ENL 111
The destination is the same: earning a college degree. But the paths to that can be as different as day and weekend/evening.
Compiled by Wendi Wheeler
For many, Augsburg College is a traditional liberal arts college with 18- to 22-year-olds living on or near campus. It’s the place where they went just a few months after graduating from high school and spent the next four years.
There is another side to Augsburg as well. It’s one where classes are held on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and some evenings. In this evening and weekend program, students are older, they are more likely to have a full-time job, and they often juggle more family responsibilities than traditional day students. They study in both Rochester and Minneapolis, at four locations.
While the two groups are demographically different, the education they receive is as close to the same as possible. For example, business majors in the day program take the same courses as business majors in the evening and weekend program at all locations. Where the education differs has more to do with the life experiences students bring to the classroom.
As one way to see this, we talked to students and faculty members in a day and weekend section of English 111. This class, Effective Writing, is one that nearly every Augsburg student takes. As seen in their favorite books and authors, the younger day students tend toward escape fantasy and horror fiction, exploring the dark and the macabre. The older weekend/evening students show more interest in philosophy, psychology, and spirituality—perhaps seeking more understanding, meaning, and comfort in their lives. Enjoy “meeting” these Augsburg students.
Day Undergraduate
Rachel Rixen ’13
French, music minor
Age: 18
Hometown: Cottage Grove, Minn.
Job: In the summer, I co-run a class for children ages 3 through 5
called “Tot Time” through the city of Cottage Grove.
Favorite books/authors: My favorite book is The Painted Veil by W.
Somerset Maugham. I love his style of writing and the message that
the novel conveys about forgiveness.
Michael Anderson ’12
History
Age: 19
Hometown: Minneapolis
Job: I work at Gardner Hardware
Favorite books/authors: My favorite authors are Howard Zinn and
Neil Gaiman. Zinn’s historical analysis and Gaiman’s work on Good
Omens and American Gods were phenomenal.
Olivia Smith ’13
Special education
Age: 18
Hometown: Maple Grove, Minn.
Job: I’m not working, but would like a job to help those less fortunate
Favorite books/authors: J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien. I love the
books they write, and how people can connect and talk about their
love for their books.
Nicholas Petersen ’12
Social work
Age: 19
Hometown: Plymouth, Minn.
Job: Rainbow Foods (assistant pricing)
Favorite books/authors: Haunted! A Novel of Stories, by Chuck
Palahniuk. I love the way he tells his stories. His characters are
twisted and complex—something you don’t get from many books.
Truly a brilliant writer.
Zachary Schuyler ’12
Undeclared but strongly interested in business
Age: 20
Hometown: St. Paul
Job: I do not work, but I give plasma and I am looking for a workstudy
job or possibly a job at Mall of America.
Favorite books/authors: I don’t have a favorite book, but I like short
stories, and my favorite author is Edgar Allan Poe from the past and
Stephen King of the present.
Charlotte Deegan ’13
Elementary education
Age: 19
Hometown: St. Paul
Job: I work at an after-school day care program. In the future I would
like to be a kindergarten teacher.
Favorite books/authors: I love the Twilight books and the Gossip Girl
books as well.
Professor Mzenga Wanyama
Birthplace: Misiskhu, Kenya
Favorite authors: Russians Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Leo Tolstoy,
who write fiction that draws from history and is deeply
philosophical and humanistic.
Enjoy about teaching: The students. When they’re happy, they make
teaching such a fun experience.
Fall 2009 by the numbers
DAY UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
Total students enrolled: 2,013
Average age: 21
Male/female ratio: 50/50
Students of color (total): 25%
Students of color (first-year class): 42%
EVENING/WEEKEND UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM (Minneapolis Campus)
Total students enrolled: 809
Average age: 35
Male/female ratio: 37/63
Students of color: 15%
111 Undergraduate Evening/Weekend
Lea Davenport ’13
Education
Age: 38
Hometown: Princeton, Minn.
Job: Teacher—of what sort, I am not sure yet.
Favorite books/authors: I read mostly suspense
novels with a little romance. I love to read books by
many different authors (there are so many out
there), but one of my all-time faves is Iris Johansen.
Her characters are really well written and there are
times I don’t figure out who dunnit until the end!
Philip Sturm ’13
Religion/philosophy
Age: 29
Hometown: Memphis, Tenn.
Job: Corporate security/executive protection
Favorite books/authors: Maurice Merleu-Ponty,
Edmund Husserl, Descartes—because they return
philosophy to the immediate phenomenological intimacy
of living in our world and address the existential
subjectivity of personal being, thus avoiding the
objectification of our lives into meaningless
abstraction. Other than that, Catch-22 and other
post-War fiction addressing the extremes of our
actions and their dubious justifications.
Mandi Rae ’13
Communication studies
Age: 28
Hometown: Andover. Minn.
Job: Project manager at Aveda
Favorite books/authors: The Shack is my favorite
recent read. After the death of my 14-year-old
cousin, it was a comforting and controversial look
at God and heaven. It was an interesting perspective
that gave me somewhat of a sense of peace.
Brett Johnson ’13
International business/computer science
Age: 37
Hometown: Minneapolis
Job: Implementation consultant. I hope my degree
adds an “international” to the beginning of that
job title.
Favorite books/authors: The Four Agreements
series by Don Miguel Ruiz. A New Earth by Eckhart
Tolle. They help me to stay in the here and now and
focus on what’s relevant.
Brianna Diaz ’13
Finance
Age: 26
Hometown: Minneapolis
Job: Operations assistant/property management
business systems administrator (say that three
times fast!) for NorthMarq Real Estate Services
Favorite books/authors: My favorite book is War
Child by Emmanuel Jal. It is a story of a young boy
soldier in the civil war in Sudan who survived
tragedy and the loss of his family to become a popular
musician supporting the GUA Africa
Foundation. Very powerful!
Joseph Anomalay ’13 or ’14
Marketing/international business
Age: 30
Hometown: Minneapolis
Job: Cabinetmaker
Favorite books/authors: Brave New World by
Aldous Huxley and Midworld by Alan Dean Foster. I
like them both for the perspectives they give on
people and the world around them. Every time I pick
them up I glean something different out of them.
Professor Cary Waterman
Birthplace: Bridgeport, Conn.
Your best writing: I’ve published three books of
poems.… It’s difficult to say which book or poem is
“best.” I like and appreciate all of them.
Enjoy about teaching: I value the things I learn
from my students. And I value what I am able to
teach them. The classroom is a place for the
exchange of ideas, for the work of the imagination,
and for the appreciation and discussion of complex
issues. I am very grateful for the opportunity to participate
in this essential activity.
