Saint Benedict's Magazine Summer 2016

SUMMER 2016 MAGAZINE

Keeping the

FAITH

Benedictine values on campus today

INSIDE • 7 new CSB/SJU Fulbright awards p. 4 • School + spirit p. 10 • Live authentically p. 26

IN THIS ISSUE

Together

On a Journey

FEATURES

10 School Spirit 18 Formation of Faith 22 Let All Be Received as Christ

DEPARTMENTS

1 Message From the President 2 Worth 1,000 Words 4 News 26 I’m a Bennie

28 Class Notes 35 Generosity 36 Bennie Connection

College of Saint Benedict Magazine is published three times a year by the office of Institutional Advancement.

EDITOR Greg Skoog (SJU ’89) ASSISTANT EDITOR Courtney Sullivan

CONTRIBUTORS Anne Marie McKenzie ’16 Bridgette Powers ’09 Emily Stamp Kristin Sawyer Lyman ’00 Leah Rado Mike Killeen Noriko Kagayama Iriyama ’64 Sarah Halverson Gasparick ’02 Tommy O’Laughlin (SJU ’13)

COVER PHOTO The Sacred Heart Chapel,

by Nicole Pederson ’17

For address changes, please call 1-800-648-3468, ext. 1 or email csbalumnae@csbsju.edu

CONTACT College of Saint Benedict Magazine Institutional Advancement 37 South College Avenue St. Joseph, MN 56374-2099

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer

The mission of the College of Saint Benedict is to provide for women the very best residential liberal arts education in the Catholic and Benedictine traditions. The college fosters integrated learning, exceptional leadership for change and wisdom for a lifetime.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

For over 100 years, the College of Saint Benedict has been built around an inclusive and engaging Catholic and Benedictine experience. That heritage comes from our founding order, the Sisters of Saint Benedict’s Monastery.

The two institutions are forever linked, as are their respective leaders, CSB President Mary Dana Hinton and Prioress S. Michaela Hedican. They both chuckle at the fact that neither attended CSB. But perhaps that makes it even easier for them to see and feel the Benedictine sense of welcome unique to this community.

Mary: The thing I remember from first meeting with you was you briefly took my hand. It was a simple, special gesture and it meant so much to me. With your acceptance and patience, you made it very clear from the start that I could be myself—that being Benedictine means working collectively toward the common good. In fact, when I’m asked what helped ease the transition here for me and my family, I’ve always said it was the welcoming relationship with the sisters.

S. Michaela: We have fewer sisters in the college today, so it’s important that the values themselves are rooted in the college. If it’s not through sisters on the faculty, we need to be open to what other ways are available to us. I saw you as a partner in that and I trusted that you would help us articulate and live those values. Even when it is not easy.

Mary: At the college we’re in a period of reclaiming our Benedictine heritage.

Through making it explicit in our five-year planning goals, through our recent purchase of three buildings from the monastery, through our Benedictine Values Task Force, through our personal relationships, we’re consciously recapturing our Benedictine heritage. This can’t be an assumed thing. It has to be clearly articulated and explicit.

S. Michaela: The awareness of what the Benedictine women did here, building this college…

Mary: I think there are no better role models for our students. Those sisters overcame barriers that we can’t imagine. Today you are redefining how you express living in community. You give us a living example. In our world we can mire ourselves in what we can’t do, or we can look to your example and be inspired. I need our students to know that the sisters are among the most courageous strong and bold women they will ever meet.

S. Michaela: There’s a statue in the Gathering Place at Sacred Heart Chapel depicting the death of Mother Benedicta Riepp. And I often find myself looking at the figures in that statue and imagining them thinking, Now what? Our great and charismatic leader is gone. We’ve come all this way. Now what? But they remained open to whatever came next and they persevered.

Our path right now has included an openness to things unfolding. I know we need planning and we’ve certainly done planning. But sometimes it’s important to be open to opportunities coming along and plans forming organically from unexpected places. That’s how the Benedictine Living Community pilot came about (see sidebar article). That’s Awareness of God.

Benedictine Living Community Next fall, 29 Bennies will move into the second floor of Brian Hall and begin a brand-new residential experience. “The Benedictine Values Living Learning Community is intended for sophomore women who are looking to build a close community with one another and to interact more with the sisters from the monastery during their second year at the college” explains Director of Residential Life Christy Brown.

The program and its initial planning originated with students talking over possibilities with Residential Life staff, who went on to engage a core group of sisters who have committed to help plan and attend programs.

“This year’s community is really a pilot program,” says Brown. “We want to see how the collaboration goes, and we look to the participants to see where we go from here. But, the women have already gathered at a dinner this spring to meet one another and talk about the possibilities, and we are excited to see how it goes beginning in August!”

These young women, this college and our monastic founders are all together on a journey.

WORTH 1,000 WORDS

DIG IN!

Head Coach Rachel Click and Assistant Coach Angie Jackson (far right) came together with members of the Blazer softball team on Friday, May 6, to help break ground for new athletic fields at the College of Saint Benedict. The project, which should be in use by fall 2017, will provide new home fields for the softball and soccer teams as well as the lacrosse club team and a number of intramural sports.

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Summer 2016 | 3

NEWS

Continued Fulbright Success

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day The best and most extensive work in Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s research and academic exploration was on display April 21 for Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (CSC Day).

Front row, left to right: Mai Tong Yang and Melissa Vang. Back row, left to right: Robin Swingley, Diana Elhard, Gretchen Hughes and Paul Park. Not pictured: Jillian Andresen.

Four seniors and three recent graduates of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University have received grants from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, sponsored by the Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

All seven received Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) awards. In the last three years, 20 students or graduates from CSB and SJU have earned Fulbright ETA awards.

The CSB winners included three students who graduated May 7. Diana Elhard (St. Cloud, Minnesota, political science degree) received an ETA award to Turkey.

Melissa Vang (St. Paul, Minnesota, communication) received an ETA award to Thailand, and Mai Tong Yang (St. Paul, political science) received an ETA award to South Korea.

CSB graduates Gretchen Hughes (2014, management) and Jillian Andresen

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(2015, Hispanic studies and psychology) received ETA awards to Taiwan and Malaysia, respectively.

The SJU winners included Paul Park (Irving, Texas), who graduated May 8 with a degree in Asian studies, and Robin Swingley, who graduated in December 2015 with a degree in political science.

Park will be an ETA in Thailand, and Swingley will serve in Germany.

Vang, Yang and Park were all members of the Intercultural Leadership, Education and Development (Intercultural LEAD) Fellowship Program at CSB and SJU. Vang was also a Gates Millennium Scholar.

Earlier this year, CSB was among the top bachelor’s institutions for producing the most Fulbright Student Grantees, according to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

CSB was ranked 34th among bachelor’s institutions for having the most Fulbright grantees. In 2015-16, the college was awarded four English Teaching Assistant (ETA) awards.

This year’s daylong event, which covered both campuses, featured over 460 presentations given by nearly 800 Bennie and Johnnie students. As an annual tradition, CSC Day is intended to recognize and honor the achievements of students, faculty and staff who have undertaken significant research, scholarship or creative works during the course of the past year.

“The ambitious scope of these projects is impressive,” noted CSB President Mary Dana Hinton in remarks following the event. “And the nuanced detail of their findings and analysis is a statement not only of the education we provide but also of the caliber of students we’ve engaged.”

NEWS

Caps and Gowns

Saturday, May 7, marked graduation day for 424 new Bennies as the college held its 101st commencement ceremony.

This year’s commencement speaker was Alyssa Mastromonaco, the youngest woman to serve as deputy chief of staff of

operations at the White House.

Mastromonaco, who was named to The New Republic’s list of Washington’s most powerful and least famous people in 2011, was deputy chief of staff from 2011-2014. In January 2015 she began work at news and entertainment group Vice Media as its chief operating officer.

The President’s Medal was presented to noted philanthropists Guy and Barbara Schoenecker (after whom the recently completed nursing education suite was named). This year’s student commencement speaker, as voted on by the senior class, was political science major Anna Cron of Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Students Say Thank You! March 8 this year marked Tomorrow Made Possible— the date when students acknowledge and honor the philanthropic gifts of alumnae, parents, friends, staff and faculty to support scholarships.

This year students paid special respect to faculty and staff donors. Many wrote notes of gratitude to favorite professors, student employment supervisors and Benedictine friends.

Summer 2016 | 5

NEWS

41 Bennies invited to Phi Beta Kappa On April 20, the seventh group of students was inducted into the Theta of Minnesota Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at CSB/SJU. A total of 65 students (41 Bennies and 24 Johnnies) received the invitation to join the nation’s oldest academic honor society.

Students are chosen based on their gradepoint average (3.75 for juniors, 3.65 for seniors) and must be liberal arts majors.

The selection committee also looks at the breadth and depth of the student’s program and other achievements.

Saint Ben’s juniors this year include: Margaret Anderson, Claire Buysse, Emma Christensen, Sarah Clark, Hanna Pioske, Eliana Stienessen and Nicole Womack.

Seniors this year include: Anna Baumgartner, Victoria Beach, Stephanie Besst, Stephanie Bierman, Brandi

Bollig, Annamarie Brennhofer, Katrina Christian, Laura Comee, Anna Cron, Anne DeSutter, Emily Doyle, Allison Fischbach, Rebecca Flynn, Jessica Freudenberg, Michelle Hansmann, Hannah Houts, Sydney Hughes, Rebecca Humbert, Kaitlin Knapp, Nicole Koonce,

Paeton Larson, Megan Lenz, Mia McVicker, Janae Myers, Emily Olinger, Katelyn Peterson, Hannah Salto, Emily Schoenbeck, Shannon Skelly, Alexandra Streifel, Sadie Vahle, Sarah Wachter, Shelby Weisen and Megan Weiss.

17 inducted into Delta Epsilon Sigma (DES) Select CSB juniors and seniors are inducted into DES each year. Inductees must maintain a 3.9 grade-point average or higher on a 4.0 scale, while also being involved in the community through volunteer and extracurricular activities.

The CSB students inducted this year include: Juniors Claire Buysse, Emma Christensen, Megan Myers, Rachel Rittenhouse, Cassandra Roline, Amelia Schmelzer, Kaylene Marie Seurer, Emma Weber and Nicole Womack.

Seniors Laura Comee, Maggie Ellis, Allison Fischbach (Dec. ’15 grad), Taylor Haag, Rebecca Humbert, Emma Johnson, Mia McVicker and Hannah Salto.

Delta Epsilon Sigma (DES) is a national Catholic honor society with the purpose of recognizing academic accomplishments, dedication to intellectual activity and service to others. CSB has been a member of DES since its beginning in 1940.

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NEWS

New honors for business students This year, for the first time, CSB and SJU inducted 36 global business leadership and accounting and finance students (17 Bennies and 19 Johnnies) into the Sigma Beta Delta honor society. The national society recognizes scholarship among students of business, management and administration.

Membership in Sigma Beta Delta is the highest national recognition a business student can receive at a college or university

with a Sigma Beta Delta chapter. “We have the Phi Beta Kappa society for students in other departments,” observes Steve Welch, CSB/SJU accounting and finance professor, “but Phi Beta Kappa is limited to certain liberal arts majors, and business students aren’t allowed that opportunity.”

To be eligible for membership in Sigma Beta Delta, a business student must rank in the top 20 percent of the junior or senior class and be invited to membership by the faculty officers. According to Welch, CSB/SJU wanted to make the society more elite and also required

inductees to have a 3.75 minimum GPA. Of the 408 eligible students, CSB/SJU invited 37—just under 10 percent of business students.

Saint Ben’s juniors inducted include: Laura Finn, Amy Fursa, Kelly Husmann, Sara Leifeld, Hannah Lynch, Kailey McCoy, Rachel Paulsen, Mariah Rathmanner, Jackie Schoenecker, Alison Stacken and Emma Weber.

Seniors include: Katherine Budin, Taylor DeMets, Theresa Farrell, Maria Freking, Genessis Lopez and Karen Pelletier.

Summer 2016 | 7

NEWS

liberal arts As national leaders in the conversation about the value of the liberal arts, Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s will host Liberal Arts Illuminated: Pathways, Possibilities, Partnerships from July 11-13.

This international conference will bring together about 200 faculty, administrators, trustees and public policymakers for a substantive conversation about the challenges and opportunities facing liberal arts education.

Illuminated Pathways, Possibilities, Partnerships

In a recent interview with Trusteeship magazine discussing the conference, President Mary Hinton observed, “Never has it been more important that liberal arts colleges take back and more boldly assert their own value narrative. Our commitment as liberal arts institutions extends to the generative uses of knowledge for practical, ethical and even moral purposes—each more important than ever in our increasingly complicated world. The liberal arts, broadly construed to include all of the sciences, the humanities, the social sciences and the fine arts, educate toward liberation, toward the ability to

excel within any context, toward the ability to expand one’s own world. We educate for transformation, leadership and community, not simply or exclusively for the development of instrumental skills.” Visit liberalartsilluminated.com to learn more.

Celebration of the Sisters

“I sing to celebrate the sisters of Saint Benedict’s Monastery—who could see the monastery and college before they were built, who created a collaborative way of sponsoring CSB in a new age, who day after day listen to what hasn’t yet been said, and who respond to needs that are not yet fully known.”

“The event was created as a thank you to the sisters, not only for being our founders, for shepherding the growth and development of the College of Saint Benedict. It’s really the celebration of our friendship,” says Molly Renslow, special assistant to the president.

These were the words that Karen Erickson, academic dean, used to introduce a song

The Celebration of the Sisters event was fashioned with the intention of creating a

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of tribute for the Sisters of Saint Benedict at the bi-annual Celebration of the Sisters event in March.

fun and festive evening. With great food and drinks, outrageous performances from faculty and staff and games of charade, the celebration has been just that. But while the event has maintained the silly and amusing atmosphere throughout the years, it has always been filled with beautiful and touching moments as well.

“I think this college has been one of their best legacies,” says Renslow. “I think it’s good for the sisters to hear how much we appreciate them.”

NEWS

BLAZER ATHLETICS

COURAGEOUS. STRONG. BOLD.

Blazers Backing Blazers

The College of Saint Benedict Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) was looking for ways to bring Blazer athletes together and create a stronger sense of community across the teams of CSB Athletics heading into the 2015-16 season. So, of course, they decided to make it a competition.

The Blazer Bowl is a year-long spirit competition and is judged using a points-based system. Each team selects a Big Day—the one game, match or meet to which they want as many CSB athletes as possible to come—at the start of their season. On Big Day, the other CSB athletic teams earn points based on what percentage of their team comes. Extra points can be earned for wearing red or other spirit attire and creating signs.

“The Blazer Bowl gives student-athletes an incentive and a reason to get decked out, make some creative posters and go cheer on fellow Blazer athletes,” says Rachel Raden, a senior on the CSB tennis team and the CSB SAAC president. “We hoped that by making it a contest, we could capitalize on the natural competitiveness that most athletes possess.”

“The Blazer Bowl has increased fan participation at almost every Blazer athletic event,” says Annie Dittberner, a junior on the CSB basketball team and the head of the Blazer Bowl program. “Not only do our teams have more student fans at their athletic competitions, but they also have an engaged group of students that are interested in supporting one another.”

BY | LEAH RADO

The Blazer softball team won the 2015-16 Blazer Bowl with 85 points after bringing the highest percentage of their team to the most events—and wearing lots of red while doing so.

The real winners, however, were all of the CSB teams competing during those Blazer Big Days in front of their fellow CSB athletes and peers.

“The Blazer Big Day was the first time I had ever seen the stands (at the SJU pool) completely full of students and parents, all ready to cheer on the Blazer swim and dive team,” says Kenzie Young, a sophomore on the CSB swim and dive team. “The atmosphere was so fun, and the crowd of Bennies in the stands gave me even more reason to want to win.”

Summer 2016 | 9

SCHOOL + SPIRIT

SCHOO BY |G RE GS KO OG (SJ U’ 89)

In 1964, while looking back on CSB’s first 50 years, S. Mariella Gable ’24 reflected on the state of the Catholic experience. “The religious life of the students is very satisfactory without the strains which, in the past, accompanied a rigorous monastic horarium. The daily Mass is at noon from Monday through Friday.

S. Sharon Nohner ’73

For their night prayer the

At the time though, it’s likely she

as they did 50 years ago. Because

students still sing compline,

heard some of the same voices

of declining numbers of new

continuing a practice of

that Director of Campus Ministry

sisters, there isn’t a large monastic

S. Sharon Nohner ’73 hears today:

presence on the faculty like there

“From time to time, we hear

was even 25 years ago.

from a few who say we’re not

So what does faith look like on

25 years.”

Catholic anymore.”

campus today? And what does

Students today don’t regularly

the college mean by declaring

celebrate the Liturgy of the

as one of the pillars of our

Hours as they did 75 years ago*.

five-year strategic plan, “an

Students don’t meet nightly in

inclusive and engaging Catholic

their residence halls for compline

and Benedictine experience”?

*Though there are certainly students who join the sisters in the Oratory for one of three prayer hours each day.

As a Benedictine institution, the

integrate each person’s studies into

College of Saint Benedict is built on

life lived with others.

the Catholic intellectual tradition and the 1500-year-old foundational structure of the Rule of Benedict. The Association of Benedictine Colleges & Universities (ABCU) helps us define some of the terms and relationships that determine what that means in a 21st century context.

Benedictine wisdom adds to that Catholic intellectual tradition by stressing “the formation of the whole person rather than the intellect alone.

At its best, it calls for a lively interplay between rigorous thinking and development of practices for right living,” according to the ABCU.

CATHOLIC + BENEDICTINE TRADITIONS “The Catholic intellectual tradition,” says the ABCU in Education Within the Benedictine Wisdom Tradition, “is built upon a few cornerstones put in place by the earliest Christian thinkers.” Some of these include serious thought about the culture in which one lives and respect for the ideas and world views of others.

“On this foundation, the Catholic intellectual tradition has created a distinctive approach to education,” continues the ABCU. This approach emphasizes the continuity of faith and reason. It respects the past. It values inclusivity. And it strives to

12 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

Core values can be distilled from the Rule of Benedict.

Here at CSB, we define those as awareness of God, community living, dignity of work, hospitality, justice, listening, moderation, peace,

respect for persons, stability and stewardship.

“There is no single way to embody these hallmarks,” concludes the ABCU. “They cannot be decreed.

Instead, as the members of a Benedictine educational institution reckon with them in pursuit of their own deepest educational goals, they sink their roots into their particular place in the broader Church and culture. As they do so, a more expansive life emerges for all, the collective result of a surprising transformation of individual human hearts and minds.”

SCHOOL + SPIRIT According to CSB’s Strategic

Catholicism on campus today

their commitment to the principles

Directions 2020, “By 2020, the

means opportunities for the faithful,

of Catholic social teaching. Campus

College of Saint Benedict will

information for the questioning and

Ministry actively prepares students

extend our Catholic and Benedictine

welcoming inclusion for all. “We in

to engage with the society around

values to create a vibrant and lived

student development take seriously

them in an authentic Catholic and

community experience. We will

our responsibility to introduce the

Benedictine way…. As our society

preserve and embed the Benedictine

Catholic, Benedictine tradition,” says

confronts various difficulties and

values of our sponsoring community.”

Mary Geller, CSB’s vice president of

inequities, the students are being

student development. As such, the

equipped to face these challenges

whole Student Development division

and pursue a calling to promote the

is committed to nine principles of

common good.” In fall 2015, Campus

good practice for student affairs

Ministry had 6,784 encounters with

in Catholic colleges—as developed

students. Spring encounters are

by the Association of Catholic

estimated to be similar.

“In order to be true to our mission, it is essential that we intentionally and explicitly engage, respect and live by our Catholic and Benedictine values,” says CSB President Mary Dana Hinton.

“Given the decrease in numbers in our monastic community, this intentional engagement is even more important. It is no longer sufficient to presume that our students will understand what it means to be

“CATHOLICISM ON CAMPUS TODAY

MEANS OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE FAITHFUL, INFORMATION FOR THE QUESTIONING AND WELCOMING INCLUSION FOR ALL.”

Benedictine simply by virtue of being here.”

A COMMITMENT TO CATHOLIC EDUCATION Faith at Saint Ben’s today isn’t the

Colleges and Universities, the Jesuit

But what does the Catholic and

Association of Student Personnel

Benedictine experience look like

Administrators and the Association

on campus today? If Bennies aren’t

for Student Affairs at Catholic

mandated a structured and formal

Colleges and Universities.

liturgical schedule during their

Catholic-immersion experience it

Much of the role of making that

once was. With a student body in

available and accessible for all at Saint

which nearly 40 percent identify as

Ben’s falls on Campus Ministry. By all

non-Catholic, that’s not surprising.

accounts, they are doing an excellent

But Catholic social teaching, the

job. In the most recent Campus

Catholic intellectual tradition and

Ministry program review (Fall 2015),

our enduring Benedictine values

external reviewer S. Cathy Nally

have maintained their prominent

agreed that, “There are so many good

places on campus.

efforts taking place at the College of

years on campus, how are they being impacted by faith (or impacting others with their faith)?

What opportunities are there?

Saint Benedict which give witness to

Summer 2016 | 13

SCHOOL + SPIRIT OPPORTUNITIESTAKING PART IN THE LITURGY For Catholic students on campus, the liturgy is alive and well at the College of Saint Benedict. “We work hard at

+ A Women’s Wilderness Retreat

intentional about making connections

in nature

outside of the classroom.

+ A Mother/Daughter Retreat for seniors

“Primarily as lectors and Eucharistic ministers. That’s one of our important

OPPORTUNITIESCONNECTIONS

roles. We’re preparing the next

One of the most popular and impactful

generation of active Catholics. When

Benedictine experiences available at the

they take an active role here on campus,

college is a program of Saint Benedict’s

they’re better prepared and more

Monastery. The Benedictine Friends

comfortable being active when they leave

program has gone by a number of

here and go on to their home parishes.”

names since 1977, but its intent remains

Beyond Mass, there are always chances for Catholics to grow and develop in their faith. Eucharistic adoration takes place every Sunday from 11:45 a.m. till 5

The Benedictine Friends program serves that goal. All first-year Bennies are invited to join the program and

empowering our students to take an active role in the liturgy,” says Nohner.

sisters and students have become more

featuring chances for contemplations

the same: to form friendships between Benedictine sisters and college students. As the number of sisters on the faculty has shrunk over the years,

assigned to a sister who will be their friend. Many of these relationships last all four years and beyond.

“To this day, my mother will tell you that the biggest gift Saint Ben’s gave me was the deep friendship I formed with S. Johanna Becker,” remembers Sarah Halverson Gasparick ’02. “Her steadfast support helped me navigate many critical moments during my college years. But even more surprising was the influence she had on my career as she challenged me to move forward and

p.m. During Advent, daily prayer services around the wreath are popular in Mary Commons and during Lent, there are daily prayer services around the cross.

OPPORTUNITIESTOUCHPOINTS Outside of Mass, Bennies have opportunities to listen, learn, explore and find peace and reflection in prayer.

“Once each month in the first- and second-year residence halls a campus minister comes around for Cinnamon Bread and Night Blessing,” says Nohner.

“That’s been very popular.” The short sessions are in-house opportunities for prayer, fellowship, examination of a particular Benedictine value and, of course, bread.

There are also four women’s retreats offered each year: + Two Busy Women’s Retreats that pair students with a sister for conversation, prayer and reflection Left to Right: Molly Gersch ’18, Nikki Russell ’16, Grace Bandel ’19 and Megan Trudell ’17 serve the needs of the community on an Alternative Break Experience.

14 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

take next steps when I wanted to stay in a place of comfortable predictability.”

OPPORTUNITIESSERVICE + SOCIAL JUSTICE Chances to live out the Benedictine values and put Catholic social teaching into practice can be among the most impactful experiences for today’s Bennies. “Many students find direction for their studies, find motivation to a certain career or aspire to live intentionally based on their experience,” explains Assistant Director of Campus Ministry Carley Braegelmann Castellanos ’11.

One of the most powerful of these programs is the Alternative Break Experience (ABE). “An ABE is an ecumenical program that works to provide meaningful, serviceoriented trips, both nationally and internationally,” says Castellanos.

“We differ from mission trips in that our purpose is not to spread the Word of the Lord but rather to attend to the needs of the community through service while also learning about the issues each community faces.”

Grace Bandel ’19, a campus minister from Rochester, Minnesota, co-led an ABE in Red Lake, Minnesota, this spring.

“I was nervous about how well I would succeed in living out the Benedictine values that our school and program are rooted in,” she admits. “However, I was most deeply inspired by how the people of Red Lake taught me so much about these values; especially awareness of God. In the face of suffering, the people of Red Lake—and especially

Sarah Gasparick (back row, right) and a group of other intrepid Bennies brace themselves for the challenges ahead.

FAITH FLOWING FORWARD Students aren’t the only ones to benefit from our Catholic and Benedictine experience. Through programs like the annual Eco-spirituality Dogsledding Retreat, the CSB Alumnae Relations Office works to keep alumnae connected to their Benedictine roots.

BY | SARAH HALVERSON GASPARICK ’02 As an alum, I hit a rough patch in my personal life, and I needed to find a way to move forward. The Eco-spirituality Dogsledding Retreat sign-up landed in my email, and I decided to go for it. I needed a chance to go into the woods and take deep breaths of lung-chilling winter air. I needed to meet women who could see me for who I was in that moment and not have to focus on my struggle for a few days. (And seriously, who doesn’t want to hang out with dozens of puppies and dogs?)

My highlight of the retreat came in an unexpected place—mid-way up a hill, pushing a dogsled. One of the younger alumnae on the trip was my sled partner, and we had been asked by the guide to ride that day in the last sled of the group with a few of the older dogs. The guide urged us that as much as possible we should hop off the sled and push if we noticed the dogs struggling. We were roughly an hour into the trek when we confronted a rather long and slightly steep hill. In that moment, we determined our old

dogs were not going to have to be able to pull us up that beast of a hill.

My partner and I exchanged nervous glances as we hopped off the sled and started pushing. It was ridiculous, exhausting and, by the end, a bit painful. About one minute into the push, gasping for breath, I reminded my buddy of the trip sign-up where we were told that “persons of every fitness level can dogsled.” I laughed so hard I was crying. God knew I needed a good challenge during my quiet weekend in the woods. I needed to push that sled. I needed to laugh myself silly because of the unexpected plot twist.

I needed to make it to the top of that hill—not just with my own strength, but while sharing my strength with those deserving dogs.

Saint Ben’s has always been like that dogsledding trip for me. It is the place and people who support me. It is a source of surprise plot twists. And, more importantly, it has been a source of needed challenge.

the children—emulate God’s presence through their pronounced joy. This has inspired me to seek out God’s presence and joy more fully in my life.”

You can find out more about the Eco-spirituality Dogsledding Retreat and other programs of the Alumnae Relations Office by emailing Kristin Sawyer Lyman ’00 at klyman@csbsju.edu.

Summer 2016 | 15

SCHOOL + SPIRIT

A MILLENNIAL IN THE MONASTERY

Square One is another student-run

Saint Ben’s first graduating classes were filled with women entering monastic life. But as Bridgette Powers ’09 begins her process of discernment, it’s not nearly so common.

program that employs Benedictine values—this time with a more entrepreneurial approach. Each year, a team of students travels to a developing

BY | BRIDGETTE POWERS ’09 for Mass and 7 for evening prayers. And after that, there’s time for community or personal time.

country with the goal of empowering a community through creating a sustainable business.

I’ve found that our schedule, our rhythm, accentuates how God is in our lives and lets us see and experience that in a very deep way that’s helped me in my discernment. Along the way, I’ve learned a few lessons that I’ve found really valuable:

This past winter, a Square One team traveled to Haiti to follow up on their most recent project. They had built and implemented a chicken coop project that already provides a source of income for an orphanage as well as

+ Silence is important! It’s important

protein and vocational learning for the

to disconnect and really focus on the people around you and on God.

children there. This year, they developed a sustainable process for generating chicken feed from compost. They also

+ Family can be defined in ways you

awarded 10 micro loans to women in

never anticipated. Living in community with these incredible women has been the best part of my journey. But it’s also been the most challenging part for me, specifically in the age gap. The average age of the sisters here is about 78. And I’m not quite 30. So we’ve lived in completely different times and places and have different frames of reference. (I will say it makes for some interesting conversations!)

the community to create businesses of their own.

“We love that the chicken coop project has already given back to that community and made many businesses,” says Rachel Broos ’18, director of marketing and media for Square One. “The coops have had a ripple effect for other local people, helping them learn about business while creating a life and income for themselves.”

“What draws a millennial to monastic life?” That’s a question I get fairly frequently, especially in 2016, when women have so many opportunities that we didn’t have 50 or 100 years ago. But for me, it’s about seeking God with a community of women who are going for the same goal.

I’ve really come to love the daily rhythms of monastic life. We start

+ We can appreciate God in the dignity of our work. This is our practice of ‘ora et labora,’ work and prayer. It shows up in the moderation that’s practiced in the Benedictine way of life: there’s

I’VE FOUND THAT OUR SCHEDULE,

OUR RHYTHM, ACCENTUATES HOW GOD IS IN OUR LIVES AND LETS US SEE AND EXPERIENCE THAT IN A VERY DEEP WAY THAT’S HELPED ME IN MY DISCERNMENT.

Rachel Broos ’18 and Brooke DeMets ’18 traveled to Haiti this winter with Square One to help spark entrepreneurship.

16 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

at 7 a.m. with morning prayers.

We work. And then, at about 11:25, something wonderful happens: we stop. Everything stops and we go to midday prayers. And we stop again at 5

a time for work and a time for prayer and a time for community. And all of these are really important in how we appreciate the world.

CATHOLIC EDUCATION + THE SOCIAL SCIENCES When we speak of “Catholic education,” what does that look like today?

CSB/SJU Psychology Professor Roger Narloch has some ideas.

BY | ROGER NARLOCH, CSB/SJU PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY our social science disciplines has, paradoxically, made it particularly difficult to consider integrating a Catholic perspective in our work. How can a social scientist teach courses in a way that respects the contents and processes of one’s discipline while not simply ignoring Catholic views on the topic?

I am not an expert who has “the” answer for integrating Catholicism and social science. But, rather than waiting for the

To my surprise, many of my students appreciated being encouraged to see the connections. Students had not yet been inculcated in the compartmentalization prevalent in our discipline, so being exposed to such connections seemed natural. Thus, by pointing out such connections, it may have staved off the compartmentalization mindset.

In his encyclical on Faith and Reason, Pope John Paul II spoke of the

“PHILOSOPHY MUST REMAIN FAITHFUL

TO ITS OWN PRINCIPLES AND METHODS. OTHERWISE THERE WOULD BE NO GUARANTEE THAT IT WOULD REMAIN ORIENTED TO TRUTH AND THAT IT WAS MOVING TOWARDS TRUTH BY WAY OF A PROCESS GOVERNED BY REASON.” Whether personally Catholic or not, I think social scientists like me have a special challenge (compared to our colleagues in other academic areas) when contemplating how Catholicism has some role in our academic work.

Social scientists are in a field where religion seems like it has some role.

When studying family dynamics, for example, the religious context of the family is something that one should take into consideration. Furthermore, it’s possible that the religious background of the researcher is something that can potentially influence the way in which questions are framed. These things are both true to a degree that is likely far beyond what would matter, for example, for our natural science colleagues.

I think this more obvious connection between religion and the topics of

perfect answer to come along, I simply began trying things for myself.

I did not choose to open class with a prayer or start a topic by quoting a verse from scripture. This was very intentional on my part as I did not want to seem “preachy” about Catholicism, nor be off-putting by making its influence so overt and pervasive that students may feel a bait-and-switch, signing up for a psychology course only to find it like their course in scripture. Rather, I chose to give them nuggets, to plant seeds, to help fill that gulf so they would be prepared (maybe even primed) to think more deeply about such connections in the future. In my case, I was able to refer to relevant interrelationships between principles of psychology and our Benedictine values.

relationship of philosophy to Catholicism, but I think the same can be said of the social sciences. He wrote, “Philosophy must remain faithful to its own principles and methods. Otherwise there would be no guarantee that it would remain oriented to truth and that it was moving towards truth by way of a process governed by reason.”

So social scientists do not need to subvert our discipline. But I would suggest we do need to allow our disciplinary content to be in conversation with Catholic principles. If we allow that, our discipline and Catholicism will be better for it.

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’64 IYAMA IR A M A KAGAY ORIKO N Y B ITTEN ORK WR W L A ORIGIN OM AN R F D E EDIT

0s, 6 9 1 y l e ear h t n i t tuden s and l e a r n a o r i t a a n nter 4 had 6 ’ a m As an i Iriya a int a m S a y f a o g e a K olleg C e h Noriko as t d n n o a e v n i t o tituti erspec s p n i l c u i f i t beau cadem a shot n p a a s n s a a h bot ffers o — t y c i r o d t e s n Be and Her . c i h l t i o a h f t a ive C s ator of u b l u c c n i n i an and g n i mes g i a T g . n e n e “ our ke th i t l a d h e w k o of e” lo c n nd e i a r e n p o i x t e a tine educ f o t i r i Benedic ict d e sp e h t n e t u B b aint ged, S n f a o h c e g e hav efs, Colle i l e e h b T d l . e dure st h e n e p e y e r d e r v i disco ne the i tives, m c a e x p e s r o e t p and dents s u t a s e d s i l l ca o new t es u s l d a n v i c m i l their Catho d n a to open e exts. ictin t d n e o n c e l B a pply ultur c a o d t n a d n l a ritua i p s n w their o n i h t i w

I

first met S. Emmanuel Renner ’49 in September 1960. I was a freshman from Japan, who spoke limited English, and who neither knew much about the United States nor Catholicism. In short, I was an 18-year-old whose notable qualities were youth and eagerness to learn.

Freshman year with S. Emmanuel The first class I had with S. Emmanuel was the survey of western civilization. On the very first hour of the class, I was waiting in the auditorium with a great deal of apprehension and anticipation because I was told that the course might be too demanding for me to take in my freshman year.

S. Emmanuel entered the room wrapped in a Benedictine black-and-white habit. After the “Hail Mary” prayer, she explained to us the purpose of the course and what she expected of us during the semester. She spoke with dignity and warmth in a soft, crisp voice. She explained her intention logically. She had a most gracious bearing. That moment, that first history class with her confirmed for me that I was right in deciding to study at the College of Saint Benedict.

The first year, however, was the year of struggle for me. I struggled with English. I often could not catch up with the enormous reading assignments and had difficulties in discerning classroom discussions. A big cultural gap between America and Japan was also a problem; I needed to adjust myself to the American way quickly.

Faith and Christianity posed yet another challenge, for I was suddenly thrown into the midst of the Catholic ethos as the only nonCatholic girl on the whole campus. I wrote home to explain my initial perturbation to my parents.

My dear Dad and Mom. I am doing all right except that I often feel isolated because this place is worlds apart from Tokyo. I used to dislike the hustle and bustle of the big city, but I long for it now. You wouldn’t believe it, but there is only one store in St. Joseph! While my English is far from perfect, I am steeped in the Catholic culture with which I am quite unfamiliar. Christianity is too Western for me, although I am ready to admire the depth, goodness and justness of its teachings. I feel myself closer to Buddha than Jesus Christ. While Jesus Christ is God Himself and did not have to face with his own odiousness and limitations, Buddha had confronted his own ugliness and misery as a man and had scrutinized his inner self intently until the agonizing pain gradually led him to his spiritual awakening.

Letter sent home, Oct. 10, 1960

Summer 2016 | 19

One of the merits of studying at a small college was the existence of very intimate human relationships. The college was a community by itself where everyone knew almost everyone else. “Hi! Noriko! How are you doing?”

Before long, teachers and friends started calling me by name whenever we passed each other. I was beginning to feel that I belonged to the place.

On Monday I sprained my ankle and was carried to the Saint Cloud Hospital by taxi. But please do not worry because many classmates are more than willing to help me. They pushed my wheelchair whenever I had to go to and from the classrooms and brought the food from the cafeteria to feed me. Everyone seems to be kind by nature, or is it a fruit of Christian education, I wonder.

Before this small accident, Sister Emmanuel stopped me after the survey class to talk by ourselves. She asked me many questions; about you two, what my dad’s profession was, what kind of education I had received in high school, whether I was enjoying college life and so on. She listened to me intently, interjecting a comment or two in between. In the end we talked about religion.

I told her that I believed that the function of human soul was hinged on his body so that when the body perished so did the soul. In short, I was telling her that I did not believe in life after death. She might have been shocked but did not show it.

She wondered from where I had gotten and nurtured such strong opinions and asked me whether I had been under the influence of someone or some writers. So I named Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus as my favorite writers. As a matter of fact, I was reading Guillotine by Camus the night before.

Sister Emmanuel explained gently how faith had given her courage, strength and hope to live on and wondered that life must have been unavailing to those who did not believe in life after death with God. I might not have grasped the essence of what she told me, so I promised her to study more about Christianity.

Letter sent home, Dec. 1, 1960 That conversation with S. Emmanuel, indeed, was the beginning of my life-long quest for Jesus Christ and the Christian faith, and I harbor modest pride that I have been loyal to my promise to S. Emmanuel and have continued reading and studying Christianity and the Christian faith until present day.

Sophomore year with S. Jeremy and S. Mary Anthony After spending a year in the States, communicating in English became easier. With the increasing familiarity with all things American, I was able to gain many friends, with whom the relationship no longer stayed thin and superficial. Moreover, during the second year, I was acquainted with other wonderful teachers, S. Jeremy Hall ’40, a philosophy professor, and S. Mary Anthony Wagner ’38, a theology professor, who had guided me toward the deeper understanding of Christianity and faith.

S. Jeremy taught Papal social teachings and logic during my sophomore year. The two courses opened up a whole new horizon for me on many areas. I also found that it was not only S. Emmanuel’s courses that were demanding, but that other courses were difficult and challenging as well. One of my classmates told me then that Catholic schools in the States were well known in that they let students study hard and expected their maximum effort to cultivate their abilities. My personal experience vindicates the reputation.

My knowledge of Christianity is being reshaped day by day, much owing to Sisters Jeremy and Mary Anthony. I learned that from early on, Christians have emphasized the importance of community and mutual help based on faith, because we humans have a collective responsibility to recompense God for His love. I had always thought that the base of Western or Christian society was individualism. But I must have been wrong.

Buddhism, on the other hand, seems to place its emphasis more on an individual’s self help. Does it not say that each man should search for his enlightened self and reach to his own salvation through secluded meditation?

When I was studying at Protestant high school in Japan, I used to get around religious practices because they appeared to be rather preposterous. But by studying and talking with two Sisters, I came to grasp the deep meaning of the time-honored Catholic rites (some are not mere rituals but sacraments). One of the books Sister Jeremy lent me said that the rituals are quite effective in restraining excessive emotionalism and help participants to obtain balanced spirituality.

Letter sent home, Nov. 1, 1961

20 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

“I studied four years at the College of Saint Benedict. Though the college was small, it opened my eyes to something very big and most precious in life: faith in people and in God. I am forever grateful to the Sisters of the College of Saint Benedict.”

- Noriko Kagayama Iriyama ’64

During one Easter vacation, S. Jeremy wanted me to stay on campus for the first few days. She took me for a walk every day to the surrounding woods. We talked about faith and my study. She stressed the importance of having a spiritual and intellectual foundation on which one could rely as her personal base. More often than not, we just remained silent listening to birds chirp.

S. Mary Anthony taught me the seven sacraments of Catholicism and their meanings. What she taught me solidified my belief in life after death. I knew then that I did not have to struggle alone searching for my own salvation. Help is always there and will be if only I ask for it.

Junior and senior years with S. Emmanuel and friends

“Insight” was one of S. Emmanuel’s pet words. She often said, “Use your insight!” in the class. Indeed insight was needed in the historical topics class given in our senior year. It was an undergraduate-level dissertation where four students would spend the semester writing a more than 50-page-long paper, and later in the course we were to defend what we had written in front of S. Emmanuel and classmates. I wrote “Analysis of Political Philosophy of Reinhold Niebuhr: Man as a Sinner.”

My paper was never discussed in the class, however, because I caught chicken pox and was confined in the infirmary for two weeks during the last part of the semester. S. Emmanuel visited me there with the intention of giving me an oral test but we ended up talking most of the time. “It’s all right. I know what you know,” she said with a wink.

Since I was a history major, I had many courses taught by S. Emmanuel during the last two years. I still sigh today when I think back on the voluminous reading assignments and successive papers we were to write for her class. She maintained a high standard and her requirements were not always easy to meet. Mere youth and eagerness to learn were not enough to be in her class; you needed self-discipline and a pliable mind.

Every Sister Emmanuel class is a source of inspiration and joy to me. I am always amazed at the way she teaches. She is imaginative and ingenious. On top of the store of knowledge on teaching techniques, she is sedulous in preparation. She changes her teaching method according to a topic. That is why her classes are never dull but always lively and exciting.

The other day when we had a discussion on feudalism and freedom, I watched Sister Emmanuel guide a student with questions and hints until the student successfully organized her ideas and arrived at an intellectual conclusion. She pleased Sister Emmanuel, I could tell by the beam on her face. Sister Emmanuel is cultivating our mind to its maximum before we realize it.

Letter sent home, Oct. 28, 1963

Summer 2016 | 21

LET ALL

GUESTS WHO ARRIVE

BE RECEIVED LIKE

CHRIST.

RB:53 BY | GREG SKOOG (SJU ’89)

THIS SINGLE STATEMENT IS CENTRAL TO THE BENEDICTINE ETHOS. AND IT’S AN IDEAL THAT RESONATES DEEPLY AT THE COLLEGE OF SAINT BENEDICT. IT’S CALLED OUT AND IMMORTALIZED IN OUR PANTHEON OF BENEDICTINE VALUES AS “HOSPITALITY.”

YOUR REPUTATION IS BEING

WELCOMING,THAT. SO LIVE

B

ut the idea that we should be open and welcoming to all—even those of other cultures and faiths—isn’t just Benedictine, of course. It’s based on a Gospel perspective (Matthew 25:35). And beyond that, just as urgently, it’s a call that comes from the Catholic Church.

“Since Vatican II, the importance of interfaith dialogue has been emphasized by many church leaders, especially Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis,” explains John Merkle, chair of the CSB/SJU Theology Department and Director of the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning. “The council document Nostra Aetate (Latin for ‘In our time’), issued in 1965 and also known as ‘The Declaration on the Relation of the Church to NonChristian Religions,’ calls upon Catholics to engage in ‘dialogue and collaboration with followers of other religions.’

“Nostra Aetate claims that the church is ‘ever aware of its duty to foster unity and charity among individuals, and even among nations.’ It challenges Christians to ‘acknowledge, preserve and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found among non-Christians’ while at the same time ‘witnessing to their own faith and way of life’.”

FACING THE UNKNOWN “Part of a Catholic and educational transformation is understanding what we share in common,” says S. Sharon Nohner ’73, director of Campus Ministry at CSB. “When we can understand what we share, then our differences feel less frightening.”

In some cases, this means opening minds and doors to non-Christian faiths. “We advocate to meet the spiritual needs of our students,” says Nohner. “Some of those students are Muslim, so this year we worked with the CSB Senate to designate a small room in Murray Hall to be used as a prayer space.”

When Todd Green came to our community in February to discuss his most recent book, The Fear of Islam: An Introduction to Islamaphobia in the West, those were his words of encouragement and challenge to the audience. In our current international climate, where wellmeaning people find themselves honestly confused about where to draw the line between fear and compassion, maintaining an outlook of Benedictine hospitality sometimes suffers. So Green’s call to action was a welcome reminder.

Bennies like Ellie Vanasse ’16 are leading that charge. In February, Vanasse, a nursing major from Somerset, Wisconsin, coordinated with multiple community organizations to organize and promote a community-wide panel discussion titled, “The Realities of Refugees in U.S. Healthcare.”

Panel members consisted of a variety of professionals who play roles, both personally and professionally, in providing healthcare for refugees.

Vanasse hoped that the discussion would get the community engaged in creating a more positive environment for refugees from all countries.

“The main goal was to promote an atmosphere that is welcoming, an atmosphere in which people want to

learn about one another and have a deeper understanding of how we are all connected,” Vanasse says. Her hope is that understanding one another will ultimately challenge irrational fears based on inherited stereotypes.

Ultimately though, the Benedictine hospitality of Saint Ben’s is most beautiful when students are able to take what they’ve lived here at “home” and carry it with them around the world. In November, a group of six Bennies and Johnnies on the Roman/Greco study abroad program got the chance to do just that.

The students arranged to take their free time and spend it volunteering on the Greek island of Lesbos, where fragile boats filled with desperate refugees fleeing the war in Syria were arriving across a narrow strip of the Aegean Sea from Turkey.

“I was able to see something that is so commonly talked about in the news and politics up close in real life. That, to me, was priceless,” says Abigail Bushey ’17.

“I gained a new perspective and felt fully immersed in the present issue. I took away new friends, a new perspective and a sense of hope for the future.”

Summer 2016 | 23

BIENVENIDO! “In my first year I was a little sad that there was no Spanish Mass, because Spanish is my first language, which means it’s also my prayer language,” recalls Jocelyn Alcala ’17, an elementary education major from Utah.

“I talked with classmates who wouldn’t go to church because ‘I don’t know the prayers and it feels weird to hear them in English.’

So I saw the need for Spanish Mass and I decided to get people together and make an effort to start one,” she continues.

U

24 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

HO

Population trends point toward a growing Latino community at CSB/SJU. But other students are finding value in the Latino Ministry program as well. “Students who studied abroad or are going to study abroad in a Spanish-speaking country are really interested in coming to our events,” explains Alcala. “They’re looking to either learn more before they go—like some prayers or parts of the Mass in Spanish— or they want to keep their language skills sharp and keep up the practice of participating in Mass in Spanish.”

AH

In addition to monthly Mass in Spanish, students now also celebrate traditional cultural events such as Posadas (an important part of Mexican Christmas in which the rosary is prayed in Spanish before a reenactment of the nativity story).

The Spanish Mass choir practices once a week. There is also a rich celebration for the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

“We have Mass at 6 a.m.,” says Alcala, “and have a social gathering after. It really brings people together, not just from Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s, but people from the Latino population throughout the area.”

TS

“In particular, I hope that the schools will begin to build stronger links with the Somali-Muslim community in St. Cloud. However, to bring this type of diversity to CSB/SJU, we will need to make a deliberate effort to also provide the support necessary to sustain these community relationships. This means, for example, providing sufficient Halal, Kosher and other appropriate food options as well as interfaith prayer spaces like we began this year. I know these efforts are ongoing and I, personally, hope they continue over the next few years.”

A more robust and sizable community for ecumenical engagement exists on campus in the Lutheran and other Protestant churches. This past year, just over 13 percent of first-year Saint Ben’s students identified as Lutheran, with other Christian religions making up roughly the same percentage.

HANN

Clearly, creating a Benedictine sense of welcome also involves being open to different cultural traditions within our own Catholic faith. Alcala started that conversation and quickly found herself working with other students as well as joining the Campus Ministry team. “Sister Sharon (Nohner ’73) is a phenomenal woman,” she says. “She’s always on the lookout for what students need, and she saw the demand for Spanish Mass. She has put in the time, effort and resources to make Latino Ministry a growing team.”

“We also support the Buddhist ‘Mindful Meditation Club’ on campus,” Nohner continues. “They have an annual retreat that’s been popular with students of all faiths.” So current outreach and education efforts are as much about familiarizing our community and preparing a welcoming space for future students as they are about serving the needs of a specific cohort of current students.

’16

Hannah Houts ’16, a political science and peace studies major from Sioux City, Iowa, recognizes the need for a long view in building our diverse and welcoming community. “My hope for the future is that we continue to bring students of non-Catholic/Christian backgrounds to campus,” says Houts, who works as a student organizer with the Jay Phillips Center.

Events like Campus Ministry’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in January are designed to create time to celebrate our common faith and share our unique traditions. Guest pastors from area churches led daily prayer sessions in the Gorecki Center, and the week was highlighted with an informative ecumenical panel discussion featuring area church leaders.

“Benedictines have always been about education, learning and respect for others,” concludes Nohner. “When we better understand the faith of another, it doesn’t make us less Catholic. It can strengthen our own faith.”

BENEDICTINES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT EDUCATION, LEARNING AND RESPECT FOR OTHERS. WHEN WE BETTER UNDERSTAND THE FAITH OF ANOTHER, IT DOESN’T MAKE US LESS CATHOLIC. IT CAN STRENGTHEN OUR OWN FAITH. -S. Sharon Nohner ’73

THE VOLUNTEER

PIONEER

RALLYING ENGAGEMENT In the process of welcoming people of all faiths to campus, there is hope for reaching the contingent with no professed faith. This past year, that group made up eight percent of the first-year student population.

SJU

A(

“For example, we collaborated with HAIS (Hmong-Americans Involving Students) recently for one of our most insightful and successful dinners yet. When we can organize this type of event, we’re able to provide an opportunity for learning that’s hopefully useful to students as they encounter people of different faiths and traditions and as they develop faith lives and perspectives of their own.”

JAM

Eat Better Together dinners usually feature a presentation by a non-Catholic (or non-Christian) student, followed by an opportunity to ask questions and talk about faith and spirituality in everyday student life. “In our last several dinners we’ve had much more equal representation of Catholic students and non-Catholic students,” continues Houts.

“That means we get less of a Q&A and much more of a balanced discussion.

IZAK

“One of the ways we’ve demonstrated this relevance is drawing on current events and the increasing diversity we all confront on a day-to-day basis. For example, we try to do ‘Eat Better Together’ dinners several times a year that bring people together over food to dialogue.”

ABDIR

“Because many students in my generation are becoming more secular and less religious, there’s a lot of creativity that goes into drawing students in and demonstrating how interfaith learning and literacy can be relevant and useful,” says Houts of her work as a student organizer of interfaith events with the Jay Phillips Center.

’18

)

Abdirizak Jama (SJU ’18) knew he was putting himself out there. He was essentially volunteering to be the spokesperson for 1.6 billion people.

So when he offered to facilitate a threepart seminar series at Saint Ben’s through CSB Campus Ministry and the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning titled “What’s to Love About Islam?,” he didn’t do it lightly.

“I wanted to put a familiar face on Islam for people in this community so that they can begin to see it the way I do,” he explains. While Jama is emphatic that he hasn’t been excluded, threatened or mistreated at CSB/SJU because of his Muslim faith, the tone of the national and international news was presenting an image that didn’t match with his beliefs or experiences.

His series was so successful and well attended, Jama added a fourth session: a trip to visit a St. Cloud mosque, chat with a local Imam and share a meal.

(The Somali and Ethiopian dinner may have been the most popular part of the evening.)

He hopes the pioneering effort of his seminars can blaze a trail for the future.

“I want to see more Muslim students come to Saint John’s and Saint Ben’s and experience this place and see the Benedictine values,” he says. “I want us to have that type of diverse community.

And when those students come, I want people here to be familiar with Islam and have a real, positive image, so they face a little less isolation than I did.”

Jama is currently one of only a handful of Muslim students on either campus.

So how did he settle on a Catholic and Benedictine college? “I chose to come here because it’s Catholic and Benedictine,” he explains, somewhat surprisingly. “I come from a religious family where faith and values are very important. I wanted to go to school somewhere with a similar commitment to living by values—even if the beliefs themselves aren’t quite the same.”

Summer 2016 | 25

I’M A BENNIE

JESSICA SLATTERY This is your life, live it authentically Jessica Slattery ’02 is not a superhero. Admittedly, she’s spent much of her career traveling the world, fighting injustice and oppression, giving voice to the voiceless and protecting the defenseless. But she’s not a superhero. She’s a Bennie.

’02 26 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

Jessica spent the last four years in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, working in the Office of International Labor Affairs. While there, she worked to promote international labor standards around the world, particularly in the countries of South and Central Asia.

In this capacity, she fought to ensure that workers are able to enjoy their fundamental right of freedom of association, that the conditions of their workplaces are safe and that children are not subjected to hazardous labor. She also worked extensively to eradicate forced labor and trafficking.

“The most important aspect of my job as a human rights officer was ensuring that the perspectives of those without power in this world are taken into account when the U.S. makes its foreign policy toward those in the world with power,” she explains. “In other words, to stand up for those who are left out or marginalized, like the 19-year-old Bangladeshi garment worker making $30-$50 a month in horrific working conditions. We must continue to fight, on behalf of our common humanity, to ensure people across the world have the dignity to live with human rights and a government and a society that recognizes and respects them.”

She has recently joined the Foreign Service (to be a U.S. diplomat, posted at our embassies overseas) and has been assigned to work in Port au Prince, Haiti.

I’M A BENNIE

Photos courtesy of Jessica Slattery.

Major at Saint Ben’s: Management and Communications

First-year residence hall: Aurora C

Favorite course/professor: I really liked my peace studies class with Vera Eccarius Kelly, but also Jewish thought with Rabbi Cytron, entrepreneuriship with Paul Marsnik (SJU ’81), interpersonal communication with Jeannie Cook, and, of course, I loved my study abroad opportunities in Australia (where I really liked Australian history and aboriginal studies).

What is your fondest memory of Saint Ben’s?

I loved walking around campus, especially on sunny days in the fall as the leaves were changing. I swear the air is cleaner, crisper and more clarifying at Saint Ben’s than anywhere else in the world. The many wonderful friendships with smart, empowered and inspiring women, however, were my fondest memory and favorite part of Saint Ben’s.

What life lessons did you take with you after graduation?

Saint Ben’s was a transformative experience for me in many ways. Coming from a small town in Nebraska, I wasn’t exposed to very much diverse, internationally minded thinking. The courses and teachers at Saint Ben’s opened my mind and taught me analysis and critical thinking skills I am not sure were fully developed before.

Being a part of such an inspiring community of bright women really empowered me and gave me confidence and leadership skills I take with me today.

How did your Saint Ben’s experience influence your path as a Foreign Service Officer?

Study abroad challenged my global perspectives and enlightened my thinking. It was the initial impetus for my now-endless quest to fulfill, or even creatively foment, my insatiable curiosity and desire to be inspired by the endless beauty in the diversity of the people and places of the world.

What is the greatest challenge in your career?

It can be incredibly difficult anytime you are working to change the status quo of power dynamics. That

could mean a dictator or a political movement with a stake in preserving their power; a shareholder profits model that incentivizes sweatshops and golden parachutes; or a tax and investment system that ensures the rich get richer and the middle class and social mobility fade into memory.

What advice would you give emerging women leaders?

As my old boss, Hillary Clinton, said, “Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world.”

So find your talent. Be inspired to listen to the truths whispering from the heart of who you are. Finding your vocation means removing the obstacles to finding yourself. Ask yourself: What are your gifts?

What gives you purpose? What excites you? What was the last thing you were doing when you totally lost track of time? What captures your imagination? What brings you joy? Find honesty in your answers to these questions and overcome the temptation to invent obstacles to your dreams or rationalize not pursuing them. This is your life, live it authentically and make contributions you can be proud of.

Summer 2016 | 27

CLASS NOTES Christine Magalska Steinlage was 1990

MILESTONES

selected as a Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Teacher Fellow, March ’16.

Fellowship recipients are educators who have been chosen for their superior ability to inspire a love of learning in their students, their ability to motivate others and their leadership and service within and outside the classroom.

1973

1993

Kristen Nowak Winn is an onsite project 2006 coordinator at General Mills with Schawk Inc./Anthem Worldwide/Brandimage.

Liz Hochstedler Keener was named one 2007

of 20 national finalists for the Connectiv Emerging Leaders Awards, celebrating the next generation of leadership in B2N media, content and information, Dec. ’15. Liz is the managing editor of Powersports Business.

Erin Yates recently returned to 2010

Minnesota after volunteering in Kenya for two years. She now works at Books for Africa in St. Paul. atelyn Engel earned her Master of Public K Health degree in administration and policy from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Dec. ’15 and recently started a position as diabetes prevention coordinator at Minnesota Department of Health.

’73

MARI LYN AMPE’S

art was featured in Art Quilts of the Midwest

by Linzee Kull McCray, 2015, University of Iowa Press.

1982

JULIA JASKEN

Bree Auringer Allen earned her Master of Public Health degree in administration and policy from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Dec. ’15.

’93

is provost at McDaniel College in Westminster, Md.

Amie Penny Sayler joined the Twin Cities law firm Bassford Remle, P.A., March ’16.

Amie focuses her practice in civil litigation and appellate law.

1994 Mia Boom-Ibes is the associate director of

information security at John Deere Financial.

MARY MCKEOWN

’82

was named CEO of Keystone Community Services, Feb. ’16.

Jill Dubbledee-Kuhn, gallery manager for 1983

CSB/SJU Fine Arts Programming, recently illustrated the book Through My Eyes by Tammy Wilson. The new young adult book tells the story of Zamzam, an 11-year-old girl who comes to the U.S. from Somalia with her mother and siblings.

Jackie Boucher was named to the board 1987 of directors for the American Diabetes Association, Feb. ’16.

Mary Gillen Fenske, paralegal program 1988

director at North Hennepin Community College, received the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System’s Innovative Partnering and Collaboration Award for North Hennepin’s On-Campus Legal Services Clinic, May ’14.

director for clinical psychology at Argosy University in Eagan, Minn.

received her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota, Dec. ’15.

manager at Optum Shared Services, UnitedHealth Group, Nov. ’15.

Kristina Mess Cirks is the TRIO McNair 2002

associate director at Bemidji State University.

2011

Ann Dean earned a Juris Doctor from Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Dec. ’15. the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

Lori Hokenness is the senior talent acquisition advisor and business strategist for TIAA-CREF. Lori was featured in the CBS San Francisco/Bay Area Newsletter for an interview discussing how her liberal arts education from Saint Ben’s helps her in her work as a business strategist, Dec. ’15.

Jenny Myers Kutter is co-author of The Nature of Saint John’s, the first comprehensive field guide to the natural and human history of the Abbey Arboretum.

Kori Fitschen Carlson is a process 2004

nna Burgason Dirksen is an associate A development officer at the University of Minnesota, Oct. ’15.

Kate Hansen graduated with her master’s in theological studies from Bethel Seminary in May ’15. In Nov. ’15, she became the church mobilization fellow in Accra, Ghana, for the International Justice Mission (IJM). She will work with IJM to end human trafficking.

Mary Frandson is an English instructor at 2003

For complete news and notes from classmates and to post your notes, go to BenniesConnect: www.csbalum.csbsju.edu or email us at csbalumnae@csbsju.edu.

28 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

AMY HOGERTON STADING

Molly Corrigan is a senior project 2001

innovation lead at Prime Therapeutics.

BC

’10

2000 Wendy Schug Assal is the admissions

T iana Woitas FitzSimmons graduated from Minnesota State University-Mankato with a Master of Social Work in July 2015. She is currently a therapist at Counseling Services of Southern Minnesota in St. Peter, Minn.

2012

E lizabeth Gleich graduated from Yale Divinity School with a Master of Divinity degree, May ’15.

CLASS NOTES Hudda Ibrahim is a faculty member and 2013

foreign-born student’s advisor at St. Cloud Technical & Community College. She was recently featured in the Star Tribune for an interview about her work with international students seeking educational opportunities in the United States.

2011

Emily Gasperlin joined the board for the Center for Girls’ Leadership in the Twin Cities. The nonprofit hosts programs in schools and independently that nurture leadership skills in middle and high school girls to help set them up for success.

2014

hristina Pollock is a sourcing specialist C at Target in Minneapolis.

Kristina Burk is currently working on her Master of Science in athletic training at the College of Saint Scholastica and interns with ESPN Wide World of Sports.

Beth Leipholtz is a reporter for the Echo 2015

Press in Alexandria, Minn.

MARRIAGES

COURTNEY SCHMIDT TO NOEL ANDERSON, DEC. ’15

Echo Funk to Lowell Larson, Sept. ’14 1999 Kathleen O’Connor to Mark Tranovich, 2002 Oct. ’15

Mary Frandson to Megan McTeague, 2003

2005

Meghan Rysavy to Peter Fourniea ’11, Aug. ’15 Katie Johnson to Erik Bang, Sept. ’15 2012

2012

’11

Samantha Drusch to Samuel Aubart, Feb. ’16

Michelle Peltz to Jason Hoffmann ’08, June ’15

Aug. ’15

Beth Gallus to John Miller ’10, Oct. ’15

2013 Meg Deignan to Dave Kaster ’13, July ’15

Kate Engelman to Matthew Stonestrom, Jan. ’16

Laura Trent to Sean Lynch ’12, Oct. ’15

Liz Harrison to Alex Mundt ’12, July ’15

Jade Helmbrecht to Nick Schuler ’13, Jan. ’15

2006 Stephanie Albrecht to Brian Lee, May ’15 Jessica Lage to Bennett Isabella, May ’11

Kristin O’Brien to Andy Leonard ’06, Oct. ’12 Teresa Crater to Jason Mohr, June ’13 2007 2008 Lindy Browne to Travis Burns, Oct. ’15

Jaya Ginter to Ben Davis, Aug. ’15

2009

Elyse Cooper to Peter Froehling ’09, June ’14

Sarah Mikkelson to Aaron Copeland, 2010 Sept. ’15

2011

’11

TIANA WOITAS TO ERIC FITZSIMMONS, OCT. ’15

’13

SOPHIA NOLAN TO ADAM MCMONIGAL-SUNDSMO ’10, OCT. ’15

Summer 2016 | 29

CLASS NOTES

BIRTHS 1993

Meg Flynn & Shawn Petersen, girl, Grace, Nov. ’15

1998 Ema Urness Hartung & Greg Hartung, girl, Avery, Feb. ’16

WHERE WHERE ARE ARE THEY THEY NOW NOW

’98

NICOLE KROETSCH LEIMER, & BRADEN LEIMER, BOY, BENJAMIN, JAN. ’16 Elizabeth LaVoie Huselid & Jerome 2000 Huselid, boy, Jensen, Sept. ’14

Lisa Neu & Anthony Kapinos ’00, girl, Vivian, Feb. ’16

2001 Julie Frieler Deters & Robbie Deters, boy, Ryker, March ’15

Melinda Noll Jungbauer & Matthew Jungbauer ’01, boy, Henry & girl, Alayna, March ’15

Mindy Albers France & Patrick France ’01, boy, Zachary, June ’15

In a few years they’ll be the brilliant minds and passionate personalities that light up the Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s campuses. But right now they’re high school students.

Are you ready to help us find them?

indy Michel Nelson & Dorian Nelson ’01, M girl, Miri, Oct. ’15

2002

’02

NICHOLE HEDLUND ARBOUR, & STEPHEN ARBOUR, GIRL, EMILY, APRIL ’15

Keep the connections alive at facebook.com/SaintBensAlums 30 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

THINK

Consider the students in your life. Your children, your nieces, your nephews, your neighbors, your friends. Which of them would make great additions to the CSB/SJU community?

TALK

Tell them all about us. Talk about your experiences as a student. Talk about your experiences as an alum. Talk about what Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s have meant to you.

ROAD TRIP

Make plans now to bring them to campus. It’s a great chance to bring those prospective students up for a visit so they can get a good look for themselves! Mark your calendar now.

www.csbsjurefer.com

CLASS NOTES 2002 Michelle Stangeland Lanz &

Thomas Lanz ’01, boy, Andrew, July ’15

Mandy Gausman Guth & Jacob Guth ’02, boy, Harrison, Feb. ’15 Stephanie Braegelmann LaBine & Nathan LaBine, girl, Piper, Dec. ’15 Kristina Mess Cirks & Scott Cirks, boy, Finn, Sept. ’15 Angela Broadwater Norton & Steve Norton, girl, Marie, Dec. ’15

2003 Katie Flynn Benscoter & Adam Benscoter, girl, Frances, Nov. ’15

Darcie Waldvogel Boogaard & Timothy Boogaard, girl, Madeline, Dec. ’15 Kate Rasmussen Blessing & Bryan Blessing ’04, girl, Julia, Feb. ’16 Tracy Wirtzfeld Lemke & Randy Lemke, 2004 girl, Myra, Jan. ’16

Mandy Grosser Tadych & Rob Tadych, boy, Augustus, March ’16 Amy Martinka Schuett & Dustin Schuett 2005 ’04, boy, Daniel, Dec. ’15.

Tammy Yost Anderson & Eric Anderson ’05, girl, Clara, Jan. ’16.

Ellen Hunter Gans & Paul Gans ’05, boy, Hunter, Feb. ’16.

Annikah Colon Moaratty & Sean Moaratty, boy, Finley, Nov. ’15.

Michelle Matters Petz & Ryan Petz ’05, girl, Hadley, Dec. ’15

MEGHAN DEICHERT JOHNSON & ANDREW JOHNSON ’06, GIRL, EMILY, APRIL ’15

Kate Anderson Abernathy & 2006

Sean Abernathy ’06, girl, Amelia, Dec. ’15

Kelly May Brahn & Mike Brahn, boy, Benjamin, June ’15 Ashley Thiner Kimeu & Pius Kimeu ’04, boy, Steven, Dec. ’15

’06

Bridget Sitzer Nordlund & Dan Nordlund ’07, 2008

2008 Nikki Kasper Pitts & Jacob Pitts, girl,

Natalie Arel Justin & Nathan Justin ’08, girl, Hannah, Feb. ’16

girl, Katherine, Dec. ’15

Lane, Feb. ’16

Liz Otremba Berg & Levi Berg, girl, Stella, 2009

Jessica Lage Isabella & Bennett Isabella, boy, Oliver, Feb. ’16

Nov. ’15

Andrea Brandel Weier & Ryan Weier, boy, Nolan, Jan. ’16

Kari Schroeder Vogt & Ethan Vogt, boy, Drew, Nov. ’15

Kristin O’Brien Leonard & Andy Leonard ’06, girl, Caroline, Dec. ’14

Jillian Rigg McKenzie & Patrick McKenzie ’04, girl, Margaret, Dec. ’15

Dana Scheppmann Wieme & Alex Wieme ’09, boy, Samuel, March ’16

Ashley Hendricks Kaplan & Lucas Kaplan, boy, Liam, March ’15

Heather Cherpelis Faase & Noah Faase ’07, girl, Landyn, Feb. ’16

’08

Kelly Denne Minnich & Adam Minnich ’06, girl, Elin & boy, Mason, Jan. ’16 Amy Canfield & Michael Carlson, girl, 2007 Ellie, Nov. ’15

Emily Heckman Savage & Daniel Savage, boy, Teddy, Dec. ’15

GRETCHEN ENNINGA & SIMON FORTUNE ’07, BOY, IVERSON, DEC. ’15

Meghan Fitzgerald Bonde & Kyle Bonde, boy, Brant, Nov. ’15

Emily Pearson Bly & James Bly, girl, Naomi, Oct. ’15

Amy Stumvoll Thompson & Bryan Thompson ’07, boy, Blake, Nov. ’14

Sharon Wawra Kohlhaas & John Kohlhaas ’08, boy, Raymond, Sept. ’15

Katherine Hartman Beckstrand & Michael Beckstrand ’07, boy, Peter, Feb. ’16

Carly Andresen Snee & Ryan Snee ’08, boy, Ezra, May ’15

Kylee Knutson Ohme & Matthew Ohme ’07, boy, Hudson, Jan. ’16

2010 Erin Herberg Sinner & Patrick Sinner ’10, girl, Nora, Feb. ’16

Elizabeth Babineau Kratz & Patrick Kratz, girl, Katherine, Feb. ’16 Sarah Parker Buchert & David Buchert, girl, Cecilia, Jan. ’16 Amy Hogerton Stading & Jason Stading ’05, boy, Leo, Feb. ’16 Emily Tretter Walters & Charles Walters ’02, 2012 girl, Kenza, Jan. ’16

Michelle Walther Mader & Patrick Mader ’12, girl, Annie, Nov. ’15

Summer 2016 | 31

CLASS NOTES 2012 Renee Young Trego & Justin Trego, boy, Eddison, Feb. ’16

2013 Alex Sundlof Latterell &

Michael Latterell ’10, boy, Xain, Feb. ’16

YOU THINK YOU LIKE SAINT BEN’S, BUT DO YOU

REALLY?

2014 Maria Slivnik Harren & Stephen Harren, girl, Clara, March ’16

DEATHS 1938 1942

Marguerite Kasner Hewitt, Dec. ’15.

A rthur Decker, spouse of Catherine Wehner Decker, Feb. ’12

Donald Hilde, spouse of 1945

The main CSB/SJU Facebook page is wonderful. But are you missing out on a whole stream of alumnaespecific content on our Alumnae Association’s page?

Dolores Haider Hilde, Feb. ’15

1946

Stephen Liners, son of Lois Levasseur Liners, Nov. ’15

1947

Alice Askin Zimmerman, Dec. ’15

Barbara Berkner Rethlake, Feb. ’16

James O’Brian, spouse of Frances 1948 Gambrino O’Brian, Jan. ’16

Make sure to Like us and discover the latest alumnae news, information, events, photos and stories from Saint Ben’s.

James Ederer, spouse of Mary Jo Bauer Ederer, father of Vicki Ederer Way ’73 & Marie Ederer Beaulier ’87, Feb. ’16 Waldemar Lindquist, spouse of 1956

Philippa Gleason Lindquist, March ’16

1958

John Meyer, spouse of Mary Daley Meyer, Jan. ’16

FACEBOOK.COM/SAINTBENSALUMS

Donald Zenner, father of 1960

Ruth Zenner Heffner, Dec., ’15

1962 Colette Desnoyers Mahowald, Dec. ’15 Irene Bolduc, mother of 1963 Jacqueline Bolduc Rogers, June ’12

1967 William Clemens ’42, father of

Barbara Ann Clemens Watkins, March ’16

1970

Robert Kalenda, spouse of Caren Phares Kalenda, Feb. ’16

Agnes Legatt, mother of Diane Legatt Hunt, 1972 Jan. ’16

William Stone, father of Ethel Stone 1974

Muchlinski & Sheila Stone Seelhammer ’75, April ’15

Stephen French, spouse of Virginia Sutton, 1975 Dec. ’15

1976

T homas Diedrich, father of Mary Diedrich Joyce, Jane Diedrich Heyjny ’80 & Sheila Diedrich Bethke ’81, Dec. ’15.

Gladys Dehen, mother of Nancy Dehen Fuller, Dec. ’15 Cletus Franta, father of Diane Franta Reitter, Carol Franta Hagberg ’78, Jane Franta Scully ’80 & Annette Franta ’87, Jan. ’16 Joan Lease, mother of 1977

Deborah Lease Schnettler, Jan. ’16

George ‘Judd’ Pribyl ’51, father of Ann Pribyl Mattson, Jan. ’16

1978

K evin Brewster, spouse of Kathleen Trobec Brewster, July ’10

32 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

WE’RE HERE FOR YOU! Who’s got more than 23,000 friends willing to offer advice, lend a helping hand and keep them up-to-date on their beloved college home? You! That’s who. Your Saint Ben’s connections never have to fade away — keep them growing strong and find us online today!

www.facebook.com/SaintBensAlums

Search www.linkedin.com/groups/64647

www.csbalum.csbsju.edu or email csbalumnae@csbsju.edu

CLASS NOTES 1978

Irene Laudenbach, mother of Nancy Laudenbach Kerestes, Dec. ’15

William Brascugli, father of Lisa Brascugli Murphy & Beth Brascugli De Lima ’81, Jan. ’16

1979

Traz Akhavan, father of Evelyn Akhavan 1986

Gounili, Katrina Akhavan Binstock ’89 & Susan Akhavan Guirguis ’92, Nov. ’13

Donald Loizeaux, father of Lynette Loizeaux Koopman, Feb. ’16

J ohn Kelly, father of Mary Kelly Degen, Feb. ’16

Susan Lafeber, mother of Maureen Lafeber Segner, March ’16

Juanita Tabor, mother of Laura Tabor Mullin, Threse Tabor Zehms ’81 & Amy Tabor Deaver ’84, Dec. ’15

John Markert, father of Jenny Markert 1987

Ellen Dobos, mother of Kathryn Dobos Cossette, Dec. ’15 Nancy Culligan, mother of Anne Culligan, 1980 Dec. ’15

Anderson, Dec. ’15

Charles & Joyce Jokerst, parents of Christina Jokerst Zepp, father in ’14 and mother in ’09.

Henry Blackburn, father of Cathy Blackburn Johnson, Nov. ’15

Kathryn Schueller, mother of 1991

Lisa Schueller Morrey, Dec. ’15

John Golden, father of Anne Golden & Amy Golden Aschman, Jan. ’16 Marlene Douvier, mother of 1992

Ann Douvier Sura, Dec. ’15

Michael Meland, father of Julie Meland Ruelle, Jan. ’16 John Isaacson, father of Darcy Isaacson Brodt, Feb. ’16

Mary Sandkamp, March ’16

James J. Holschuh, Sr., father of 1993

Michelle Holschuh Simmons, Dec. ’15

Donald Riley, father of Shannon Riley, Dec. ’15

Frances Gillen, mother of 1988

Margaret Abler, mother of Jean Abler Kelly, Jan. ’16

Margaret Lahti, mother of Teresa Lahti & Ann Lahti Larson ’85, March ’16

Carol Ritter, mother of Ruth Ritter Primus, 1989

Betty Lencowski, mother of Beth Lencowski, May ’15

1981 Lois Nething, Dec. ’15

Bob Alpers, father of Julie Alpers Allis, March ’16.

John Palmer, father of Kathleen Palmer Manning, Jan. ’16 Leo Fuerstenberg, spouse of Laure Lanz Fuerstenberg, Feb. ’16.

Francis Stark, father of Cici Stark Welsh, Feb. ’16

1983 Mary Culligan, May ’14 Robert Tarnowski, father of 1985

Mary Gillen Fenske, Feb. ’15

Nov. ’15

James Jost, father of Diane Jost Daniels, March ’16 Edward Klinkhammer, father of 1990

Julie Klinkhammer Baker, Feb. ’16

Harris Hanson ’47, father of Kathryn Hanson Werner, April ’16 Sharon Romero, mother of 1991

S. Marie Vianney Tarnowski, Feb. ’16

Vanessa Romero, Dec. ’15

Alice Dwyer, mother of 1994

Nancy Dwyer Kollmann, Jan. ’16

1995 Marlys Ahmann, mother of

Kimberly Ahmann, Jan. ’16

Sarah Karr Rooker, Dec. ’15 1996 Joseph Lange, father of Kerri Lange Timm, Jan. ’16 Gordan Miller, father of Tracy Miller Bell, Feb. ’16

Karen Sweet, mother of Leah Sweet Slicker, March ’16

Who’s your

BENNIE

FICIARY?

When you make a gift through your estate, you leave a lasting impact that goes on and on.

Contact Chad Marolf, senior director of

With your support and our Benedictine values and academic excellence, we can continue

major gifts, at cmarolf@csbsju.edu or

changing the lives of young women for generations.

320-363-5402 for more information.

Summer 2016 | 33

CLASS NOTES Edmund Canlas, father of 1997

2000

Evlie Bakken, mother of Tamara Lipczyc Sultzbaugh, Feb. ’16

John Conzemius, father of Catherine 2003

Arnold ‘Arnie’ Maile, father of Melissa Maile, March ’16

Sally Spaulding, mother of 2004

Dwayne Stuckey, father of Andrea Stuckey 2009

Donald McAllister, father of Bridget 1998 McAllister Bowden, Feb. ’16

Victor Zumpano, father of 2010

Chuck Mensing, father of Jill Mensing Kelly & Colleen Mensing Pond ’00, March ’16

Abel Woodward, son of Nicole Kriha Woodward, Feb. ’16

Julie Krenn, mother of Nancy Krenn, 2012

Joel Melohn, father of Laura Melohn, Jan. ’16 1999

Cecilia Barrett, daughter of 2005

Timothy Forcier, father of Megan Forcier, 2015

Steve Koskela, father of 2006 Jessica Koskela Johnson, March ’16

Michael Boyden, father of Haleigh Linn, March ’16

Melina Canlas Koch, Jan. ’16

Barbara Bloch, mother of Jennifer Bloch McGee, Jan. ’16

obert Farrell, father of Anne Farrell Hartman, R April ’13 Conzemius Van de Velde, Feb. ’16

Robyn Jacobs-Spaulding, Dec. ’15 S usan Maldonado, mother of Susanne Maldonado, Feb. ’16

Jackie Terhaar Barrett, Feb. ’16

Robert Colebank, father of 2008

Brittni Colebank Wawra, Jan. ’16 T heresa Fitzgerald, mother of Kathleen Fitzgerald Folkerts, Feb. ’16

& Melissa Stuckey ’14, Dec. ’15

Catherine Zumpano Chicoine, Feb. ’16 March ’16

Jan. ’16.

Making a recurring gift shouldn’t have to be.

Keeping our annual giving program strong is a big deal.

This critical program supports scholarships, which make it possible for the next generation of Bennies to change the world.

No one knows that better than our Saint Ben’s Sustainers.

Our Sustainers understand the need for steady streams of income that keep our annual giving program strong.

They provide the security of reliable support through recurring gifts. This allows us to plan more effectively, administer the fund more efficiently and, ultimately, impact the lives of more students.

34 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

Becoming a Saint Ben’s Sustainer and making a recurring gift is more convenient than ever.

Simply choose the frequency (monthly, quarterly or annually) and the vehicle (electronic funds transfer or credit card). When you do, you’ll join an elite group of stewards that give us a stronger foundation to build tomorrow’s dreams on. That’s certainly a big deal.

BECOME A SAINT BEN’S SUSTAINER. Learn more and enroll at givecsb.com.

GENEROSITY are able to take that value of hospitality and practice it out in the world. So we are able to expand the effects of our Benedictine values that way,” says Theresa.

She and her husband, Derek Larson, a CSB/SJU history and environmental studies professor, recognize that creating that sort of diverse and inclusive campus takes generosity from all of us. That’s why they choose to give to support scholarships at Saint Ben’s.

“For me, it’s the value of diversity that really pushes me to give back. I think, for our family, the opportunity to live in Central Minnesota and have access to the events we attend and the fine arts that are offered here has enriched our lives measurably,” shares Theresa.

“I also believe that in a liberal arts education it’s a necessity to have diversity, because if you don’t have conversations around different experiences, you don’t have a full understanding of the world and the impacts that you make.”

While Theresa has continually seen a growth in diversity on campus, she believes there is still progress to be made.

Theresa Anderson

Giving to Scholarships = Giving to Community BY | ANNE MARIE MCKENZIE ’16

Theresa Anderson has dedicated her career at Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s to creating a diverse campus with educational opportunities for students of all backgrounds.

For the past 15 years, Theresa has worked as the academic advisor for multicultural students. Over the last two years, she has also acted as the on-site supervisor for College Possible, a program with which Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s has partnered to provide college coaching for students with high financial needs.

Theresa believes that by providing a diverse environment on campus, our liberal arts education is substantially enhanced and better prepares students for their next phase of life.

“By providing educational opportunities at Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s to students of all backgrounds, one of the things I think about is that students and staff have the ability to practice Benedictine hospitality in our own campus community.

“If we can engage ourselves as faculty and staff and get the students engaged as well, when they go beyond our community, they

“There’s a lot that I’m proud of at Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s,” she says. “However, I think our job is to continue pushing forward so that we are able to provide access to all students so that they can all have the full experience of education here. We need to be able to make this manageable for all students, no matter what their background.”

Over her years at the colleges, Theresa has seen first-hand how important the ability to offer scholarships is to the community as well as the students who receive them.

“I think it matters to students at Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s that the alums who have attended here and the people who work here care about them— whether that comes through face-to-face conversations or through supporting scholarships and the experiences that students have at the colleges.”

You can join Theresa in helping to make a Saint Ben’s education possible for today’s Bennies by making a gift at givecsb.com.

Summer 2016 | 35

BENNIE CONNECTION

1

2

1.

Ten Bennie alums and friends enjoyed a magical weekend together in Ely during the annual CSB Eco-Spirituality Dogsledding Retreat, Feb. 4-7. Pictured front row (L-R): Kristin Sawyer Lyman ’00 (trip organizer), Lynn Anne Vesper (dogsled guide), Sven (Canadian Inuit team member), S. Christian Morris, OSB ’68 (spirituality guide), Cris Charlesworth. Back row (L-R): Jeanne Johnston Carlson ’80, Judy Popelka Corrigan ’79, Justine Martin ’99, Elynn Cimenski Welle ’76, Jill Schafer ’96, Joyce Overman Dube ’79, Rose Vondrashek.

2.

Over 40 Bennies attended the 2016 Lenten Retreat at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Edina, Minn. on Saturday, March 12.

Connie Fourre ’72 was the facilitator and spoke about mercy and forgiveness. At the end, Charmagne Derichs ’08 led a yoga session as an activity to center the group.

4

3. The CSB/SJU Young Alum Committee (YAC) hosted another sellout Curling event at Fogerty Arena on Saturday, Jan. 23. Pictured here are Ryan Urlick ’11, Becka Gross ’12, Katherine Nystrom Theisen ’13, Anna Bergstrom Urlick ’11, Matt Theisen ’11.

4.

Former Blazer volleyball players gathered in Dec. 2015 to celebrate an upcoming wedding. Pictured are Kylie Palmiscno ’11, Amanda Buchner Curley ’11, Kayli Schumacher Altepeter ’11, Calleigh Brown ’11, Emma Jaynes Keeler ’10, Amber Wortz Seitzinger ’11, Catherine Johnson Bang ’11, Cassie Truman Owens ’11.

5.

Taylor Van Denburgh ’09, an instructor at the Twin Cities Trapeze Center in St. Paul, was pleasantly surprised to find five 2012 Bennies taking her 1 p.m. class. It was everyone’s first time on the flying trapeze. Pictured with Taylor are Lauren Nephew, Anne Miller, Kristin Nelson, Emily Bruggeman, Kelsey Boegel.

6.

Alumnae of the class of 1962 meet monthly at various restaurants around the Twin Cities. Pictured from left to right: Lola Stramer Karls, Mary Muchlinski Kelly, Jane Rohlik Koeing, Mari Lyn Rohde Quilling, Pat Donnelley Ploumen, Janet Mroszak.

7. President Mary Dana Hinton visited alumnae and prospective students in Los Angeles on a presidential tour. She gave the group an update on the college, answered questions and connected with a wonderful group of Bennies. Pictured from front (L-R): Anne Sumangil ’99, Annette Lenneman ’81, Jacqueline Murillo ’10, Tiffany De Leon ’10, Barbara Coy McGinnis ’51, Anne Walters ’02, Taylor Berry ’16, Mary Dana Hinton. Back row (L-R): Jennifer Farnsworth ’00, Ashley Zartner ’10, S. Kathleen (Margaret Mary) Wilson ’94, Lindsey Gideon ’13, Clare McGinnis Dunphy ’81, Cate McGinnis ’79, Kathy Hughes Dooley ’52, Terry Dooley ’51.

36 | College of Saint Benedict Magazine

5

6

3

BENNIE CONNECTION

8. Over 60 alums and friends descended on St. Olaf Catholic Church in Minneapolis on Friday, Feb. 12, to enjoy the annual Mingling & Music event hosted by the CSB/SJU Music Department and CSB and SJU alum offices.

9.

7

8 9

10

11

12

ennies, Johnnies, former faculty and B prospective students and their parents from the Chicago area joined President Mary Dana Hinton, Chicago admission representative, Sarah Abraham Murnane ’89 and Bennie staff for the Chicago Alumnae event at the Metropolitan Club at the Willis Tower. Pictured here from front (L-R): Mary Lou Backes ’64, Chloe Smith ’15, Mary Dana Hinton, Lisa Wolf Wittig ’05, Jane Kathman.

Second row: John Dagen SJU ’85, Chris Bankers Runkle ’99, Stephanie Palubicki ’78, Kate Green ’09, Mary Lamberty Hughes ’61, Hannah Klinnert ’15, Anne Sumangil ’99. Third row: Tim Murnane ’87, Jen Deglmann ’14, Jeanine Henry ’84, Sarah Abraham Murnane ’89, Agnes Miller Flynn ’68, Lindy Browne Burns ’08, Sara Burnett ’95, Diane McGee Roberts ’69, Ross Drever ’93, Michael Kathman.

On March 31, Bernadette Martens Chapman ’99 10. and her husband, Clayton Chapman, hosted the Omaha alumnae event at The Grey Plume, which the couple owns and where Clayton is the chef.

Nearly 40 alumnae along with prospective students and their parents enjoyed a night of CSB updates and Bennie connections. Pictured in the front row (L-R): Mary Dana Hinton, Anne Sumangil ’99, Bernadette Martens Chapman ’99, Anna Selmecki ’02, Oliva Irwin ’15. Second row (L-R): Sara Taylor Barada ’04, Courtney Grady West ’97, Angela Taylor Langenfeld ’99, Katie Wilken Hejl ’85, Cece Bartek ’91, Maggie Bartek McCaslin ’84, Jenn Jerabek Hasslen ’97. Third row (L-R): Kayla Becker Johnson ’13, Sue Carpenter McHale ’80, Norah Swartz Morris ’97, Mary McHale ’77, MaryBeth Frankman Rossiter ’78, Molly Phillips Meyer ’82. Not pictured: Marian Zeiner Henderson ’65, Rachel Istas Prudhomme ’06, Suzanne Wetzel ’00, Kris Kubicek Engler ’01.

11. 2 016 REDTalks presenters, front row (L-R): Tyler Thompson ’16, Jon McGee ’84, Bridgette Powers ’09, Taylor Van Denburgh ’09, Eric “Pogi” Sumangil ’01. Back row (L-R): Anna Cron ’16, Megan Towle ’16, Glen Werner ’93, Tom Sibley (math professor), Amy Campbell Bissonette ’80, Tom Brossart ’14.

12. L isa Wersal ’78 has a gathering at the beginning of each year for her Bennie/Johnnie classmates.

This year, they gathered on Saturday, Feb. 20, to celebrate their 60th birthdays. Pictured are Barb Baker ’78, Mike Speedling ’79, Lisa Wesal ’78, Roger Hess ’78, Roseanne Strobel Buckley ’78, and Tom Buckley ’78.

Summer 2016 | 37

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID College of Saint Benedict

INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT 37 South College Avenue St. Joseph, MN 56374 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Homecoming weekend falls early this year, so mark your calendar and make plans now to join us on both campuses for good friends, good times and, of course, some football. Homecoming is coming, and it won’t be the same without you!