Augsburg University is preparing to start a new school year in the midst of a global pandemic. Covid-19 has had significant impacts on student athletes. In this recording of an August 2020 online event, President Paul Pribbenow and Athletics Director Jeff Swenson ’79 discuss ways Augsburg is working to meet the needs of students and adjusting plans for players and teams whose schedules have changed.
Augsburg President Speaks on Systemic Racism and Lasting Change
In August 2020 Augsburg University President Paul Pribbenow participated in a live, virtual forum with other nationally recognized Presidents and Chancellors of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU). A recording of this online event is now available on YouTube.
From the event invitation:
“After the tragic murder of George Floyd, many colleges and universities released strong statements denouncing police brutality and the relentless racism Black Americans face. However, systemic racism has plagued our country for over four hundred years, and it isn’t something that will simply dissipate—it must be met with anti-racism strategies.
Join the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) for a live, virtual event where four CUMU university presidents and chancellors will honestly discuss where we go from here. This critical dialogue will center on how and why higher education leaders need to go beyond rhetoric to combat systemic racism and inequities towards systematic and lasting change.
- How can we develop proactive agendas that combat discrimination, inequalities, and injustices that are omnipresent in American society?
- How can we support individual and institutional readiness in addressing racism and inequities?
- What is our role as engaged anchor leaders in addressing our own institution’s history and role in creating the very systems and structures in place today?
This virtual discussion will highlight ways to center anti-racism into our urban missions and is a space for attendees to think critically about their role within their institution and cities.”
The Man in the Pines – one Auggie’s quest to find a story
Per Minnesota tradition, David Nash ’06 first met the giant, talking Paul Bunyan in Brainerd, Minnesota when he was really young, and it left a lasting impression. So a few years ago when picking an American folklore to read to his son, it was obvious to David he should read the story of Paul Bunyan. Unfortunately, his son wasn’t that interested in tales of Paul and Babe the Blue Ox.
David has always enjoyed writing music, so he wrote a song about Paul to sing to his son, imagining if Paul was a real person. He wondered what if Paul’s story was a bit sadder, and perhaps we were taking advantage of his story and turning it into something else to get the happy folklore that it is now.After writing the song, David played it at an open mic and people really enjoyed it. Later, he heard an interview of a musician he listens to who mentioned they wrote a book based off a song.
“It occurred to me: why does my song have to be the end of the story?”
After his kids went to bed one summer night in 2018, David sat down and started writing. Then it was every night when the kids went to bed. He’d sit down in a chair and write and write and write.
“It all came on suddenly, almost to the point that it felt kind of like a sickness. It was like I couldn’t get better until the story was all written down.”
By researching the history of logging in Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as the great Hinckley fire, David aimed to write a historically accurate novel with American folklore, historical ecology, Native American spirituality, and love.
When a draft was complete, the next step was publication. David’s wife, alumna Sara (Holman) Nash ’06, suggested he reach out to Augsburg’s English Department. Sara is an English major graduate from Augsburg and connected David with Professor Emerita Kathryn Swanson.
“Kathy Swanson and the English Department helped me look for publishers and things to consider in terms of what makes the project marketable, and writing resources.”
Two publishers accepted David’s book: one was from Oregon and the other, Orange Hat Publishing, is located in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
“I went with the Waukesha publisher. Being more local, I felt a good connection with their owner, who went to the same high school as me.”
After rounds of formal editing and book designs, The Man in the Pines was ready to be released. A book launch party was planned for April 2020 at a local brewery in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The party and book tour was going to be accompanied by David’s The Man in the Pines music.
However, the current pandemic prevented the party from happening and canceled the book tour.
“With COVID, self-promotion is hard right now. As a musician, I thrive more off immediate interaction with people, in-person.”
David isn’t giving up, though. He still released the book in March and did an online reading with a few other authors. He also hosted an online concert with one other musician, during which David explained a few stories from book and played songs. When it’s safe to do so, he will tour with his book and accompanying songs, and have a proper launch party in La Crosse.
One surprising thing David learned about himself while writing The Man in the Pines is that he really likes writing.
“If someone would have told me I would enjoy writing a book, it would have been hard to comprehend. I like that you can start with an idea and you may not know your destination. I like writing myself out of problems. It can be frustrating, but also gratifying to discover the journey of your characters as you write.”
David had an early connection to Augsburg. His mom, Susan Nash, Ed.D., has been a nursing professor at Augsburg’s Rochester campus since 1998, and his older brother, Collin, played hockey at Augsburg. David was a biology major and also played hockey. He met his wife, Sara, their senior year in college, at a mutual friend’s birthday party.
Today, David is a Pediatric Ophthalmologist and Strabismologist at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse. He lives in Wisconsin with his wife and two children, where they spend most of their time outdoors, kayaking, jogging, fly and trout fishing, hiking, painting, and practicing photography.
“I have more interests and hobbies than I have time for!”
Listen to Online Alumni Event “Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way”
A new series of online alumni events launched last week. Each is led by Augsburg alumni with expertise in constructing a will and financial planning. Listen online to Cody Tresselt-Warren ’09, Vice-President, Senior Wealth Planner at Wells Fargo Private Bank and Lewis Nelson ’00, Sales Manager at Fluke Corporation discuss wills and why it’s important to plan now instead of leaving decisions for others to make in the future.
Making an Impact Through Problem Solving
Brynn Watson ’89 is Lockheed Martin’s Vice President in the Digital Transformation Program. As COVID-19 moved most of Lockheed Martin’s work online, Brynn’s work became more important than ever, helping her teams pivot to a digital platform. She has been pleasantly surprised that productivity and efficiency have continued and says her teams have adapted positively to online programs to stay connected. While this has been a big change for most of the company, it’s a change Brynn embraces, especially in her leadership role.
“We’re more empathetic about work-life balance. Parents are teaching their kids. We’ve become more accepting about dogs barking in the background of a phone call. I like that change. It’s a good thing.”
Brynn has an award-winning record for her leadership abilities: Lockheed Martin Space NOVA Full Spectrum Leadership Award; Tribute to Women Honor by the YWCA of Silicon Valley; and Lockheed Martin Space Ed Taft Diversity Leadership Award.
In 2018, Brynn was recognized with Augsburg’s Distinguished Alumni Award for her commitment to helping young women in STEM.
Brynn’s dedication to helping others through community building started long before her work at Lockheed Martin. It started in middle school with the influence of another Auggie: Ertwin “Ert” Jones-Hermerding.
Ert graduated from Augsburg in 1969 with a degree in Speech, then moved to Robbinsdale to teach speech and theater at the middle school. This is where Brynn first met Ert and first learned about Augsburg.
“What he had our theater groups focus on was not only our craft, but our community. I got into the focus on service really young.”
Brynn thought Augsburg sounded like the best college from Ert’s depiction. In fact, when applying for college, she only applied to Augsburg.
“I followed in the footsteps of my favorite teacher,” says Brynn. “I was really motivated to go to a place where I could learn and also make an impact on my community.”
At Augsburg, Brynn was involved in campus life as a resident advisor, a cheerleader, and as part of ODK, a national organization that recognized students with responsible leadership and service in campus life skills. And it was in her math class that she developed a love for problem solving. Dr. Lawrence Copes, Chair of Math Computer Science, challenged Brynn and her classmates to think differently about math.
“He opened our minds to what math is, he called it a beautiful language and problem solving language.”
Brynn credits Dr. Copes’ coaching and mentorship for steering her into the aerospace industry. When she thought about what to do with her mathematics degree, she thought about solving hard problems. And the industry growing at the time of her graduation—the industry that presented all the hard problems—was the aerospace industry.
Leadership Through Mentorship
Brynn graduated from Augsburg, then went on to earn her master’s degree in applied mathematics from the University of California at Riverside. After a few years at Aerojet Electronic Systems, she attended a job fair where she met a female executive, Amy Flanagan, who was focused on recruiting women to Lockheed Martin. Brynn was so impressed with Amy that she decided she wanted to work for her.
“I honed my focus on service at Augsburg, but when I met Amy, I was introduced to her passion and I wanted to work for her and work for the place she was committed to.”
At Lockheed Martin, Brynn has held a variety of positions, including vice president of Navigation Systems Operations and deputy for the Global Positioning System (GPS) III program for Lockheed Martin Space.
“I have a lot of great memories and experiences of
developing products, launching satellites, those are awesome and amazing things that are doing wonderful things for our country and our world.”
When asked what she is most proud of in the time since graduating from Augsburg, Brynn says raising her daughter to be an amazing young woman. Brynn is also proud of her work mentoring others, especially women.
Augsburg prepared her to go out into the world and make an impact, and Brynn sees this impact in her daughter, in her daughter’s friends, and in others she’s mentored over the years.
“It’s visiting classrooms, it’s one kid that got a spark from that visit. That’s amazing to be able to create those sparks that can solve the next big challenge for the world.”
Brynn has mentored several women in her career, including college students who now work at Lockheed Martin. She is also on the Executive Steering Council for Lockheed Martin’s Women’s Impact Network, and is co-chairing this year’s virtual women’s leadership forum.
“As much as I believe we are making a lot of progress in our quest to improve the diversity metrics—particularly the female to male ratios—there’s a lot of work to do. I always make sure that people surround themselves with mentors and sponsors and champions. You are creating a network of support so as you need to make difficult decisions—whether it’s technical decisions within your day job or it is advice on how to find that next opportunity—you’ve got that support network.”
Brynn’s daily work doesn’t include typing code or doing math problems on the white board like she used to, but she believes her work is still about solving problems and making sure the barriers her teams might be facing are addressed.
“Sometimes you think you have to do it all on your own and that’s never the case. I got to where I am because of mentors and teachers and my parents, all those people are the shoulders that I stood on to get to where I’m at.”
Five Years of Howling Bird Press
Howling Bird Press
Since its inception five years ago, Howling Bird Press has published five winning manuscripts, all with authors who have gone on to do wonderful things. The press has also been recognized for its work in Poets & Writers, Kirkus, Foreword Reviews, Columbia Journal, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Literary Review, and The St. Paul Pioneer Press.
2020 marks the five-year anniversary of Howling Bird Press, the publishing house of Augsburg University’s Master in Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Started by former MFA Director and Professor Emerita Cass Dalglish, Howling Bird Press is a student-run publishing program that offers an annual book contest where the winner is awarded a $1,000 cash prize along with book publication and distribution.
Students enrolled in the Publishing Concentration, a two-semester course sequence taught by poet James Cihlar, run the press while studying the publishing profession and the book trade. The students handle all the work of running a press, including acquisitions, editing, graphic design, production, marketing, and fundraising. Howling Bird Press books are distributed by Small Press Distribution and are available online and in bookstores nationwide.
The annual nationwide contest is open to manuscripts of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction on an alternating basis and is judged by the student editors and senior faculty of the MFA program. Along with the prize and publication, the winning author is invited to read at the MFA program’s summer residency in Minneapolis.
This year’s title, Self, Divided by John Medeiros, is the winner of the 2020 Nonfiction Prize.
Previous winning books are Irreversible Things, by Lisa Van Orman Hadley, winner of the 2019 Fiction Prize; Simples, by KateLynn Hibbard, winner of the 2018 Poetry Prize; Still Life with Horses, by Jean Harper, winner of the 2017 Nonfiction Prize; The Topless Widow of Herkimer Street, by Jacob M. Appel, winner of the 2016 Fiction Prize; and At the Border of Wilshire & Nobody, by Marci Vogel, winner of the 2015 Poetry Prize.
This fall, students will be reading poetry manuscripts in preparation for the 2021 prize.
First Howling Bird Press Publishing Editors
The first three students to sign up for Howling Bird Press’s publishing concentration were not only adding a concentration on to their creative writing master’s program, they were helping develop the program for future publishing students. Amanda Symes, Ashley Cardona, and Kevin Matuseski are photographed with Marci Vogel at her book launch party in 2015.
Kevin Matuseski MFA ’16
It was quite lovely to be part of the first Howling Bird Press cohort of editors. The idea was to study everything in bookmaking from the initial manuscript to marketing after publication, so it seemed like a worthwhile endeavor for someone like me who wanted to eventually publish his own book. I even ordered a cake for the book launch! Those are things you don’t really imagine doing when you think of the book business, but there are many little tasks like that in publishing.
The most grueling aspect was the sheer quantity of reading we did to select a manuscript to publish. I was reading poetry manuscripts almost everyday—from right after work until I went to bed—for about a month. Then we came together as a team, with professors as our guides, to decide on the winning manuscript.
This was the most memorable to me—to have several people in one room with different tastes, values, and backgrounds—and to try to agree on the best manuscript. It was no easy task, but I think all of us were proud of our choice, Marci Vogel’s At The Border of Wilshire & Nobody.
Her book is now one of my most cherished possessions. Yes, it’s beautiful work, but it became even more valuable when we sat down as an editing cohort to read through it line by line. I think voracious readers often don’t slow down to do this, but it’s a rewarding process, especially with a text as beautiful and layered as Marci’s. You become more present with the text, you notice things, and you guess (sometimes incorrectly) at the intention of the author. It’s critical reading to the extreme.
Our appreciation for Marci’s work was compounded when we met the person behind the manuscript—a kind, humble, and wise person with a true passion for language. She even recommended a few books that I ordered for my daughter. It’s nice to have made a connection with someone so genuine. I see now that she has another book out, Death and Other Holidays. My copy has been ordered. I can’t wait to read it! It’s gratifying to see her continued success having been part of her first book release.
Ashley Cardona MFA ’15
Being part of the team responsible for creating and running Howling Bird Press is one of those experiences that I’m grateful for in ways that I’m only now fully realizing.
I learned what it takes to make a book happen. Proofing, layout, printing, cutting, binding—it was a fascinating process. And then, seeing Marci’s work finally transform from a PDF into a beautiful, tangible piece of art gave us all such a feeling of accomplishment and pride. To be able to bring her poetry to the page was a gift.
Promoting and celebrating the book came naturally for us. We were excited about sharing her work and ours with the world. Designing a promotional broadside felt like the right way to showcase the beauty of language and image that runs throughout Marci’s poetry. The bird of paradise image (below) plays with the language of the poem and serves as a reminder of place for much of her book.
We felt like we knew Marci before we ever met, and when we finally did meet for the book launch, we were met with warmth and grace—she is truly a delightful person and artist.
Amanda Symes MFA ’15
It was exciting to join the inaugural Howling Bird Press group. We not only got the chance to learn about publishing, we had the opportunity to help design the program. Our first assignment was to come up with the publishing house’s name. That was an exciting task that many other MFA students participated in.
To say we got a crash course in publishing is a bit of an understatement. The three of us in that first cohort had full-time jobs, families, were in different tracks in the MFA program (Nonfiction, Poetry, and Fiction), and were embarking on publishing the first Howling Bird Press book.
We were doing more than just a publishing job, though. And we were doing a few years’ worth of publishing work in two short semesters. We read over ninety poetry manuscripts, had back-and-forth meetings to whittle the list down to ten finalists, worked with professors in an all-day discussion to pick the winning manuscript, drafted a contract for winner Marci Vogel, edited her manuscript, designed an entire book—cover, layout, text—to print, finalized details with a book printing company, developed a marketing plan, implemented that marketing plan, and organized a book launch party.
For me, this process was terrifying and also one of the most rewarding experiences of my writing life. I didn’t have a background in poetry or in publishing, so everything was new. And while it was daunting, I was reassured working with Ashley, Kevin, and Marci, all who are phenomenal writers. We found a way to work together, and work with the professors, to publish what has turned into one of my favorite books: At the Border of Wilshire & Nobody.
In the end, I learned more than I could have dreamed about the publishing process. It’s helped shape my writing and prepared me for what to expect when my manuscript is finished. It’s also been deeply rewarding to see the great things Marci has done with At the Border of Wilshire & Nobody, and her continued success since.
Howling Bird Press – Five Years of Accomplishments
Howling Bird Press authors have accomplished so much in the short time since winning the annual publication award.
- Still Life with Horses by Jean Harper, Simples by KateLynn Hibbard, and Irreversible Things by Lisa Van Orman Hadley have all been finalists for the Midwest Book Awards.
- Simples was a finalist for Lyricality’s One Book Minnesota pick.
- Irreversible Things won an Association of Mormon Letters (AML) book award.
- Author Jacob M. Appel is the subject of a Netflix documentary and his Howling Bird Press winning book, The Topless Widow of Herkimer Street, is mentioned. This book has sixty ratings on Amazon averaging 4.5 stars.
- Howling Bird Press has reprinted both Irreversible Things and The Topless Widow of Herkimer Street due to popular demand.
Howling Bird Press authors are not the only success story, however. The publishing alumni have gone on to great things as well!
- Tracy Ross published her books Broken Signals and James Dean and the Beautiful Machine.
- Colin Mustful founded his own press, History through Fiction.
- Ashley Cardona and Amanda Symes have won writing contests, publishing poetry and fiction (respectively) as part of anthology collections.
- Three students have continued their studies in Georgetown University’s publishing program (Gabe Benson), the University of Minnesota’s MFA program (Brad Hagen), and Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s graduate program in Counseling with a focus on creative writing in Art Therapy and trauma (Ciara Dall).
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
The Master of Fine Arts program at Augsburg University is designed to accommodate writers who work full-time, live outside of Minnesota, or simply desire the flexibility of a low-residency experience. This two-year program—run jointly by Stephan Eirik Clark and Lindsay Starck—offers one-on-one work with mentors throughout the year, features an annual ten-day summer residency, and provides the opportunity to join a lifelong community of writers.
Students typically begin the program with a ten-day summer residency in Minneapolis, participating in daily workshops, readings, and mini-courses that focus on literary craft as well as career skills in teaching, editing, publishing, book arts, and advertising. The program includes three summer residencies in Minneapolis.
The first and second residencies are each followed by two off-campus semesters of work with faculty mentors in virtual classrooms that make use of online and other technologies. Each semester, MFA candidates register for a Mentorship and Creative and Critical reading course. In addition, students complete a craft paper during their third off-campus semester and prepare a craft talk in the fourth. Cross genre work is encouraged. By their third and last residency, students are expected to have produced a bound creative thesis.
Students are also given the opportunity to specialize in one or more career concentrations: Teaching and Publishing (Howling Bird Press). Classes are planned with a 5-to-1 student-to-mentor ratio for the close relationship needed throughout the course of MFA studies.
Augsburg Women Engaged Sponsors a Campus Cupboard Drive
With no safe housing alternatives for many Augsburg students during COVID-19, they remain on campus this summer. It’s also anticipated that many students will have similar issues in the fall as they return to school. Currently, many nearby stores are temporarily closed and transportation outside of the area isn’t always reliable. As a result, Augsburg Women Engaged (AWE) is sponsoring a drive for the Campus Cupboard and ShareShop to support these students now as well as in the future.
Items can be dropped off June 25 from 3 to 6 p.m., in Lot D at Augsburg. You can also make an online donation which Augsburg will use to purchase small appliances, household items, tools, food in bulk, and gift cards to local businesses such as Seward Coop so our students can be supported with the goods and services they need. Please use the designation: Other and in the “Other” field, enter Campus Cupboard.
A recommended list of items to donate is below.
Campus Cupboard Donation List:
Non-perishable food such as
- Mac & cheese
- Ramen
- Canned tuna/chicken
- Canned soup (Preferred: more complex soups, i.e., not ‘cream of’ or tomato )
- Rice
- Protein supplements (chia, flax, veg protein, whey)
- High quality granola bars
- Canned beans
Hygiene and cleaning supplies such as
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Menstrual products
- Shampoo/ Conditioner
- Band-Aids
- Laundry Detergent (Preferred brands: Seventh Generation, Meyers, Method, Biokleen)
- Dish Soap (Preferred brands: Seventh Generation, Ecover, Method, Dr Bronner’s)
Thank you for considering a donation!
AWE
Upcoming Facebook Live Events: Author Chris Stedman ’08, Musician Dua Saleh ’17, and a Panel for Augsburg Parents
Over the next two weeks, Augsburg will be featuring two alumni and a panel of Augsburg staff in Facebook live events.
On Tuesday, May 19, author and alumnus Chris Stedman ’08 will be joining us at 3 p.m. for a conversation about his new book “IRL: Finding Realness, Meaning, and Belonging in Our Digital Lives.” Then on Tuesday, May 26 at 5 p.m., recording artist Dua Saleh ’17 will be sharing some music from their new EP, ROSETTA. Both of these live events will be streamed on the Augsburg University Alumni Association page.
For parents of future and current Auggies, there will be a special Facebook live event on the Augsburg University Facebook page Wednesday, May 27 at 5 p.m. to answer questions about the fall semester and the new Augsburg Bold plan. Panelist include Director of Campus Life Mike Grewe, Director of the Center for Wellness & Counseling Nancy Guilbeault, and Financial Aid Counselor Uriah Ward.
Say Congrats to the Class of 2020 with a Video!
Augsburg alumni, donors and friends,
Augsburg’s communications team would like to encourage you to record and share a video congratulating the Class of 2020 for finishing the academic year strong and to celebrate their accomplishments. Please use the hashtag #GoAuggies and tag Augsburg so we share these via Augsburg’s social media channels and feature them on Inside Augsburg as we approach commencement day. Commencement is Friday, May 29, so be sure to share your video before then!
You can create a group video with friends like this example from the chemistry department or an individual videos like this one from one of our regents.
Augsburg tags:
Facebook – Augsburg University
Twitter – @AugsburgU
Instagram – @AugsburgUniversity
#GoAuggies
Alumni Spotlight: Bethany Johnson ’19 Lives Out Augsburg’s Mission with Augsburg Central Health Commons
During class the last week of April, Auggie Bethany Johnson, a current DNP-FNP student, wondered how she could help her local community during the COVID-19 pandemic. She wanted to volunteer her time at Augsburg Central Health Commons, a common practice for Augsburg nursing students. However, due to safety precautions, students cannot be on-site right now. Bethany asked Katie Clark, her professor and Director of Augsburg Central Health Commons, how the community is doing.
“Katie said they need water. I thought that seems so elementary,” says Bethany. “But everything is closed, none of the regular bathrooms or shops where a marginalized person can fill up water are open. My husband’s coffee shop has slow business right now so I called him and asked how much water he had.”
Bethany’s husband, David, owns UP Coffee Roaster and told her he’d order a pallet of water.
One week later, Bethany loaded up her daughter, her husband, and 1800 bottles of water in the UP Coffee Roaster’s delivery van and headed to the Health Commons.
“I think everyone in the community is shocked to hear people need water because we don’t think of things like this. It’s a basic, basic need,” says Bethany.
The COVID-19 outbreak has affected everyone, but it has particularly affected the marginalized communities in the Twin Cities.
“Encampments are being torn down and individuals coming to the Health Commons are saying they have no water,” says Dr. Joyce Miller, Chair of Augsburg’s Nursing Department.
Bethany finished her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Augsburg in 2019 and is now part of the Doctor in Nursing Practice program.
“Their mission is what brought me to Augsburg,” says Bethany. “To reach out and be so inclusive in their neighborhood and the greater community. Augsburg felt like my people. Felt like home.”
It’s no surprise to her professors, then, that Bethany jumped at the chance to help.
“Bethany’s generous donation to the Augsburg Central Health Commons was truly moving. Not only is Bethany working on the frontlines, but she is caring for those who are marginalized. Healthcare for the Homeless, St. Stephens Outreach, and AICDC also took portions of our water donation to distribute to the unsheltered population,” says Katie Clark.
“I have two kids in college, plus I’m in college, and Augsburg is the only one not closing everyone out. Not everyone has a safe home to go home to, so Augsburg is staying open to take care of people. It blows me away, I love it,” says Bethany. “They walk the walk and talk the talk.”
While she waits for approval to volunteer at the Health Commons, Bethany and her family are already planning to donate more water. They have also generously offered to help others donate water to the Health Commons.
If you would like to donate, please contact Bethany directly at johns173@augsburg.edu.
Augsburg’s Health Commons
The Augsburg Central Health Commons is a nursing-led drop-in center that is dedicated to building relationships based on mutual benefit and understanding with those who utilize our space. Nursing faculty members and students from Augsburg University lead, organize, and participate at the Augsburg Central Health Commons in hopes to create changes in our healthcare system to honor the wisdom of all people as they seek to reduce bias, increase compassionate based care, and discover what it means to be a citizen nurse.
The Augsburg Central Health Commons was founded in 1992 (previously called the Nursing Center). It has provided an opportunity for faculty and students from the Nursing Department at Augsburg to become involved in independent practice. Through the years, Augsburg nurses have met community members who have welcomed their service. In the relationships that have developed, nurses continue to experience the mutuality of health–when someone grows stronger, that strength helps everyone in the community.