Paulson Runs Marathons in All 50 States and DC

In 2009, after finished his first official marathon, on Lithia Park Trail (FL), he wasn’t so surprised that he had been able to finish, even though he had had to walk much of the last five miles. But he was surprised that, in the process, he had managed to avoid a four-foot black snake and plenty of horse manure (especially pungent in the day’s heat), and that the prize for finishing was an “ugly kiln-baked campfire mug” and a knit ski cap with machine-sewn palm trees on it—hardly useful for this Floridian. But that event was the beginning of a long string of events, and he finished in marathons in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. He recalls thinking many times while running, if he didn’t hurt, then he just wasn’t running fast enough.

Competing in all 50 states has helped Paulson level out his emotions, and made for some interesting encounters—like obtaining an endearing autograph from author/runner Dean Karnazes (who wrote “Ultramarathonman”), and running with a 22-year-old woman in the Missoula marathon who ran the entire race with crutches as she endeavored to compete in all 50 states as well (and is in the Guiness record books).  About 10 of Paulson’s marathons were 24-hour races (ultramarathons), and he would run all night (with short naps, lots of coffee, and regular eating), then sleep for 14 hours the following day, hardly able to walk afterwards for two or three days. He had to switch shoes throughout the day to “keep his feet confused” so as not to feel the pain. But running this long makes him feel alive and vibrant.

When Paulson is asked about his days at Augsburg, he remembers the faculty as very caring and decent Christian people, whose care made him feel special. His father, George Pauluk ’55, also attended Augsburg, and Neil feels fortunate in having been able to establish a scholarship at Augsburg in his father’s honor.

Following an early career as a lawyer, focusing on trial practice (family law, criminal defense, and personal injury) and on car accidents, Paulson retired in 2000 and is now director of a private mortgage investment fund affiliated with Equity Trust Company. Paulson also enjoys running the 5K, coaching soccer at the YMCA, and weight training

The American College of Physicians-Minnesota Chapter presented the 2012 Laureate award to Dr. Amit K. Ghosh MBA ’12, of Mayo Clinic at its annual scientific session in Minneapolis on November 2.

Ghosh is a professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and a consultant in the division of general internal medicine. He is the current director of the International Clinic.

The Laureate Award honors an Internal Medicine physician and member of the American College of Physicians who has demonstrated an abiding commitment to excellence in medical care, education or research.

Ghosh received his medical training and completed his internship in India, graduating from the Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education. He came to the United States in 1993 and completed a fellowship at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis in Nephrology and hypertension.

Ghosh was the previous editor-in-chief of two Mayo internal medicine books, namely the Mayo Clinic Internal Medicine Review Book and the Mayo Clinic Internal Medicine Concise Textbook.

When several high school students visited her second-grade class for a week to help each one write their own book, Sarah (Norton) Solmonson ’10 wrote not just one, but five of them, including what she considers to be the first draft of the book she just published this past summer. The book, Taking Flight, gives the reader a window into Solmonson’s life, with particular focus on the joy of working with her father in their basement for six years to build his own VP-1 airplane, the excitement of flying with him often, and the painful loss she endured when, due to a wind fluke, the plane went down three months after its first flight, killing her father instantly. That was when Sarah was 16.

Writing the book, then, was a natural outlet. Grateful that her parents read to her often, Solmonson credits her Augsburg experience with instilling in her the drive and discipline required to write the book. She says pushing herself through night and weekend classes while working full-time was the most exhausting and rewarding period of her life thus far. She especially remembers the challenge of Professor Cowgill’s English and Irish Literature course, and still relishes his encouraging words about her D.H. Lawrence paper—“Sarah, you are a writer.” (She keeps the paper with Cowgill’s comments in her “motivational tool kit.”). When she stood at the Augsburg Bookstore on graduation day, with aspirations to be an author, she thought once again, “Some day…”

Fond of narrative non-fiction and memoir genres, Solmonson is convinced that being an author is the career she wants to continue to pursue, and completing her first book has given her an amazing sense of accomplishment. The subject of her second book will be the life-changing trip through Germany and Poland that she took with Professors Cowgill and DeVries, along with Auggie classmates (many of them now long-term friends), in connection with a dual course in the History and Literature of Post WWII.

Her book is available through Amazon.

The Crowning Touch

Taking an eighth-grade drafting class (rather than one in cooking) and doing estimates for construction plans brought home by her master-plasterer father moved Sarah (Wojtowicz) Bazey ’88 a step closer to ownership of her own company. Bazey started Simplex Construction Supplies, Inc. while she was still a student at Augsburg, and she continues to serve as president and CEO. The company has worked on projects across North America and with some of the most accomplished contractors in the world.

Beyond her success in the business world, however, is an even richer story about the courage and perseverance of this Scandia, Minnesota native.

On a sunny October afternoon in 1994, after completion of a large highway project, Bazey expressed her gratitude to the work team by chartering a helicopter for several tours. But on the day’s last ride—the only one that Bazey took—disaster struck. The helicopter caught some newly strung power lines, crashed, and skidded into a temporary concrete barrier before it exploded. Bazey, still strapped in, was soaked in jet fuel and in flames. Continue reading “Spotlight on Sarah (Wojtowicz) Bazey ’88” →