Fall 2017
Dear Classmate of 1993,
Big hello to all of you and welcome fall! This time of year brings me back to all of those wonderful memories of Luther and the beginning of a new school year. I’m especially excited this fall as it marks less than one year until our 25-year reunion! Yes, in case you might have forgotten, our 25-year class reunion is during Homecoming Weekend, October 26-28, 2018. A committee of our classmates is formed and actively building a wonderful reunion weekend of activities and opportunities for us to reconnect with friends, relive traditions, and remember our Luther years. If you have not yet made lodging plans, I encourage you to do so. A list of area lodging is available at luther.edu/decorah/lodging.
Homecoming this year was a great one, in spite of the rain, filled with reunions (25-year for the Class of 1992—remember all of those friends of ours, just a year ahead of us?) and a win on the blue football field. In the truest spirit of Luther alumni, something new called the Alumni Ambassador Program was recently rolled out at the college. As alumni, there are a number of ways we can join Luther’s recruitment efforts including hosting or attending nearby Admissions student receptions; requesting information to share with your local schools, religious communities, etc; and referring prospective students—there’s even scholarship money for the student if a referral is made! For a lot more information about this cool program, check out luther.edu/ambassadors.
As we move toward our 25-year reunion in 2018, we all have a great opportunity to pause and remember what a difference Luther made in our lives: education, lifelong community, and enduring relationships are just a few of the ways. There are Luther alumni all over the world. I recently saw someone wearing a Luther sweatshirt walking through the San Francisco airport. I stopped and we had great conversation about our shared connection. During this conversation, I was reminded of the shared sense of community we have with each other because of our time at Luther. It’s pretty cool. Let’s help all Luther students achieve their goals and become part of the Luther community by continuing to give to Luther. If you’ve already given, awesome! If you’re considering giving for the first time, I encourage you to please do so: The Luther Fund (formerly, Annual Fund) provides support to every aspect of life at Luther. Each of our donations makes a difference in the daily lives of students.
I look forward to seeing you at Luther in 2018!
David Schifsky
1993 Class Agents:
Joellyn Veninga
952-484-6458
[email protected]
David Schifsky
415-320-5902
[email protected]
CLASS NOTES
Andrea (Goehner) Barth is vice president of hotel accounting for Schulte Hospitality in Louisville, Ky.
Daina (Hollnagel) Bond is donor records coordinator in the Development Office at Luther College.
Christopher Engelhardt is head of digital and integrated payments at Discover Financial Services in Grayslake, Ill.
Steven Olson is senior systems engineer at Ideal Systems Solution, Inc., in Minnetonka, Minn.
Mitchell Thompson is senior project manager at Charmichael Lynch in Minneapolis, Minn.
Laurie Ryan Whalen is the accountant at Dawson County in Dawsonville, Ga.
OBITUARIES
Kari Bostrom of St. Paul, Minn., died Jan. 31, 2017, at age 46. After graduating from Menomonie (Wis.) High School in 1989, she enrolled at Luther, where she majored in anthropology and minored in art. Kari worked for the Wilson Place Museum and Rassbach Museum in Menomonie; St. Louis County Museum at the Depot in Duluth, Minn.; and United Health Care in Eau Claire, Wis. In 2005 she enrolled at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, where she was able to put her love of historical research to work as a student worker in the Luther Seminary Arts and Archives Program. In 2008 Kari received a master of arts degree in church history, and, in 2015, a master of theology degree in history from Luther Seminary. She worked full-time for Luther Seminary and the upper Midwest area of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (the nine synods of ELCA Region 3). She was a dedicated friend to many, an active member of St. Paul Reformation Lutheran Church, a proud alumna of Luther College and Luther Seminary, and a telling witness to God’s love of all people. Kari is survived by her parents, Shirley and John Bostrom ’61; sister, Kristin (Bostrom) Ellenson ’89; brother-in-law, Jim Ellenson; and two nephews.