On Sept. 29, 2018, the Young Alumni Council will host Yoga on the Lawn of the beautiful new Hagfors Center for Science, Business & Religion from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The Council is excited to bring alumna, and renowned yoga instructor Halen Bower back to campus to instruct a stimulating hour!
Bower graduated from Augsburg in 2008 with a BA studying international relations, and got a taste for travel when she studied abroad her junior year. As an athlete most of her life, (she played volleyball for Augsburg from 2004-2007) Halen initially came to yoga as a gentler way to stay in shape. In 2010, she was able to combine both her love for travel and her love of yoga when she completed her 200 hour training in Guatemala. She has been traveling with yoga ever since. Halen has taught yoga in Switzerland, Alaska, California, Minnesota, and Vermont. She is trained in Adapting Yoga for Disability, in Yin Yoga, and in Restorative Yoga. Bower has been a certified Children’s Yoga teacher since 2011, and is now in the process of completing her 95 hour certification with Radiant Child Yoga.
Bower epitomizes true kindness and a heart-centered zest for life. Her presence and classes will leave you both energized and relaxed. Her hope is to teach yoga in a playful, and approachable way to help promote healing, connection, and openness in mind, body, and spirit. She looks forward to bringing what she has learned over the years back to Augsburg to connect with her Augsburg community. Bring your mat and join her on Saturday, Sept. 29 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Please register for this event. Limited to 30 participants.
Augsburg University is a member of the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities, comprising 26 institutions across the country linked to our particular brand of Lutheranism. As part of the Network, Augsburg recently adopted “Rooted and Open: The Common Calling of the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities,” which provides a great overview of how our missions and identities have been shaped by the Lutheran Christian tradition. You can find a copy at https://www.elca.org/Resources/Colleges-and-Universities.
(L-R) Karen Kaivola, BK Kormah, Mayor Jacob Frey, Jeff Nodland, Mike Good, President Paul Pribbenow, Norman Hagfors, Evangeline Hagfors, Peter McLaughlin Abdi Warsame, Francesca Chiari and Lori Higgins ready to cut the ribbon.
The Norman and Evangeline Hagfors Center Grand Opening reception cultivated the feeling of excitement with a formal ribbon cutting ceremony. The ceremony took place at 12:00 p.m. on January 27th, in the Hagfors Center Kennedy Learning Commons.
President Paul Pribbenow was joined in cutting the ribbon by the Hagfors Center Campaign Chair Mike Good, Board Chair Jeff Nodland, Provost Karen Kaivola, Student Body President BK Kormah, Student Body Vice President Francesca Chiari, Mayor Jacob Frey, City Council member Abdi Warsame, County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, Alumni Board Member t Lori Higgins, and the eponymous Norman and Evangeline Hagfors.
Mayor Frey welcomed everyone to the building with remarks regarding his hopes to build connections to unify all citizens of Minneapolis. President Pribbenow offered thanks to every individual (including the 1,200 plus generous donors) who helped to make the Hagfors Center a reality and also discussed the promise of learning, development and student engagement the new building will present. Hagfors Center Campaign Chair, Mike Good, expressed his delight in leading such a successful campaign and the support received from “an army of believers” that created said success.
Institutional Advancement are hiring a Temporary Annual Giving Assistant to help out with Give to the Max Day. This position will be working alongside the Senior Director of Advancement, Advancement Communications Specialist and the Give to the Max Day fundraising project managers to make this Give to the Max Day our best one yet.
The position will involve:
Orchestrating one-on-one interviews with Augsburg faculty, staff and student leaders.
Serving as lead project coordinator for up to 20 projects.
Completing necessary marketing collateral for projects including website registration and design.
Editing and sending email and mail copy.
Setting fundraising goals for individual projects.
Manipulating spreadsheets with donor data.
Assisting in the planning and execution of donor recognition events in coordination with various project managers.
Think that you would make a great Annual Giving Assistant? You can apply here.
Legendary Augsburg College athlete, coach and instructor Edor Nelson ’38, who led the Auggie football and baseball teams during a four-decade span, died last week. He was 100. President Pribbenow shared news of Nelson’s passing with the campus community. We were sad to learn this news after having enjoyed such a wonderful celebration of his life on Aug. 18. The family released the details of the memorial service, and we wanted to share them with you.
A memorial for Nelson will be held on Friday, Sept. 5, at Nokomis Heights Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis (5300 10th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55417). Visitation will be from 12 to 1 p.m., with the memorial service following at 1 p.m.
The Augsburg Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) program is currently seeking alumni to serve on the MBA Alumni Advisory Board. All alumni are welcomed and encourage to apply.
In conjunction with the MBA Office, the advisory board provides resources and opportunities to engage alumni with the college and each other through consistent communication, inclusive programming, input into curricular design and content, and intentional relationship building.
Did you know that 93% of Augsburg students receive financial aid? Or that student support services like tutoring, the Writing Lab, and the CLASS office are available at no extra cost? Financial aid, student support programs, faculty-student research and more are all made possible, thanks to generous donors to Augsburg. Each year, more than 2,400 alumni, parents, and friends give more than $1,000,000 to The Augsburg Fund. Philanthropy Week is an opportunity to teach current students about how their education is supported by donors, and thank current donors for their generosity.
Here are a few ways to get involved:
Share what you love about Augsburg and why you support the College on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #auggiesgive.
Join us for a special Philanthropy Week lunch on Wednesday, April 2, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., to help thank donors for their support and encourage them to make a gift this year (RSVP to Ben Krouse-Gagne at 612-330-1179 or krousega@augsburg.edu).
By spring 2015, Katie Lindenfelser ’02 hopes to break ground for Children’s Lighthouse Minnesota (CLM), the first children’s hospice and respite home in the Midwest, and only the fourth children’s hospice facility in a nation that has over 4,700 such facilities for adults.
Having chosen Augsburg for its Music Therapy program and the option to study abroad, Lindenfelser found an “incredible mentor” in Professor Roberta Kagin, who encouraged her interest in pediatric music therapy, and suggested she spend a semester in Melbourne, Australia. She did so, and fell in love with Melbourne. She also discovered that more of Australia’s music therapists worked in pediatric care than was true in Minnesota. Later, in her work as a music therapist in a Minnesota children’s hospital, she found herself repeatedly asked by parents about other places outside the hospital where they could take their child when exhausted and needing more support—a place to feel like a kid, to get a nice bath and a good night’s rest, and a place to meet other families in similar situations. Was there such a place in the region—a place for respite and end-of-life care, a sacred place for family when a child is dying? Basically, no.
She returned to the University of Melbourne to complete a Master’s in music therapy. While there, she also completed a study investigating bereaved parents’ experiences of music therapy while their child was dying, and connected with a pediatric palliative and hospice facility, Very Special Kids (VSK), to which she would return in 2008 to work. It became increasingly clear to her that VSK was the kind of facility thousands of U.S. families had been seeking.
Left to right: Matt and Nadine Gregerson, Katie Lindenfelser and Matt Christensen
When she returned to the U.S., her husband, Matt Christensen ’03, asked, “Why would you keep going to Australia to work at a children’s hospice? Why not just work at one here in Minnesota?” When she told him there was none, he said, “Let’s build one”—and the dream began to unfold. They, along with Matt Gregerson ’02 and his wife Nadine, did research on what, if anything, had already been done, and what would be required to build and sustain such a facility. They forged a relationship with Harmon Killebrew’s widow Nita, to join forces on an issue that had been dear to the heart of her late husband and baseball legend—a man who had been a grateful recipient of hospice care, and who felt deeply about dignity at the end of life. An advisory group for a CLM Fund in his honor—comprised of families with names such as Oliva, Molitor, Morris, Carew, Blyleven, Hays, Smith, St. Peter, Doepner and LeDoux—began helping to raise awareness and the $10 million needed to both erect a building (where families can stay without charge), and to fund the first two years of operations.
On May 17 (the third anniversary of Killebrew’s death), the Minnesota Twins will provide an opportunity to contribute, as they did last spring. By simply calling Luis at the Twins office (612-659-3575) to purchase tickets for the day’s game, you can mention CLM and $10 per ticket will benefit CLM.
Living in the Twin Cities with husband Matt and their son Daniel (and awaiting child #2), Lindenfelser welcomes wholeheartedly your leads on businesses, organizations, or individuals who may have interest in supporting this mission. Reach her at Katie@ChildrensLighthouseMN.org or at 763-587-1152.
Feed My Starving Children – Augsburg Alumni Packing Session
Saturday, March 15, 2014
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Join the Augsburg College Alumni Board at Feed My Starving Children to help pack meals for hungry children in 70 countries. Augsburg alumni, parents, staff, students, and friends may volunteer.Register online with the Augsburg Alumni and Friends group at www.fmsc.org (click “join existing group”).
Registration code: 436490
Feed My Starving Children are excited to have us, please take time to read their “what to expect” letter (Click Here).Chanhassen location is located at 18732 Lake Drive East, Chanhassen, MN 55317
For more information, call DJ Hamm at 612.330.1329 or email alumni@augsburg.edu
Feed My Starving Children – Augsburg Alumni Packing Session