University of Mary Momentum Fall 2025

Momentum T H E M AG A Z I N E O F T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F M A RY

within

Leading from

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Tuition-Free Futures | PAGE 8

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From the President

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Coaching Up

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The Great Eight

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Tuition-Free Futures

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Meant for This

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Behold the Bread

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Alumni News & Notes

On the cover: Dean of the Liffrig Family School of Education and Behavioral

Sciences Rod Jonas (center) prepares for his final year leading the school he

loves alongside his assistant dean and chairs (from left) Brenda Tufte, Christina Jurekovic, Matthew Lonn, Chad Litton, Heidi Nieuwsma, and Kimberly Marman.

Meant for This | PAGE 10 Graphic Designer Kate Kurtz, ’22 Photographer Mike McCleary Writer Emme Hulm, ’17 Writer Erik Porter

Story Editor Jim Thorp

Contributor Cecilia Rabaey, ’24 Contributor Tom Ackerman

Update Your Address 701-355-3726 Behold the Bread | PAGE 14

University of Mary

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University of Mary

FROM THE PRE SIDE NT

Monsignor James P. Shea President of the University of Mary

W

e ended the first all-university Mass of this academic year with that ageless hymn, “O God Beyond All Praising.” This first Mass is always especially moving. It is the first time that we all gather together — students from all around the country who are far from home for the first time, scholars and faculty that represent every school, staff and administration from each department — and it is greatly encouraging to see our beautiful chapel filled with our entire community, come to worship and offer thanksgiving to the Lord.

As we processed out of the chapel, these lines from the hymn caught me: “And whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill, we’ll triumph through our sorrows and rise to bless You still: to marvel at Your beauty and glory in Your ways, and make a joyful duty our sacrifice of praise.”

Whether our days are filled with good or ill, we will triumph. We will stand in awe before the Lord, and we will praise Him without ceasing. What a hymn of gratitude!

Here at the University of Mary, we promise to embrace lives of gratitude and to offer to our students the formation to live and work with gratitude, too. We know that the manifold blessings and the abundant success we have enjoyed have not come because of our own efforts or genius.

Everything we have we’ve been given. Our unwearied choice to acknowledge this and be glad because of it — to prefer gratitude to resentment, to see abundance rather than scarcity — opens a space for joy and provides the steadfast foundation for the apostolic impulse and pioneering courage that were central to our university’s founding and that remain at the heart of our mission.

Our gratitude is always in response to the real good we have received, and it is never an exercise in self-deceit or foolish optimism. And it is always directed toward another: toward the Lord, our many friends who constantly support us in our endeavors, our wonderful alumni who are embracing loving servant leadership, and our dear students. And how much we have to be grateful for! After a historic groundbreaking this spring, we are gaining momentum to complete the final stages of Vision 2030.

We have educators and administrators who have a passion for our mission and who have committed themselves to giving their lives away in loving service. With the generous and creative help of our friends and donors, we are unveiling two additional tuition-free academies. Our programs are growing and expanding in innovative ways. And everywhere, the Lord makes Himself apparent.

“And whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill, we’ll triumph through our sorrows and rise to bless You still: to marvel at Your beauty and glory in Your ways, and make a joyful duty our sacrifice of praise.”

Whether our days are filled with good or ill, we will triumph.

And so, in the midst of the first semester of a new academic year, we bear in mind all that we have received, holding it in deep gratitude as a guard against the creeping discouragement that comes with the cold and dark of the winter months. We are grateful for you, too, for all of your prayers and support of the university, and for every way that you make us proud. Know of our prayers for you, and may God bless each of you!

In Mary,

Monsignor James P. Shea President

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Dr. Rod Jonas translates hard work on the hardwood into a life of leadership in education

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I

n the 1980s, long before the glossy hardwood of Bortke Court graced the inside of the McDowell Activity Center, Rod Jonas paced up and down the sidelines of Mary’s tartan basketball court as the head coach of the Marauders men’s team. Forty years later, with retirement approaching in May, Dr. Jonas is now dean of the Liffrig Family School of Education and Behavioral Sciences. Today, he points to those seasons coaching as the time he began to cultivate the leadership philosophy that would grow, adapt, and flourish during his decades-long career in higher education. But there’s more to Jonas’s leadership, and to his story.

“I wanted to see how badly you wanted to play.”

In the dairy farming community where Jonas grew up in rural southeastern Minnesota, hard work surrounded him everywhere he looked. “My dad ran the Goodyear elevator,” he said, “and my uncles were all dairy farmers, so watching them and helping them was how I learned to work.” Before long, however, young Jonas caught the basketball bug. Soon, he began looking for a place to practice, but there weren’t any courts or hoops available. “Even the school gym closed when the custodian went home for the day,” Jonas said. He needed a place where he could apply his work ethic to this game that had captured his imagination. The solution came in an unexpected place: a Quonset hut. Jonas’s father had mentioned that there was some empty space and plenty of height in the Quonset near the grain elevator; that was all Jonas needed to hear. “It was like Hoosiers,” he said. “We put up a plywood backboard and measured the 10 feet. My

dad gave me the keys to the front door and said, ‘Just keep it clean.’” The following day, brimming with excitement, Jonas invited a few of his friends to test out the new court. When they arrived, they found dozens of seed pallets blocking their playing area. One by one, they began moving the pallets but quickly became discouraged by their efforts. Jonas called his father from the office phone. “I told him, ‘Dad, there’s seed in the way,’ and he said, ‘Well, that’s too bad.’” Jonas and his pals shrugged and went back to work. Then they heard the Quonset door open. “In comes my dad on a forklift, and he moves all the pallets out, hands me a broom, and says, ‘Now you can play.’ As he turned away, I said, ‘Why didn’t you come earlier?’” His father’s answer has been etched in Jonas’s mind ever since: “I wanted to see how badly you wanted to play.” Jonas spent hours and hours on the Quonset court, even in the winter, resorting to shooting and dribbling with fingerless mitts and watching his breath cloud in the cold air. This practice and subsequent high school basketball success led Jonas to the Twin Cities and Augsburg College, where his teams won three conference championships, and he received AllConference and All-American selections.

TO NORTH DAKOTA VIA SOUTH KOREA Near the end of his college basketball career, Jonas began to explore an interest in coaching. Shortly before his graduation, Jonas saw an advertisement in the Augsburg Student Union about positions available at Seoul Foreign School in Seoul, South Korea.

He was interested enough to participate in an afternoon interview to be the physical education teacher and boys’ basketball coach. “That evening,” Jonas said, “they called me and offered me the job.” After discussing the idea with his fiancée (now wife), Shirley, it was off to South Korea for two years. From the first year of his stint umary.edu

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at Seoul Foreign School, Jonas remembers what he calls “horrid coaching.” Not having coached before, Jonas mimicked the personality of the people who had coached him, which included a lot of intensity and hard-nosed expectations. “It was ‘my way or the highway,’” Jonas says. “That was just the Bob Knight mentality at that time.”

After dismal results that first season, Jonas quickly learned that he would need to become an authentic coach — one who interacted with players based on his true, core values. This realization — after only one year of coaching — became a pillar of his leadership philosophy and resulted in the Seoul Foreign School Crusaders winning the Far East Championship the following year.

This shift toward authentic leadership didn’t merely result in athletic success, however.

It formed the beginning of relationships with young athletes that have stayed strong more than 40 years later. “We had a reunion last summer,” Jonas said. “They gave me a scrapbook with pictures and memories of our championship season together.”

Back in the United States, Jonas found his way to North Dakota State University (NDSU) and joined the staff of men’s basketball coach, Erv Inniger, who had been the coach at Augsburg when Jonas played there. Jonas became a graduate assistant coach while he completed his Master of Education degree, and the Bison won the North Central Conference championship in 1981, when Jonas was on the staff. After finishing his master’s, Jonas began receiving coaching interest from other schools, but a chance conversation with legendary NDSU athletic trainer Denis Isrow led Jonas down a different path. The two had been talking about the disappointing market for coaching jobs. “Denis told me to sit down,” Jonas said, “and I thought, ‘uh-oh.’” Isrow explained the volatility of the coaching world and encouraged Jonas to get his PhD and get a job in higher education. Jonas was convinced.

“I ended up going to the University of Minnesota and working as a research assistant for two years while completing all my PhD coursework, everything but my

Coach Rod Jonas leads the Marauders through a practice in his early days as coach at Mary.

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dissertation, but after that, my program had budget cutbacks,” Jonas said. He lost the health benefits associated with his position, and with a pregnant wife at home, the Jonas family packed up and returned to Fargo, where Jonas taught and coached the Fargo South High School Bruins.

After reuniting with Coach Inniger for a season, Jonas received a call from Coach Al Bortke at the University of Mary — a small and relatively unknown school in Bismarck — who offered him the chance to coach the college’s men’s basketball team.

While he didn’t know much about the University of Mary, Jonas said, “I thought it gave me a job where I could get into the world of higher education while also coaching.” The best of both worlds, so to speak. He accepted.

LIFE AT MARY Jonas jumped headfirst into coaching at Mary. In his second season, spurred by Corey Wilhelm, whom Jonas called “the heart of that team,” and future hall-offamer Rory Entzi, the Marauders won the North Dakota College Athletic Conference championship. Jonas continued to coach for several more seasons, and all the while, he worked on his dissertation, which he finished in 1993. While coaching brought more successes in the 1993 and 1994 seasons, after the 1995 season, an opportunity arose to join Mary’s faculty full-time as the coordinator of the education department’s student teaching program. Jonas couldn’t pass it up.

He began applying the leadership techniques he had honed during his time on the court to the future educators under his direction. In 2009, Monsignor James Shea asked Jonas to be the first dean of the Liffrig Family School of Education and Behavioral Sciences. Suddenly, the recipients of the leadership philosophy Jonas had

SHARED LEGACY. SHARED CELEBRATION. An accomplished college basketball player himself, Coach Jonas watches the action intently from courtside.

been refining shifted from athletes and student teachers to university faculty. “I had to learn that leading meant inspiring others and creating an environment where you allow your people to be the best version of themselves,” Jonas said. “I realized that if I wanted good faculty in the school of education, I needed to give people autonomy and the ability for them to create their own path and their own dreams. I had to be a transformational leader instead of a transactional leader.”

He later captured these principles in his book, “Build a Dynamic Organizational Culture: ‘A 7-Step Team Approach.’”

And transform he has. Under Jonas’ leadership, the Liffrig Family School of Education and Behavioral Sciences has grown in every way imaginable. There are more faculty, more programs — including a doctoral program — and more students. Most people responsible for that kind of growth would be thinking of the legacy they’ll leave. Not Rod Jonas.

“It’s not about me,” he said. “I don’t worry about my legacy. I worry about our [the university’s] legacy. I want people to see what we did as a group together, as faculty.

I think we created something special.”

Save the date and plan to join us for Dr. Rod Jonas’ retirement party on Saturday, March 28, 1 to 4 p.m., in Founders Hall. We hope to see you there!

And just like those early mornings and late nights clearing the court in the Quonset hut, Jonas sees his role as dean similarly: “I’m the broom-sweeper,” he said. “For a long time, my job has been to get the obstacles out of my faculty’s way.”

Jonas isn’t sure what retirement will bring, but he is sure about one thing regarding his career at the University of Mary: “I think God was involved,” Jonas said. “I’ve enjoyed this job more than anything I’ve ever done.”  umary.edu

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THE Great

Eight

A Look at the First Graduates of the University of Mary’s Doctor of Business Administration Program

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ast spring, four men and four women of vastly different careers, different life experiences, and different ages graduated from the University of Mary’s Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program.

As the program’s first-ever cohort of graduates, the eight knew they would face plenty of challenges, but the experience presented such an opportunity — to be the first students of the Gary Tharaldson School of Business to receive a doctoral degree — that they couldn’t resist the chance to influence future iterations of the program.

Pastor Corey Bjertness and Marby Hogen, both members of the initial DBA cohort, had always wanted to embrace the rigor and challenge of a doctoral program, and when they learned of the new program, both leapt 6

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in without hesitation. “The timing was perfect,” Hogen said. “I had a long-held goal to pursue a doctorate, and the opportunity to provide feedback and help shape the program for future students was too good to pass up.

When I received a postcard from the University of Mary about the program, I was elated.” Hogen, Bjertness, and their classmates in the Members of the Great Eight credited the annual Summer DBA program handled Institute, where students convened for in-person learning, their experience with such as a catalyst for forging permanent relationships grace, poise, and respect between the members of their DBA cohort. that the university began to refer to them as “The Great Eight.” to the Sisters’ example as they embraced a The Benedictine Sisters of Annunciation Monastery, the university’s founders and sponsors, serve as the primary exemplars of pioneering courage for all who study at and work for Mary today. The eight members of the first DBA cohort looked

kind of pioneering courage, too. “Within us is an unshakable impulse to serve needs,” reads the university’s description of pioneering courage, “even if it means going beyond our realm of comfort, and even if it means doing what’s never been done.” The Great Eight certainly had to do

To commemorate the special community they formed with one another, members of the Great Eight posed for a photo before Commencement in April of 2025, where they became the first graduates of the University of Mary’s DBA program.

the same. “What stands out the most about my experience in the DBA program,” Hogen said, “is having a renewed sense of purpose in serving others.” This call to service allowed the members of the Great Eight to see the concrete connection from their classroom knowledge to their careers and encouraged them to forge stronger bonds with one another.

All graduate programs promise the opportunity to complete advanced coursework in a particular field, but for the Great Eight, our DBA offered more than that. It became an avenue through which they were able to form community and friendship with the other members of the cohort, sharing unique perspectives and expertise. “What I learned from the others in my cohort was nothing short of remarkable,” Bjertness said. “Each person brought something different to the table: business acumen, ministry experience, higher education experience, health care insight, and nonprofit leadership.” With such an array of fields, members of the cohort

quickly realized the incredible value they all brought to the program. “It’s not just the coursework that helped shape my experience in the program,” Hogen said. “It’s also the incredible colleagues we had a chance to work with. They touched my life forever.”

“We faced every challenge and celebrated every success together.”

In asynchronous, online programs like the DBA, it is rare that students move past being discussion-board partners to become colleagues and treasured friends. For the Great Eight, however, it was universal. Some graduates knew each other at the start, but the group used the DBA program’s institute, held on campus each summer, to form lasting and meaningful relationships as a whole group. And in a three-year program, such

relationships became crucial. “We faced every challenge and celebrated every success together,” Hogan said. “I am so grateful for the group’s support and friendship.”

The commitment to complete a doctoral program is a significant one, especially with full-time jobs and families, as many of the Great Eight have. Without exception, they had to field questions from well-intentioned friends, colleagues, and family members.

People asked, “What are you going to do with a DBA?” Pastor Bjertness gave an answer that summed the experience up for everyone: “It’s not what I’m going to do with a DBA,” he said. “It’s what this DBA is going to do with me.” For the Great Eight, after three years and hundreds of hours of work, their doctoral program has transformed them. They are new leaders, new colleagues, and new people, all thanks to the community of students and faculty they found in the University of Mary’s Doctor of Business Administration program.  umary.edu

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TUITION-FREE

FUTURES

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ith the launch of two new Academies and six new scholarships, new students have 56 opportunities to attend the university tuition-free!

Launched in 2023, the University of Mary’s tuition-free Nursing Academy has proven so successful that the university is expanding the model to accounting and elementary education in the fall of 2026.

These Academies provide committed students with full-tuition scholarships and the opportunity to complete their undergraduate degrees in less time through Mary’s Year-Round Campus model. With

mentorship opportunities and a European study experience, the programs combine affordability, accelerated academic preparation, and the Benedictine values that make a Mary education distinct.

The new Academies, plus six new scholarships in engineering and the humanities, bring the total number of tuition-free opportunities to 56 across all five academic schools.

For students like Savanna Fredrickson of Powers Lake, ND, the approach has made all the difference. Part of the inaugural Nursing Academy, she will graduate this spring and begin her nursing career at Sanford Medical Center in Bismarck.

“The tuition-free scholarship has been a tremendous blessing,” she said. “This program has not only eased the financial burden, but it’s helped me grow as a person and as a future nurse. Knowing I have a job secured after graduation brings great peace of mind.”

“My time in the Nursing Academy has been filled with enriching and unforgettable experiences — from hiking the scenic trails of Rapid City, South Dakota, to exploring

the timeless beauty of Assisi, Italy, it feels like we’ve truly experienced it all.”

“For students serious about their vocations and their futures, this model is simply unmatched,” said Rachael Brash, vice president for public affairs. “They graduate faster, reduce student debt, and gain a competitive edge in their careers, whether that’s in the hospital, classroom, or business world. And because the Academies are drawing high-caliber students from across the country, they’re not only transforming lives — they’re also strengthening our regional workforce.”

To learn more, visit

umary.edu/TuitionFree

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MEANT FOR 10

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THIS A heart for service leads Clarence Sitter from Mary to Medora to lead the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation

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C

larence Sitter, ’01, ’03, is a familiar face at the Medora Musical, bussing trays at the Pitchfork Fondue, serving popcorn and running the till, even parking cars. He shows up three or four times a week, conversing with guests and greeting employees and volunteers by name.

Sitter’s love for Medora and his 13 years’ experience as the chief financial officer and chief operating officer of the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation (TRMF) have led him to the well-deserved honor and responsibility of his new role as the chief executive officer. In this position, as he has everywhere, Sitter treasures the Benedictine values that have come to characterize his work.

FAMILY TIES It’s no accident that Sitter ended up at Mary — or Medora. His mom attended Mary College and was good friends with Sister Thomas Welder and Sister Janet Zander, so he grew up seeing them at family functions. When it came time for college, the choice was clear.

“There was a sense of community, a sense of God telling me, ‘Hey, this is where you should go,’” he said.

Sitter majored in accounting and was invited to join the inaugural Harold Schafer Leadership Program, which introduced him to TRMF founders Harold and Sheila Schafer, former governor Ed Schafer, and now-retired CEO Randy Hatzenbuhler. He completed his bachelor’s in accounting and earned his master’s degree in business administration before joining Eide Bailly for more than a decade.

Providentially, he wound up consulting for TRMF, and Hatzenbuhler approached him with an intriguing offer: move to Medora 12

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to become the foundation’s chief financial officer.

Sitter had fond memories of visiting his grandparents in Dickinson. They would go out to hike through the Painted Canyon and wander the streets of Medora to the ice cream shop, where his grandfather would always make sure to scoop up a maple nut ice cream cone. He and his wife Jennifer prayed about the opportunity and decided to leave Fargo to raise their children in a small town — “there can’t be a better place than Medora to do that.”

“I THINK THIS PL SHARED

FULLY INVESTED Of course, they didn’t just move to Medora. They immersed themselves in the community: Jennifer teaches for Billings County School District, Clarence serves on the city council and the local chamber of commerce, and the family helps take care of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, ensuring that Mass is available for all who live or vacation in Medora.

New TRMF CEO Clarence Sitter is no stranger to visitors to Medora and can often be found working along staff and volunteers at the Medora Musical.

Sitter credits his predecessors, Schafer, Hatzenbuhler, and Rod Tjaden, for the culture of servant leadership that pervades the foundation, and TRMF board chair Levi Andrist is confident their new leader will continue the tradition.

“Clarence had that ethos from the beginning,” said Andrist. “The

Benedictine values are so complementary to what we do in Medora to welcome, educate, and entertain the traveling public in one of the most beautiful places on the planet.”

THE LEGACY CONTINUES Sitter will need everything he’s gained — values, education, and experience —

K GOD CREATED LACE TO BE D.”

to shepherd the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation as Medora undergoes remarkable transformation, including $60 million in facilities expansions in the next few years.

The foundation announced Sitter as CEO last spring at the University of Mary’s Harold Schafer Leadership Center

— a full-circle moment that brought him back to the campus he loves.

“The alignment that we’ve had between these two organizations [Mary and TRMF] over the years — to continue that relationship and have that special moment meant the world to me,” he said.

“I’m just a small-town North Dakota kid that gets to do something really cool for one of the crown jewels in our state, preserving Medora for all the generations that have been here and all the generations that are going to come…I think God created this place to be shared” 

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Dr. Rebecca Raber and Cappella premiered a new choral piece, “Ecce Panis,” inspired

by Saint Carlo Acutis, at the evening Mass in our Lady of the Annunciation Chapel on Sunday, September 7.

ROADMAP TO REALITY: To learn more about Saint Carlo Acutis, his life, and his remarkable witness to young people, visit carloacutisfilm.com to see the University of Mary featured in the biographical film “Roadmap to Reality.”

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Bread BEHOLD THE

A new Eucharistic motet inspired by Saint Carlo Acutis and composed

by Dr. Rebecca Raber premiered on campus this fall

A

s Carlo Acutis was canonized a Saint in Rome on Sunday, September 7, the University of Mary’s nationally renowned chapel choir, Cappella, was preparing for Mass later that evening where they would premiere a new piece, “Ecce Panis,” or “Behold the Bread,” in Our Lady of the Annunciation Chapel in honor of Saint Carlo. The new composition, written by Cappella Director Dr. Rebecca Raber with input from her students, offered a musical tribute to the Church’s newest saint, whose devotion to the Eucharist continues to inspire young Catholics worldwide.

Raber said the inspiration for “Ecce Panis” came swiftly once the Vatican announced Acutis would be canonized on September 7, 2025 — the very first Sunday of the new academic year.

“I was fairly certain that there wasn’t any repertoire written yet to celebrate this newest saint, so I decided to write something myself,” Raber explained.

As the liturgical choir of the University of Mary, Cappella was the natural ensemble to bring the piece to life.

But more than that, Raber noted, her

connection between ‘travelers’ and

knowledge of her singers, as their teacher, conductor, and mentor allowed her to compose directly for their strengths.

‘highway,’ as well as ‘children’ since Carlo died so young himself. Hearing it sung for the first time, an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction came over me. Dr. Raber’s musical genius totally brings to life the pairing of these texts, and it means the world to me to know that I contributed to this magnificent piece.”

“When you have that unique relationship as the conductor and the composer, magical things can happen,” Raber said. “I know exactly what they can do, what kinds of pieces they love to sing, and it’s a joy to be able to write for such capable and expressive singers.”

Central to “Ecce Panis” is its text, drawn from both the ancient tradition of the Church and the modern witness of Acutis.

Raber worked with Cappella tenor Aidan Koop, who helped integrate the saint’s famous line — “The Eucharist is my highway to heaven” — with a beloved Eucharistic hymn text by St. Thomas Aquinas, “Ecce panis angelorum,” the opening lines of which translate as, “Behold the bread of angels, made food for travelers.”

Koop, a senior double major in finance and music from Ham Lake, Minnesota, called it an unforgettable experience to have contributed to the work.

“Carlo Acutis is a favorite saint of mine, so I know his quotes well,” Koop said.

“When Dr. Raber asked for help creating a text, I immediately thought of ‘Ecce panis angelorum.’ I made an immediate

“It’s our way of glimpsing a taste of eternity through our reception of Jesus in the Eucharist,” Raber said. “We know that the Holy Spirit is present and will help listeners understand the beauty of the moment and of the words.”

In just five years, Cappella has established itself as one of the premier Catholic collegiate choirs in the country. With “Ecce Panis,” the ensemble has now added an original composition to the Church’s musical treasury, born of collaboration between director and students, and offered as a gift to the faithful.

“Ecce Panis” will also be featured on Cappella’s first album, “Abide in Me: Eucharistic Music for Revival,” which will debut on Spotify and iTunes later this fall. More details about purchasing the album, Cappella, recordings, sheet music, and contact information for Dr. Raber are available at umary.edu/Cappella.  umary.edu

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ALUMNI NE WS & NOTE S

> ANNAMARIE (INGALLS) & JOHN PILON > BECCA (SPEIRS) & NATE SWENSON’S FAMILY > BETHANY (ALLEN) & AUSTIN HUCK’S

DAUGHTER

> RICHARD & NICOLETTE BLUMLER

> HANNAH (DIEHL) & ANDREW SCHMIDT’S FAMILY

BRENTON HIGDEM, ’85, just retired for the fourth time. In 2006, he retired after 39.5 years in the military and fighting in two wars. In 2011, he retired from the nursing profession after 26 years, beginning in Bismarck and ending in Little Rock, Arkansas. He retired a third time after being a Methodist Minister in Little Rock. He completed his Parish Nurse Certification and recently retired as a parish nurse at the church where he had served.

LESLEE WEBB, ’00, licensed clinical social worker and 2020 Bell Banner Alumni Award winner, has moved into private practice, providing individual therapy at DeCoteau Trauma Informed Care in Bismarck, North Dakota. She will also be providing care one day a week in the Garrison office. She previously worked in the foster care system for 13 years and most recently was the school social worker for 12 years at South Central High School, the alternative school for Bismarck Public Schools.

BECCA (SPEIRS), ’03 & ’05, and NATE SWENSON, ’03 & ’05, currently have six children and Nate is the manager of operational technology at Basin Power Electric Cooperative.

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> JOANN STACEY

RICHARD, ’09, and NICOLETTE BLUMLER, ’09 & ’18, were married in May of 2025.

DR. DELAND WEYRAUCH, MD, ’13, was invited by the National Academy of Sciences to present on how the lack of resources for medical examiners, coroners, and law enforcement affect in-custody deaths in rural communities. This presentation was a part of a larger project informing policy decisions at the federal governmental level. He is currently employed as the deputy medical examiner for the State of Montana.

ALEX DORR, ’13, received his Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) credential from the National Speakers Association that places him among the top 10% of speakers worldwide. He has delivered keynote speeches and corporate leadership training sessions on improving relationships and communication in the workplace.

RYAN CAPOUCH, ’14, expanded and remodeled his business, Lumen Vision, to provide more patient care access and added a new optometrist to staff.

> EMMA (LARSON) & JACOB YOUNG

JOANN STACEY, ’14, graduated from Viterbo University with her Master of Arts in Servant Leadership and received a promotion to director of residence life at Viterbo University this last year.

KRISTINA (NELSON), ’16, and Daniel Johnson were married on May 31, 2025.

LIV STROMME, ’16, and JOE BERGER, ’16, were married at Our Lady of the Annunciation Chapel at the University of Mary this past summer.

MAKENZIE (MEADE), ’19, married Kyle Sovada on June 7, 2025 in Dillon, Colorado.

HANNAH (DIEHL), ’19, and Andrew Schmidt were married on January 7, 2023 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Hannah graduated with an MA in Theology and Letters from Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 17, 2024.

She gave birth to a baby girl on May 21, 2024.

Margaret Anne Schmidt was born two months premature and spent two months in the St. Paul Children’s Hospital NICU before coming home.

Margaret is now a happy and healthy little girl!

ALUM NI NE WS & NOTE S

> ASHLYN (GEORGE) & JACOB KOEPKE’S SON

> LIV (STROMME) & JOE BERGER > MAKENZIE (MEADE) & KYLE SOVADA

> RYAN CAPOUCH

EMMA (STEHR), ’20, and Alex Schneller welcomed their first child, Daniel Alexander, on March 28, 2025.

EMMA (LARSON), ’20 & ’23, and Jacob Young were married on May 9, 2025 in Spanish Fork, Utah.

ASHLYN (GEORGE), ’21, and Jacob Koepke recently welcomed John Paul Ronald Koepke to their family one day shy of his patron saint’s feast day! He is adored by his big brother Peter and has been a gift to the whole family.

> CAROLINE (LOE) & JAMES MASON’S FAMILY

CAROLINE (LOE), ’22, and JAMES MASON, ’22, welcomed their son, Cyprian Lawrence Mason, on July 21. He was two months early and a tiny little guy, weighing 2 lbs. 13 oz. At the end of October, the Mason family will be moving to Bismarck for James’s new job at Upper Cervical Health Centers in Bismarck.

SYDNEE (STEELE) MOON, ’22, and her husband Cole welcomed their first child, Anastasia. She was born at the beginning of August 2025.

CLARE (WILMES), ’21, and John Paul Norton were married on June 22, 2024.

KATHERINE (ACHBACH), ’23, and MICHAEL HRBACEK, ’23 & ’25, were married on May 10, 2025, in West Des Moines, Iowa.

BETHANY (ALLEN), ’21, and Austin Huck welcomed their daughter, Lydia, into the world in June of 2025.

HALLE (VENECHUK), ’23, and GRANT SKIBICKI, ’23, were married on June 7, 2025.

ASHLYN (SIMONS), ’22, and TY TRAINOR, ’22, were married in 2023 and recently had a baby in June of 2025.

JOHN PILON, ’22, and ANNAMARIE (INGALLS), ’23, were married on August 8, 2025, at Holy Family Catholic Church. John and Anna met at the University of Mary in the fall of 2021, and they thank UMary for bringing them together!

DOMINIC PLUMMER, ’24 and KENDALL ALEXANDER, ’25, were happily married on May 10, 2025, at Notre Dame Parish in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

> EMMA (STEHR) & ALEX SCHNELLER’S FAMILY

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