bing pixel
  1. Home
  2. Author: Jenna Gadient

Kuoth Wiel ’13 gains wealth of media coverage

Posted on
GoodLie
Courtesy image

Augsburg College alumna Kuoth Wiel ’13, a star in the feature film “The Good Lie,” has garnered a plethora of media coverage. The film, which was released in Minnesota Oct. 17, has been well received and is generating Oscar buzz.  Augsburg has received several media mentions thanks to Wiel since she was a student at the College when she auditioned for the role.

The film brings to life a fictional yet strikingly accurate story of the ‘Lost Boys’ of Sudan. Born in a refugee camp in Ethiopia to Sudanese parents herself, it’s no surprise Wiel found it important to help tell this story. Being a part of the film “…validated all the struggles we had went through,” Wiel said in an MPR news interview.

Wiel has been traveling around the U.S. promoting the film since its September debut at the Toronto Film Festival. The film, along with Wiel and her cast mates, have been featured and covered by media outlets ranging from Minneapolis’ Star Tribune to Rolling Stone magazine.

Below is a list of some of the local and national media coverage on Wiel:

  • Bring Me the News – “Augsburg grad’s tragic past informs role in Hollywood movie”
  • Entertainment Weekly – “Behind the Scenes with the Sudanese stars of ‘The Good Lie'”
  • Huffington Post – “It’s been a long road to the big screen for the Sudanese stars of “‘The Good Lie'”
  • Kare 11 – “Augsburg grad lands role with Reese Witherspoon”
  • MPR – “‘The Good Lie’ treads close to Sudanese refugee life, Minnesota actress says”
  • People – “Meet the real-life ‘Lost Boys’ of Sudan in ‘The Good Lie'”
  • Pioneer Press – “’The Good Lie’ wisely leaves story to the refugees”
  • Rolling Stone – “This Reese Witherspoon drama about the lost boys (and girls) of Sudan is earnest to a fault, but you won’t leave unmoved”
  • Star Tribune – “Sudanese refugees weather culture shock in ‘Good Lie'”
  • Variety – “Toronto film review: ‘The Good Lie'”

Atlese Robinson ’15 awarded Hawkinson Foundation Scholarship

Posted on

Atlese Robinson headshotThe Vincent L. Hawkinson Foundation for Peace & Justice has awarded Augsburg student Atlese Robinson ’15 the 2014 Hawkinson Foundation Scholarship. This scholarship was created by the Foundation to encourage students who have already demonstrated a commitment to peace and justice to strive for those values in their educational pursuits and in their personal and professional lives.

Robinson is majoring in theater at Augsburg. Her artistic background includes the Penumbra Theatre’s Summer Institute and the St. Paul Central High School’s Central Touring Theatre. When she was attending Central, Robinson wrote a poem highlighting racial inequalities within the school system. She then went on to perform the poem, with others, for groups of teachers and administration in the St. Paul Public Schools.

Robinson has served as editor of The Echo newspaper, a student publication at Augsburg College. She also has performed her original spoken word as part of the College’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation celebration.

The Line highlights Lars Christiansen and Nancy Fischer

Posted on

Augsburg College faculty members Lars Christiansen and Nancy Fischer, known for their avid bicycling, recently were featured in The Line, a Twin Cities-based online journal.

In the article, Christiansen describes how he and Fischer have never been happier living “car-ownership-free” after selling their car two years ago and relying on their bicycles and, if necessary, the metro transit system.

Christiansen also revealed his tips for healthy living as well as his reasoning for choosing a car-free lifestyle, noting that the sense of community gained in such a lifestyle could easily be reason enough.

“…when you ride a bus, train or bike, you’re in public,” he said. “You encounter a greater diversity of people with whom you develop camaraderie.”

To learn more about living car-free, read “How being ‘car ownership free’ led to healthy living, community organizing and embracing transit.”

Augsburg grad student on MPR News

Posted on

Lorna “Emmy” Her Many Horses ’15, an Augsburg graduate student, was featured on MPR News for her work on translating the Star Spangled Banner to the Lakota and Dakota languages.

Her Many Horses, who grew up on a South Dakota Indian reservation and works for the Division of Indian Work, said reworking the national anthem was no easy task, “It was quite a process, figuring out what words we needed to make up,” she said.

To hear Her Many Horses’ rendition of the song visit the MPR news site.