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Augsburg alumnus and business owner leaves small community big gift

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As a local dentist, Augsburg College alumnus Dr. Pat Patel ’75 served the small communities of Clarkfield and Cottonwood, Minnesota, for decades. The Advocate Tribune of Granite Falls and Clarkfield recently published a story detailing Patel’s career and the unusual way he’s leaving his business upon his retirement. Instead of selling his dental practice property, Patel opted to donate his assets to the city of Clarkfield so that they could be awarded as an incentive for young dentists seeking to start their own practices in the area.

According to the article, Patel did not want Clarkfield to be without a dentist after his retirement and sought a way to “give back to the community that he spread his roots in.”

Read, “Dr. Patel retires with an abundance of smiles” on the Advocate Tribune site.

 

The Post Game includes Lute Olson ’56 in list of notable North Dakota athletes

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the post game - logoSports news site The Post Game recently included former Augsburg College basketball player and legendary coach Lute Olson ’56 in an article about notable athletes from North Dakota.

Olson was born and raised near the Minnesota-North Dakota border before attending Augsburg. After graduating, he went on to become the head coach of the University of Arizona men’s basketball team. As the article points out, Olson’s teams made it to the Final Four a total of five times, winning the national title in 1997.

Read 9 Notable Athletes From North Dakota: Carson Wentz, Phil Jackson And More on the Post Game site.

Lillie News spotlights Teacher of the Year finalist Koua Yang ’99

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Lillie News - logoSt. Paul-area newspaper Lillie News recently profiled Koua Yang ’99, a social studies teacher and tennis coach at Harding High School. Yang was one of 11 finalists for the 2015 Minnesota Teacher of the Year Award.

Yang was assigned to Harding High School as a student teacher in 1999 while he was an education major at Augsburg College. He was so loved by his students that they petitioned the school’s principal and asked him to hire Yang. The principle told Yang that a job would be waiting for him the following school year.

Yang’s family immigrated to the U.S. in 1980 when he was 4 years old.

“I know what it was like to struggle as a student. I knew what it was like to not be proficient in a language — a foreign language,” Yang said. “Sharing that path, that navigation piece is absolutely crucial. It also gives them hope. Because then they realize, ‘Hey somebody went through it, too; somebody like me went through it and they were pretty successful at it. I can do it, too.'”

Read ‘I’m not afraid to be vulnerable’ on the Lillie News site.

Lakeshore Weekly News covers Excellence in Coaching Award presented to Brad Anderson ’88

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Minnetonka’s Lakeshore Weekly News recently published an article detailing the accomplishments of Augsburg Excellence in Coaching Award winner Brad Anderson ’88. Anderson received the honor in recognition of his outstanding success as a high school football coach in Wayzata, where he has been the head coach for 17 seasons. The article states that Anderson has a .802 winning percentage with a record of 150-37. Four of his former players have gone on to careers in the NFL, according to the article.

Read: Wayzata’s Coach Anderson receives Augsburg Excellence in Coaching Award on Lakeshore Weekly News.

Jenni Lilledahl ’87 appears on KARE 11

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kareAugsburg College alumna Jenni Lilledahl ’87 helped co-found Gilda’s Club Twin Cities, a new space where people living with cancer and their families can find social, emotional, and psychological support. Lilledahl serves as chair of the organization’s Board of Directors and also is the owner of Brave New Workshop, a Twin Cities-based comedy theater. Watch Lilledahl discuss Gilda’s Club on KARE 11 News.

Jacquie Berglund ’87 and Finnegans pioneer ‘reverse’ food truck

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Minneapolis Star TribuneAugsburg alumna Jacquie Berglund ’87, CEO of Finnegans charitable beer company, was quoted in a Star Tribune story on the business’s latest endeavor: a reverse food truck. According to the Star Tribune, Finnegans’ will drive its new vehicle to locations around the Twin Cities to collect nonperishable food items and monetary donations. All donations go back to Finnegans’ community fund, which channels the food to local food shelves and uses monetary donations to buy fresh produce from local farms. Learn more in “Finnegans’ food truck collects food, money for local food shelves.”