent Emeritus John Schwartz ’67, for whom the school is named. A longtime supporter of Augsburg music students, Schwartz sang baritone and toured Europe with the Augsburg choir as an undergraduate—an experience that ignited a lifelong love of choral music. His time at Augsburg indelibly shaped his worldview and his leadership approach over a four-decade career as a healthcare executive.

In many ways, he is the model for the goal ���ܲ������ܰ���’s faculty has adopted for the Schwartz School: “a life changed through the arts.”

“Although his career was outside of music, I think John Schwartz exemplified the greatest hope we have for liberal arts students: that they have a love and appreciation for the arts, even if they go and do something completely different,” Houltberg said.

Designing from scratch

Two of ���ܲ������ܰ���’s defining attributes—the diversity of its student body and its location in the heart of Minneapolis—make it a particularly exciting place to establish a destination arts hub, according to faculty.

“The arts constitute one of the most vital economic sectors in the Twin Cities, in turn one of the strongest creativity markets in the country,” said Kristina Boerger, the John N. Schwartz Professor of Choral Leadership and Conducting. “Serving our students—many of whom have not previously been privileged with access to quality arts education and training—means making strong arts education available in the heart of this metropolis.”

Artists’ ability to adapt to change and to work with fluidity makes the arts an ideal testing ground for a new, interdisciplinary school, added Houltberg. Twenty-first century artists are required to move between disciplines in a way that has only accelerated in recent years. Today’s students are arriving eager to collaborate, already innovating across genres, technologies, and boundaries.

The challenge has been coming up with a structure to facilitate and sustain this type of creative exploration, not constrain it. Over the past year, Houltberg has led the arts faculty in a collaborative process to develop a vision for a unified arts school with a distinctive Augsburg flair.

The Arts at Augsburg Slideshow

The faculty sorted into five working groups focused on intersections, identity, structure, curriculum, and “big ideas” for the Schwartz School. “I had always been apprehensive about trying to get consensus amongst faculty, because it’s challenging,” Houltberg laughed. “They’re all very intelligent, autonomous folks. And then if you have artists on top of that, they’re really independent thinkers!” But, he said, what quickly emerged was a powerful blend of creativity, openness, and camaraderie.

The working groups tackled big structural questions—not in the sense of a new building or physical location (neither of which is currently planned)—but in terms of how students spend their time and how the curriculum can be reimagined to facilitate interdisciplinary cross-pollination. New “on-ramp” and “sampler” courses are being developed to lower barriers to exploration for majors and non-majors alike. Parallel scheduling for lab time across programs will make it easier for students to work together—for example, writing original music for a theater production or collaborating on a film script—and for students from any discipline to attend events with local creatives.

There is also abundant opportunity to build on the strengths of existing programs in a multidisciplinary context. Rachel Bergman, the Leland B. Sateren ’35 Endowed Professor and Chair of Music, noted that in addition to performance, the music department offers a variety of degree types, including music business, music therapy, and music education. “One of the things we’ve been talking about in preliminary conversations is how to broaden that to look like arts education or arts administration, so that it’s more comprehensive than just music,” she said.

Bergman added, “I’ve been at several different institutions. It’s really refreshing to see how grassroots this process has been, in terms of the faculty having the opportunity to come together and figure out what we want the Schwartz School to look like.”

Learning by doing

���ܲ������ܰ���’s signature commitment to hands-on learning is perhaps nowhere more salient than in the arts. So it’s no surprise that even the process of developing the Schwartz School has been a site for collaborative learning and creative exchange.

As a film production and history double-major, Ellis Garton ’24 is intrigued by the ways film directing leverages different skill sets: storytelling, photography, screenwriting, and more. He learned of the Schwartz School through a documentary film production class last year, when the rationale for the school became immediately concrete.

Part of a team tasked with shooting a promotional video for the Schwartz School, Garton found himself working with a creative writing student on the assignment. “I kept thinking, this would have been helpful before now!” he said. “I could have known this person long before and developed a relationship, where we could have worked on projects together.”

Darcey Engen ’88, professor and chair of theater arts, pointed to this type of collaboration as the greatest promise of the Schwartz School. In an interview for the short film created by Garton and his teammates, she said, “We know that when students graduate, they tend to stick together. They call each other to work on projects. Your colleagues at Augsburg become your colleagues in life.

“Now, with the Schwartz School of the Arts, these students will leave with a music colleague, an art and design colleague, a film colleague, and that’s going to propel them forward to create really complex, culture-specific art in ways that we haven’t seen here at Augsburg before now.”

From trust to belonging

One after another, the faculty working groups zeroed in on the fact that arts “classrooms” permeate much further than the boundaries of campus. From concerts and exhibitions to performances and publications, the arts require public-facing engagement.

How do you foster the courage for students to put their work out into the world? By building trust—in themselves, their craft, and each other.

“One of the things that John [Schwartz] described to me in great detail was when he was singing in a European church,” Houltberg recounted. “He said, ‘I just remember thinking, I shouldn’t be here. I’m a small kid from a southwest Minnesota town.’

“In addition to amazing opportunities like singing in European churches, music gave him identity and belonging. Oftentimes, I think our students think, ‘I don’t belong here.’ But we know that they do. They just need the space and the time and the place and the opportunities to experience it.”

McKenzie found that sense of belonging in her design classes, as an intern in the Augsburg Galleries, and now as an alum, where she’s come full circle to partner with Houltberg and other Augsburg colleagues on a multidisciplinary project that will explore themes of climate change for The Great Northern on campus this January. She is delighted by the idea that the Schwartz School will bring a level of recognition to ���ܲ������ܰ���’s arts programs that is commensurate with their quality.

“Personally, my life was changed by the arts,” she said. “By the arts at Augsburg.”

Read more about the life of John Schwartz ’67.

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Top image: Augsburg students in a paper making and marbling art class (Photo by Courtney Perry)

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Countless individual threads have formed a tapestry of 100 years of Augsburg Athletics.

1926: Olaf Hoff ’27 fires a pass to a cutting Luther Sletten ’29, the ensuing basket earning the Augsburg men’s basketball team a victory over St. Olaf.

1928: Five Hanson brothers (Joseph ’28, Louis ’28, Oscar ’30, Julius ’31, and Emil ’32) criss-cross on the ice, leading the Augsburg men’s hockey team to a big win.

1958: The Auggiettes run the fast break after securing a rebound, providing a glimpse into their legacy of women’s basketball throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and into the 1970s—long before the passage of Title IX.

1975: Marilyn Pearson Florian ’76 laces a double into the right field gap on the softball field. A three-sport athlete, Pearson Florian would go on to coach women’s volleyball and basketball, as well as serving for nearly two decades as the women’s athletic director at Augsburg.

1987: Melanie Herrera ’88 spins and unleashes the shot put in a striking arc across the track and field pitch.

2005: Men’s wrestling national champions Marcus LeVesseur ’07, Mark Matzek ’05, Matt Shankey ’05, and Joe Moon ’05 stand in the White House Oval Office, conversing with U.S. President George W. Bush.

2019: Emma Kraft ’22 pumps her fist as a 12-foot putt curls into the cup on the eighth green of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women’s Golf Championships.

The official recognition of a century’s worth of Augsburg Athletics gives the university community a collective opportunity to celebrate the generations of Auggies who have built a lasting legacy.

“Student-athletes are so grateful for their Augsburg experience,” says Athletic Director Jeff Swenson ’79. “We carry the torch for those who carried it before us. That’s what 100 years of athletics at Augsburg is all about.”

A well-run athletic program teaches student-athletes many important life lessons, such as the values of hard work, determination, goals, and teamwork. Augsburg has a long tradition of dedicated athletic directors and a long list of committed coaches who have made this happen over the last 100 years.

Dan Anderson ’65, men’s basketball

Humble beginnings, purposeful growth

The origins of Augsburg Athletics trace back to 1924, when the university joined the Minnesota Conference of Colleges, the precursor to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Well before then—back to 1907, at least—Augsburg students competed in sports like basketball, baseball, and gymnastics against other colleges, high schools, and club teams.

Following a successful student-led push to join the MCC, ���ܲ������ܰ���’s early athletics ambitions were shaped and driven forward in large part by J.S. “Si” Melby, the school’s first athletic director and a founding father of athletics at Augsburg.

Writing in the 1925–26 yearbook about his hopes for a continued growth in Augsburg Athletics, Melby says, “An education has been and is still looked upon as a preparation for a life calling. A broader and truer conception is to view an education as a preparation for life—nay, as a part of life itself. The best preparation for life is living, and so school life should approximate real life. Athletics has claimed its rightful place in this day and age.”

In his view of athletics’ role as part of a student’s full life at Augsburg, Melby set forth a vision of student-athletes that Auggies would come to embody for the next century.

The Augsburg experience as a student-athlete taught me who I want to be as a leader and teammate in life. I surrounded myself with people who had a similar goal in mind, and those people are some of my closest friends to this day. The ability to bring people alongside you on this journey of life was instilled at me as a college athlete, and I am forever grateful for the experience.

Alex Hildebrandt ’10, men’s soccer

Excellence inside and outside the lines

From those beginning years, Augsburg student-athletes and teams have excelled in competition.

The 1928 men’s hockey team won ���ܲ������ܰ���’s first (unofficial) national championship and was invited to represent the United States at the Olympics in Switzerland, although the U.S. Olympic Committee ultimately decided not to participate in men’s hockey. That winning tradition has continued across teams through the decades, including this past year when the men’s wrestling team won its 15th national team title, adding to ���ܲ������ܰ���’s dizzying total of 18 team national championships, 73 individual national championships, and 89 MIAC team championships.

“We’ve had so many incredible student-athletes and teams over the years,” Swenson says. “There are years and stretches when our men’s athletes have led the charge, and years and stretches when our women’s athletes have led the charge, but they’ve always represented our university well.”

Swenson has a unique perspective on the history and legacy of Augsburg Athletics. Ever since arriving as a student in 1975, he has remained at the university in some capacity. Throughout that time, Swenson has seen the values of faith, family, and academics emphasized ahead of athletic pursuits, represented each year by the outstanding collective scholarship level of student-athletes, including an average 3.17 GPA among student-athletes in 2023–24.

“It’s one thing to talk about a value system and setting our priorities like that,” Swenson adds. “At Augsburg, we live it.”

We always knew that this wasn’t just about hockey. It was about having a great college experience: being students, growing as young women, and having fun. We were a team—a family—within a great community and with the best people.

Sydney Rydel ’24, women’s hockey

Honoring all Auggie athletes

���ܲ������ܰ���’s yearlong celebration of a century of athletics will be highlighted by the on Saturday, October 12, and will conclude in May 2025 with the annual Auggie Awards.

It’s all part of the ongoing opportunity to reflect on and celebrate what a century of Augsburg Athletics has meant to its thousands of student-athletes and many more university community members.

“It’s always important to remember and appreciate your history and the student-athletes who have come before you and worn the Augsburg ‘A’. It’s always significant,” says Sports Information Director Don Stoner.

“There were student-athletes throughout all 100 years who made the same kinds of sacrifices and were learning the same values our student-athletes are now: being a solid student; pursuing a career and what you want to do in your future life; and being an athlete, a team member, and a part of this wonderful tradition.”

Celebrating a full century of athletics at Augsburg is a tremendous milestone. Athletics has been a source of pride for the university community, producing leaders in the classroom and other areas on campus. Athletics enriches the entire community on Riverside Avenue.

Mark Matzek ’05, men’s wrestling athlete and coach

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Sometimes the life of one graduate reflects a university’s highest aspirations for its students. Such is the case with our dear friend John Schwartz ’67, whose generosity and legacy are highlighted in this issue of Augsburg Now. His was a life well-led, indeed!

I first came to know John as an engaged Augsburg alumnus—a distinguished health care administrator who generously shared his experience, wisdom, and networks with our students. As the years went by, John and I had opportunities to share our personal stories with each other, and we quickly realized how similar our paths were, both in our vocations and in our avocations. We were both liberal arts kinds of guys (majoring in business for John, sociology and political science for me) who found our true passion and purpose in choral music (John in the Augsburg Choir with Leland Sateren ’35 and me with the Luther College Nordic Choir under the direction of Weston Noble). We each found ways to balance our professional lives with opportunities to sing in choirs—for John in both Milwaukee and Chicago, where he performed for 15 years with the Apollo Chorus, and for me with various professional choirs in Chicago. We rejoiced in our shared experiences and love for choral music.

In recent years, John’s commitment to Augsburg only strengthened. He served on the Board of Regents, and his generous philanthropic support began to transform our music and arts programs through endowed professorships, scholarships, and innovation in the curriculum. Just a year ago, in one of the most joyful moments in my entire time at Augsburg, I sat together with John and his husband Jim in Chicago as John made a remarkable commitment to create the Schwartz School of the Arts, bringing together our visual, performing, and narrative arts programs under ���ܲ������ܰ���’s first “school.”

In all of this, what I found most remarkable about John was his deep humility, his recognition of the gifts he’d been given in his life, and his commitment to being a good steward of those gifts. In many ways, the scripture readings for John’s memorial service depicted his way of being in the world—as the psalmist proclaims, “O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things!” (Psalm 98:1), while the Apostle Paul instructs the early Christians to live their faith with kindness, compassion, concern for others, and a sense of gratitude for life itself (Colossians 3:12–17).

This was our friend, John Schwartz, who now has joined the heavenly choir, having left a mark in this world that will live on through his blessed memory for years to come. I want to believe that John is up there in the tenor section, joyfully proclaiming in the words of Fred Pratt Green’s glorious hymn:

When in our music God is glorified,
and adoration leaves no room for pride,
it is as though the whole creation cried,
Hallelujah!

A life well-led, a vocation embraced, and an Auggie through and through.

Faithfully yours,
Paul C. Pribbenow, Ph.D.

Top image: President Paul Pribbenow cheering on new students as they return to campus for Opening Convocation (Photo by Courtney Perry)

The post Notes from President Pribbenow: A life well-led appeared first on Augsburg Now.

Whether seeking internships related to a major, taking a leadership position outside of the classroom, or finding guidance from the Strommen Center for Meaningful Work, Augsburg students have a variety of options to help them explore career opportunities. The Augsburg general education curriculum is designed to help students develop the skills necessary for successful careers and fulfilling lives through core requirements and major coursework, while the Augsburg Experience requirement ensures that every student completes at least one high-impact learning experience—with options ranging from internships to community engagement projects.

���ܲ������ܰ���’s latest strategic plan calls out career exploration and preparation as a key element of an Augsburg education. Morgan Knutzen, career services director at the Strommen Center, said Augsburg is committed to doing things differently with career services in order to best serve its unique student body. Most alumni say they’ve sought career advice from faculty, so starting this fall, the Strommen Center is leading a year-long process to engage faculty and staff on how to better support student career development.

“Our goal is to create new pathways for faculty to include careers in the classroom, because ultimately, that’s where every student is, and that’s where they prioritize being,” Knutzen said. “The more we can incorporate career conversations during class, we’re going to democratize access to career development, and that’s really important to us.”

Dean of Students Michael Grewe ’12 MSW said one of the primary ways he’s seen students gain career readiness on campus is through extracurricular activities, including leadership positions in student government, athletic teams, or campus ministry.

“Not only are we assisting them in their career goals, but we’re also working with students—helping them navigate what we call ‘the hidden curriculum of higher ed,’” he said. “How do you build networks, talk to faculty, seek mentorship, and connect with campus opportunities in student leadership or engagement? All those things, in addition to what you’re learning in the classroom, provide you with the skills, tools, and resources you need to succeed in your career.”

Edward Morgan Stockard Jr. ’24, who currently attends Augsburg as a graduate student in social work, participated in student government, student activities council, and orientation teams as an undergraduate. He said those experiences have prepared him for the internships required as part of his degree. He appreciates the relationships he’s formed with faculty and staff.

“The Augsburg community is very open and engaging,” he said. “They try not to let power dynamics affect relationships, and try to keep it casual and open. I learned that I want a career and workplace environment like that in the future—because we’re all human at the end of the day. Augsburg has helped me think about what type of person I would like to be in a workplace environment and what type of people I would like to work with.”

Last February, Augsburg launched its first-ever Career Exploration Day, a requirement for first-year students. The event featured interactive sessions, experiential workshops, faculty talks, introductions to majors, and an opportunity to meet representatives from businesses and organizations.

2024 Career Exploration Day Slideshow

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July marked two years since Paula O’Loughlin arrived at �̲�ֱ�� to take on the role of provost and senior vice president of academic and student affairs. As the university’s second-ranking officer after President Paul Pribbenow, her portfolio includes oversight of ���ܲ������ܰ���’s academic programs, faculty, campus life, student support and retention, accreditation, and more. In two years, she has also facilitated major strategic initiatives, including a recent revision of the general education curriculum and the development of a schools-based administrative structure.

Having previously served as provost and dean of the faculty at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as a senior administrator at Gustavus Adolphus College, and as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota–Morris, O’Loughlin knows that authenticity matters in leadership. And whether she’s unpacking the “rumor of the week” in her weekly campus email, coordinating an office potluck in Memorial Hall, or putting in a cameo appearance in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” it’s clear that fun matters, too. Here, O’Loughlin reflects on her journey and how she has been shaped by the Augsburg community so far.

Q: What drew you to higher education?

A: My parents were both academics, and it was the last thing I ever wanted to do. I certainly didn’t plan to be a teacher or provost—which is kind of like if the leader of the rebel forces all of a sudden runs the Death Star. But it turns out I love what I do, and I realized that you can do so much more for students as a provost. You can do a lot of good by amplifying certain strategic choices and helping more students achieve their dreams. You can also mentor faculty, which is important.

Q: When did you realize you wanted to join the “dark side” of academia (i.e., administration)?

A: The critical moment was when I went to a political science conference, and then I went to an American Association of Colleges and Universities conference. I geeked out more at the AAC&U conference than the PoliSci one. That’s when I knew I wanted to expand beyond teaching a specific discipline. There was an intellectual excitement to the academic administrative conversations. I wanted to help open up the academic systems to all students—not, for example, just the students who knew the right professors.

I see what I do in the form of a calling. It’s not a job. It’s an adventure.

Q: What brought you to Augsburg specifically?

A: The Augsburg mission—that’s what it’s all about. You can love a school’s mission, but your skills may not be able to make a difference. When I was on campus for my interview, I realized I could probably make a difference here to one extent or another. I’m trying to keep learning. Paul Pribbenow is a rock star in the higher ed world. You don’t often get to learn from a president whose values are the same as yours and has been doing this work for a long time.

I’ve always wanted to enable students to tell their own stories. A lot of schools talk about giving students opportunities, and Augsburg actually does it. That means something. The students that come to Augsburg are from communities that are often underrepresented. They may not have had the same opportunities as their peers, and I want them to. For me, that’s our mission, and our mission is embedded in a community that comes together around students, opportunities, and being authentic to who we are, both as people and as Augsburg.

Q: What’s your favorite time of the academic year?

A: Oh, that’s tough. It’s either the beginning of the year or graduation. The clapping tunnel [at opening convocation and commencement] is a pretty powerful time. I love that for the first-year students, and I also love it at the end of their college career. Being there for commencement and seeing our students’ families is a pretty special thing. The more you know students and see them succeed, the better it is. So I can’t tell you which one I like better—the start of the year or the completion. They are both filled with real happiness and possibility.

Q: How did you get involved with ���ܲ������ܰ���’s production of ‘The Rocky Picture Horror Show’?

A: Honestly, I asked [Professor of Theater Arts] Darcey Engen ’88 if I could participate. I have zero theater background, but I just wanted to. When she found a part for me, I did it. I loved it—we were all having so much fun. How many provosts will just laugh at themselves enough to dress up and be a character? Throughout my time at Augsburg, I’ve tried to bring my authentic self, hoping that other people can find opportunities to do so in their own ways, too, especially after the pandemic.

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Mary (Kuhn) Schmidt ’48, Spencer, Iowa, age 98, on December 28, 2023

David Felland ’49, Colfax, Wisconsin, age 96, on December 30, 2023

1950s

Paul Konsterlie ’50, Bridgeport, Connecticut, age 95, on January 12 

Gehard Vorland ’50, Stillwater, Minnesota, age 101, on May 28 

James Christopherson ’51, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, age 94, on May 26  

Ronald Guderian ’51, Rochester, Minnesota, age 95, on March 23 

Leola (Ekblad) Johnson ’51, Minneapolis, age 94, on April 13 

Arthur Solberg ’51, Minneapolis, age 98, on December 12, 2023

Loren Woolson ’51, Fergus Falls, Minnesota, age 94, on June 15  

Marlys (Dreyer) Dickhart ’54, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, age 92, on February 4 

Richard Johnson ’54, Red Wing, Minnesota, age 91, on June 13 

John Jenson ’55, St. Paul Park, Minnesota, age 90, on January 1 

Gilbert Smith ’55, Minneapolis, age 98, on May 13  

Jerrold Saastad ’56, Dilworth, Minnesota, age 89, on May 31 

Daniel Faust ’57, Minneapolis, age 89, on May 3 

Raymond Grinde ’57, Wayzata, Minnesota, age 92, on January 27 

Doris (Rovick) Hanson ’57, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 88, on January 14 

Ralph Johnson ’57, Willmar, Minnesota, age 88, on January 16 

Orval Moren ’57, Minneapolis, age 94, on December 28, 2023

Marilyn (Troy) Manley ’58, Rogers, Minnesota, age 87, on March 13 

Nadia Christensen ’59, Edina, Minnesota, age 85, on April 21 

Merton Johnson ’59, Alexandria, Minnesota, age 85, on February 19 

Richard Overby ’59, Austin, Minnesota, age 90, on February 28 

David Quanbeck ’59, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 85, on November 18, 2023

1960s

Carolyn Burfield ’60, Edina, Minnesota, age 85, on March 14 

George Cruys ’60, Minneapolis, age 89, on February 16 

David Nordlie ’60, Bonney Lake, Washington, age 87, on December 18, 2023

Lowell Ziemann ’60, Gilbert, Arizona, age 85, on May 24 

Cameron Liebenow ’61, Council Bluffs, Iowa, age 91, on January 30 

Arden Norum ’61, Langdon, North Dakota, age 84, on May 3 

Sharon (O’Brien) Halliwill ’62, Minnetonka, Minnesota, age 82, on April 7 

Kermit Paulson ’62, River Falls, Wisconsin, age 83, on May 21 

Linda Carlstedt ’63, Rosemount, Minnesota, age 82, on April 22 

Peter Heryla ’63, Minneapolis, age 84, on January 29 

David Hughes ’63, Minneapolis, age 83, on November 17, 2023

Jerome Petterson ’63, Katy, Texas, age 85, on February 3 

Ruth Sather Sorenson ’63, Conover, North Carolina, age 82, on February 15 

John Vaala ’63, Elk River, Minnesota, age 86, on December 29, 2023

Jane (Huseby) Norman ’65, Pennock, Minnesota, age 83, on June 12 

Jeffrey Shelstad ’65, Merrifield, Minnesota, age 81, on March 6 

Steven Borwick ’67, Greenville, Illinois, age 79, on March 27 

John Schwartz ’67, Chicago, age 78, on February 29 

Josephine (Reed) Williams-Durnell ’67, Brockton, Massachusetts, age 78, on February 1

Ione Agrimson Hanson ’68, Minneapolis, age 77, on January 11 

David Pilgrim ’68, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 77, on November 1, 2023

Jon-Scott Johnson ’69, Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, age 76, on April 6 

Douglas Olson ’69, Punta Gorda, Florida, age 77, on June 1 

1970s

Curtis Johnson ’71, Federal Dam, Minnesota, age 74, on April 23

Charles Neily ’71, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 76, on November 11, 2023

Diane Wells ’71, Minneapolis, age 74, on March 17 

James Bodurtha ’73, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 72, on November 20, 2023

Philip Hansen ’74, Minnetonka, Minnesota, age 71, on December 8, 2023

Sylvia (Lee) Ruud ’75, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 79, on February 8 

Thomas Olson ’76, Fargo, North Dakota, age 71, on May 24 

Connie (Hillman) Scheevel ’76, Spicer, Minnesota, age 70, on January 3 

Carolyn Bacon ’77, Minneapolis, age 68, on November 10, 2023

Marlene (Ell) Jorgensen ’77, Minneapolis, age 90, on March 27 

Timothy Kuss ’78, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 76, on January 28 

1980s

Christopher Ascher ’81, Chaska, Minnesota, age 65, on January 8 

Elizabeth Bartz ’82, Minneapolis, age 81, on May 25 

Susan (Pulleyn) Lenzen ’83, Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, age 75, on February 27 

Johnson Gwaikolo ’84, New Hope, Minnesota, age 68, on February 19 

Karen Jensen ’84, Stillwater, Minnesota, age 62, on November 29, 2023 

Paul Watters ’84, Kimmell, Indiana, age 88, on January 16 

Valerie Brown ’85, Madison, Wisconsin, age 60, on January 4 

Helen (Monserud) Line ’85, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 76, on May 7 

Duane Nessler ’86, Rochester, Minnesota, age 70, on February 24 

Timothy Erickson ’87, Boise, Idaho, age 59, on April 14 

Robert Odom ’87, Fernandina Beach, Florida, age 87, on December 24, 2023

Elizabeth (Renikoff) Fairley ’88, Hugo, Minnesota, age 59, on April 30 

Linda (Fiegen) Warnest ’89, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 74, on December 9, 2023

1990s

Victoria Alabi ’91, Minneapolis, age 64, on November 30, 2023

Mark Wallinga ’91, Wyoming, Minnesota, age 55, on April 3 

Mike Hagen ’92, Minneapolis, age 59, on January 30 

Rita Billington ’93, Minneapolis, age 57, on March 9 

Mark Classen ’93, Mendota Heights, Minnesota, age 73, on April 10 

Wildred Elcan ’94, Fairfax, Virginia, age 82, on April 23 

Peter Zarembo ’94, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 77, on December 1, 2023

Pamela (Mero) Wolf ’98, Mahtomedi, Minnesota, age 65, on December 8, 2023

Rebecca (Leininger) Kress ’99, Elk River, Minnesota, age 49, on January 19 

2000s

Janice Rathlisberger ’02, Byron, Minnesota, age 68, on February 8 

Michael Elasky ’04, Crosslake, Minnesota, age 58, on March 19 

Sandra Lallak ’04, Mesa, Arizona, age 75, on January 29 

Rukhmin Singh ’09, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 78, on December 25, 2023 

Nannette Smith ’09, Minneapolis, age 59, on January 19 

2010s

Erik Berger ’13, St. Paul, Minnesota, age 33, on April 12 

Lindsay (Krieg) Block ’16 MA, Carver, Minnesota, age 40, on November 16, 2023 

2020s

Helen (Derechin) Meilin ’20, Minneapolis, age 27, on January 22 

Maya Davies ’22, New Brighton, Minnesota, age 37, on June 12 

The post In Memoriam, Fall 2024 appeared first on Augsburg Now.

1956

Richard Thorud ’56 has published his 14th book, a 28-page thesis titled, “Scientific Proof that God Exists.” It is available for $5 (cash or check) from Elliot House Publishing Co.,10030 Elliot Ave. S., Bloomington, MN 55420.

1957

Neal Snider ’57 is the author of “Hints, Hopes, and Promises of Life after Life,” published by Sola Publishing in 2024.

1970s

1970

James Fischer ’70 is the author of “Run, Train, Race,” offering practical distance running advice for runners of all levels, based on 50 years of running, teaching, and coaching. The book was designed by his wife, Christine.

1973

Sheldon Anderson ’73 is the author of “Schools for Scandal: The Dysfunctional Marriage of Division I Sports and Higher Education,” published by the University of Missouri Press in May 2024.

1990s

1996

Nils Dybvig ’96 MSW was featured in the January 26 MPR News story,

1999

Devean George ’99, founder of George Modular Solutions, was featured in the June 20 MPR News story,

2000s

2000

Ross Murray ’00, ’09 MBA was a keynote speaker at the July 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans. He spoke about the overlap between youth ministry and advocacy for a better world for youth, with a particular lens on LGBTQIA youth. He also led a roundtable on LGBTQIA decriminalization at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January.

2003

Kristen Opalinski ’03 earned several 2024 DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards for her work on the Thirteenth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation publications, including Best in Class, Specialty Publications; Best in Class, Design; category winner for Posters—Single Work; category winner for Publication Design: Cover or Feature—Series; and an award for Logos and Branding—Single Work, for the assembly logo, “One Body, One Spirit, One Hope.” The DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards honor excellence in religious communications and public relations.

2006

David Nash ’06 published his second novel, “In Wells’ Time,” in February 2024 from Unsolicited Press.

2008

George Lynaugh ’08 is the proud father of seven daughters. He works as a carpenter for the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority.

2009

Tiffany Ramm ’09 gave a in Borrowdale, Zimbabwe, on April 6. She used her personal story of surviving financial and emotional abuse to illustrate how practicing vulnerability can be a strength instead of a weakness.

2010s

2011

Elle Thoni ’11 received an MFA in dramatic writing from Carnegie Mellon University in May. Elle is the recipient of three national awards from the Kennedy Center American College Festival, receiving first place for the Rosa Parks Playwriting Award, second prize for the Mark Twain Comic Playwriting Award, and a Planet Earth Playwriting Award. Elle also received a $25,000 first place award from the CMU-Alfred P. Sloan Script Competition for the pilot of a small-town dramedy series, “Tamarack.”

2015

Ebony (Green) Eromobor ’15 MSW, founder of Village Support Therapy and Consulting, was featured in the February 2 KARE 11 News story,

2016

Matthew Arthur-Gray ’16 MA received an EdD from Vanderbilt University. His doctoral research explored the transformative impact of nonprofits on the educational journeys of transgender youth. Arthur-Gray serves on the board of trustees for Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School and is the founder of Raising Queer Voices, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for the LGBTQIA community.

Gabriella (Hooper) Rooker ’16 MS was featured in the February 2 Star Tribune news story,

2020s

2020

Nicole Nightengale ’20 was added to the new Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Minnesota franchise as a reserve defender during the team’s inaugural season.

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Kristen Opalinski ’03 came to Augsburg because she wanted to play hockey, she was drawn to the studio art space in Old Main, and she felt “radically welcomed” on her campus visit. At the time, she never dreamed of a vocation working with the church or in the field of peacebuilding. But her time at Augsburg set her up for success, both as an artist and a faith leader—one who encourages the global church to come together in the midst of religious and theological differences for the common good.

Growing up in Pennsylvania, Opalinski played hockey on her high school boys’ team and on a traveling girls’ team. Her interest in playing collegiate sports encouraged her to look at schools in Minnesota, and she found a home in the heart of Minneapolis.

“I remember vividly the first time I stepped foot on ���ܲ������ܰ���’s campus—I knew that was where I was going to be,” Opalinski says fondly. “I had a wonderful time meeting with the coaching staff and seeing the facilities and everything. But it was more than that. I was walking around campus and saw how close-knit the community was. I also loved the way Augsburg was placed within this larger urban setting. When you arrive at Augsburg, you know that you’re not only going to be part of the academic and social community, but the wider Cedar-Riverside neighborhood community as well.”

As an Auggie, Opalinski leaned into her artistic and creative coursework, athletic opportunities, and growing her faith. She filled her time by playing on the women’s ice hockey and soccer teams, founding the women’s lacrosse club, getting involved in campus ministry, working at local restaurant ministry St. Martin’s Table, and cultivating friendships that would continue far beyond graduation. After college, she put her studio art degree to work in graphic design, serving clients like 3M, the Minnesota Wild, and Mayo Clinic. But she missed the on-the-ground relationship-building and the connection to community she had experienced at Augsburg.

Following a sense of vocation toward the road less traveled, in 2009 Opalinski moved to South Africa with nine other Young Adults in Global Mission volunteers for a year-long program sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Afterwards, she accepted a communications officer position with the Lutheran World Federation in its sub-regional office in Johannesburg. For the next four years, she worked with Lutheran and Moravian churches throughout southern Africa to develop a regional communication network across 10 countries. They also shared communications promoting the ELCA campaign to reduce malaria transmissions, infections, and deaths across the region. Opalinski would relay stories from the ground to donors, churches, and congregations who were supporting these efforts.

During the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Opalinski witnessed churches come together to combat human trafficking, respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, promote gender justice, and respond to climate change. At the 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, Opalinski was part of an interfaith delegation of theologians and faith-based practitioners who came together to draft the first interfaith statement on climate change. She also served as an advisor to the first youth contingent for the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches at a UN climate conference.

Opalinski returned to the United States in 2014 and attended the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia—now United Lutheran Seminary—where she earned her MA in religion with specializations in public leadership and conflict transformation. “Throughout my time in South Africa, I became deeply committed to the role of faith actors in the peace processes around the world,” Opalinski says. “It’s important to enable constructive conflict to take root and help communities understand their power in situations to effect change and build peace.” Her passion for this work led to her current position as the manager for ecumenical and interreligious relations on the staff of the Office of the Presiding Bishop for the ELCA.

Based in Chicago, Opalinski’s role involves shepherding new and existing ecumenical and interreligious relationships throughout the ELCA. She helps manage the ELCA’s full communion partnerships with churches in North America as they continue to grow into their relationships and envision what God might be calling them to now and into the future. Opalinski also works with interreligious partners and helps to staff the ELCA’s interreligious panels on Lutheran-Jewish and Lutheran-Muslim relations. Part of her work includes interreligious advocacy with organizations like Christians Against Christian Nationalism and the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign, a multireligious campaign to counter the rise in anti-Muslim bigotry and violence against Muslims in the United States. One of the areas she’s most excited about is connecting with the Interfaith Institute at Augsburg and collaborating on interfaith work at other ELCA institutions.

Across the world, Opalinski is part of a peacemaking project launched by the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission in 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. Peace and reconciliation theologians and practitioners from around the world gathered in Helsinki in April 2022 to share how their countries and churches were advocating for justice, learning from one another’s cultural experiences. This October in Washington, D.C., she will help lead a workshop countering the rise in religious extremism, nationalism, and tribalism.

Although Opalinski hadn’t dreamed of working for the ELCA, in conflict transformation, or on a global peacemaking scale, her time at Augsburg prepared her to traverse this unexpected ground. “I often connect my time of formation at Augsburg to the work I’m doing now. I see all the seeds that were planted there, even though I didn’t fully know it at the time,” Opalinski says.

When the Lutheran World Federation 2023 Assembly in Krakow, Poland, needed a logo, Kristen Opalinski ’03 turned to her artistic roots and Polish heritage to create an image that symbolized the theme: “One Body, One Spirit, One Hope”. Intrigued by her submission, the LWF communication team worked with Opalinski to finalize the design during the pandemic, which made the theme so much more powerful. “This was one of those unique moments of convergence between all my passions—on the largest Lutheran stage, no less. It meant so much to use the gifts God gave me to express the deeper symbolism of the church,” Opalinski says. She went on to win multiple DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards for the best religious communications at the 2024 Religion Communicators Council Convention for her remarkable work on this project.

“Augsburg invites students into places and spaces where they’ll be stretched and encouraged to embrace curiosity related to cultural exchange, ideas exchange, and wider formation. There’s no doubt that my time and experience at Augsburg led me into the work I’m doing now.”

Top image: Opalinski with her “ One Body, One Spirit, One Hope” design for the Lutheran World Federation 2023 Assembly (Courtesy photo)

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