Fall 2018
Hello Class of 2008,
Sarah here. Cale and I feel like you’ve heard from us and Luther a lot this year given it’s our 10 year reunion year so for our fall letter, we asked some of the other 10 year reunion committee members for help with content for our letter.
We’re not quite sure when this letter will hit your mailboxes so either you’ll be getting very excited for our 10 year reunion because it will be so near or you’ll be thinking about the awesome time you had at our reunion.
We asked fellow committee members what they were most looking forward to for our 10 year reunion. Again not knowing when exactly you’ll receive this, we hope these thoughts make you even more excited to attend or make you smile thinking about the time at our reunion.
● “I’m looking forward to enjoying Decorah and Luther life for a weekend! I also look forward to seeing people I have not seen in 10 years and hearing about their lives.” - Brianna (Helland) Weyers
● “When I think ahead to the reunion I find myself excited to think about the opportunities to reconnect with peers and see where life has taken folks these past 10 years! I’m also nostalgic for the chance to revisit campus and Decorah and be reminded of how wonderful it was to be part of such an incredible community.” - Becky (Stiger) Williams
● “I am looking forward to seeing people I haven't seen since graduation, and to taking a late-night selfie with the Episode One podracing Pepsi machine.” - Ryan Fordice
You couldn’t escape this letter without Cale and I sharing our thoughts as well:
● “I’m looking forward to seeing all the new developments that have happened on campus since I was last on campus (see last letter for some of the items I noted). I’m also excited to get some Mabe’s pizza and get to the two breweries in town.” - Cale Nelson
● “I can’t wait to catch up with classmates I haven’t seen in years and be back on campus and in Decorah with the folks who made it such an awesome four years of my life.” – Sarah Carnes
Whenever you receive this letter, we hope it finds you well. If you aren’t/weren’t able to attend our reunion, know that you were thought of and we look forward to seeing you at reunions to come. How lucky are we to have an alma mater that we all enjoy coming back to so much and think of so fondly!
Soli Deo Gloria,
Sarah Carnes
2008 Class Agent
421 N. Phillips Avenue
Apt. 209
Sioux Fall, SD 57104
712-229-1216
[email protected]
Cale Nelson
2008 Class Agent
722 Grand Avenue, Unit C
Saint Paul, MN 55105
612-799-4440
[email protected]
CLASS NOTES
Paige (Richards) Albjerg of Decorah is assistant attorney general for the Office of the Attorney General of Iowa. - Britta Anderson is senior scientist at Millipore Sigma in St. Louis. - Jordan Anderson is personnel security specialist for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington. - Jesse Angelo is a master of philosophy graduate student in education of the arts and creativity at St. John’s College, University of Cambridge, England. - Katie Benedix is development manager at Brucemore, Inc. National Trust in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. - Lindsey (Bulger) Bina is pastoral associate at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in North St. Paul, Minn. - Zach Booz is an education consultant with several non-profit organizations in Denver. Katie (Shaw) Brandt teaches fourth grade for the Bemidji (Minn.) area schools. - Lisa (Savre) Busche is assistant professor of psychology at Brevard College in Brevard, N.C. - Sarah Carnes is chief executive officer at 9 Clouds in Sioux Falls, S.D. - Nina Catterall is senior student support advisor and internship lead at Madison Area Technical College in Reedsburg, Wis. - Amy Christenson of Windsor, Victoria, Australia, is founder of The Dharana Lab. - Jake Christopherson is independent rental accounts manager at Ford Motor Company in Atlanta. - Erin Claussen is an orthotist at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. - Tess (Putnam) Cody is executive director at Assault Care Center Extending Shelter and Support (ACCESS) in Ames, Iowa. - Laura (Anderson) Cochrane is a physician assistant at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse Student Health Center. - Allison (Gray) Cory of Quantico, Va., is a family nurse practitioner with Benefis Health System. - Taryn (Kloster) Cramer is information technology consultant at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, Calif. - Sigrid (Espe) Dabelstein teaches fifth grade mathematics at the Marcy Open Elementary School for the Minneapolis Public Schools. - Sarah Denkinger is training and development coordinator at American Engineering Testing, Inc. in Chanhassen, Minn. - Lindsey (Voth) Dutchak is a math center tutor at Hennepin Technical College in Brooklyn Park, Minn. She also coaches Termite hockey with the Hastings Hockey Association. - Sara Wenzel Edstrom is an associate attorney, commercial real estate with Briggs and Morgan, P.A., in St. Paul, Minn. - Christa (Fiedler) Engquist is owner of Hoppy Trails Child Care in Minneapolis. - Meagan Esterby is director of youth and family ministry at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Virginia, Minn. - Jackson Felde is sous chef at Monello Cucina in Minneapolis. - Matt Field is a veterinary surgeon at Arkansas Veterinary Emergency & Specialists in Little Rock, Ark. - Michelle Finlon is a business analyst at GovDocs in St. Paul, Minn. - Pete Freeberg is software quality principal engineer at Dell Technologies in Eden Prairie, Minn. - Amy (Larson) Freeman is a nurse practitioner at Cedar Rapids Pain Associates in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. - Chris Froisland is account manager at U.S. Bank in Minneapolis. - Seth Fulton is investment advisor representative at Signator Investors, Inc. in Boston. - Emily Gaustad is all-school visual arts teacher at Shanghai High School International Division in Shanghai, China. - Erin (Davis) Gibbons is resource developer at Sparkhouse in Minneapolis. - Malory (Hendrickson) Giraldo is a psychotherapist at Ellie Family Services in St. Paul, Minn. - Drew Haefner is assistant controller at Central Bancshares in Muscatine, Iowa. - Amelia (Larson) Harless is owner of Anthem Archery in Decorah. - Steve Hogan is studying full-stack software and web development at Prime Academy in Minneapolis. - Melissa Hunter earned a certificate of bioethics from the Medical College of Wisconsin and is the implementation director for Helse Midt-Norge Laboratories at Epic in Verona, Wis. - Mary Ites is senior consultant at CliftonLarsonAllen in Minneapolis. - Jordan Jensen is Midwest sales manager for Steeltech, LTD in Fort Wayne, Ind. - Sophia (Johnson) Jones is physician liaison at Doctor on Demand in St. Paul, Minn. - Nicolette (DeHaan) Kelley is a pediatric ICU registered nurse at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, Colo. - Kris Klein is a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. - Elizabeth Koenig is professional development director at National Youth Leadership Council in Minneapolis. - Lauren (Langley) Langworthy is program director at Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service in Spring Valley, Wis. - Nick Larson is territory manager at Mohawk Industries, Inc. in Mendota Heights, Minn. - Melanie Loso is a teacher at Noble Academy in Brooklyn Park, Minn. - Carol (Reece) Ludeking is a nurse practitioner at Winneshiek Medical Center in Decorah, Iowa. - Laurie (Hockley) McKain teaches English at Laramie (Wyo.) High School. - Joe McAndrew III is director of transportation policy at Greater Washington Partnership in Washington, D.C. - Dave Milne is co-founder and integrator of Digital 1 and partner at CircaVista in Minneapolis. - Cale Nelson is associate actuary at Travelers, Inc. in St. Paul, Minn. - Kyle Nelson is director of coaching for Decorah United Soccer Club in Decorah, Iowa. - Erin Odland is internal audit manager at The Toro Company in Bloomington, Minn. - Ben Parman is assistant women’s soccer coach at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. - Leah (Sikora) and Justin Patnode ’05 live in Eagan, Minn. She is a customer engagement consultant at Securian Financial Group. He is a real estate advisor with Engel and Vӧlkers. - Eli Pollock teaches elementary and middle school music at Saint Thomas More Catholic School in St. Paul, Minn. - Anna (Knaeble) Quirk earned a master’s degree in educational literacy from Hamline University, and is a literacy specialist for the Minneapolis Public Schools. - Tony Rangel earned a master’s degree in vocal music education from St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minn. - Jenessa (Bonikowske) Reid is a school counselor for the Stevens Point (Wis.) School District. - Christina Root is subject leader, house leader, and teaches 6th grade at Seoul Foreign School in Seoul, South Korea. - Joel Schrock is senior manager of portfolio and decision analysis at Pfizer in New York. - Amber (Holzl) Sorenson is a media specialist for the Stillwater (Minn.) Area Public Schools and a graduate student in information media at St. Cloud State University. - Elaine (Hanson) Sparrow works on the Young Living Lavender Farm in Mona, Utah. - Ross Stedman is director of claims at Securian Financial Group in St. Paul, Minn. - Kristen (Learman) Stengl is the Aurora portrait photography assistant for Sean Kurdziolek Portraits and Gallery in North Pole, Alaska. - Andrew Stenson of Rochester, Minn., is a freelance opera singer. He recently passed the introductory sommelier course through the Guild of Master Sommeliers. - Joe Taylor teaches special education at The Village Community in West Branch, Iowa. - Jana (Kemp) Tucker is customer care manager at Stryker in San Jose, Calif. - Gavin Tugana is vice president of sales and marketing at Mint Roofing in Long Lake, Minn. - Laura (Monson) Vanden Heuvel is an innovation leader at Optum Health in Bloomington, Minn. - Brianna (Helland) and Sam Weyers live in Crystal Lake, Ill., Brianna teaches kindergarten for the Crystal Lake Public School District. Sam is an attorney with Kelleher & Buckley, LLC. - Seth Worthington is a veterinarian at Pepperhill Veterinary Services in Adams, Neb.
MARRIAGES
JOEY CORBIN and Helga Kaasin, Aug. 12, 2017
SIGRID ESPE and Alex Dabelstein, Dec. 16, 2017
AMBER GALLAHER and Dylan Joseph, Aug. 19, 2017
SARA WENZEL and Joel Edstrom, Sept. 30, 2017
BIRTHS
RACHAEL (MOORE) and Aaron Ahart welcomed a son, Lowen, in June 2017.
ASHLEY (WIDMARK) and Bennett Berning welcomed a son, Walter King, in January 2017.
KARI (LEGREID) and JOSEPH KLEIN welcomed a daughter, Makayla, in January 2016.
LAURA (TITUSDAHL) and KARL BOLEEN welcomed a son, Peder Douglas, in June 2017.
KATIE (SHAW) and Myles Brandt welcomed a daughter, Linnea Danielle, in October 2017.
ALLISON (GRAY) and Christopher Cory welcomed a daughter, Meredith Ruby, in May 2017.
KATHLEEN (LUNSFORD) and DAN DURBIN '06 welcomed a daughter, Fiona Hazel, in July 2017.
Lacey and SETH FULTON welcomed daughters, Eden, in May 2016 and Alba, in December 2017.
JANA (SMITH) and NICK LARSON welcomed a daughter, Grace, in June 2016.
Erika and DAVE MILNE welcomed a son, Hunter, in November 2017.
LYDIA (HAUG) and Michael Muehrer welcomed a daughter, Eleanor Marie, in June 2016.
KELSEY (O'CONNELL) and BRAD NELSON welcomed a daughter, Berit Paige, in October 2016.
Holly and ZACH NORDBY welcomed a son, Odin, in July 2016.
ANNA (KNAEBLE) and Drew Quirk welcomed a son, Thatcher Francis, in March 2017.
JULIA (STUEBNER-HOLT) and Max Salzman welcomed a daughter, Harriet, in August 2017.
KATIE (LOVELL) '07 and ROSS STEDMAN welcomed a son, Wilder, in June 2017.
JANA (KEMP) and ZACH TUCKER '07 welcomed a daughter, Blakely, in April 2017.
KATIE (LANE) and Kevin Utoft welcomed a daughter, Alexandra Paige, in July 2017.
KATE (VASKE) and JUSTIN WRIGHT '04 welcomed a son, Weston Roland, in October 2017.
KATIE (HARROLD) '07 and SETH WORTHINGTON welcomed a son, Joseph, in May 2016.