Momentum THE MAGA ZINE OF THE UNIVERSIT Y OF MARY
WINTER 2019
LEARNING
from  past
Voices from World War I
inside this issue
2018 HIGHLIGHTS LOGO REFRESH: Our Marauders got a wonderful new LOGO REFRESH in August when our new mascot, Maximus, came aboard to be the face of our school spirit. Max, our Marauder, was inspired by a wonderful bronze sculpture in the new Crow’s Nest campus restaurant. RECORD ENROLLMENT: Alumni and friends can be proud to share the tremendous achievement that the fall semester of 2018 saw the highest-ever enrollment of freshmen at the university – 530! For the first time, the university had to create a waiting list to enroll. FOCUS: More than 500 Fellowship of Catholic University Students’ missionaries and staff made our campus ‘home’ this summer for six weeks of FOCUS New Staff Training. These dedicated people brought their joy and energy to campus. We look forward to hosting FOCUS again in summer 2019. WORKFORCE: Our newly announced Workforce Development staff will focus on working with businesses and industry to offer education and training to keep their workforce at the cutting edge of innovation and support employee retention. COLLEGIATE HOCKEY: Launched at the University of Mary in fall 2018 as a rousing success — at year’s end, UMary ranked first in the ACHA Division II West Region! The enthusiasm and excitement from students and community has resulted in overflow crowds cheering at the rink.
2
Letter From the President: Blessed are the Peacemakers
6
Reflecting on ‘The Original Sin of the 20th Century’
10 UMary Giving Day 12 Kenya Chose Me: Joanna Olesik: Volunteer Nurse 14 Living the “Major League” Dream: Brett Walker 16 Confessions of a Mascot 12 Alumni News
Editor Karen Herzog
Graphic Design Specialist Holly Schaeffer
Graphic Design Specialist Laura Scott
Photographer Jerry Anderson
Contact Momentum Editorial (701) 355-8013 Circulation (701) 355-8262
FROM THE PRESIDE NT
‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ I
t’s appropriate that in 2018, the On December 7, 1914, Pope Benedict centennial year of the end of World War I, XV suggested the sides call a temporary we remembered the story of the Christmas hiatus to the fighting for the celebration of Truce of 1914. Christmas. Just five months into World War I, Allied and German soldiers on the Western Front shot and shelled one another from their respective trenches. The bitterest fighting of the war still lay in the years ahead, but already bodies lay unretrieved on the no man’s land snaking between those muddy ditches. 4
Momentum
While the governments of Britain and Germany officially refused to call for a temporary cease-fire, the soldiers in the trenches created their own, unofficial one. It began Christmas Eve, when soldiers were heard singing Christmas carols across no man’s land to the other side.
At dawn on Christmas Day, German soldiers emerged from their trenches, calling out “Merry Christmas” in the others’ languages. Suspicious at first, the Allied soldiers, seeing the Germans unarmed, also came out of their trenches and greeted each other with handshakes. History recalls that the men exchanged presents from their meager supplies of food, cigarettes, and souvenirs, and sang carols and played games together. Some took the time as an opportunity to perform the more
An artist’s impression from The Illustrated London News of 9 January 1915: “British and German Soldiers Arm-in-Arm Exchanging Headgear: A Christmas Truce between Opposing Trenches”
befriended. This story is starkly moving because it places the best of humanity side by side with the worst. Through human history people have longed for peace – sung and wrote and prayed for it — yet at any given moment in time, somewhere in the world, war rages. That’s why the story of a moment of peace between enemies in the midst of war can move us to tears. We feel tremendously tender to cup and guard that moment protectively, to keep it longer than one night. Christmas, no matter how we commercialize it, or trivialize it, retains a transcendent purity that holds forth a light to show us what might be. What we might be.
sorrowful task of retrieving the bodies from no man’s land. Though this Christmas truce was never repeated, under threat of official discipline, this story is remembered as a testament to a human sense of kinship and brotherly love that could not be decimated by the ugliness of war. For one Christmas, there was peace on earth – at least that little patch of earth. And the next day the shelling resumed, each side trying to kill those they had just
We refuse to abandon the image of a little Child, a helpless Baby whose only protection is in the arms of His mother and the guardian tenderness of St. Joseph. Attending this Newborn – docile cattle and donkeys, and no doubt curious little stable scamperers, dumbfounded shepherds below, choruses of angels above. The Scriptures tell us that in the midst of life we are in death. But because Jesus the Christ was born, it’s also possible for us, in the midst of war, to be in peace.
B
lessed are the peacemakers, Jesus says.
What can we do, each small one of us, to grow into blessed peacemakers?
Monsignor James P. Shea President of the University of Mary
There are people who dedicate themselves to understanding and teaching history, so that we all might grasp the true price of war and work for other, better ways to live together. There are those who give up chasing the deceptions of materialism to serve the needs of the world. There are those who, remembering a young couple seeking shelter in Bethlehem, choose not to assume an enemy in every stranger. There are those who bring joy and humor into the world, for laughter is a gift of God. And there are those who commit themselves to become, in Christ’s poignant phrase from St. Matthew’s Gospel, even when they are ‘as sheep in the midst of wolves,’ to be ‘wise as serpents and innocent as doves.’ With all our hearts, we desire that everyone connected to us here at Mary should be so blessed!
Our stories in these pages celebrate some splendidly effective peacemaking. www.umary.edu
5
Reflecting on
‘the original sin of the 20th century’
The Great War, 100 years on T
he year 2018 was the centennial of the end of World War I, referred to in its era as “The Great War.”
Two University of Mary faculty members took this unique occasion to develop a wide-ranging collaboration between the university’s history and theater students to present a vivid portrait of the impact of this “War to End All Wars” on the prairie families of North Dakota. It started two years ago when Darrell Dorgan, head of the North Dakota World War I Centennial Committee, suggested a project that the two University of Mary faculty members felt had exciting potential. Joseph Stuart, PhD, and Daniel Bielinski, MFA, and their students pulled together the intimate stories of soldiers and nurses from North Dakota to create a series of public performances of a pivotal moment in history.
6
Momentum
“I have put hundreds of hours into this project and read hundreds of powerful letters from North Dakotans in the First World War. Being able to hear their words after 100 years in our performances is one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. This is an opportunity for everyone to put real North Dakota faces and real North Dakota stories to something that they may have glanced over in history class.” — Casey Beck, Mandan, ND
the state, an idea that Stuart enthusiastically supported.
Stuart, associate professor of history and chair of history, history education and social studies education, said that a deeper look into the social and political events following the Armistice on Nov. 11, 1918, suggests that the 1920s and 1930s were only a brief hiatus between declared wars, and that both World Wars were actually essentially one conflict played out over nearly three decades. Stuart points to reverberations at the end of the first conflict that in the 1930s encouraged the rise to power of Adolph Hitler in Germany. Bucolic North Dakota, half a continent, one ocean, and another half-continent from the European front, wasn’t far enough away to escape those reverberations. Farm boys and small town girls on these prairies became entangled in Europe’s bloody war, as the United States reluctantly buoyed up its allies as the trenches filled up with bodies of English and French soldiers. American muscle was needed to break the stalemate, which ultimately resulted in 40 million
military and civilian casualties worldwide. The early 1900s can seem so very long ago and far away, a quaint relic of a rapidly dimming past. When so many people today have only a hazy understanding even of World War II, a truly global conflict that had the dubious advantage of Hollywood attention, how can that older, printed-page war have some truth be told about it?
Stuart’s next step was to make contact with Steve Andrist at the North Dakota Newspaper Association to pitch the idea. Stuart then organized his students in 2017 as part of the class “Cultural History of the Great War.” He took the class to the state archives so they could learn how to use its resources, which include giant scrapbooks filled with letters cut from North Dakota newspapers.
Students fell in love with being in the archives, “signing in like real researchers,” he Often the way to begin to grasp something said. so immense is to start with the small. The assignment for students was to find In North Dakota, what exists are letters. two letters from four different counties and Physical, paper letters sent back from Europe then transcribe the letters, to be sent off to to families on the prairies. The parents of NDNA to be published in newspapers across these young men and women would then take the letters to their local newspaper to be the state, which they were. shared with readers. Dorgan pointed Stuart to the North Dakota State Archives, which hold a treasury of these letters sent home from soldiers and nurses. To mark the centennial, Dorgan urged them to pore through the letters and get them published in newspapers across
Students were fascinated with these actual physical letters, Stuart said. Many students had never written—or received—an actual letter, but were now in the presence of 14,000 of these pieces of first-hand, lived experiences. This was a revelation to students, who www.umary.edu
7
Faculty Research Grant and a grant from Humanities North Dakota, the planning took off.
A
fter receiving the grant funding, Stuart started planning the theater production. “I was able to hire a research assistant for the summer who spent hundreds of hours on these scrapbooks [from the state archives],” he said. All the letters were entered in a database with information such as writer’s county and the theme of the letter, and this became the base for the work of the students. Selecting the scenes, ideas and stories that had dramatic appeal became the basis for the play, Bielinski said.
“Being a part of the Great War class and the “North Dakota Voices of the Great War“ theater production has truly brought back to life the emotions of the soldiers and nurses who answered the call of duty, sacrificing their comfort and safety when they were just about my age. The letters they wrote convey a heartfelt and intimate story.” — Cray Kennedy, Chicago, IL
were able to relate to an object written a century before, and often by a person of their same age – 18, 19, 20 years old. “Students were falling in love with them,” Stuart said. “They are very personal, very intimate, well-written by farm kids, highly literate people.
“They were amazed [at the letters themselves] let alone with the stories they told,” he said. Stuart shared his students’ experience with Daniel Bielinski, assistant professor and chair of the University of Mary’s theater program. Bielinski found the letters really powerful and poignant, he said, and so an idea was born for collaboration between history and theater.
S
tuart launched the project in 2017 with a readers’ theater at the Russell Reid Auditorium in the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck. “They were able to use props, guns and full uniforms from the First World War as part of the theater,” Bielinski said. “These were not theater students, and they did a good job.
“Joseph and his students did incredible amounts of research putting together these letters, passing them on to me,” Bielinski said. “My job was to construct them into a narrative for the theatrical production.” The production also incorporated World War I poetry, and worked with the music director to find popular songs of that period. “We devised a piece of theater, an original piece, as a spine for these beautiful and powerful letters,” Bielinski said. The aim of the production was to create a really powerful experience for the audience, an immersion in the culture of that time, he said. One student even found a letter that was directly connected to his own family. “The ages of the students are the ages of many of those who wrote these letters – some were in their teens—had a powerful impact on the students,” Stuart said. “To do that in a university setting is amazing.”
Because these were written 100 years Then they took the show on the road to ago, students could be expected to feel very the 51st Northern Plains History Conference distant from the lives of these letter-writers. in Grand Forks.” But reading these letters evoked the The idea began to snowball, Stuart realization “but this person is just like me!” said, and so the two decided to make this he said. presentation into the University of Mary’s “That’s something we wanted to explicitly main theater production for the fall 2018. demonstrate as a way of bringing together So with help from a University of Mary
the past and the present,” he said.
“They are not fictional people who are in movies; they are people who lived real lives and had real families, just like us.” — John Davies, Bloomington, MN
“This was a good collaborative process,” Bielinski said. “Joseph’s class attended rehearsals and gave feedback and suggestions. Listening to students, we created scenes based on improvisations the students had done, to see it bloom as a story. “We are just the vehicle for these North Dakota voices.”
S
tuart believes that 100 years from now, World War I will be seen as much more significant than we think of it today, a conflict that has been called “the original sin of the 20th century,” he said. This was the conflict that set the stage for so much that followed, he said; it gave Hitler a mission, it gave Mussolini his vision of fascism, and it prompted Germany to insert Lenin into Russia as a ‘poison pill’ to end Russian participation in the war — and it worked, he said. “All three ideologies of the 20th century — Nazism, fascism, communism — had their launch here,” he said. Also, the conflicts and tensions throughout the Middle East were exacerbated by the winning side’s politically motivated partitioning of the defeated Ottoman Empire that has contributed to global terrorism ever since. Students were captivated by these stories, Stuart said. “This is the first class I’ve taught where students wanted to do and did more work than assigned,” he said.
“I found a letter from Walsh County about a little boy; a beautiful letter. An anonymous letter details a bombing in Paris and people being evacuated by cattle trains—a mother and little girl and boy. The mother is hit with bomb and dies and sister dies, too. The person writing can feel the horror and hatred – pleads with America that you must hurry and this cannot happen again. It was very potent.” — Ashlyn George, Oconomowoc, WI
www.umary.edu
9
––––––––––––––––––
Celebrating the first –––––––––––––––––
November 15, 2018 UMaryGivingDay.com I believe that we all have a responsibility to give back. No one becomes successful without lots of hard work, support from others, and a little luck. Giving back creates a virtuous cycle that makes everyone more successful. — Ron Conway, American ‘angel investor’ and philanthropist
University of Mary Student Body President August Taylor, right, with alumna Hannah Haynes, thanking her for taking part in the university’s first-ever #Giving Day. For the event, students reached out to alumni to participate in the exciting fundraising event.
10
Momentum
Our students will change the world; you make the difference.
T
his fall, the University of Mary welcomed 533 incoming freshmen, the largest freshman class in our history! We are so grateful for our growing national recognition for offering a values-based, top-quality education at an affordable price. We are mindful of continuing that commitment to affordability for potential students. Maintaining that affordability means that the university needs to robustly continue to grow the scholarships we offer to keep pace with
the students coming to us. This November, during Founders Week, honoring the Benedictine Sisters who founded and sponsor the University of Mary, we launched our first-ever #UMaryGivingDay, 24 hours of appeal to alumni and friends to generously give to our scholarship needs. This first year, we set an ambitious goal of raising $75,000, and we were thrilled to both meet and exceed that 24-hour fundraising goal. At the end of the day, 221 generous donors had given $85,754.98!
Next year’s #UMaryGivingDay will again be scheduled for November to honor the tireless, faithful work of our Benedictine Sisters. Next fall, watch the University of Mary’s social media accounts for an announcement of the exact date. Our future students who will be blessed by your gift offer their gratitude for your contribution to their future. Special gratitude goes out to the alumni organizers and 36 volunteer fundraisers who worked that day for the betterment of the university. www.umary.edu 11
chose me’
‘Kenya
Joanna Oleksik: Volunteer Nurse
J
oanna Oleksik knew for a long time that she wanted to be a volunteer nurse in Africa — she was just waiting for the right time to go. While at the University of Mary in 2010, she went to Guatemala on a nursing mission with the God’s Child Project, but still, she said, “I wanted more.” Today, she is a volunteer nurse with the Catholic Medical Mission Board [CMMB] in the village of Mutomo in Kenya, both learning and teaching in a different culture. Part of Joanna’s motivation was to ‘pay it forward.’
except Antarctica and Africa. I had a desire to do volunteer medical mission work as a nurse and I thought there is plenty of need in Africa.”
teach by inspiring curiosity, that’s the best way to do it.”
For inspiration, she posted a sticky note message to herself on her mirror: “Don’t be afraid. If there’s something you want to do, you just have to find it.”
“In the U.S., all kinds of interventions are available when a child struggles to breathe, but there the only option is to provide oxygen in portable tanks,” she said.
Joanna chose to apply to CMMB and initially spent three months working at Our Lady of Lourdes medical mission in Kenya.
Despite the challenges, Joanna feels she’s adapted well. She enjoys being a volunteer, with the exception of encountering spiders the size of teacups, she said.
Her parents grew up in Poland, and she remembers her mother sharing memories of standing in long lines there with ration cards to use for basic necessities.
“My first weekend in Mutomo on Easter Sunday I had a “small world” experience when I realized the same order of sisters who started Our Lady of Lourdes hospital also started Mercy Hospital in Williston, ND, where I was born!”
“When we grew up [in Williston, ND, as one of seven children], we didn’t have a lot of money and we benefited from others’ generosity. ”
After four months back in the U.S., she returned to Kenya in November 2018 for another six months in the hospital’s pediatrics unit.
She said she was drawn to the nursing program at the University of Mary because of its Catholic identity: “The University of Mary can provide a private education that’s competitive in cost.
“The mission hospital is much more like walking into a hospital here than I imagined. But you don’t find a CPAP machine, a ventilator, or IV pumps—all just drip tubing. There’s no way to do a culture and sensitivity “I feel like I got my education that prepared on lab results, and the hospital is open air. me for the real world as a nurse; I feel grateful “On pediatrics we have on average 15 for the education I received. patients a day. During the day we have two “In the end,” Joanna said, “Kenya chose me. nurses plus nursing students. At night there After I graduated I ended up working as both is one nurse. So helping fill a hole in staffing a nurse and a flight attendant for almost two and being able to educate are two big roles.” years. By the time I was done working as a flight attendant I had visited every continent 12
Momentum
Joanna took guidance from a volunteer who told her to lead by example: “If you can
Getting patients specialized care means the challenge of either money or distance.
Her house is equipped with a single burner to cook on and a refrigerator, which often goes off because the electricity is unreliable. She’s just learned not to make a lot of leftovers that might go bad, she said. “In Kenya living simply and serving others is the given,” Joanna said. “That’s what I do when I’m there. And living that way will not be easy. “I guess that was Christ’s life too, right?” A sign on the pediatrics ward at the Kenya mission hospital lists the top 10 diagnoses for children there, among them, pneumonia, asthma, convulsion disorders [worsened by lack of access to home thermometers and Tylenol], gastroenteritis [because of food- or water-borne illness], fractures, burns [children pulling over open-pot cooking vessels], neonatal sepsis, organophosphate poisoning, and upper respiratory tract infections.
“When I lived in Alaska in 2014-2016 I became more serious about making volunteering happen. I paid my student loans off as fast as I could. The only loan I had was on my car. I paid that off and then sold the car. “I’d always been a saver. As an RN in Anchorage I picked up shifts frequently. Sometimes I worked five to six days in a week on 12-hour shifts. The money I made working extra I put into a travel account. I think I came up short of my $10,000 goal but since I’d lived well within my means, I felt comfortable making up the difference from my savings.”
www.umary.edu 13
Walker’s duties include soft tissue work, dry needling, manipulation, stretching, strengthening, field coverage and analyzing athlete injury profiles for the draft or during free agency. “I also read new research on techniques on physical therapy, athletic training, and strength and conditioning,” he said.
W
alker had always planned to go to physical therapy school, but at the University of Mary he started out with Exercise Science. “I was able to get into PT school a little early, so I ended up graduating in 2003 with a Bachelor’s of University Studies with an emphasis on rehabilitative care,” he said. In 2004, Walker followed in the footsteps of his sister [Karmen Walker, ’00] and graduated with a master’s in physical therapy. Nine years later in 2013, he received his bachelor’s in athletic training.
LIVING THE DREAM
After graduation, Walker’s career took him to Wentachee, WA, where he worked at an orthopedic outpatient clinic for four years. When he decided to complete a sports physical therapy residency in Boise, ID, he and his wife, Nichole [Seaver] ’05, moved back to Montana and settled in Great Falls, where he worked at Benefis Health Systems. In those years, he said, “I realized that I needed more experience in baseball in order to pursue the dream of being hired by a professional team.
A
“So while we lived in Great Falls, I volunteered for the Great Falls Voyagers, a minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. I then started my athletic training degree and secured internships with the White Sox, Diamondbacks, and Twins.”
“First and foremost, I love being around the game of baseball,” he said. “I get to sit in the best seat in every stadium—the dugout.”
In November of 2013, Walker was offered a rehabilitation job with the White Sox and he and his family moved to Litchfield Park, AZ. In March of 2015, he received a phone call from Minor League Farm Director Buddy Bell, offering him a position in Chicago with the major league club.
s a physical therapist and athletic trainer for the Chicago White Sox, University of Mary alum Brett Walker has a baseball fan’s dream job.
Walker, who grew up in Culbertson, MT—population 900—has an important role in preparing his White Sox team members for game day. “Professionally, being a part of an all-encompassing medical team made up of internists, orthopedic surgeons, psychologists, athletic trainers, strength coaches, physical therapists, massage therapists, and chiropractors is a very challenging venture,” he said. “Learning from all of those individuals and developing an understanding of their thoughts and beliefs is key to building a unified front that is cutting edge and empowers the athletes to feel good about what they are doing off the field so that they can be at their best on the field.” 14
Momentum
“Five days later, I was on the field being announced for our home opener,” he said. Of his relationships with the team, Walker says, “I work hard to build a positive and trusting relationship, understanding that we are working toward a common goal.” Walker said his time at the University of Mary provided him with the tools he needed to succeed as a physical therapist and athletic trainer.
“My personal goal is to build a life with those I love and strive to be the best father, husband, and community member by providing a good example of humility, patience, integrity, work ethic, and respect.”
“The professors and Benedictine Sisters helped develop and foster my passion for lifelong learning and also taught me the importance of being an active member within the community. I left the University of Mary with a better understanding of who I am, why my faith is so important, and how I can use my values to impact others.” To today’s students, Walker would say, “It is important to have a goal and take small steps in order to achieve it. “I have failed more times than I have succeeded. However, failure provides an opportunity to improve. Sometimes it might mean taking a step back financially or professionally in order to allow more growth in the end. Nonetheless, be prepared for long hours and find a way to balance professional and personal life.” Walker’s goal is to maintain a positive attitude “no matter what,” he said. In his personal life, Walker says his family comes first. “In the offseason, I make a point of dropping off and picking up my kids from school. I try to do pretty much all activities that I can with them. I enjoy reading to our youngest and putting both of the kids to bed every night.” He says he and Nichole try to go grocery shopping, read, and work out together. “During the season, I am on the road about 15 days out of every month,” he said. “Nichole and the kids try to make one trip with me every month depending on the schedule. When we are playing at home, I work hard to be dad from the moment the kids wake up until I have to leave for work at about noon. Sometimes work will interfere with my family life but my wife and kids have been very understanding and allowed me to chase this dream.” The Walkers have been married almost 13 years. Their children, Mia, 9, and Declan, 3, attend St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in Avondale, AZ.
Brett Walker, ’03, ’04, ‘13 is a Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer with the Chicago White Sox.
“The school is amazing and allows us to homeschool Mia while we are living in Chicago. There is a lot of traveling with my job and it allows Nichole and I to teach the kids many real-life learning experiences.” As Walker looks to the future, “my personal goal is to build a life with those I love and strive to be the best father, husband, and community member by providing a good example of humility, patience, integrity, work ethic, and respect.” www.umary.edu 15
As every Luke Skywalker needs an Obi-Wan, a wise mentor to guide his beginning steps, so our new mascot, Maximus, gets some fatherly guidance from Kevin Becker, University of Mary, Director of DevelopmentAthletics and former mascot for nine years for the Dakota Wizards basketball team in Bismarck. 16
Momentum
CONFESSIONS with Kevin Becker
www.umary.edu 17
ALUMNI NE WS & NOTES
SHANNON MONROE, ’07, returned to
SHARON (SYLVESTER) SNYDER, ’69,
college and earned his bachelor’s degree in management in 2007 while working as the lieutenant of investigations in Moorhead, MN. In 2008, he was promoted to Deputy Chief of Police and as of July 28, 2018, was named Chief of Police for the City of Moorhead.
has retired. She was nominated to Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers on two separate occasions.
ADRIAN GARCIA, ’12, was married in February 2013 and welcomed his firstborn son in November of that same year. Today Adrian is helping run his family business, which is now going on its 50th year. Adrian is also coaching baseball at his local high school in California.
ANTOINETTE (GROSS) HEIER, ’96, was offered the role of Executive Director for the Hazen Chamber of Commerce and Convention Visitors Bureau in Hazen, ND, after teaching for 18 years. Their mission is to promote business and industry, and to provide a more cultural, humanitarian, and rewarding way of life. Antoinette and her husband, Bradley, who is employed with WRT, have two children, Makena, a senior at Hazen High School who plans to attend UMary in 2019, and Kaden, a sophomore at Hazen High School.
ERICA (BELVERSTONE) STARKS, ’13,
BLAKE CLIFFORD, ’14, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on July 27, 2018, completed a Doctorate of Education in Educational/Transformative Leadership from the University of New England on August 31, 2018. His dissertation is published and available at the following dune.une.edu/theses/173/. The dissertation title is “Understanding Disinterest: How Online Undergraduate Students Perceive And Respond To Disengaged Faculty Members.” RENAE (REICHERT) WADDELL, ’06, ’09, welcomed her youngest child, Nathan James, on May 24, 2018, joining brothers Jayden (5) and Cameron (2).
ASHLEY DAY, ’06, currently works under a certified neurological optometrist as a vision therapist with specialties including pediatrics, as well as working with children with developmental challenges to treat their visual deficits. She is also certified in interactive metronome to assist the treatment of visual processing.
married David Starks (’12) on June 9, 2018 in Bismarck, ND.
Hello alumni and friends, I’m Tina Stanger, Director of Alumni Relations. My husband, Joe, and I have three children, the youngest of which is attending UMary. I grew up in rural central Minnesota, but, like my husband, always loved the open prairie of North Dakota. I am very happy to be working alongside some great people who really exemplify the Benedictine values in their daily life. One thing I noticed right away at UMary is that our professors here are so proud of their students and they hope you’ll stay in touch. I’m looking forward to meeting you, too! If you haven’t had the chance to come out to campus to see the new Lumen Vitae University Center, or to see plans for the Vision 2030 Campaign, please call me and let me show you. We want our students to have the best experiences possible, and it is with our amazing alumni and friends that we continue to implement new programs and plans for growth. Remember: Please follow us on social media and check our website for events in your area.
KEEP IN TOUCH! HERE’S HOW. As alumni, you are very important to us. We at the Office of Alumni want to keep our relationship with our Marauders family strong and vital, forging that lifelong connection.
JENNA (HELVIK) ETZOLD, ’08, recently graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a doctorate in psychology. She accepted a new position working at CHI St. Alexius Archway Mental Health Services as a psychology resident in early November.
18
Momentum
We would be so appreciative if you would fill out the brief form at the link below to help us stay connected with you. www.umary.edu/updateinfo
WEB
www.umary.edu/alum
alumni@umary.edu
PHONE
701.355.3733
Alumni Office University of Mary 7500 University Dr. Bismarck, ND 58504
From left, Danyal Kafer, MA, CCC-SLP, clinical coordinator; Dr. Jessica Smith, EdD, CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathology chair; Robyn Zeltinger, MS, CCC-SLP, director of clinical education.
FREE SPEECH-LANGUAGE CLINIC Now offered on University of Mary campus
O
ffering free speech-language therapy on campus will be a way of serving the community while the University of Mary’s Speech-Language Pathology graduate students who assist develop professional expertise, said Robyn Zeltinger, SLP director of clinic education.
situations in which people must be put on waiting lists for private clinics, she said.
Clients from babies to the elderly will be helped through the work of the clinic.
Among the needs that brings people to clinics such as this are childhood apraxia, development language disorders, rehabilitation from strokes, and even accent modification, for those who want to be better understood by English speakers, said Zeltinger.
Because there is often a shortage of trained speech-language professionals, the on-campus clinic will be able to fill some of those needs, and also serve those whose insurance may have been used up, said Dr. Jessica Smith, Speech-Language Pathology chair. This clinic can also alleviate some
“It’s a way to give back to the community,” she said. “We hope that some of those [University of Mary graduate students] will stay in North Dakota, which has big needs for them.”
They’ve also found that, since many others who offer these services are located on the north side of Bismarck, the location
All services are available at no cost to University of Mary faculty, staff, students, family members and friends, and the Bismarck-Mandan and surrounding communities.
at the University of Mary will be more convenient for those who live on the south side of the city. Schedule a free appointment by calling 701-355-8041 or 701-355-8288. Hours are Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Other hours may be available upon request. Services are available in the lower level of the Lumen Vitae University Center. www.umary.edu 19
Momentum
NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
MOMENTUM is published by the Office of Public Affairs, University of Mary, 7500 University Drive, Bismarck, ND 58504
PERMIT NO. 239 BISMARCK, ND 58501
CH A NGE SERVIC E R EQUESTED
NEW YEAR, NEW GEAR
Discover Disc cover over h how ow gre great att yyou’ll ou’l’lll lo ou llook ook k iin n Ma Mar Marauders raud ra ude derss g gear earr w with ith it h ou our ur ne new w pdated logo. Get yours online at UMaryOnlineStore.com or at the updated Campus Bookstore in our new Lumen Vitae University Center.
School spirit is always in style!