Nebraska Quarterly Spring 2023 Edition

For 150 years the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources has taught students how to understand the land. It is the college that spans the entire state, funding research in the Sandhills and discovering more sustainable ways to feed the world. It’s where UNL got its start, and where its future lies within the great state of

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STORY It all started when she hurled a hot dog at him.

NEW

TWO OPEN DOORS IN A FIELD

PRESS

BREAKING THE SILENCE Anthology of Liberian Poetry Edited by Patricia Jabbeh Wesley $21.95 now $17.56 African Poetry Book

PRESENTED BY

nter to WIN two (2) Club Level tickets to Taylor Swift at Soldier Field in Chicago on June 2nd, 2023.

SCAN TO SCAN TO ENTER ENTER

NEW RHULE ORDER Football

Matt Rhule was hired as Nebraska’s 31st head football coach last fall. He’s been a head coach for 10 years, most recently with the Carolina Panthers.

WHAT’S HE MAKING?

Rhule received an eight-year contract worth $74 million. His annual salary for his first year: $5.5 million!

TWITTER

@CoachMattRhule is active on twitter — tweeting and retweeting daily) to his 135,000 followers. He has a propensity for using cryptic emojis to communicate.

At the University of Nebraska our agriculture roots run deep. Four years after the university first opened in 1869, a farm campus was established to the east. Separated from the city by an unbroken stretch of prairie, East Campus was regarded by students to be a “great distance” from the main city campus. Today our university spans the entire state with research labs and ranches reaching into the Sandhills. These properties were donated by devoted alumni and Husker fans. P34 Our ag alumni are impressive, from the owners of a bakery in McCook P44 to a 1978 graduate who sells popcorn to movie theaters around the world. P51 The College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, as it is known today, continues to grow and reinvent itself for the future. P48

15 Devour

32 Downtime

Our

61 Rock n’ Roll

Whatever happened to the Rock n’ Roll Runza located in downtown Lincoln from 1991-2004?

Stunning Venues

FOR ANY EVENT

With experienced and knowledgeable staff, each of our venues will provide a beautiful backdrop for your next event.

Expert Staff // Wide Variety of Catering Options // A/V Capabilities

AKRS Champions Club

Wick Alumni Center

Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center

NEBRASKA

QUARTERLY

Spring 2023

Shelley Moses Zaborowski, ’96, ’00 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Kirstin Swanson Wilder, ’89 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF SENIOR DIRECTOR, PUBLICATIONS

Quentin Lueninghoener, ’06 Ben VanKat, ’06

MAGAZINE DESIGN HANSCOM PARK STUDIO

Jared Rawlings COVER ILLUSTRATION

NEBRASKA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION STAFF

Kim Brownell

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Hilary Winter Butler, ’11, ’18

SENIOR DIRECTOR, STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS

Conrad Casillas

DIRECTOR OF VENUES

Marian Coleman

OFFICE ASSISTANT

Megan Copsey, ’20

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, VENUES AND EVENTS

Tia Dixon

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, VENUES AND EVENTS

Jordan Gonzales ’17

SENIOR DIRECTOR, ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT & SENIOR DIVERSITY OFFICER

Bailee Gunnerson, ’22

ASSOCIATE DESIGN DIRECTOR, MULTIMEDIA

Nathan Hé, ’18

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

Wendy Kempcke

OFFICE COORDINATOR

Maria Manning

Muhlbach, ’09

SENIOR DIRECTOR, ALUMNI OUTREACH

Hanna Hoffman Peterson, ’16

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

Denise Jackson

CUSTODIAN

CONTRIBUTORS

GRACE FITZGIBBON

Grace Fitzgibbon (’21) is a regular contributor to Nebraska Quarterly and was an intern for the Nebraska Alumni Association during college. She graduated with a journalism and English degree following in the footsteps of her father David Fitzgibbon (’87). “My dad had a creative solution for every part of my life, whether that was how to tell a good story or how to turn a bad day into a good one — sometimes it’s as simple as enjoying a slushy,” Grace says of her father who died suddenly in January. “His influence will always be obvious in the way I write and think about the world.”

CRAIG CHANDLER

Tyler Kruger DIRECTOR OF VENUES

Grace Mosier, ’19 ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, ALUMNI & STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

Heather Rempe, ’03

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS

Ethan Rowley, ’03, ’13

DIRECTOR, MEMBERSHIP

Kaitlyn Ryan, ’22 ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, VENUES AND EVENTS

Viann Schroeder

ALUMNI CAMPUS

TOURS

Jeff Sheldon, ’04, ’07

ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MARKETING AND BUSINESS RELATIONS

Nicole Josephson Sweigard

ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALUMNI RELATIONS

Cheyenne Townsley, ’19

ALUMNI RELATIONS AND PROGRAM COORDINATOR

Aidia Vajgrt, ’22 ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, VENUES

Sharon Walling DIRECTOR OF DESIGN

Andy Washburn, ’00, ’07

ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CHIEF OF STAFF

Craig Chandler is the director of photography for the university and insists he has “the best job on campus, photographing the incredible people, places, events and discoveries that make up UNL.” A Husker convert, he’s been on campus since 2008 after a career in photojournalism which started during his undergraduate days at Kansas State University.

CARSON VAUGHAN

Carson Vaughan is a freelance journalist and the author of Zoo Nebraska: The Dismantling of an American Dream. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian and more. A native of Broken Bow, Nebraska, Carson graduated from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications in 2010, and now lives in Chicago. He’s currently working on his second book, a travelogue through the Nebraska Sandhills, for W.W. Norton & Co.

JARED RAWLINGS

Jared Rawlings is a professional creative in the fields of illustration, graphic identity and design. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 2006 and has two decades of experience in branding and advertising. Rawlings is a collaborator at heart, working with organizations that strive to make the world a better place. To see his work, visit therawgoods.com.

Nebraska Quarterly is published quarterly by the Nebraska Alumni Association, the known office of publication is 1520 R St., Lincoln NE 68508-1651. Alumni association dues are $65 annually. Requests for permission to reprint materials and reader comments are welcome.

SEND MAIL TO: Nebraska Quarterly Wick Alumni Center / 1520 R Street Lincoln, NE 68508-1651

Phone: 402-472-2841

Toll-free: 888-353-1874

E-mail: nebmag@huskeralum.org

Website: huskeralum.org

Views expressed in Nebraska Quarterly do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Nebraska Alumni Association. The alumni

association does not discriminate on the basis of gender, age, disability, race, color, religion, marital status, veteran’s status, national or ethnic origin, or sexual orientation.

EDITORIAL QUERIES: Kirstin Wilder (kwilder@huskeralum. org)

ADVERTISING QUERIES: Jeff Sheldon (jsheldon@huskeralum. org)

Partnering to Advance Nebraska’s Agriculture

DEPARTING WITH DAN DUNCAN

Q:How has Nebraska Innovation Campus developed during the last decade?

A: My Nebraska Innovation Campus (NIC) journey started in October 2011 when I accepted the role as the executive director of the Nebraska Innovation Campus Development Corp. Saying yes to this position meant packing my bags and leaving my position as assistant dean and director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Agricultural Research Division, a position I had held since 2008. But I was excited for the new adventure and the opportunity to be part of building an asset for the university and the state.

Some of you — and your parents or grandparents — will know the location of NIC as the former home of Nebraska State Fair. As the executive director of NIC, my task at hand is to transform this wellknown location into a campus that facilitates new and in-depth partnerships between the University of Nebraska and private sector businesses. Two historic buildings from the State Fair remain as anchor buildings on the campus. My goal for NIC’s facilities, events and programs are to positively impact economic and workforce development efforts for the university, city and state.

Last fall we celebrated 10 years of partnerships, collaborations and facilities at NIC. Our weeklong celebration

recognized our partners, welcomed the public to campus for tours and served as the launch of our new ice cream flavor, NIC Cookie Crunch. I love ice cream and creating a custom flavor for this milestone was a neat process and partnership with the university’s Food Processing Center — where the Dairy Store now makes all of its products. One of my favorite parts of this job has been meeting amazing people, generating meaningful partnerships and seeing how those people and partnerships advance innovation and creative process in our region.

We also celebrated the completion of 577,000 square feet of campus facilities that include office space, lab space, a makerspace, a conference center, a local coffee shop, a hotel, a specialized green house, pilot plants for food processing, classrooms and space for startups. The celebration also highlighted how NIC connects university faculty, staff,

students, the community and people working for companies located on NIC. You can’t create innovation; however, I believe that you can create environments through space design, placemaking, events and programs for unplanned collisions between people, and that is one way to drive innovation.

I started as an undergraduate student in the 1970s and have spent most of my life as a student or employee at UNL. This spring I will pack my bags one more time as I travel to a new chapter — retirement. I am proud of the work that has been done at Nebraska Innovation Campus. It has a strong foundation, and I look forward to making return trips to campus to experience its continued growth and development.

—Daniel J. Duncan (’80, ’97) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NEBRASKA INNOVATION CAMPUS

NIC is currently home to over 60 organizations consisting of a mix of private sector businesses and University of Nebraska entities.

Dan Duncan is retiring after 36 years of service at the university. He’s looking forward to traveling and spending more time with family and friends.

PUTTING IN THE WORK. LIKE ONLY NEBRASKA COULD.

Only in Nebraska: A Campaign for Our University’s Future

is a historic initiative to engage 150,000 unique benefactors to raise $3 billion and build the future Nebraska needs right now.

And it starts at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, with a relentless focus on student access and success. As part of this campaign, we will raise the funds that will create new merit- and need-based scholarships, develop new programs and opportunities for our students and ensure that future generations of Huskers will have what it takes to succeed in their lives and careers.

It’s all possible. And it’s all happening right here.

Cruise Big Red Alumni

Adventures

A group of Nebraska alumni came together last fall to cruise the Mediterrean from Barcelona to Rome aboard Oceania’s Nautica — a smaller ship with 650 guests. Above: Dirk and Kris (’91) Wagner enjoyed the pool alongside Annie and Rick (’75) Berkheimer. At right: Gary Miller (’76), left, and Don Lloyd (’66, ’70) became fast friends onboard with their ever-changing Husker attire — the envy of many vacationers. The group bonded over shared Husker experiences from their college days and a love of travel.

Member Benefit

Football Ticket Access

Nebraska Alumni Association members can take advantage of their Husker football ticket access benefit to single games beginning March 15. Life members have priority access followed by annual members. Highlights include the home debut of Head Coach Matt Rhule vs. Northern Illinois on Sept. 16, defending Big Ten Champion Michigan on Sept. 30 and Homecoming against Purdue on Oct. 28. For details, visit huskeralum.org/football.

Find Archie!

Morrill Hall’s Archie is hiding somewhere in the magazine, like only a 20,000-year-old mammoth can. Find him, email us with his location at alumni@ huskeralum.org and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a Husker prize. Congratulations to Elsa Knight (’19, ’22), who found him on page 42 of the winter magazine hanging out with Coach John Cook. Knight received her bachelor’s degree in classics and religious studies; and political science; and earned her juris doctorate as well. She is legal counsel for the Urban Affairs Committee in the Nebraska Legislature.

Advisory Council

Accomplished Alumni

Appointed to New Group

Eight individuals have been named to the Alumni of Color Network Advisory Council. They will guide the network in creating opportunities and support for students and alumni, building community for alumni of color, celebrating alumni of color excellence and increasing communication and awareness of the group as a whole. Members are Jamie Reyes (’05, ’10), Ashley Rae Turner (’12), Kettrina Mosby (’10), Sylvester Obafunwa (’09), Susie Owens (’11, ’19), Amanda Sirian (’07), Quinna Hogan and Charlie Foster

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ARTS AND SCIENCES

Land of Opportunities

RELLER PRAIRIE IMPROVEMENTS OPEN WEALTH OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Following a three-year cleanup effort and after a decade of limited use, the Reller Prairie Field Station — located 20 miles south of campus near the village of Sprague — is ready to support a full range of experiential learning.

To mark the occasion and celebrate the hard work of volunteers during the past three years, the School of Global Integrative Studies hosted a ribbon-cutting and open house last fall.

The effort involved faculty, staff and others working at least one Saturday a month to clean up overgrowth, remove invasive species including red cedar, and completely gut and remodel the on-site steel building, transforming it into a classroom, office and lab. The building is now insulated and has a wood-burning stove for heat, making it available during all seasons.

Anthropology Professor Sophia Perdikaris said on any given Saturday, 25 to 60 volunteers, including spouses and area farmers, helped on the project.

The transformation began in 2019 when Perdikaris learned about the property from Jon Garbisch, associate director of the Cedar Point Biological Station near Ogallala. Perdikaris said that Michael Hermann, School of Biological Sciences director, was critical in the

HOLLYWOOD Carson students connect in California.

Biological/botanical study plots with invasive red cedar trees dot the top of the hill at Reller Prairie Field Station.

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new collaboration.

Before the project started, Dai Shizuka, associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences, was researching birds and bird behavior at Reller. As the cleanup began, more faculty helped the process and identified research of interest, including Paul Hanson, professor of quaternary geology, and Becky Young, professor of practice in agronomy and horticulture. Graduate students have also completed projects on spiders and monarch butterflies at Reller.

“The whole idea behind Reller is to have immersive experiential learning opportunities that provide critical training within different disciplines but connects researchers to the field,” Perdikaris said.

Though the property has been used the past two years for some classes and research, the granting of a physical street address and completion of the building renovations has opened new opportunities for classes, Perdikaris said, including a partnership with Lincoln Public Schools’ science focus program.

LuAnn Wandsnider, professor of anthropology,

previously found archaeological evidence as part of a 2011 investigation of Salt Creek, and the archaeological field school in 2021 led by Phil Geib, associate professor of anthropology, confirmed the original observations. This evidence informs the history of Native use of the area and provides a great terrain for the development of technical skills and training of up-and-coming archaeologists to kick-start their careers.

“There will be many new jobs available for archaeologists, especially with the infrastructure bill recently passed by Congress,” Wandsnider said. “I get email requests from agencies and firms looking for archaeological field specialists. At Reller, we can provide the kind of entry-level training students need so that they can gain on-the-job experience over the summer (as interns) and come back to continue their education.

“Our former students, with similar beginnings, have advanced into well-paid careers in heritage and museums, recreation and resource management.”

Field training can sometimes come with a high

BIG BRAG

The National Endowment for the Humanities has granted $304,000 in funding over three years to build out the digital library of Willa Cather’s manuscripts.

Academic counselors tour Reller Prairie located 20 miles south of City Campus.

price tag when students need to pay to travel. Living expenses, food, transportation and other fees accumulate to make such experiences only available to students that can afford them both in money and time away from home, Perdikaris said, but having the facility and land at Reller lessens those costs considerably.

“It was really critical for us that we provide topnotch training in field skills and methodologies, combining cutting-edge education that is also affordable and gives access to all,” Perdikaris said. “We want to make archaeology, and field science in general, something that every student can experience and really get all the skills that they need, without having to worry about making decisions that are rough on a family or an individual financially. Reller provides that.”

Wandsnider has also led her classes through some anthropology and archaeology exercises, including stone tool-making and using GPS to collect location information. Geib’s students fired ceramic vessels they had made with local clays, learning about the challenges faced by traditional potters. These class experiences were especially meaningful during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.

“It was wonderful, because we could be together, outside, distanced and safe,” she said. “And it’s a great place to do experiential kinds of activities like that to help students appreciate what is behind the objects they are uncovering from the ground.”

Also, among the students already utilizing Reller are those studying forensic anthropology under William Belcher, associate professor of anthropology, who has worked with various entities to identify remains, including those recovered in wartime battlefields and in criminal cases. Belcher has made use of the Reller station to carry out taphonomic experiments and to teach excavation techniques with simulated remains and sites.

“We train the students how to excavate those graves and implement a process very similar to the process the Department of Defense uses for excavation to recover service members lost in war,” Belcher said.

Reller also provides ample opportunity for decomposition studies, Belcher said, which would be important for this region of the United States.

“One of the first questions law enforcement ask is, ‘How long has this person been dead?’ ” Belcher said. “We don’t have baseline data for the Great Plains at all. There are several environments at Reller. There’s a riparian forest along the stream, a forest gallery, a meadow and the high-grass prairie. We need to look at the decomposition process within each one of

those environments.”

Belcher is working to grow this research, pending funding. New this year is the study of soil DNA, which will examine how DNA from a decomposed body seeps and spreads in the soil under and around it.

“As something decomposes, how did the DNA get into the soil and plume out, and how far away from the body are we going to get extraction of DNA from the soil?” Belcher said. “It’s important because if DNA survives, we’re going to see if we can develop ways of detecting DNA in soil of missing service members from World War II and have a field capability so that they can be identified in the field.”

OVERHEARD

—Deann Gayman

Sophia Perdikaris talks with touring academic counselors.

—BROOKE HAY, assistant vice president of NU facilities, planning and capital programs, in regard to the December demolition of City Campus’ Piper Hall which opened as a women’s residence hall in 1956.

“One of the campus planning goals is to try and open this area up more and have a great walkway to the east.”

YOUR MEMBERSHIP CAN LAST A LIFETIME.

YOUR LEGACY CAN LAST MANY MORE.

Nebraska Alumni Association lifetime member Bruce Mackey has established four funds to help first-generation students from low-income families and other students who face barriers to a college education. By including the University of Nebraska Foundation in his estate plans, Mackey has ensured that these funds will assist students for generations to come. To learn more about Mackey’s gift, go to nufoundation.org/mackey.

Don’t miss the opportunity to leave your legacy, too. Visit giftplanning.nufoundation.org/personal-estate-planning-kit to download your free estate planning kit or contact a member of the University of Nebraska Foundation’s gift planning team at gift.planning@nufoundation.org or 800-432-3216 to ensure your goals for a legacy gift are met.

“I just hope that students can look back when they’re older and say, ‘I’ve lived the dream. I had the opportunity. I made it work. And I had some very important support along the way.’”

-Bruce Mackey

DEVOUR

IN HUSKER COUNTRY

DISCOVER

Gotham @ the Haymarket

Visit the dark mystique of Batman’s native Gotham City. Thematically inspired by the Batman series, Gotham features specialty drinks such as The Joker (vodka, blue curaçao, sweet & sour and cranberry juice) and Gotham Mist (Empress Gin, lemon-lime soda and club soda).

DRINK AroJuice

Replenish and renew with AroJuice, a cold-pressed juice with more antioxidants than 1,000 blueberries. Created on Innovation Campus by Husker researcher Changmou Xu and his wife Xiaoqing Xie, AroJuice is made from the aronia berry, a new superfood native to the Midwest.

BUY

Huskers Projector

Elevate your Husker game day with this themed projector. Displaying six different Husker images, this LED spotlight projector can add Cornhusker spirit to every space.

INDULGE

Sweet Success

Enjoy the taste of the campus

Dairy Store’s newest flavor marking the 150th year of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural

READ

One Brilliant Flame

Explore the friendship of six young adults during the Great Fire in 19th century Key West, Florida. Written by English Professor Joy Castro, One Brilliant Flame is her first foray into historical-fiction.

RELAX

Memorial Stadium Dog Bed

Let your furry friends snuggle into a stadium-themed dog bed. This large oval dog bed lets your pets rest in their own Memorial Stadium after a day of play.

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EDUCATION AND HUMAN SCIENCES Loud and Clear

AUDIOLOGY PROGRAMS AMPLIFY LIFE FOR HARD-OF-HEARING

When Jeremy Lachance heard that his 13-year-old daughter needed new hearing aids, he wasn’t sure how he’d pay for it.

That’s where HearU Nebraska, a university led hearing aid bank for children, came in.

“It’s been a blessing,” Lachance said. “It’s a night and day difference. I’m a single parent, so money’s always kind of tight. Like last year, I had a heart attack at the beginning of summer and a few months later, we got the news that it was time for some new hearing aids. And that’s where the HearU program really came in handy. That really helped when I was already down.”

HearU Nebraska is one of three hearing aid banks serving deaf and hard of hearing Nebraskans. Run by the audiology program in the College of Education and Human Sciences, the hearing aid banks provide vital, statewide access to hearing aids for those who would otherwise be unable to afford

them. The university also runs the state’s only Doctor of Audiology program, and its students gain hands-on training through the banks. More than 10,000 Nebraskans (and counting) have received hearing aids through the work of the university’s audiologists and partners who dispense the devices since the first hearing aid bank began in 1981.

“With the hearing aid banks, individuals don’t have to make that decision between affording hearing aids or keeping the lights on in their house or putting food on the table,” said Stacie Ray, audiologist and director of the hearing aid banks.

Nebraska is the only state with hearing aid banks that serve people across their lifespan, Ray said. While the services are based on financial criteria, unique situations may warrant exceptions.

“We’ve had to make quite a few exceptions recently because inflation is just so high,” Ray said. Ray experienced the financial burden of hearing aids herself when her son was diagnosed with hearing problems at the age of 17 months. She had to take out a loan for a set of hearing aids and pay it back

BIG BRAG

Faculty gained momentum and did big things last year. In his State of Our University address, Chancellor Ronnie Green lauded a record high of $321 million in total research expenditures.

with interest over several years. Ray, a professor of practice in the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders, founded HearU in 2007.

“I knew there had to be a better way,” Ray said. “We started HearU to lessen the emotional and financial burden on families with deaf and hard of hearing children.”

HearU has dispensed over 900 hearing aids to children across the state since its inception, which includes Lachance’s daughter, Chloie.

Chloie was born prematurely, which affected her inner ear development and led to her hard of hearing diagnosis. Being connected to HearU Nebraska provided the Lachance family with the assistance needed to get hearing aids early on in Chloie’s life. Today, she is on her third set of hearing aids from the program.

HearU also allows children to customize the color and designs on their hearing aids and earmolds. For her current set, Chloie chose pink hearing aid and purple earmolds with a blue heart.

HearU has given Chloie more freedom to participate in school and communicate more freely with her friends and family. She currently enjoys school, especially math, science, and ukulele club.

“One thing we really like about the hearing aids is that at Lincoln Public Schools the teachers wear microphones that go to classroom speakers and directly to the hearing aid,” Lachance said. “It’s awesome, and it helps cut out background noise.”

Hearing difficulties impact not only individuals, but also their families and society. “Fortunately, those Nebraskans who cannot access amplification due to a lack of financial resources have someplace to turn, and our students who are attending the only Doctor of Audiology program in the state are provided unique opportunities to work with this population” states Ray.

“Research shows that those with untreated hearing difficulties are at higher risk of dementia, loneliness and more, and the problem is growing. According to the World Health Organization, there are currently 466 million people with disabling levels of hearing, with an estimated 700 million by 2050. Accounting for all levels of hearing differences, globally there are approximately 1.5 billion affected.

The Hearing Aid Banks and statewide partners are working hard to combat these problems. Some 40 offices from Omaha to Scottsbluff dispense hearing aids to adults, giving access to more than 200 providers. All pediatric hearing facilities are participants in HearU Nebraska. —Kateri Hartman

OVERHEARD

“The idea is to provide beekeeping training that makes sense for the Midwest region. There’s an overabundance of online resources, but it’s actually causing problems for our area. What works in Texas isn’t going to work here.”

Audiologist Stacie Ray checks the hearing aids of Chloie Lechance.

—JUDY WU-SMART, associate professor of entomology and direc tor of the Bee Lab, in regard to climate change and pesticides which are weakening hives and reducing honey production.

craig chandler, ananda walden

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FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS

Hooray for Hollywood

STUDENTS AND ALUMNI CONNECT AT NETWORKING DINNER

Students and alumni alike were the beneficiaries of networking magic last fall when students from the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts program traveled to Hollywood, California, to attend the Infinity Festival, described as the place where Hollywood meets Silicon Valley.

“We got to see this amazing immersive theater piece by Alterea called Stardust,” said Olli Jenkins, a junior emerging media arts major from Lincoln. “It was so refreshing and empathetic. I got to connect with their CEO a day later at the Infinity Festival and talking about the process was incredibly inspiring. I loved networking and engaging alongside my peers. Being in an environment full of professionals and students in our field reminded me of how talented and ahead of the curve we all are.”

Attending the Infinity Festival gave students an idea of what emerging media are being explored currently in the industry.

“My favorite session held at the Infinity Festival presented on AI-generated art and its potential uses in concept design, photo and video,” Hannah Pedersen, a junior emerging media arts major, said. “While I don’t have much experience in AI-generation, I think it is an innovative medium I’d like to explore in the future.”

Kicking off the week was a special L.A. Connectors Dinner, organized by the Nebraska Coast Connection and the Nebraska Alumni Association. Students were matched one-on-one with Hollywood professionals from Nebraska and area alumni.

“The event was purposeful in matching students with professional alumni working in a similar field,” said Kirstin Swanson Wilder (’89), with the Nebraska Alumni Association, who helped organize the dinner. “Participants were matched ahead of time and given bios on their assigned dinner companion. The professionals were thrilled to be in a room with students from Nebraska and to share

their Hollywood experiences.”

Andrew Stewart (’08), vice president of strategic communications at 42West, had dinner with emerging media arts senior Abby Hall. “We talked about what it means to be intentional in your choices, how to be and think strategically about your own career path, but also the importance of embracing your mistakes,” Stewart said.

Jenkins was paired at the dinner with Ted Schilowitz, a futurist at Paramount and a member of the Carson Center’s Advisory Council.

“My dream career is creative direction and worldbuilding,” Jenkins said. “I felt like I saw a clearer pathway to success after talking with (Schilowitz). Plus, meeting someone so high-profile, yet so downto-earth reassured me that putting the work in and being authentic are the qualities that matter most.”

Pedersen was paired with musical theatre writer, director and producer Ryan Bergmann.

“We had a fabulous time discussing the potential of 3D projections to be used within an interactive theatre space,” she said. “During the dinner, I also got to network with other professionals connected to Nebraska.”

Erica Larsen-Dockray, an experimental artist and entrepreneur who co-founded the Calibraska Arts Initiative and is a member of the Carson Center Advisory Council, was paired with emerging media arts senior AmunRa Jordan at the dinner.

“The dinner was very special for me because it brought together my favorite groups of people. The energy was solid gold,” Larsen-Dockray said, “Community is one of the most important resources one can have, especially in the arts and entertainment industry.”

—Kathe Andersen

Students, including Cameron Cemy at center, were matched with a working Hollywood professional during the November gathering.

ARCHITECTURE

Diverse Designers

SHIPPING CONTAINER HOUSES COLLABORATIVE DISPLAY

Bringing more awareness to design diversity across Nebraska, the College of Architecture hosted Say It Loud, a traveling exhibition featuring diverse designers — including two current students and 24 alumni.

RDG Planning & Design, Pascale Sablan, Beyond the Built Environment and McCarthy Building Companies partnered to bring the Say It Loud traveling exhibition to Nebraska. The collaboration transformed a 20-foot shipping container into a Diverse Designers Library exhibit that showcases the work, quotes and video interviews of 45 Nebraska-based designers.

“We were excited to bring the Say It Loud exhibition to UNL’s campus and support the Beyond the Built Environment mission to engage community through architecture to advocate equitable, reflectively diverse environments,” said David Karle, director of the architecture program. “We are proud that several alums and students have projects in the exhibit, and we hoped the exhibition brought awareness, fostered dialogue and supported the diverse designers who shape our built environment.”

The goal of the initiative is to raise up minority groups of professionals who work in the built environment. Architects, contractors, engineers, interior

designers, landscape architects and planners who identify as a woman and/or a Black, Indigenous, person of color from across Nebraska have submitted work for the traveling exhibit.

“RDG’s collaboration with Pascale and Beyond the Built Environment is helping elevate the work of historically underrepresented individuals in our industry,” said Benjamin Kroll, RDG partner and architect. “We all have the power to positively impact the world around us, and we hope that by highlighting women and BIPOC designers, the next generation of design professionals will be empowered to go out and make their own unique mark.”

Visitors could use QR codes to interact with the exhibit and learn more about featured designers, as well as vote for their favorite designer. A virtual online resource library allowed visitors to expand their knowledge about design diversity and serves as a gateway of information for those interested in the design profession.

Kerry McCullough-Vondrak

OVERHEARD

OVERHEARD

The Say It Loud exhibition was displayed on campus last fall.

BIG BRAG

Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg began his appointment as dean of the College of Architecture at Nebraska in January. Previously he was at the University of Oregon.

“I love what I get to do, solving problems and creating solutions to real-world problems that we get to see implemented on local, regional, national and even international roadways and highways.”

—RONALD FALLER, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, who was named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors.

SPRING

Last spring the Husker Venture Fund, shown here, received the university’s New Student Organization Award. The organization invested $100,000 in Nebraskan startups while providing a hands-on learning experience for its members.

Startup Support

HUSKER VENTURE FUND IMPACTS STATE, ENTREPRENEURS AND STUDENTS

Building upon their successful first year that included investing $100,000 in Nebraskan startups and winning the university’s Outstanding New Student Organization Award, student members of the Husker Venture Fund set goals this school year to grow their impact on the state and the future of venture capital investing.

“It was awesome to see all the hard work done by our first managing directors last year, building Husker Venture Fund from the ground up, pay off in a tangible way. It’s thrilling to win such a great award, as it only pushes us to be better and outpace last year’s accomplishments,” said Maria Heyen, a senior international business and Clifton Builders management major from Astoria, Oregon, who is one of the three students serving in managing director roles for the fund this year.

They made five $25,000 investments in startups operating from around the state including Sentinel Fertigation, Nestimate, Snappy Workflow, Tiiga and Maxwell. Their first investment into Sentinel Fertigation, an ag-tech company, enabled the company to work with farmers across the Midwest in a paid pilot program this summer.

BIG BRAG

Business students won first place in the inaugural supply chain competition hosted at the Specialty Tool and Fastener Distributor Association conference in San Diego last fall.

The fund, built by alumni and university supporters, is managed by more than 30 students under the supervision of the Center for Entrepreneurship, the University of Nebraska Foundation and Invest Nebraska. All Nebraska-owned early-stage startups in any industry are eligible to apply for funding, with priority given to student-led businesses. Through this funding, the organization helps connect underserved communities of entrepreneurs with the resources and capital they need.

“It fills a long-underserved gap in the Nebraska entrepreneurship ecosystem — venture funding that’s often called the super early ‘friends and family round,’ ” said Ateev Bhandari, a senior accounting and business administration major from Amritsar, India, who works closely with the NU Foundation as part of his managing director role. “As a student-led venture capital fund at Nebraska’s premier educational institution, it’s only right that we lead the charge across the state with such intentional investments.”

The CEO of Tiiga is alumnus Jeff Tezak, (’08, ’18), a history and European economic history graduate. Tiiga is an on-the-go drink mix that is low calorie, nutrient dense and non-caffeinated. It provides consumers with sustainable energy by combining electrolytes with the fiber-rich African baobab fruit, which has been used for energy, immunity and gut health for thousands of years in African culture.

“I’ve heard from a lot of investors so far that we’re too early or there’s not enough traction. Ultimately with a business like this, when you need to hire people and have resources and support to execute, that funding gap can really slow down progress. The Husker Venture Fund was built to get these things off the ground,” said Jackson Stansell (’21), a biological engineering Ph.D. student.

The fund plans to invest in four to five startups this year. Applications from Nebraska-based founders are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. Every applicant receives, at minimum, a guaranteed screening meeting to pitch their company to the three managing directors. From there, the process becomes a hands-on learning experience for all members.

—Kimberly Smith

LAW

All In the Family

BROTHERS FOLLOW IN FATHER’S AND GRANDFATHER’S FOOTSTEPS

Brothers Keegan and Kyle Hansen are the latest in a line of College of Law graduates, following in the footsteps of their father and grandfather.

Keegan and Kyle both graduated with their juris doctor degrees and masters in business administration last December. Their law school experience was filled with many unusual obstacles, as they shifted between on-campus and virtual learning.

Both Keegan and Kyle were initially drawn to the College of Law as a result of their family connection. When they visited on Admitted Student Day, they

recognized the opportunity to share the Nebraska Law experience with their father, Jeff Hansen (’90) and late-grandfather, Laverne Hansen (’53).

Jeff is the executive vice president and general counsel at Troon Golf. He said that although many aspects of law school look much different than when he started in 1987, he could relate to many of Keegan and Kyle’s anecdotes. “They worried about the same things I worried about, and we went through a lot of the same stuff,” Jeff said.

By the time Jeff had started law school, his father had passed away. He said it was difficult to go without the guidance and advice he was able to give to his sons. Jeff said while in school former Professor John Gradwohl (’53) remembered his father and would share stories about him. “To have the connection I had with my dad going here, and then having these two follow in that same vein is special,” Jeff said.

Following graduation, Kyle is working at Cozen O’Connor Law Firm in the commercial litigation department in Dallas. Keegan will continue working at the firm Jennings, Strouss and Salmon in Phoenix.

FIRST LOOK

—Ramey Vachal

The $7.2 million, Klosterman Feedlot Innovation Center near Mead, will pave the way for world-class research projects and teaching and extension opportunities in a commercial-scale, state-of-the-art feedlot. In addition, the facility will serve as a one-of-a-kind testbed where industry partners can see how new and emerging technologies work. The name honors John and Beth (Wilson, ’59) Klosterman of David City, who are longtime supporters of both the university and its Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The center will include commercial-scale open air and covered pens, allowing researchers to improve cattle performance and environmental impact in varied settings. It will also include a 240-head feeding facility that will allow researchers to use precision techniques to study the outcomes of various feeding protocols, measure emissions and study the various uses for precision feeding technology already on the market. The center will allow for expanded research of the impact of low-stress animal handling and increased emphasis on animal welfare. A new cattle handling facility and enclosed classroom will give students hands-on experience and allow for training opportunities for Nebraska’s beef industry workforce.

Kyle Hansen Keegan Hansen

SPRING

ENGINEERING Hello Hyperseed

IMAGING TOOL RAPIDLY ASSESSES THE QUALITY OF A SEED

Improving agriculture in a world that’s heating up and drying out isn’t solely about increasing yields. Nutritional quality is also crucial. While measuring yield is as easy as weighing grain, what’s inside seeds is harder to discern.

To help improve the nutritional value of crops undergoing heat stress, Nebraska agronomist Harkamal Walia teamed with computer scientist Hongfeng Yu and his team.

Through a decadelong project supported by Conagra Foods, a UNL research team has naturally bred new varieties of popcorn that outperform today’s most popular kernels in their intrinsic nutritional value and taste.

Together, they developed HyperSeed, an imaging system that uses light wavelengths to rapidly create a nutritional fingerprint of each seed.

The hyperspectral camera beams infrared electromagnetic waves onto seeds to measure reflection and absorption patterns. The results identify an individual seed’s nutritional characteristics such as moisture content, nitrogen levels and starch content.

Normally, testing multiple varieties would require months of growing large numbers of plants to examine seeds that are destroyed in the process. With just a handful of seeds, HyperSeed cuts the procedure down to seconds. Intact seeds can then be planted or further investigated.

Scientists can link variations in seed traits found by HyperSeed with changes in gene sequences. The

technique can also be used to study the effect specific genes have on grain quality in gene-edited crop lines. Yu, associate professor in the School of Computing and director of Nebraska’s Holland Computing Center, and his team developed open-source software using affordable hardware, allowing others to customize the system for their research.

HyperSeed’s approach is similar to the hyperspectral camera at the Greenhouse Innovation Center on Nebraska Innovation Campus that measures plant traits. HyperSeed, however, is able to focus at the level of seeds and other tiny objects with high resolution.

“Hopefully, this will help make agriculture and food more resilient to a changing climate and increasing populations,” Walia said.

From left, graduate student Tian Gao, agronomy chair Harkamal Walia and associate professor Hongfeng Yu

BIG BRAG

“The charcoal particles can tell you a lot about the reconstructed fire history. It’s a common phrase in paleo-research — the past is the key to the present.”

—JIM BENE, a doctoral student in geography, studies fire history of the northern Great Plains, including multiple sites in the Nebraska Sandhills.

OVERHEARD craig chandler, ananda walden

JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATIONS

Wild Studio Kingdom

RIBBON-CUTTING CELEBRATES ALUMNUS’ LEGACY TO THE FUTURE OF MEDIA

Anew television studio and newsroom were unveiled last fall thanks to the Don (’51) and Lorena Meier Foundation. The studio features a news desk, conversation set, green screen and state-of-the-art equipment to support student news reporting and media creation.

The space celebrates the legacy of Don Meier and his wife, Lorena. Both had distinguished television careers and created Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. The Emmy-winning wildlife show aired nationally from 1963 to 1987.

Bob Bennett, Meier Foundation board member and nephew of Don and Lorena Meier was eager to start the project, as it aligns with the couple’s understanding of the need for hands-on learning.

“Don would advise students to gain as much experience as they can,” Bennett said. “That’s how he learned about television. There weren’t schools teaching it at that time. He learned through experience.”

Professor Barney McCoy got to know Don Meier while producing the documentary Exploring Wild Kingdom in 2008.

“I quickly learned that Don wasn’t afraid to work hard and have fun doing it — that may be the biggest lesson our students can learn from him,” McCoy said.

“Don believed that if you’re willing to pour everything into what you love doing, you’ll have a much better chance of seeing your dreams become a reality.”

It was during the development of the display that McCoy shared the college’s plans for a new television studio with the Foundation Board. The board invited Dean Shari Veil to make a pitch to the board and they agreed that the construction of the studio was something Don would have wanted.

During the ribbon cutting David Shoub, president of the Meier Foundation Board of Directors, shared some of the many experiences he had with Don and Lorena. “Don was meticulous because he was so focused on making sure students would get the help they need to pursue an education,” Shoub said.

The Nebraska Broadcasters Association was another key supporter of the project. “I can vividly remember first pitching the idea of a new studio to Jim Timm and the Nebraska Broadcaster’s Association Board in May of 2021,” Veil said. “And, with the help of the NBA and the Meier Foundation, look where we are today.”

The studio will be used by students enrolled in courses in the college and those participating in the Experience Lab, which allows students to gain hands-on experience in advertising and public relations, broadcasting, sports media and journalism from the first semester they enroll in the college.

Since 2018, the Veterans in Recovery program has met at Nebraska Innovation Studio. The program has grown to incorporate 30 veterans each month. More than 200 veterans have been helped thus far.

Dean Shari Veil, with arm extended, helps cut the ribbon to mark the opening of the new TV studio space.

BIG BRAG

SPRING

Student-athletes continued the Huskers’ tradition of being a national leader in the classroom, posting a 95% NCAA Graduation Success Rate for the second straight year.

BIG BRAG

RUCK MARCH

Things They Carry

In its seventh year, the ruck is organized by student veteran groups from UNL and the University of Iowa to raise awareness about veteran suicide.

WHAT ARE THE LOGISTICS?

Volunteers split the journey, carrying a game ball to the host stadium for the annual Huskers-Hawkeyes football game.

WHERE IS THIS PHOTO TAKEN?

Along a rural Lancaster County road toward Eagle during the first leg of the trek on Nov. 16.

WHERE IS THE HANDOFF?

The halfway point is located at Freedom Rock near Menlo, Iowa, where the student veteran groups from each school exchange the game ball. The host team then carries it the remaining 150 miles to their home stadium.

DID THE HUSKERS WIN?

Why yes they did — 24-17.

EMBASSY SUITES LINCOLN

DOWNTOWN SUITES NEAR THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA

The centerpiece of Lincoln's downtown area, Embassy Suites Lincoln provides easy access to many of the city’s most popular attractions. Situated adjacent to the Lied Center for Performing Arts, the Historic Haymarket District and the University of Nebraska, this hotel is the ideal destination for extended stays or short breaks in Lincoln, NE Corporate guests will appreciate the hotel’s proximity to many businesses and corporations

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Chancellor Ronnie Green (shown below in glasses) will relinquish his role this summer after leading his alma mater for seven years. Green commissioned this piece in 2019 from Professor Francisco Souto with the directive to depict the importance of access to, and the transformational value of, higher education.

SHARING THE VIEWPOINTS OF OUR ALUMNI, FACULTY AND STUDENTS

FRANCISCO SOUTO WE ARE NEBRASKA (DETAIL)

Graphite drawing and acrylic paint, 2022, 2 x 8 feet

Art Professor Francisco Souto, director of the School of Art, Art History and Design, conceived this work as a timepiece — a full academic year that moves across the design from left. It starts with students moving into on-campus housing and culminates in a graduation celebration. The acrylic pattern in Souto’s artwork is an ode to Carlos Cruz-Diez, a fellow Venezuelan artist. In this pattern, Souto features the yellow, blue and red of the Venezuelan flag, connecting his home nation with the Nebraska images above it.

Tribute

The Finish Line

Chance run-in started Kirk Bovill’s coaching career during a golden era of track and field

BY KIRK BOVILL (’84) Actor, Writer

When NU Head Track and Field Coach Gary Pepin announced his retirement last summer after 42 years on the job, I couldn’t help but look back with a bit of melancholy, knowing that an era was ending. An era that I had an unlikely part in 40 years ago as an undergraduate student from Aurora.

During his incredible run, Coach Pepin would lead the Huskers to three NCAA team championships and a mind-blowing 73 conference titles between the Big 8, Big 12 and Big Ten. In addition, he was named either the Big 8, or Big 12 or Big Ten’s coach of the year on 28 occasions.

It’s hard to fathom that length of tenure in any profession, but when considering the tenuous shelf-life of a college coach these days, where the inherent pressure to consistently win is constant, it’s nothing short of miraculous. Incredibly, Pepin did that for more than four decades at Nebraska. No other coach in the long history of Husker athletics has lasted that long at one job.

I was fortunate to have been at the right place and time to land a position on Coach Pepin’s staff with the women’s team as a third-year student, during its three-year national championship run from 1982-84. How’s that for timing?

I’d spent my first two years at UNL doing typical college stuff: going to classes, skipping classes, hanging out at PO Pears and Sweep Left, “gearing up” for the home football games and occasionally studying. Basically, just trying to find out where I fit in. I was clearly on the five-year graduation plan.

I tried the fraternity life my first year and hated it. Spent the second year in the dorms at Abel Hall. By the third year, I was living off campus and had a chance run-in with Sondra Obermeier, a member of the track team and a fellow Auroran that had been coached by my dad, Ron Bovill, in high school. I told her that I was interested in coaching, and she said that she’d mention it to Coach Pepin. Secretly, I was hoping to meet Jennie Gorham, a

sprinter who had joined the team that year. When I did eventually meet Jennie, I found out that she had a boyfriend, so that was that.

Surprisingly, I got a call from Coach Pepin. He needed somebody to video tape practices and meets, help out at practice and whatever else was needed. I was in.

Coach Pepin was a family guy, and that’s how he ran his program. He never yelled at a kid in a demeaning way. He was an encourager. He could relate with anybody.

His staff consisted of Linda Zech, Mark Kostek and Mark “Dr. D” Deveney. Kostek had come over with Pepin from the University of Kansas where Kostek had been an All-American javelin thrower when Pepin left KU to accept the Nebraska job. In addition to being the throws coach, he was also in charge of making sure that I didn’t burn the place down. After an athlete cussed at me in practice, “Dr. D”, a Philly guy, once told me, “God has a purpose for everybody, for some it’s to serve as a bad example.”

Nebraska’s Gary Pepin retired last fall after 42 years leading Husker track and field.

Kirk Bovill

During the championship run, the team’s marquee athletes leading the charge were Merlene Ottey, an eventual Olympic medalist and arguably the greatest Husker athlete ever, Rhonda Blanford and Angie Thacker. What I remember the most about that first NCAA title was when Coach Pepin asked me to be a part of the team picture. I didn’t think that I belonged, but he insisted. Forty years later, you’ll find me in that picture of the 1982 national championship team pictured above.

Coach Pepin had a great sense of humor. At the 1982 outdoor championship meet at Brigham Young University, we were roommates in one of the dorms for the male coaches of the women’s teams. While I was showering, he locked me out of the room, so I had to go to the front lobby in towel — only to get a key for the room as girls from other teams were passing through.

So many other memories: Coach Pepin moving us out of the University of Houston dorms at the 1983 NCAA outdoor championships due to a serious roach problem; the long van rides to meets

when Nicole Ali would keep me company while I was driving; Merlene racing and beating Mike Rozier on the indoor track at practice; getting that first national championship ring; going out on the football field with the championship team to be honored at halftime during the UCLA football game in 1983 when Rozier had his Heisman highlight touchdown run; being called an “undergraduate assistant” at my last team banquet in 1984.

Pepin helped me land a graduate assistant coaching job at Louisiana State University when he connected me with his long-time friend Coach Billy Maxwell. I was on staff when LSU won its first two women’s NCAA team titles in 1987. I never would have been there without Coach Pepin’s help.

How do you properly thank someone who’s been helping people for decades? I’d suggest that the school name the new outdoor track facility after him. After 42 years of winning, I’d say he’s more than earned it. Let’s call it the start of a new era.

I am forever grateful to Coach Pepin, my friend and mentor.

Kirk Bovill, far right wearing brown, was part of the 1982 track team.

Controlling Our Future

Builder mentality helps Nebraska land $25 million grant to grow robotics and agriculture technology

BY DAN HOFFMAN (’88, ’97) Chief Executive Officer, Invest Nebraska Adjunct Instructor, College of Business

We must produce more food in the next 40 years than during the entire course of human history to date and must do so on a planet showing signs of severe environmental stress,” according to the 2014 AgTech report by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. And where did the numbers tell us agriculture innovation was being created to satisfy this future demand? On the coasts — Silicon Valley, Massachusetts, North Carolina.

Invest Nebraska was founded in 2002 to assist Nebraska entrepreneurs and attract venture capital to our state. At the time, Governor Mike Johanns and the Nebraska Legislature understood the importance of innovation, technology and entrepreneurship. Fast forward to 2010 and the Nebraska Legislature took a monumental step forward by unanimously passing the Business Innovation Act — four transformational funding programs, administered by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, to provide grants and seed capital to the state’s entrepreneurs solving market problems using technology and innovation. In 2010, what the Nebraska Legislature and Governor Dave Heineman saw was Nebraska ranked last in the country for venture capital investment with zero deals funded. Fast forward to 2021 and Nebraska has witnessed increased deal flow and private venture capital investment. According to Pitchbook, 40 Nebraska-based startups received

more than $317.6 million in venture capital investment, catapulting the state to 32nd in the country.

Agriculture is the leading industry in the state with one out of every four jobs related to the sector. Nebraska agriculture accounts for 25% of the state’s labor income, 40% of the state’s economic output, and $23 billion in cash receipts, making the state the third largest agriculture state in the nation. Surely Nebraska entrepreneurs were starting companies to address ag problems using technology solutions? The 2019 Pitchbook data exposed a weakness. We were witnessing coastal agtech startups, led by “technologists” (with no ag backgrounds), raising millions of dollars of venture capital which did not address real problems faced by Nebraska’s agricultural sector.

Invest Nebraska decided to take charge of our own destiny. In 2019, we partnered with the University of Nebraska’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, the Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Innovation Campus and the Nebraska Corn Board to create The Combine — a statewide initiative supporting technology entrepreneurs in food and agriculture. The program consists of go-to market support through mentorship and a capital readiness program, networking events, a group of partnering producers across the state, as well as incubation space on Nebraska Innovation Campus. To date, six startups have completed the program raising $9.15 million of angel and venture capital with 10 startups currently participating in the program. Three of the startups to receive venture capital funding were in the agtech robotic space: Grain Weevil (Aurora), BirdsEye Robotics (Herman) and Marble (Lincoln).

The Kauffman Foundation quote continued to gnaw at me on the same level as a Nebraska football loss to Iowa. We can do better. The economist in me knew that to increase economic output, we needed more labor and/or productivity.

The pandemic wreaked havoc on the nation’s labor force and Nebraska bore the brunt. By December 2021, Nebraska recorded an unemployment rate of 1.7%, a historical low for any state in the country since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began the data series in 1976. If we can’t grow the state’s output with more labor, we would need to increase productivity through technology and innovation. Hence, the Heartland Robotic Cluster was born which focused on automation and robotics.

Led by Invest Nebraska, this project involved the UNL College of Engineering, UNL Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Northeast Community College, Metropolitan Community College, Nebraska Innovation Studio, the Nebraska Manufacturing Extension Partnership and The

Dan Hoffman

Combine. Advised by an industry advisory council comprised of Nebraska manufacturers and robotic startups, the Cluster applied for a $25 million grant to the U.S. Department of Commerce — Economic Development Administration. In September 2022, Invest Nebraska received word that the Heartland Robotics Cluster was one of 21 awardees out of 529 applications nationwide.

This project involves four main pillars: Workforce/Education: The College of Engineering is exploring a bachelor’s degree in robotic engineering and the creation of a teaching robotic lab space. Metro Community College and Northeast Community College are developing robotic/automation curriculum for their students.

Community and Governance: Invest Nebraska will lead the cluster governance while Metropolitan Community College and Northeast Community College will conduct outreach to underserved communities and women to explore careers in manufacturing and focus on more middle/high school robotic competition teams.

Infrastructure, Research and Development: Nebraska Innovation Studio will create a robotics curriculum and lab space; the Manufacturing Extension Partnership will create an automation demo space and accompanying program for small to mid-sized Nebraska manufacturers; Northeast Community College will create an Automation Fab Lab for entrepreneurs; and the College of Engineering will create a research and development robotic lab in coordination with IANR.

Robotics and AgTech: The Combine will create a new entrepreneur program specifically for robotic startups in the agtech space.

Nebraska even has the intangible assets that lends itself to an automation/robotic focused project.

According to the Nebraska Public Power District, the state ranked fourth nationally in 2021 for the number of high school and middle school teams (per student population) participating in national and international robotic competitions.

In September 2021, Brookings Institution identified Lincoln as 1 of 13 “early adopter” metro areas (the only in the Midwest) that have shown above-average involvement in AI activities based on substantial university research and development and major commercial activity in close proximity.

The Milken Institute 2020 State Technology and Science Index ranked Nebraska 12th in the nation for the concentration of computer and information science experts per 100,000 workforce.

According to Blueprint Nebraska, the manufacturing sector in the state has the greatest automation potential followed closely by the agriculture sector.

So why should Nebraska focus on automation and robotics in the agriculture sector? We have the assets and the builder mentality. We have the private sector buy-in, and we now have the funds. Innovation is happening rapidly and Nebraska has the opportunity to build technology and innovation solutions and export them to the world. I don’t believe we want to wait and let others dictate our future.

Huskers work on a drone swarm idea in a College of Engineering lab. The federal award will expand all levels of robotics instruction on campus.

Downtime with the Deans

Dean Andy Belser

Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts

Q: What do you enjoy doing when you are not wearing your Dean hat?

A: I meditate for an hour in the early morning before I start my work day. On the weekends, I often meditate twice a day.

Q: How did you start meditating?

A: For me, it was a slow process. I started about 30 years ago, but I didn’t do it regularly. Like a lot of people who try meditation, I had a hard time keeping up with the regular practice of it. And I certainly had a hard time doing it for very long. So, it was a start/stop process that I would return to, often wishing I had more discipline, and I would fall away from it when I got busy.

Q: What mental or physical benefits do you derive?

A: I feel so much more settled in myself. Being a dean is stressful work. If you are naturally empathic, as I tend to be, it can be hard to feel too much as I listen to others at many meetings. Meditation seems to naturally help me to listen quietly, and to not have to respond. It also helps me listen more deeply – to the other person, and honestly, to myself.

Q: What three wishes do you have for your college?

1) I would wish to more deeply integrate our programs across disciplines. We are so strong in so many areas in every school and in the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts. Students really long to learn and work across disciplines.

2) I would wish for more support for graduate fellowships, career services for all of our students, and for a whole new system for our academic advising.

3) Finally — I would wish for us to have new and strong partners across the United States and internationally. Partnerships with industry, with other academic institutions and arts organizations have many benefits for our students, faculty and staff.

Dean Mark Button

College of Arts and Sciences

Q: What do you enjoy doing when you are not wearing your Dean hat?

A: I enjoy spending quality time with my family and friends. Some of our outings can include activities which become a bit competitive such as pickleball. The latest outing included axe throwing.

Q: How did you become interested in axe throwing?

A: It was something that I’d seen on social media and my wife and daughters thought it would be amusing to see me try. I blame curiosity.

Q: What mental and/or physical benefits do you derive from participating in that activity?

A: It is a great stress relief and keeps my mind sharp.

Q: What three wishes do you have for your college?

1) The establishment of an Experiential Learning and Career Center where we expand opportunities for students, contribute to the workforce in Nebraska, increase the impact of our research, and broaden our engagement in the community and around the world.

2) 100% graduation success rate for every student, debt-free.

3) Lead the Big 10 in research, creative activity and inclusive excellence.

For video interviews with the deans, scan this QR code with your smartphone.

DISTANCE

Gifted to the NU Foundation decades ago, two sprawling ranches in the remote Nebraska Sandhills, 300 miles west of campus, yield unparalleled resources for students and faculty alike.

Two and a half miles north of Whitman, hardly a whisper on Highway 2, the asphalt forks and the valley opens wide and October broods above a meadow thick with sedges and cordgrass. In the offing, a lone cottonwood pierces the fog, as if somehow left behind, bumped from the wagon train west. For miles in every direction, the uplands gasp for moisture, brittle and brown. But down here, following weathered signs for the Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory, I feel as though I’ve slipped into a German folktale. As if an elf might spill from the bulrush. As if a wolf might part the mist. Here the Ogallala Aquifer lies just beneath the surface. The wind stampedes. The silence gathers at your feet, trails behind.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY CARSON VAUGHAN (’10)

LEARNING

Researchers at the university recently quantified the Sandhills as the largest intact temperate grassland on Earth. In a land so remote, so utterly unobstructed, the mind begins to wander. I park the car in the middle of the road and take a photo from the ditch. It’s a folktale, lush and green and swaying with cattails. It’s a paperback western. Maybe a post-Apocalyptic fiction. A Sandhills Station Eleven. Either way, I should have looked down. My fingers bleed as I pry the sandburs one by one from my boots, cursing loud enough for the fairies to scatter.

The University of Nebraska Foundation owns not one, but two sprawling ranches in the Sandhills: the Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory (formerly the Rafter C) and the Barta Brothers Ranch, 100 miles east. Both were gifted decades ago. Both saddle ludicrous, if little-known histories. And both now offer unparalleled resources for students and faculty alike.

Beyond niche academic and agricultural circles, however, most have never heard of the university’s Sandhills spread. Only in recent years, in fact, as both a native Sandhiller and woebegone regionalist, did I learn of them myself. And when I finally stumbled upon the peculiar story of Elmer “Pete” Gudmundsen — a legal saga that swept from the local Tribune to the New York Daily News — I knew it was time, at last, to visit these far-flung outposts myself.

With rogue sandburs still pricking my calves, I follow Gudmundsen Road for another four miles, skirting the wet meadow and later driving straight through, crossing a small culvert along the way.

“That would be the South Fork of the South Branch of the Middle Loup River,” says Troy Gilmore, a groundwater hydrologist and associate professor at UNL, “if you don’t mind the word count.”

He’s agreed to give me what he calls a “windshield tour” of the ranch, where he’s been conducting his own groundwater research since 2016. When I arrive at the dormitory — less city campus than country bunkhouse — he’s wearing knee-high rubber boots and loading a collapsible ladder into the back of his utility vehicle. Not only does the ranch sit directly atop the thickest portion of the aquifer, nearly 1,000 feet deep, he tells me as we bounce further up the valley, but a sort of ecotone within the Sandhills itself, a transition zone between the lake-studded hills further west, and the yawning dry valleys to the east.

“When I made my coffee this morning I was using groundwater that’s coming out of a 600-foot well that’s thousands of years old,” he says.

The green fades behind us as we pass a small herd of red angus, cross an invisible county line and enter what maps here call the Dry Flat. Somewhere below us, feathered in bluestem, the south fork merged with the south branch, and they’re now hiccuping toward the horizon as one. Fifty meters east. Twenty meters north. Eighty forward. Thirty back. Later, I’ll

spend hours tracing the creek on Google Earth. If the Sandhills from above look like ripples on a beach — and, indeed, they do — the south branch of the Middle Loop resembles a bark beetle gallery, frantically boring its way through the ranch.

“I consider this a big bonus of my job,” he says, nearly drowned out by the whine of the engine. “Route 2 is great, but this takes it to another level.”

Before Gilmore landed at the university in 2015, he was completing his doctoral dissertation in North Carolina, studying how groundwater moves beneath the state’s ag-heavy coastal plain. Equipped with a roughly $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, he’s now asking many of the same questions here in Nebraska, surrounded by 19,000 square miles of grass-covered sand dunes. How does groundwater travel through the aquifer, for example, and for how long, before it finally rises to the surface?

“It’s helpful to first understand something before you try to manage it. That’s the short story,” he tells me. “For instance, if you talk to people, you might hear about a dry year, but the valley was especially wet. There’s some hydrologic lag going on there.”

Understanding these dynamics could help managers better predict everything from hay quality to road access. And it could prove especially useful in areas like much of eastern Nebraska, for example, where nitrates from agricultural activity have leached into the groundwater, posing a significant threat to public health. Knowing when and where those nitrates might re-enter our rivers and streams, he explains, could significantly influence how our watersheds are managed.

Roughly seven miles from the dorm, Gilmore kills the engine. He struggles briefly with a makeshift gate — little more than a heavy iron rod attached to a rusty chain — and drives through. A smirk creeps across his face.

“It’s too bad I don’t have more of my colleagues out here,” he says. “I have pictures of multiple Ph.D.s trying to close one.”

We drop another 150 yards to the valley floor and watch the creek squirm at our feet. Down here, he says, he completed one of his first research projects on the ranch. Scouting for thermal anomalies — and therefore areas of focused groundwater discharge — he and his students laid fiber optic cable up and

Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory

Barta Brothers Ranch UNL

down 700 meters of the stream bed. Hydraulic measurements were then taken in these “informed” locations and compared to another set of “uninformed” locations along the same stretch of the creek.

Given that Sandhills’ rivers are fed primarily by groundwater released from the aquifer, rather than surface runoff, he says, the Gudmundsen lab was “an ideal location” for the study. Not only did their fiber optic technique show a substantially higher groundwater flux than the “uninformed” method, he says, but they set a new precedent for using the technology in lower discharge streams. Overall, he was surprised to find that groundwater seepage in this stretch of the Middle Loup wasn’t drastically different from other sandy-bottom streams he’d studied beyond the Sandhills.

“You come out here and think it’s a big sandbox in terms of water moving through it,” he says, “but there are a lot of nuances here that are similar to a lot of other places.”

The wind stampedes. The silence gathers. The water trickles by.

“Anyway, yeah,” he adds, his ball cap snug and pulled down low. “This is almost a nostalgic spot.”

Several miles downstream, Gilmore stops to fix one of several time-lapse cameras on the ranch, this one overlooking a small oxbow in the creek. I trudge back to the water. Two sandy blowouts cradle the stream like cupped hands on the opposite shore. The clouds hang low. The valley stretches beyond vision. And again, my imagination takes flight.

The truth is fuzzy. This much I know: Pete Gudmundsen wore smart, oval frames perched high on his nose, wingtip collars and a three-piece suit. He earned his Juris Doctor from Nebraska in 1922, started practicing with his father — a former judge — in 1923, and married fellow Cornhusker Abbie Forsyth (’22), in 1924. He was elected Grant County attorney six years later and served in that position — juggling a private practice on the side — until the early 1940s, when his growing legal reputation ground to a screeching halt. Enter Festus Corrothers: a 300-pound rancher, a lifelong Southern sympathizer, and a distant relative — on his mother’s side — to Edgar Allan Poe. He started running cattle on just 320 acres near the present day Gudmundsen lab in 1891. When he died in October of 1937, he left behind a 27,000-acre ranch he called the Z Bar O. Thanks to his many supposed paramours, the local press posthumously crowned him the “Casanova of the Sandhills.” His sister hired Gudmundsen to serve as the estate’s attorney. What she didn’t know, however, nor did the rest of his many heirs, was that Gudmundsen had also been hired by George Manning, a prominent local rancher, to help him secure the Z Bar O for well below market value. And he did. According to the courts, the ranch was worth roughly $174,000. When all was said and done, Manning paid just $37,000. (The same ranch would likely net eight figures today.)

The Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory consists of 19,000 square miles of grass-covered sand dunes.

Pete Gudmundsen

Exactly why Pete did it — why he misrepresented the land’s value to Corrothers’ heirs, why he acted as a secret agent for Manning, why he conjured false claims to encourage the heirs to sell — no one seems to know. Whatever the case, the attorney’s misdeeds soon caught up to him. A friend of Corrothers, somehow privy to the scheme, convinced all nine of his brothers and sisters, plus two of his estranged children, to file suit against both Gudmundsen and Manning. In August 1941, in the same district court his own father once presided over, the judge condemned Gudmundsen’s behavior as unprofessional and insisted “the legal profession had no room for such an attorney.”

I’m pondering this bizarre chapter of Sandhills history as Gilmore drives us deeper into the hills, pointing out windmills and test wells and “Ope, there’s a coyote,” he says. None of it explains how Gudmundsen — disbarred shortly thereafter — acquired the Rafter C to begin with, or why he and Abbie, who never had kids, finally donated the ranch to their alma mater in 1978, after retiring to Sun City, Arizona. Nor can we ask them. Both passed away in 1993.

But according to Andy Applegarth (’78), former operations manager at the Gudmundsen lab, there’s another chapter to the story, one that simmered quietly beneath the headlines. Around the same time Gudmundsen and Manning were conniving to buy the Corrothers place, he’ll tell me several days later, they also purchased the neighboring ranch, owned by Jay Taylor, his great-great-grandfather. The details are blurry, he says, passed down from one generation to the next. But as restitution for his underhanded work securing one ranch, and perhaps, too, for his mounting legal troubles, Gudmundsen allegedly received title to the other.

“He ended up with the ranch and not paying a dime for it,” Applegarth says. Had it stayed in the family, the lab might have one day been his.

I hesitate, then ask.

“I wonder if donating this ranch to the university was his way of, you know —”

“Righting a wrong?” he interjects. “I do not know.”

Now celebrating its 45th anniversary, the Gudmundsen lab has nevertheless proven a scientific wonderland — a seemingly endless field site for studying everything from hydrology to rangeland ecology and wildlife management — and is now the envy of countless academic programs across the country.

“I only wish it were a little closer to my university,” says Kip Solomon, a professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Utah who has conducted research on the ranch. “Students and faculty at UNL are very lucky indeed.”

After a quick overnight in Broken Bow, I drive another hour and a half north to the Barta Brothers Ranch near Bassett. Still two miles from what they call “The Home Place,” the gravel gives way to a pair

of sandy ruts. The ruts grow smaller and finally disappear. Google Maps tells me I’ve arrived. Clearly I’ve missed the turn.

I backtrack a half mile, take the first accessible offshoot and land, at last, at another modest dormitory. One might easily mistake it for a simple farmhouse, a rural vet clinic, maybe a small nondenominational church. Far less spartan, however, is the view from the back deck, overlooking the Barta Brothers’ former 6,000-acre ranch. Small islands of cottonwood and cedar rise beyond another wet meadow. A lone windmill spins beneath an azure sky. The hills shed like a buffalo hide, thick here, grazed there, a hint of silver in the sage.

Nolan Sipe, a grad student in natural resource sciences at Nebraska, has offered to show me the ranch, but I’ve arrived early. The Home Place is silent. It usually is, he later tells me. Usually was. Jim and Clifford Barta ranched here for nearly 50 years, most of it alone. When their parents died, they simply kept on. They never married. Never had kids. Never redecorated the house. They bought groceries in Bassett every Monday. They watched The Lawrence Welk Show every Saturday. They planted trees. They trapped gophers. They fed the same coyote every night.

“I’d sit out there in the evenings with them, and I was told to be really quiet, because I had a mother raccoon and four baby raccoons walking between my legs,” says Dennis Bauer, a UNL Extension educator who managed the ranch for 20 years. “They’d come into the yard every night and eat cat food and drink milk right between our feet.”

And when the brothers finally retired and sold off their herd, their attorney — a Nebraska alumnus — suggested they consider a gift to the university, whose research they appreciated and whose football team they adored. In 1992, the Barta brothers, like Pete and Abbie Gudmundsen before them, donated their ranch to the University of Nebraska Foundation. They stayed on the ranch until 1996, then moved to a nursing home in Verdigre. Clifford passed away in 1999 followed by Jim in 2001.

Sipe pulls up to the dorm 20 minutes later wearing a backpack and wrinkled cargo pants, tight-laced boots and a fitted cap. He might as well be heading to class, in some sense, he is. In 2020, the Barta Brothers Ranch instigated what it calls a “collaborative adaptive management” program, he tells me, allowing stakeholders — in this case, area ranchers — to direct the focus of its grazing research. After identifying a host of different management issues, everything from climate change to multi-species grazing, stakeholders took a vote.

“They wanted to reintroduce fire back into the Sandhills,” he says, anxious to keep the eastern redcedar tree — a native species prone to encroachment — from swallowing up their pastures. They also wanted to know how their cattle might respond. “So that’s what I deal with.”

And suddenly we’re flying down those same sandy

Troy Gilmore, a groundwater hydrologist and associate professor, fixes a timelapse camera on the Gudmundsen property.

ruts on separate four-wheelers, plumes of dust trailing behind us. Five miles later, Sipe opens a gate and guides me back into the hills. They’re experimenting with a “modified patch-burn grazing system” across four different pastures, he tells me. Each pasture is burned at a different time of year, and because cattle prefer to graze in these areas, where the new growth is more palatable, the other pastures have the time to rebuild their vegetative fuels.

“So, part of that system is intended to create a more heterogeneous system,” Sipe explains, sweeping his hand across a distant horizon. “The more variable the landscape is, the more resilient it is to disturbances.”

They completed their first prescribed burn in March 2022, he says, but if you look closely, you can still spot the aftermath. Here the sand is more visible, the leaf litter burned off. Here the colors shift: more reds, more greens, more forbs, often the quickest plants to return. Sipe’s particular mission is to monitor the growth and recovery in each of these four pastures, from the grass to the soil and even the birds. Overall, he says, despite many ranchers’ concerns, most studies performed at the Barta Brothers Ranch have shown the Sandhills to be far more resilient than commonly understood.

For a minute, we both fall silent, scan the hills, breathe it in. East Campus? City Campus? Give me the Sandhills Campus, I think, where the bluestem billows and the history runs wild and the raccoons feed beneath your feet.

Sipe revs the engine.

“What else?” he finally asks.

While not alumni, the Barta brothers, Jim, at left, and Clifford, donated their property to the university in 1992 — in part because they appreciated the university’s research and adored the football team.

Nolan Sipe, a grad student in natural resource sciences walks the Barta Bros. property.

By GRACE FITZGIBBON (’21)

All of the big challenges to our planet — food, water, energy, landscape systems, and the people who have to live among it all — are in the capable hands of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR), celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.

And if one celebration isn’t enough, CASNR shares its sesquicentennial with the 50th anniversary of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR), the college’s administrative home. The two entities are marking their anniversaries with a Celebration of Innovation. Highlights include a kickoff picnic, installing a time capsule, and a special edition of Growing magazine. “We’re a servant to the entrepreneurs, the producers, the people of the state,” said Mike Boehm, who leads efforts across the University of Nebraska system for all agricultural, natural resources and related affairs as a vice president and vice chancellor.

HISTORIC AG-IVERSARY

Two agriculture powerhouses work together, growing their momentum as they mark pivotal points in their progress.

Agriculture Hall circa 1910

Today, agriculture contributes an annual $25 billion to Nebraska’s economy and creates one in four jobs. But it wasn’t until 1973 that ag leaders made sure the university received the funding and clout to match its significance — after intensive discussion, Legislative Bill 149 passed, creating IANR, which includes CASNR, Nebraska Extension and the Agricultural Research Division. Programs impact all 93 Nebraska counties.

“I have often said on a regular basis that the level of grassroots support that agriculture has for the institute is unparalleled anywhere in the world,” Chancellor Ronnie Green said. Green would know, he was IANR vice chancellor from 2010-16.

Since 1872, thousands of students from Nebraska and across the world have found their place at CASNR for professional and hands-on experiences in the fields they love. Indeed, this year marked the second largest incoming class of firsttime freshman and transfer students — 635 to be exact.

“Since the college’s founding 150 years ago, students have sought out CASNR for an education that prepares them to face the opportunities, challenges and way of life unique to careers in agriculture and natural resources,” Dean Tiffany HengMoss said. “Today, agriculture and natural resources are just as important as ever, accounting for one in four jobs in Nebraska. CASNR is proud to continue to prepare a talented, innovative workforce equipped for the ag and natural resources careers and challenges of the future.”

MORE AG STORIES

ALUMNI PROFILES

ANDREW AMBRIZ

Page 44

NATALIE JONES

Page 46

NORM KRUG

Page 52

PROJECTS & PROGRAMS COLLEGE SNAPSHOT

Page 48

STATEWIDE FUTURE FEEDLOT

Page 21

DISTANCE LEARNING

Page 34

Chase Hall circa 1920

Young alumni use ag degrees in many ways

Graduates of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CASNR) have gone on to make a difference. Their careers range from farmers, ranchers and entrepreneurs to conservationists and agribusiness professionals. And like so many before them, two young alumni have made a commitment to help grow Nebraska.

ANDREW AMBRIZ

Class of 2017

It feels like time travel when you walk up to this famous old donut shop storefront in McCook. Peek inside and you’ll see the James Beard award-winning Sehnert’s Bakery and Bieroc Cafe is the place to be. Brownies, peanut butter bars and cream horns, a case filled with freshly fried and iced donuts. Wooden tables and floors, exposed brick walls and Edison lights set the scene for your coffee date. Sit for hours with bottomless coffee in a Sehnert’s mug or a locally-supplied espresso. The bread is their own, made from flour milled just down the road. Andrew Ambriz (’17) owns the establishment with his wife Alix (Machino, ’16) and says it’s a dream come true.

“As you sit down it feels like you’re sitting at the table you’re supposed to be at, across from the person you should be talking to,” Ambriz said. “It’s

wonderfully private but also beautifully connected. I always called the bakery the inflection point of the community, where you could not talk to anybody the entire day, and by the time you show up for lunch, you can see everybody in McCook by the time you left. It is as much a gathering place for everyone and where chance encounters happen, where life happens. But it’s also a place to go when you need really connected time with one particular person — you sit across and you download.”

The story unfolds like a fable: The Sehnert bakery business got its start in Germany in 1521. Then eight brothers emigratee from Erfurt, Germany, to open bakeries across Nebraska. Walt Sehnert (’49) was the last one to do so, and with wife Jean (’50), they open a McCook location in 1957. Walt passed it to his son Matt in the 1990s, where Matt (’86) and his wife Shelly (Moravec, ’88) made it what it is today — why not do lunch? Add espresso to the menu. They even introduced folk music to southwest Nebraska with dinner and a show called Live at the Bieroc. Fast-forward to a fateful Tuesday

Andrew and Alix Ambriz became the proprietors of Sehnert’s bakery in McCook in 2021.

night in February 2021 when Andrew Ambriz got a text. Matt pitched that this straight-out-of-a-movie bakery and cafe could be theirs.

So, the Ambriz family took a leap of faith: “We’re building our life here,” Ambriz said. “Rural communities matter, and we’re doing everything on our end as a business to make sure that continues to be so.”

A focus on rural started young. Back when Ambriz was 10, his family packed up in the middle of a school year and moved from Los Angeles to his mom’s hometown of Pender, Nebraska, because of the threat of gun violence in their California schools. Initially he and his siblings didn’t dig it. But his sister got involved in Future Farmers of America (FFA) and they adapted.

“FFA became more of a gateway for understanding the state, rural communities, rural economy and agriculture by attrition,” Ambriz said. “That introduction let us into our niche appreciation for everything that was going on around us. Instead of looking at it as ‘nothing happens here,’ it was ‘I understand what happens here now.’ ”

He was elected to FFA state office in 2012, the same year he started as an animal science major with a meat science industry emphasis at CASNR. And he can thank FFA for introducing him to Alix, an ag education major and scholar in the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program. That first year was really intense, jumping from chapter to chapter to advocate for the program, representing Nebraska nationally.

His official introduction to life as a first-generation college student was through his fraternity, Alpha Gamma Sigma, but he also hung around the Nebraska Human Resources Institute, the Interfraternity Council, and of course, friends of FFA.

“That’s how I recall a lot of my time at the university — the relationships that I still leverage,” Ambriz said. “Things I learned outside of the classroom, either from other people, from advisers, from various connections and things I’ve learned from other people that I wouldn’t have learned elsewhere.”

During the summer of 2015, he interned with Cargill at a beef processing facility and found that the industry was fascinating but not quite the right fit for him. So, Dr. Lindsay (Schroeder) Hastings (’04, ’07, ’12) convinced him to try a rural serviceship through the Rural Futures Institute (now called Rural Prosperity Nebraska) that moved him and Alix to McCook for the first time. A fire was kindled when he learned people actually get paid for community development. After some freelance gig work, he stepped in as McCook’s interim director of economic development, then took the long-term position. To be closer to Alix’s and his families, he took a similar job in Broken Bow. In those roles Ambriz was a mover and connector of people, a “weaver of ideas” as he calls it; he wanted these rural communities that were already doing well to be everything

they wanted to be and more, to sustain themselves.

“As I started to notice patterns, the people that were really getting things done were these driven and energetic business owners that just wouldn’t stop,” Ambriz said.

He brought that philosophy back to McCook with him as a Sehnert’s successor. Under Ambriz, the place has instituted a breakfast menu and increased the wholesale pizza crust business. Packages ship across the country — Hawaii to Alaska and everywhere in between. Ambriz does the behind-thescenes tasks just to keep the lights on. Weekly tasks are varied: troubleshooting a leaky dough proofing box, replacing tile in the kitchen, ordering supplies or researching new supply chain opportunities and venues. There are also donuts that need to be made every day, shifts that need to be filled, keeping track of inventory for catering, training and process that is constantly innovating. Every day there’s a new problem to solve.

“If you have a typical day, I don’t think you’re doing entrepreneurship correctly,” Ambriz said.

Before the fact, the fantasy of owning the bakery seemed too good to be true — it only happened because the Ambriz family had a connection to McCook: “We stayed connected to the people because we love the people, and we knew that they matter because of how they take care of each other and how they took care of us,” Ambriz said.

Now they have a whole network of those same people to support them as entrepreneurs, but also as they raise their three young sons Zander, Isaiah and Joshua. A family. A community. A business. It all began with CASNR.

“The ability to connect people with place — that’s been a tremendous help because I can break down anywhere in the state of Nebraska,” Ambriz said. “Because of connections that were made a lot of the time in college, I can call just about anybody and say, ‘I need help.’ I don’t think you have to go much further than two degrees of separation before you find that spark that’s going to create some sort of magic. Whether that’s help, whether that’s a business deal, whether that’s an improvement in a community. The network at CASNR is second to none.”

“That’s how I recall a lot of my time at the university — the relationships that I still leverage. Things I learned outside of the classroom, either from other people, from advisers, from various connections and things I’ve learned from other people that I wouldn’t have learned elsewhere.”

ANDREW AMBRIZ

NATALIE JONES

Class of 2019

When Natalie Jones (’19) ends her work day — writing features and managing social media and statewide news releases for CASNR and the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) — 50 feet outside her door is a horse waiting for her daily pets and grain. Her love of her college was strong. So, she returned as a communications specialist in January 2020, one month after her graduation. Even so, she missed her family’s ranch in Stapleton, her little escape, her peace. She negotiated a flexible, remote role.

“I can unplug, leave my phone and go ride horses or just go be outside,” Jones said. “It’s a good balance for me. It keeps me kind of sane because communications and social media is so fast paced. I can just get back to the basics, the essence of life in a way. Walk outside in March and witness a new baby calf being born and watch it taking its first steps.”

In the early days of social media, a young Jones posted photos to document her family’s cattle and horses. She manages the accounts for Diamond Bar Ranch on Facebook and Instagram (@diamondbar1901). So, when she heard about the agricultural and environmental sciences communication major, she was sold. It also might have helped that she’s a third generation Husker. Her grandparents, the late David Lee Jones (’53) and Virginia (Baskin) Jones (’51), met at a coed horseback riding contest on East Campus. David was a Husker football player. Her parents, animal science major Robert Jones (’88) and interior design major Susanne (Staab) Jones (’93), met at the Nebraska State Fair.

“Every time we went to Lincoln, we relived these stories of how they met there,” Jones said about her parents.

Jones set the trend for her siblings — younger sister, Shaylee (’22) chose Nebraska for agribusiness; and they had two years living together on City Campus. Younger brother Grant, set to graduate in 2024, shared two years with Shaylee as

an animal science major. Jones’ youngest brother Lance, who is a senior in high school and interested in agribusiness, doesn’t really have any say in the matter of his education. Of course, the Jones kids always had a choice, but in the end, it was always the University of Nebraska.

“When your values align, and your hopes and support align, it just makes for this strong bond,” Natalie Jones said. “Something to really cherish and be proud of. It means everything to our family, our Nebraska legacy; we love it and we hope it continues.”

It doesn’t take long to realize Jones is big on history and tradition — her grandma and some of her aunts had enjoyed campus Greek life. Jones joined Alpha Xi Delta house, and her sister followed suit. Jones was a self-described overachiever in high school, so in college she wanted to do everything: intramural sports, Block and Bridle club, Ag Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) club, and student government senator for CASNR, among others. As part of her beef scholars minor, she visited New Orleans for the Cattle Industry Convention, meeting cattle producers from across the United States affecting grassroots policy. The ACT club afforded her an Ohio trip to the National ACT conference. She landed a summer internship with Superior Livestock Auction in Fort Worth, Texas, and another internship with Certified

“When your values align, and your hopes and support align, it just makes for this strong bond. Something to really cherish and be proud of. It means everything to our family, our Nebraska legacy; we love it and we hope it continues.”

Above: Natalie Jones with her father, Robert. At left, Natalie and her sister, Shaylee.

NATALIE JONES

Angus Beef. Ultimately, she took those opportunities because people around her rallied for her to chase her dreams and try new things, even if, say, going to Texas seemed scary. It was inspiring to be in classrooms with go-getters.

“I look back on my time in college and think about the friends and the people that I was surrounded with, and their willingness to better themselves and be a difference maker in the world, inflicting positive change in whatever industry that they’re going to,” Jones said. “Most of the time, that was agriculture. Just wanting to revive and support and save our rural communities — that really gives me chills. So many people are giving of themselves and wanting to truly be selfless and make something better and finding creative ways to do that.”

In particular, Jones says professor emeritus Mary Garbacz (’75) encouraged her to apply for an IANR student worker position that led to her post-college job. Jones’ mentor, Cara Pesek (’03), communications director for IANR, connected her with BluePrint Media, which segued into freelance writing for Nebraska Cattlemen magazine.

“ Nebraska Cattlemen has such a great relationship with UNL and the Institute of Ag,” Jones said. “There’s so much overlap in the research that we do and a lot of leaders in the industry. That’s been a fun thing for me to keep growing my skills and writing for a different audience at times.”

And as of this past summer, if her freelancing and university job wasn’t enough, she’s back at school pursuing a master’s degree in integrated media communications through the College of Journalism and Mass Communications — all online as well. The creative writing and social media management demands tie in perfectly with her professional life. Really, the Institute of Ag is so broad, she’s learning something new and sharing her findings every day. The world is at her fingertips; she’s just thankful for a reliable internet connection out in her slice of the Sandhills.

“I can really make an impact in agriculture, in ag communications and science writing and ag literacy from anywhere,” Jones said. “You know that Nebraska saying, ‘Make waves where there is no ocean?’ I can still make an impact even when I’m not in Lincoln, just from little old Stapleton, Nebraska.”

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AND NATURAL RESOURCES

PROJECTS & PROGRAMS

COLLABORATING AGAINST CYBERATTACKS

Researchers work to prevent cyberattacks on agriculture machinery and technology. Team members from UNL and University of Nebraska at Omaha campuses examine hackability of autonomous farm vehicles.

SERVING THE FOOD INDUSTRY

The Food Processing Center offers technical support for startup food companies, consulting and analytical services for regional and national food commodities, and modern pilot plant facilities.

WORKING TO KEEP PRODUCERS FINANCIALLY HEALTHY

The Center for Agriculture Profitability supports informed farm and ranch decision-making by facilitating faculty research, conducting outreach related to ag profitability, and training undergraduate and graduate students.

“So many people are giving of themselves and wanting to truly be selfless and make something better and finding creative ways to do that.”

NATALIE JONES

SUPPORTING RURAL COMMUNITIES

Through the Rural Prosperity

Nebraska Fellows program, student scholars spend summers in Nebraska towns with locally-designed projects to support local business and collaborate on service-learning experiences.

CREATING ENTREPRENEURS

Engler

Agribusiness

Entrepreneurship

Program awards

$200,000 in scholarships each year, providing experiential education to grow enterprises and businesses. It’s headquartered in a dramatic space inside the newly-renovated Dinsdale Family Learning Commons.

CREATING BETTER GRAINS

A team of global researchers has a long history of bringing to market wheat cultivars that offer farmers hardiness and growth characteristics that result in improved yields.

IMPROVING MEAT QUALITY

The best-incountry facilities support ongoing projects including pre-harvest research to improve meat quality and quantity, product research, processing and food safety.

SUPPORTING AG RESEARCH WITH TECHNOLOGY

With 12,800 square feet of greenhouse space, the Greenhouse Innovation Center features a unique robotic phenotyping system, stateof-the-art computer environmental controls, LED lights and 22-foot eave heights.

PREPARING FOR DROUGHT

The Drought Mitigation Center builds resilience through drought monitoring and planning, hosts the U.S. Drought Monitor, focuses on climatology, social science and public engagement — all for the benefit of farms, ranches, local, state and tribal governments, and even countries.

BUILDING A STEM PIPELINE

The Lincoln Public Schools-UNL Early College and Career STEM Program at Lincoln Northeast High School focuses on food, energy, water and societal systems, allowing students to get a head start toward exploring careers in agriculture and natural resources and earn college credit or non-credit competencies.

HELPING STUDENTS CHANGE THE WORLD

The competitive Changemaker scholarship program seeks students with big ideas to make a difference in the world and pairs them with mentors to carry out their dreams.

BY

THE NUMBERS

“We’re using this important time in the college’s history to reflect upon the past, celebrate and dream big about the future.”

—TIFFANY

Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

NEBRASKA Authors

Featured books by Nebraska alumni, faculty and staff

The Big City Dance

By Valerie Doherty (’74)

Moe Doodle is a country mouse who decides to move to the Big City in search of excitement and adventure. Although he nds plenty of fun, he soon realizes he is homesick and missing his friends. Told in bouncing rhyme and rhythm with incorporated dance movements for young listeners and readers.

Available at Amazon

Beyond Ragnarok

By Tore Olav Arnesen (’74)

At the end of the Cold War, Jens, a researcher in Norway, makes a stunning breakthrough resulting in a reimagined understanding of the intelligence of dolphins. To protect dolphins under threat from this new knowledge, Jens goes on a suspenseful adventure.

Available at Amazon and arnesen.us

The Principal’s QuickReference Guide to School Law

By Robert F. Hachiya (’80)

Provides the go-to help principals need to increase their knowledge of education law in this time of change. Leaders can access tools to help them make better decisions when educational law-related issues impact their schools. Available at Amazon and corwin.com

Data + Journalism: A Story-Driven Approach to Learning Data Reporting

By Mike Reilley (’89) and Samantha Sunne

Taking a hands-on and holistic approach to data, this offers insights into data journalism from a global perspective, including datasets, exercises, training videos and interviews with data journalists from around the world. Featuring the work of UNL alumni Lise Olsen and Andy Boyle. Available at routledge.com

At War with Mars

By Jim Fuxa (’71)

A Gold Medal winner for Best Historical Fiction (Next Generation Indie Book Awards), this is a whirlwind tale of love, loss, struggle, and war set in 17th Century Europe. A novel that melds astrology, astronomy, witchcraft, and so much more.

Available at Amazon and Apple Books

The GermanRussians in Words and Pictures

By William Bosch (’70)

A brief history of the German-Russian people from the time of Catherine the Great to the 1900s and their migrations to the Americas. Over 100 pictures of villages in Ukraine, Crimea, and the Volga River area as well as of the early Dakotas. The author has also written a historical novel “The Land Seekers.”

Available at Amazon

MYSTERY PHOTO

Were you at this 1974 tug of war on East Campus?

59

ITEMIZED

Cara Pesek (’03) has kept these box cutters since college.

61

ROCK N’ ROLL

Whatever happened to downtown’s Rock n’ Roll Runza?

64

LOVE STORY

It all started when she threw a hot dog at him.

BULLETIN

EVENTS

MARCH 24

MEDALLION DINNER

Nebraska East Union Annual dinner honoring Alumni Masters, alumni award winners and student award winners.

APRIL 11

NEBRASKA

WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP NETWORK

Wick Alumni Center

Discussion with confectionary and food scientist Tessa Porter (’09, ’18) about turning her love for creation into her sweet start-up, Sprinkk.

APRIL 22

RED-WHITE SPRING GAME

Memorial Stadium

This intrasquad scrimmage is Husker fans’ first look at the football team new Head Coach Matt Rhule has assembled.

MAY 19-20

MAY COMMENCEMENT

Memorial Stadium & Pinnacle Bank Arena

The Class of 2023 will receive diplomas and be welcomed as the next generation of alumni.

A-maize-ing entrepreneur

Before Norm Krug (’78) was selling his popcorn around the nation and the globe, he dialed up his alma mater’s signature theater: the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center. “They were one of the first that took a chance on us,” Krug said. Krug’s company, Preferred Popcorn, grows popcorn near Chapman, Nebraska, and throughout the area.

Alumni Profile King of Pop

BY SCOTT SCHRAGE

You can find the fruits of his labor in movie theaters across America. Depending on the weekend, you might find the man himself in London or Bangkok.

He’s not a movie star on a worldwide press junket for his latest blockbuster. But Norm Krug (’78) has become a star in his field — especially when he’s planting or harvesting it. The Husker alumnus from Chapman, a village with fewer residents than an ear of corn has kernels, now presides over a global popcorn company whose product is grown in seven states and has sold in more than 70 countries.

“It’s become quite a large operation,” Krug said of his business, Preferred Popcorn. “We’re one of the larger popcorn companies in America, and probably the world, as far as that goes.”

In 1998, two decades after earning his bachelor’s in animal science, Krug founded Preferred Popcorn with a few fellow farmers from the Chapman area. As the son of a “hardworking tenant farmer” who had grown popcorn for 45 years, Krug already had long experience with the crop. At the time, though, he just hoped the new company could supplement his income while giving local farmers another option for supplementing their dent corn and soybeans.

Naturally, Krug began by reaching out to movie theaters, which were attracting droves to see the likes of Titanic, Armageddon and Saving Private Ryan. Yet he soon found himself feeling like the hapless businessmen sometimes depicted on the silver screen, cold-calling unreceptive clients who were more likely to hang up than listen up.

“When we started out, we had zero name recognition,” he said. “And when we would call the theaters, it was, ‘Sorry, we use Orville (Redenbacher’s),’ and click.”

Then he dialed up his alma mater’s signature theater: the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center. “They gave us an equal playing field,” Krug said. “It was really an encouragement to get our popcorn sold at The Ross. They were one of the first that took a chance on us.”

In those early days, years before dozens of semis handled his domestic distribution, Krug would toss a bag of kernels in the bed of his pickup, make the 90-minute drive east to Lincoln, and drop his popcorn at The Ross before taking in a Husker game at Memorial Stadium. He was thrilled and thankful for the business. But he was still growing more popcorn than he knew what to do with: Just one 50-pound bag of kernels, after all, could produce a thousand

Popcorn business continues gaining steam, expanding

Sample in hand, Norm Krug talks with Andrew McHargue before taking the sample back to the office for testing.

32-ounce servings of popcorn. So, the amateur entrepreneur started attending trade shows with the aim of drumming up more customers. The devout Christian’s first stop? Sin City.

“Here are these farmers going to Las Vegas. All we had was a sack of popcorn and our emblem, and there are all these large, amazing booths,” he recounted. “I’m sure we were the smallest popcorn plant in the world at that point. But we did have a good knowledge of popcorn and how to produce it.

“I think it’s a good story of: Stay with it. Don’t be discouraged. Have a mission. Do your job and do it well.”

As it turned out, his company shared a trait with the crop it was selling: Once it gained some steam, it expanded in a hurry. That Vegas road trip yielded a sale to buyers in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Krug followed it with a visit to Thailand, where the fish-out-of-water managed to hook more clients. All the while, he was finding friends in people he never anticipated meeting and common ground in places he never expected to set foot.

Once, during a stop in China, he spoke to a farmer with the aid of a translator. Krug was curious about what improvements the farmer wanted to see in his crops. His answers were familiar: varieties that stood straighter, were easier to harvest and ultimately sold for higher prices. For Krug, the conversation helped hammer home that farming, like music or math, is something of a universal language.

“Farmers want the same things halfway around the world,” Krug said. “I was as far from Nebraska as I could get. We want exactly the same thing.”

Business had picked up back home, too. Whereas movie theaters had once refused to even give Preferred Popcorn a try, the company was now supplying its product to Marcus Theatres and every other cinema in Lincoln. Today, Krug said, much of the popcorn sold in U.S. theaters is Preferred.

Though experience and name recognition have helped the business grow, Krug likes to think that Preferred Popcorn’s attention to detail and commitment to quality have also played their parts. The company keeps track of which growers have contributed which popcorn, awarding bonuses to those whose kernels have sustained minimal damage — an effort to ensure that the maximum percentage of kernels will actually pop. And each of the 65 bins at the Chapman-based headquarters is equipped with a sensor that monitors temperature and moisture, both of which can potentially take the pop out of popcorn.

Krug is proud, too, that Preferred Popcorn’s growers — about 50 of whom farm Nebraska’s land — have

adopted crop rotations that reduce reliance on pesticides and no-till practices that curb erosion of topsoil. On one especially blustery mid-October day that marked the end of his annual popcorn harvest, with winds gusting to more than 40 miles per hour, Krug pointed out the lack of dust blowing from his fields.

“You must have practical solutions, and the university has always been great at that,” said Krug, who dedicates about a thousand of his own acres to popcorn. “I do attribute a lot to my university background. People tend to think environmentalists and farmers are on different sides. We’re not. Who wants to preserve the soil more than I do? I have 16 grandchildren.”

As Preferred Popcorn nears its 25th anniversary, Krug continues to eye new opportunities. The company recently began popping its own popcorn for the first time, developing a ready-to-eat product line based out of Waco, Nebraska — a village even smaller than Chapman.

“We hope that grows into a large establishment,” he said, “and employs more people in another small Nebraska town.”

For a frequent flier who’s become attuned to the cultural customs of Japan and France and Egypt, Krug makes no secret of the fact that his Nebraska roots still run as deep as those anchoring the popcorn plants surrounding his native Chapman. Last year, he embarked on a trade mission to the United Kingdom and Ireland.

“I’ve been able to travel to a lot of places in the world, meet a lot of incredible people, but I’m always glad to come home,” Krug said. “Nebraska is a great place to live, and I’m thankful for it.”

Each sample is popped in a popper identical to those used in movie theaters. The sample is measured for volume so it meets their customer’s expectations.

Alumni Profile

Blessings in Disguise

Brought up on harsh lessons, La’Rae Pickens-Bonebright follows her dream

La’Rae Pickens-Bonebright was sure that she wanted to be a teacher. She was every bit as sure that she wouldn’t get the chance to be.

“I never thought I would go to college,” she said, “because my family was so messed up. Childhood was … iffy, I would say.”

There was domestic violence. There was addiction. There was homelessness. She lived hungry, slept in cars and was declared a runaway. She gave birth to two boys, Amarien and JJ, by the age of 17.

But last December, Pickens-Bonebright graduated with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and early childhood education.

Pickens-Bonebright remembers being in the room when her father would beat her mother. After a judge threatened to remove La’Rae, her brother and sister

from the home, her father left. He would be “in and out” of their lives for the next few years before leaving for good.

For good, maybe. But then, good never lasted long. When La’Rae was eight, her mom became addicted to K2, a synthetic, dangerous and unpredictable form of THC.

Why that drug? La’Rae would ask her mom.

That’s what my dad and stepmom used to do, her mom would explain. I was raised with it. And it was cheap. They would soon lose their home, too, for the first time.

At 12, La’Rae’s mom offered K2 to her and her friends. At 13, with her mom entering rehab, La’Rae wound up in foster care, then crashed at a cousin’s before returning, at 14, to stay with her mom, who was temporarily clean.

La’Rae PickensBonebright with her sons Amarien, 6, sitting, and JJ, 4.

There were weeks when the family, living off food stamps, had scarcely enough to eat. La’Rae had grown used to living without electricity. What the teen couldn’t live without, she realized, was a functioning cell phone. To pay for it, she landed a job at Amigos.

Around that time, she also decided to try out for the basketball team. She’d need a physical first. Knowing La’Rae was sexually active, her mom asked the doctor to include a pregnancy test.

Positive. Early bloodwork led the doctor to believe she was about six weeks pregnant. An ultrasound showed she was closer to 18.

“I was freaking out: ‘I’m almost halfway through a pregnancy. I have no time to process. I need to start getting stuff. That would mean it’s this person who I don’t talk to anymore, at all.’ It was a lot,” she said.

She did have her mom’s support, at least. Her best friend Jevaughnté’s, too. And leavening the anxiety was a sense that this news, this future son of hers, could become her salvation — a point at which she might veer from a path that was beginning to trace her mother’s.

“I kind of knew it was a sign,” she said. “I was super happy when I found out I was pregnant because I was doing all the wrong things. I was stealing my mom’s car, and stealing other people’s cars, and in and out of court, and doing drugs. Then I got this sign, and it all stopped.

“I cut everybody out of my life who was still using drugs, still drinking, still (involved) in criminal activity. I went to and from school, and that was that. My motto was to not be my mom. And that was my mom’s motto. She was always like, ‘I don’t want you to be me.’ So that was my aim.”

Amarien was born in early May, giving her a chance to finish the semester before taking on motherhood. Just 10 days after Amarien arrived, La’Rae and Jevaughnté started dating. Some joy had dared to enter the frame.

As if on cue, her mom relapsed. Not long after, the family lost its home again. But La’Rae had found Jevaughnté, who wasn’t going anywhere. The couple moved in together. About a year later, La’Rae got pregnant with JJ: Jevaughnté Jr.

“Jevaughnté couldn’t believe it, and I couldn’t believe it,” she said with a smile. “We were very excited.”

* * *

When Pickens-Bonebright was in fifth grade, her teacher asked the class a question: Where do you see yourself going? She was ready with an answer: Lincoln High and UNL!

“That’s what I always wanted,” she said. “I just never thought it would come true.”

During her senior year at Lincoln High — one that began with summer school and overwhelmed her with a credit-stuffed schedule — one teacher begged to differ, begged Pickens-Bonebright to reconsider. All of the struggles, all of the pain and strife and life drenched in poverty, in menace, in hardship, could finally pay off. Higher education could be hers, that teacher insisted, a reward she had more than earned by surviving.

You’ve been homeless throughout almost all of high school. You can get college paid for.

The same teacher walked her through applying for federal aid, helped her find and fill out scholarship applications. With Amarien just two and JJ an infant, she was in no rush to leave the only city she had known. She applied only to Nebraska. Her teacher was right. Pickens-Bonebright was in.

Pickens-Bonebright would join the College of Education and Human Sciences, prepare to become an elementary school teacher, try to do right by those who had done right by her.

“I knew that it was my teachers who pushed me so hard to get me where I was,” she said. “They were the only consistency I had in my life. And that’s what I wanted to be for students.

“As long as I ended up in the schools helping, teaching, that was all that mattered to me.”

She wanted to be a teacher. Maybe she could be. * * *

She knew it wouldn’t be easy. She just didn’t know it would be quite so hard.

“That first year was definitely a lot harder for me than I thought it was going to be, as a young mom,” she said. “I was thinking, ‘Oh, it’ll be fine.’ And my very first day of school, my car broke down.”

La’Rae and Jevaughnté were living at his mom’s, which helped keep costs down. Still, there was the matter of finding and paying for day care. And always, ever-present but ever-elusive, there was the issue of time. She had to make it, when dropping off and picking up Amarien and JJ. She had to find it, when pumping milk to feed her youngest. She had to save it and balance it but also spend it, when going to class on campus and going to work at Amigos and going home to study and care for the boys and hang with Jevaughnté and check in with her mom.

Sleep had morphed from a necessity to a luxury that she barely considered and rarely indulged. Exhaustion consumed her. She gave no real thought to dropping out. Another motto kept her from it.

“There were so many people in my high school who would say, ‘Oh, you’re a teen mom. You’re not going to be able to live your life.’ Now I’ll be able to show my boys: Those people who say you can’t do something, you can show them you can.

“That’s what I live by: Show them they’re wrong.”

Not everyone doubted. Tricia Gray, an assistant professor of practice in teaching, learning and teacher education, would prove as much while heading up a social studies seminar that Pickens-Bonebright took in spring 2022. Pickens-Bonebright saw in Gray what she herself wanted to embody: a teacher who cared about the student in the desk, who would see them as more than a name to memorize or an assignment to grade, who would meet them halfway.

“I had to bring my son to school one day, and she was just super sweet,” Pickens-Bonebright said. “I was worried he was going to be too loud, and she was like, ‘Don’t shush him. He is fine. I told you (that) you could bring him; that’s what I meant. Kids are going to play.’

“I started crying in her class, and she said, ‘Don’t say sorry for crying. You have a right to feel.’ Ever since then, when I cry in front of people, I don’t say sorry.”

“Queen Gray,” as Pickens-Bonebright would come to think of her, was just as keen when it came to her craft. She listened to concerns, clarified concepts when her students struggled, explained how lessons could be applied — to Black students, to white students, to students who speak English as a second language — when it was time for her own to take their place at the head of classroom.

Pickens-Bonebright’s student-teaching experience at Everett Elementary School, where she’s now a fulltime substitute, has challenged yet another belief. Going in, she was open to teaching any elementary grade above second. She wasn’t nice enough, she thought, to accommodate second graders in the ways they would need.

Naturally, second grade was the only option open to her when she started student-teaching in August. Now she’s realized that, if anything, “I’m actually really nice, and I’m not mean enough,” she joked. The second graders, meanwhile, are more advanced than she remembers herself and her classmates at that age.

“It’s definitely been a roller coaster,” she said. “I’m at a Title I school, and those students need a lot of love. That’s what I want to be there to give them. There’s been a lot of learning involved, and I’ve loved every part of it.

“Second grade might be it for me.”

A couple of moments at Everett have especially resonated with Pickens-Bonebright, who had just one Black teacher growing up. For the sake of gaining a breadth of experience, she eventually moved from teaching second grade to fifth. As part of a class exercise, she shared a personal narrative: I remember sleeping in the car with my mom and my brother and my sister when I was in fifth grade. When she finished, a student approached.

“Aren’t you embarrassed to tell that story?” the fifth grader asked.

“Why would I be embarrassed to tell my story,” Pickens-Bonebright replied. “This is how I got where I am today.”

“I just made it a lesson. Then she was crying: ‘I’m homeless right now, and my mom uses drugs. And you’re the first teacher to look like me.’ It was just a this-is-why-I’m-here type of moment for me,” she said. “It’s one memory that will stay with me forever.”

There was also the time a Black kindergartner, walking through the halls of Everett, stopped still in her tracks, staring as Pickens-Bonebright and a co-teacher passed by. Confused, the co-teacher waved at the girl, who remained motionless, her eyes locked on Pickens-Bonebright.

When Pickens-Bonebright waved, the girl waved back. “I’m all for people of color getting into the educational system,” she said. “But we also get run out of it, because it’s people of color who are suspended more, who are told that they won’t be much of anything. My goal is to change that narrative.”

* * *

For almost all of the past four years, PickensBonebright attended Nebraska secure in the knowledge that she would be the first in her family to earn a college degree, a bona fide first-gen graduate. Her mom had nearly gotten there, once, just two courses shy of earning her degree in nursing.

If I wouldn’t have gotten stuck on your dad, her mom would say, I would have finished.

It wasn’t until a couple of months ago that her mom offhandedly dropped a surprise: She’d been going back to school online.

There was more. Her mom graduated last December, too, with a multidisciplinary degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

“I’m super proud of her because I think it just shows how determined (she is) and how much of a fight she has in her, that she still has that light.”

—Scott Schrage

This mystery photo from the winter edition elicited quite a few responses, but only two IDs could be confirmed. Animal sciences professor R.B. Warren (1925-2003) is the man standing up. The animal science arena on East Campus was dedicated to him in 2006 becoming the R.B. Warren Arena. The student at center with her hands on her head and wearing a Pi Beta Phi shirt is Polly Moller Drayton (’61).

MYSTERY PHOTO

DO YOU KNOW THESE STUDENTS?

1974 Tug of War

University Libraries Archives & Special Collections has stacks of photos that could be enhanced with more information about who, what, when, where or why the photograph was taken. We’re hoping you — our valued alumni — will help us play detective. Do you recognize any of these college students on East Campus in 1974? If so, help us fill in the details of this mystery photograph. We’ll publish our findings in the summer edition of Nebraska Quarterly

LET US KNOW

Email your educated guesses or concrete identifications to kwilder@huskeralum.org.

Create a strong future for Nebraska.

We’re inviting you to join the NU Advocates— a group of people telling the story about how the university makes a difference in our lives.

FIND OUT MORE: NEBRASKA.EDU/UNLADVOCATES

JOIN US

for a fun, immersive day on campus for Future Huskers age 7-13 and their families!

• Classroom activities

• Campus tours

• Lunch in a dining hall

• Graduation ceremony

• Optional overnight stay in a residence hall* *for an additional charge

DATE: July 14, 2023

COST: Children $45

NAA Members $55

Non-Members $80

DETAILS & REGISTRATION: huskeralum.org/fhu

ITEMIZED:

A look at a treasured college relic

CARA PESEK’S BOX CUTTER

A sharp souvenir of both joyful college days and America’s darkest day

A humble orange box cutter holds bittersweet memories for journalism graduate Cara Pesek (’03). It represents change in the industry, reminiscent of old-school X-Acto knives used to cut strips of printed copy for newspaper layouts. It was also a parting gift at The Daily Nebraskan’s (DN) centennial anniversary reunion — held in September 2001, just days after hijackers wielded blades to commandeer four commercial jetliners on 9/11. Many alumni journalists had to pivot from reunion plans to reporting, and for those who showed, there was no way a commemorative box cutter would be allowed through airport security anymore. The DN staff was left with the lot.

“These box cutters were this very present part of my last two years of school,” Pesek said, who rose from the ranks as DN staff writer, associate news editor, and finally managing editor her senior year. “They were given away at every DN event. It represents my time at the DN and how quickly things were changing at the time.”

At the turn of the century the old X-Acto knife method of pagination was phasing out and online shopping was phasing in, so Pesek mostly used her box cutter to cut boxes. She has since kept it in an “important things” drawer alongside her passport and mementos that have come and gone. A con stant to this day is her sharp souvenir. For the entire DN staff these utensils were a little bit of levity; she knows colleagues kept them too, as she remains friends with many. Lifetime bonds are made in the basement of the Nebraska Union, burning the mid night oil for a deadline.

“People who go into journalism are pretty cre ative,” Pesek said. “And they’re curious. That was true of everyone I met who worked at the DN. They were these creative, curious peo ple. And a lot of them had a slightly offbeat lens through which they viewed the world. I understood these people and they under stood me. It was really fun.”

Big questions DN journalists ask are not only what makes a good story, but what makes it important to students,

their readership. Being in the college media scene during 9/11 was Pesek’s first foray into localization.

“How do we show the impact on students who are in New York, or students who are studying in New York? Students who have family there or are from there originally? And also wrestling with for the first time how much of this is really our story to tell versus what’s a stretch,” Pesek said. “It was my first time talking through some of those questions and making those news judgments and thinking through how we cover something that is far away but still profoundly impacts every single person in the United States and beyond.”

Right out of college Pesek took these DN-ingrained skills to the (now out of print) Grand Junction Free Press, then worked as a regional reporter for the Lincoln Journal Star, publicist for the University of Nebraska Press, public relations manager at Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and currently is communications director for the university’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Originally from small-town Brainard, Nebraska, she retains a fondness for Lincoln and the university, now from the

“That developed when I was in college and I do

In anticipation of that DN reunion back in 2001, Pesek and her cohort wondered which cool industry professionals — who were once in their shoes — would make an appearance. Now with all her experience, she returns to DN reunions as that professional. In fact, at the latest DN reunion in 2019, Pesek recognized a certain orange handheld tool of the trade once again being passed out to young journalists. “They’re still trying to get rid of these box cut-

—Grace Fitzgibbon

Do you still have a cherished object from your college days? Tell us about it and we may feature you on this page.

Cara Pesek

Class Quotes BULLETIN

QUESTION

What

do you miss most about being on campus?

1950s

“East Campus and the College of Agriculture — those locales were like a home with their buildings, departments, faculty and fellow students.”

Denzil Clegg (’54) is a Nebraska Alumni Association life member from Fort Worth, Texas. He and his wife Beverly recently celebrated their 70th anniversary with a group of more than 30 family members that included 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

1960s

“Being part of all the activities in the Student Union. I spent many hours in the Associated Women Students office which was in charge of

the rules for on-campus living including curfews for female students at the time.”

Carol Bischoff (’67) and her husband are self-proclaimed “snowbirds.”

They enjoy five warm months on the coast of Maine, and the colder months on the southwest coast of Florida.

1970s

“The buddies that I was with every day, the scenes around campus, the weekends, and the excitement of football Saturdays.”

Ken Kirchhoff (’77) is a longtime annual member living in Fort Collins, Colorado. He has two granddaughters currently attending UNL.

“Walking around campus alone or with friends for class or to

some sporting event and being thankful for the opportunity to attend college. Also, activities with my Theta Chi fraternity brothers.”

Steven Anderson (’79) is a life member living in Lincoln with his wife of 40+ years. He recently retired after 42 years as a CPA in public accounting.

1980s

“I miss being within walking distance of all my friends. The campus layout made it easy to see friends within minutes.”

Karen (Hesselink) Caverzagie (’85) lives in Papillion and is the mother of six boys — five who attended UNL. Her youngest son is still in high school and will “probably” be headed to Lincoln as well.

2000s

“Killing time in between classes in the firstfloor lounge in Nebraska Hall with all of its charms as an old brick factory.”

Matt Bruening (’00) is a life member living in St. Helena, Nebraska. He

1975

just celebrated 22 years with Southland Industries — a mechanical design engineering and construction firm he started.

“The hot steamers (steamed flavored milk) on cold mornings at the Dairy Store”

Theresa (Orcutt) Haney (’07, ’08) is an annual member living in Centreville, Maryland. She works with a group of healthcare

providers serving military veterans.

2020s

“I miss the community. From collaborative coursework to clubs and Husker sporting events, the campus always felt alive and unified, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Thomas Fleischmann (’21) is an annual member originally from West Bend, Wisconsin, who

recently proposed to Brianna Moser (’21). He also began a new role with Baird’s Private Wealth management arm.

“I miss the people — everyone is so nice. When I moved away it made me realize how amazing Lincoln really is.”

Andrew Martin (’22) is beginning his career as a golf professional with Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

“The Temple Building, without a doubt. It was an epicenter of creative thought and action.”

Alan Schuster (’75) is an off-Broadway producer with 30 years of experience who brought the show Stomp to the Lied Center last fall.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO?

ROCK N’ ROLL RUNZA

As a child, Renee (Everett) Sjulin (’86) visited work with her dad, Don Everett Sr., franchiser and son to the founder of Runza Restaurants. He’d set Renee on the counter and she’d help prepare drinks, foreshadowing her high school and college years employed there. With a love of Runza instilled and an accounting degree, she returned to work in the corporate office right after school and is now the vice president of Runza National. Witness to all the rise and fall, including the turn of the 1990s, when Don Everett Sr. had an idea — he turned over headquarters to Sjulin and her siblings while he created Rock n’ Roll Runza, the full-service retro carhop Lincoln classic.

“That is something he’s always wanted to do — to return to his roots and what a restaurant looked like in the ’50s,” Sjulin said.

From 1991 to 2004 the restaurant, located at 14th and P streets, provided a quick lunch or a place for families to hang out after a day at the Children’s Museum, plus featured an upstairs banquet facility for parties called Top of the Rock. The eatery served Runzas and burgers, but also specialized in ’50s diner staples — cheese frenchees, chicken and dumplings, meatloaf, chili dogs. A soda jerk manned the soda fountain, crafting homemade sundaes and banana splits in glass dishes. Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and pink Cadillac murals lined the drive-thru that tunneled through the building; a walk-up window; a DJ spinning records in the corner; a jukebox and neon lights and an old-fashioned car-turned-couch.

Becky Perrett (’99, ’07) — who patronized the restaurant while earning her bachelor’s degree and has been director of marketing with Runza for 22 years — said the atmosphere was frenetic: “Your waitress carried six malts or shakes or pops on roller skates, flew right up, stopped on a dime and handed them out and didn’t spill a drop.”

It took many people to realize Don Everett Sr.’s dream. The roller skate waitstaff were sought after positions among college students as the role required theatrics. All hands on deck — Sjulin never laced up her skates, instead working a couple shifts as supervisor because early on they were “uber-busy.”

By 2004, the place had run its course. The demise of the Rock n’ Roll theme wasn’t any one thing in particular. Full-service took away from other areas of company growth, like the launch of Braeda Fresh Express Café. Lunch business was great, but dinner business began to slow. The building was too big for what they needed, and developers were inquiring about buying the space. Even so, Runza learned a lot moving forward from this chapter.

“It opened our eyes to getting better at hospitality,” Sjulin said. “There were things that we learned in the full-service that we could apply with a quick-serve. A lot of our top employees came from Rock n’ Roll Runza — they’re still with us.”

The location eventually became home to Noodles & Company and now Wells Fargo Bank. There are no plans for a Rock n’ Roll revival, but Runza still has its eye on restaurant innovation with updated layouts and design. To this day, impassioned fans, many who visited as kids, champion its unlikely return on social media. Sjulin knows that would put a smile on her dad’s face.

—Grace Fitzgibbon

Rock n’ Roll Runza in downtown Lincoln was a full-service restaurant featuring waitstaff on roller skates from 1991-2004.

1940s

Elizabeth Evans Brown (’45) Lake Forest, Ill., Oct. 10; Margaret

Neumann Dietz (’46) Akron, Ohio, Nov. 1; Helen Hormann Roesler (’47)

Wayzata, Minn., Aug. 25; Alice Rife

Wiedrich (’47)

Decatur, Ill., Nov. 21; Paul Exstrom (’48)

Dubuque, Iowa, Nov. 21; Dale Gibbs (’48)

Lincoln, Nov. 4; Marilyn Eden Wellensiek (’48)

Syracuse, Nov. 21; Neal Garey (’49) Grand Island, Oct. 18; Betty Aasen

Kjelson (’49)

Pfafftown, N.C., Aug. 26; Richard Koch (’49) St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 6

1950s

Paul Andreas (’50) Omaha, Oct. 23; Jack Brown (’50)

Alamosa, Colo., Nov. 2; Jerald Jacobson (’50) Elkhorn, Sept. 25; Robert Johnson (’50)

Hastings, Oct. 22; Angeline Liakos (’50)

Loveland, Colo., Oct.

8; Jean Leisy Sehnert (’50)

McCook, Dec. 2; Willard Classen (’51) West Des Moines, Iowa, July 5; Richard Crom

(’51) Concord, N.C., Sept. 12; William Greer

(’51) Colorado Springs, Colo., Sept. 7; Donna

Rudisil Heins

(’51) York, Sept. 20; Robert Holder

(’51) Austin, Texas, July 22;

Leonard Kehl

(’51) Lakewood, Colo., May 10;

Eileen Derieg

Raun (’51)

Minden, Oct. 18; Iris Wells Steinhoff (’51)

Santa Fe, N.M., Oct. 10; Charles

Burmeister (’52)

Lincoln, Dec. 7; Wayne Foster

(’52) Lincoln, Oct. 20; Everett

Jenne (’52)

Albany, Ore., Nov. 6; Leslie

Mann Miller

(’52) Clifton

Park, N.Y., Nov. 12; Delmer

Toebben (’52)

Omaha, Sept. 26; Bruce Villars

(’52) Minden, Sept. 25; Idonna

Burkhart Florell

(’53) Lincoln, Nov. 4; Robert Ingram (’53)

Kearney, Aug. 5; Gordon Krogh

Obituaries

(’53) South Sioux City, Nov. 1; Kathryn

Haskell Smith

(’53) Roswell, Ga., Sept. 26; Patrick Engel

(’54) South Sioux City, Dec. 6; Wilmer

Hergenrader

(’54) Memphis, Tenn., Dec.

13; Elton

Monismith (’54)

Denver, Nov. 9; Diane Hinman

Reed (’54)

Richardson, Texas, Sept.

13; Horace

Windeshausen

(’54) Citrus

Heights, Calif., Oct. 25; Donald

Hilkemeier (’55)

San Antonio, Nov. 23; Gary

Jones (’55)

Louisville, Ky., Sept. 16; Mary Haessler

Mathews (’55)

Wichita, Kan., Sept. 18; Dolores

Carag Rodgers

(’55) Grand Island, Sept. 29;

Frederick Rother

(’55) Wolbach, Oct. 20; Eugene

Bjorklun (’56) St. Cloud, Minn., Nov. 26; John

Ledbetter (’56)

Hudson, Ohio, July 21; Paul

McKie (’56)

Prairie Village, Kan., Oct. 28;

Williamette

Desch Shafer

(’56) Lincoln,

Dec. 2; Dian Morgan Boals (’57) Dakota City, Sept. 29; Rex Ekwall (’57) Omaha, Oct. 2; Victor Golletz (’57) Country Club Hills, Ill., Aug. 20; Richard McMullen (’57)

Stella, Sept. 19; Leonard Rosen (’57) New Braunfels, Texas, Sept. 22; Harold Slagle (’57) Dupont, Wash., Oct. 10; Joseph Calder (’58) Lincoln, Oct. 22; Lowell Closner (’58)

Fort Worth, Texas, Oct. 14; Ivan Goering (’58)

Eastborough, Kan., Sept. 30; Sandra Kadlecek Howerter (’58)

Tubac, Ariz., Sept. 16; Carol Luedtke (’58)

Grand Island, Sept. 10; Sharon Hall Thebaud

(’58) Needham Heights, Mass., Oct. 15; Sally Beth Laase Walker (’58) Grand Blanc, Mich., Dec. 10; Roger Welsch (’58)

Dannebrog, Sept. 30; Merle Bauer

(’59) Raleigh, N.C., Oct. 9; Don Freberg (’59) Prairie

Village, Kan., July 12; William McQuistan (’59) Pender, Dec. 11; Dwayne Mueller (’59) Cedar Falls, Iowa, Nov. 5

1960s

Sandra Goodell Balfour (’60) Madison, Wis., Oct. 22; Bruce Drury (’60) Beaumont, Texas, Aug. 24; Herman Person (’60) Columbus, Oct. 18; Eugene Samuelson (’60) Indian Hills, Colo., July 3; Ernest Thayer (’60) Rancho

Mirage, Calif., Sept. 15; Ernest Carlson (’61) Marietta, Ga., Oct. 6; Gary Hill (’61) Lincoln, Sept. 18; Ronald Jensen (’61)

Lincoln, Oct. 25; Marilyn White Lytle (’61) Verona, Wis., Nov. 14; Miriam Thacker Mumby (’61) Grapevine, Texas, Dec. 1; Norman Shaffer

(’61) Seattle, Nov. 6; Martin Sophir (’61)

Littleton, Colo., Sept. 9; Charles

Humphrey (’62)

Corvallis, Ore., Oct. 11; Richard

Klingaman (’62) Mitchell,

S.D., Nov. 23; Antoinette Tucker

McCoy (’62)

St. Louis, Mo., July 11; David

Sundberg (’62)

Lincoln, Oct.

4; Larry Surber

(’62) Lincoln, Sept. 28; Arwilda

Rissler Dockhorn

(’63) Lincoln, Dec. 4; Rebecca

Schnieder Dubas

(’63) Phoenix, Nov. 20; Loren

Hansen (’64)

Lincoln, Sept.

21; Diane Joens

Howell (’64)

Omaha, Nov. 17;

Saundra Mallatt

Bottger (’65)

Grand Island, Dec. 12; Joseph

Johnson (’65)

Lincoln, Oct. 1; Connie Michael

Rogers (’65)

Lady Lake, Fla., Oct. 17; Marvin

Stewart (’65)

Lincoln, Oct.

4; John Svoboda

(’65) Lincoln, Oct. 10; Barbara

Maddison

McIntyre (’66)

Mesa, Ariz., Nov. 3; Glenn

Newby (’66)

New Richmond, Wis., July 28;

Thomas O’Hare

(’66) Lincoln, Nov. 20; Norma

Luckert Wiegert

(’66) Lincoln, Nov. 6; James

Winney (’66)

Seward, Nov. 30; Robert Hogg

(’67) Lincoln,

Oct. 31; Kenneth Johannes (’67)

Haymarket, Va., Oct. 16; Donald Larimer (’67)

Omaha, Oct. 7; David Luke

(’67) Centralia, Mo., Oct. 16; Janice Kaufmann Moore (’67)

Lincoln, Oct. 27; Jim Rasmussen

(’67) St. Paul, Sept. 27; James Tiemann (’67)

Lincoln, Nov. 20; Jules Uldrich

(’67) Earlville, Iowa, Nov. 7; Linda Dierking

Beermann (’68)

Lincoln, Nov. 25; Henrietta

Aden Holdsworth

(’68) Lincoln, Sept. 27; Duane

Kowalewski

(’68) Omaha, Nov. 2; Wayne

Kreuscher (’68)

Mahopac, N.Y., Sept. 22; Edward Skarnulis (’68)

Bastrop, Texas, Oct. 6; Carol Novak West (’68)

Grand Island, Sept. 1; Joseph Bayer (’69)

Paden, Okla., Dec. 5; Barbara Hosford (’69)

Fort Collins, Colo., Oct. 9; Roland Jensen

(’69) Dunbar, Oct. 18; Donald Klippert (’69)

Bellevue, Oct. 2; John Lynch (’69)

Omaha, Dec. 8; Danny Richardson

(’69) Lincoln, Dec. 7; Carol

Novotny Schulz

(’69) Beatrice, Dec. 4

1970s

Jon Elliott (’70)

Omaha, Oct. 24; Charles Gordon (’70)

Fremont, Oct. 1; Bruce Harding

(’70) Omaha, Sept. 10; Sheila

Bartley Keeler

(’70) Niobrara, Nov. 13; Douglas Nelson (’70)

Littleton, Colo., Nov. 13; Sandra

Moredick PavelNiederhause

(’70) Omaha, Dec. 9; Duane

Petersen (’70)

Wichita, Kan., Sept. 16; Jeffrey

Stoehr (’70)

Omaha, Oct. 27; Wilbert

Beran (’71)

Tampa, Fla., July 4; Julia

Vierk Bernt (’71)

Arlington, Va., Oct. 24; Richard

Bock (’71)

Omaha, Oct. 11; Daniel Cuda

(’71) Lincoln, Oct. 2; Nancy

Erickson (’71)

Lincoln, Sept. 24; Loy Fitz (’71)

Reading, Mass., Oct. 4; Annette

Metz (’71)

Cumming, Ga., Oct. 30; Robert

Schroeder (’71)

Salida, Colo.,

1980s

Jacqueline Zvoristin

Lipsky (’80)

1929-2022

Janice Lindquist Gradwohl

Janice Lindquist Gradwohl (’51, ’54) died at her home in Lincoln on Dec. 27. She was 93. Jan was the first woman judge in Lancaster County, having been the first female deputy county attorney there. Upon her appointment to the bench in 1974, Jan became only the fourth woman judge in Nebraska. Jan and her late husband, John Mayer Gradwohl (’51, ’53), met as law students at Nebraska and were married the day after her last final exam. Between graduation and joining the county attorney’s office, Jan served as a civilian lawyer with the U.S. Air Force; assistant to the director of the World Tax Series, a publication branch of Harvard Law School; and a litigator with a private firm. In 1990, Jan took an early retirement from the bench so she and John could develop interactive methods for teaching international comparative law. They implemented those programs over a nine-year period at four Chinese law schools, the Chinese Ministry of Education, and the Shanghai area courts and law colleges.

Oct. 6; Joyce Sutter Snyder (’71) Whitefish, Mont., Oct. 22; Theresa Hawe Stehlik (’71)

Lincoln, Oct. 26; Richard Ulfers (’71)

Bellevue, Sept. 28; Douglas Allard (’72)

Lincoln, Oct. 18; Wayne Blankenbiller (’72) Rexburg, Idaho, Aug. 15; Dennis Blatchford (’72)

San Jose, Calif., Sept. 26; David Fitzpatrick (’72) Seward, Sept. 22; Kent

Haertel (’72)

Greenwood, Nov. 23; Dwight Hansen (’72)

Green Bay, Wis., Nov. 26; Larry Hansen (’72) Gretna, Nov. 27; Ronald Baker (’73)

Omaha, Sept. 19; Marion Buffalo (’73)

Little Rock, Ark., Nov. 22; Deborah Kenny Erickson (’73)

Lincoln, Dec. 1; Philip Acquaro

(’74) Houston, Dec. 1; Michael Crunk (’74)

Nebraska City, Sept. 20;

Deborah Roach Gilg (’74) Omaha, Nov. 16; Steve Laughlin (’74)

Omaha, Nov. 25; Robert Moyer (’75) Lincoln, Dec. 6; Nancy Newhouse (’75)

Lincoln, Sept. 22; Kenneth Rouch (’76)

Lincoln, Nov. 11; Shelley

Peterson Bishop (’77) Council Bluffs, Iowa, Oct. 23; Joey Large (’77)

Wauneta, Oct. 20; Norman Smith (’77)

Goodyear,

Ariz., Sept. 3; Darrell Walla (’77)

Valparaiso, Oct. 13; Steven Williams (’77)

Columbus, Oct. 18; Thomas Dilley (’78)

Grand Rapids, Mich., Sept. 26; Candi Collins Burns (’79)

North Platte, Dec. 12; Marvin Garber (’79)

Lincoln, Nov. 12; Jacqueline Mills Kling (’79) Gordon, Oct. 14; John Schroeder (’79) Lincoln, Nov. 12

Catonsville, Md., Oct. 26; Steven Meitzen (’80) Lutz, Fla., Sept. 18; Elizabeth Larsen

Tometich (’80)

Omaha, Oct. 1; Ernest Weyeneth

(’80) Lincoln, Sept. 30; Kathy

Kuhle-Hall (’81)

Walton, Sept.

14; Bonnie Koch

Malcolm (’81)

Lincoln, Oct. 27; Dee Divis

(’82) Arlington, Va., Nov. 22;

Lon Jungemann (’82) Seward, Nov. 27; Barbara

Morrill Liggett

(’82) Overland

Park, Kan., Sept.

18; Sue Guenther

McMillan (’82)

Clatonia, Nov. 12; Victoria Grant (’83) Raleigh, N.C., Oct. 25;

Jane Bergfeld (’84) Lincoln, Oct. 15; Lynette

Welter (’84)

Elmwood Park, Ill., Sept. 24;

Mary Ashley (’85) Pierre, S.D., Sept. 25;

Craig McVea (’85) Omaha, Nov. 26; Dianna

Wittgow Pehrson

(’85) Columbus, Nov. 28; Cletis

Wilke (’86)

Homer, April 15;

Qiao Feng (’87) El Monte, Calif., Aug. 18; Megan Williams Lostroh (’87) Fitchburg, Wis., Oct. 24; Mark Zieg (’87) Winchester, Mass., Nov. 5; Sharlene Holscher (’88)

Austin, Texas, Sept. 10; Joan Mencke Stoner (’88) Roca, Oct. 3; Nancy Ruby Barta (’89)

Brighton, Mich., Nov. 15; Timothy Whalen (’89)

Omaha, Oct. 29

1990s

Gregory Siefkes (’90)

Lincoln, Sept. 14; Michelle Hansen Stortz (’90) Olathe, Kan., Sept. 10; Charles Odle (’91) Lincoln, Nov. 18; Donna DeFreece (’92) Tecumseh, Nov. 15; John Furgason (’92) Lincoln, Nov. 2; Marc Kaschke (’96) Elkhorn, Nov. 19; Everett Fidler (’97) Kearney, Oct. 17; Michael Anderson (’98) Gothenburg, Sept. 30; Nicole Church (’98)

Lincoln, Oct. 13; Jack Borrett (’99) Fort Collins, Colo., June 11

Let’s Be Frank, They Were Meant to Be

It all started when she hurled a hot dog at the guy blocking kickoff

BY SUSAN BERGHEL SUKSTORF

ur story starts in the fourth row, on the 45-yard line of Memorial Stadium during the Nebraska-Oklahoma game on Nov. 21, 1987. It was the final game of the regular season. A battle for No. 1 in the country and an Orange Bowl berth. I was there to watch the game, but there was a large man with a sign emblazoned with the words to the Hail Varsity fight song blocking my view.

“Hey, down in front,” I yelled at the guy. What kind of a person blocks the view for kickoff?

Then I threw my hot dog at him so that he’d get the message. He did. And being a nice boy from Fremont, he not only put his sign down, he even offered to buy me a new hot dog. In exchange, I offered to cook a homemade chicken dinner.

Perry Sukstorf and I talked a bit during the game. Afterward I had plans with friends to celebrate our victory (sadly our Huskers lost 17-7) so I canceled those plans and I went with Perry to see the newly-released movie Flowers in the Attic. When I came home I told my roommates, “I met the man I am going to marry.” Somehow I just knew. He was a gentle giant. A kind and thoughtful farm boy. I was a city girl, and I was already hooked.

After our first date, we discovered that we lived in the same Harper-Schramm-Smith dorm complex, went to the same parties and had friends in common. But, somehow, we had never met.

One month later, I brought Perry home to Georgia to meet my parents. While I was born and raised in Atlanta, my parents were Husker alumni: Mary Louise Pittack (’57) and Robert John Berghel (’56).

Upon meeting Perry (a Nebraska native), my mother proceeded to quiz him about where he grew up. He explained his mother’s family was from Gresham, Nebraska, and that his mother’s maiden

My grandfather had been a Lutheran pastor in Lexington for many years. As it turned out our families had known each other well. My mother was in weddings that his family attended, and my grandfather was the pastor who married his grandparents, in the dining room of the parsonage.

There were so many connections. My mother and his mother’s cousins were good friends, and our grandparents knew each other. Three generations … but that isn’t the end of the story.

My mother was doing some family tree research and found out that Perry and my great-great-grandfathers Carl Heitman and Carl Gierhan were two of the seven founding members of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Gresham, Nebraska. Clearly we were meant to be together.

Perry and I were married in Atlanta on May 21, 1989. After Perry’s graduation, we never lived in Nebraska again.

We have three children, all born in Colorado, two of whom chose to traverse back to Lincoln to attend UNL. Our son, Christopher (’20), lived in the same dorm that Perry’s father and brother lived in. He was married in the University Chapel, the same church where my parents were married in 1957. Our daughter, Caroline, has made a lot of friends at Nebraska, one of whom is from Lexington. That friend laughs, because our daughter knows more about Lexington, and the people who live there, than the friend who is a resident of the town.

So that means our families have crossed paths for six generations … and counting. It was always meant to be.

PAY LOUD & PROUD.

A debit card to match your Alumni pride.

This vital addition to your cheer gear is free with any FNBO Checking account. Sport your debit card when you pay for your Husker decals, t-shirts and hot dogs at the game. Get your Husker Visa® Debit Card at any FNBO branch or at /huskers.