Fall 2019
Hello Class of 2017,
We hope you are all still doing well and thriving in your life after Luther. It is crazy how fast time flies by!
Back at our alma mater, there are a lot of exciting things happening! In November, the college inaugurated its eleventh president, Dr. Jenifer K. Ward. President Ward joins the Luther community with more than three decades of experience as an educator, scholar, and academic leader after serving, most recently, as provost and dean of the college at Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana. Prior to joining Centenary, President Ward served in several leadership roles at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington, including dean of the college, interim provost, and associate provost. She was also a faculty member at Gustavus Adolphus College, where she taught German.
In a message to the Luther community, President Ward said, “Our work together must be strategic, collaborative, creative, and—most importantly—must articulate what it means to be both grounded in Decorah, Iowa with a face to the world, and set goals for how we can adapt Luther’s past and present for a sustainable future.” A self-described extrovert and lover of art, film, and literature, President Ward started her duties at Luther July 1, and her official inauguration took place November 1–3.
As a reminder, Luther also continues to participate in the Alumni Ambassador Program. By referring a student to Luther, that student will receive a $1,000 scholarship EACH year they are enrolled at Luther. Decorah is as beautiful as ever right now, so encourage any high schoolers you know to visit Luther! YOU can make a huge financial impact for them by referring them! Visit luther.edu/ambassadors to learn more.
And, finally, keep in mind that Christmas at Luther takes place December 5–8. This year’s theme is Whom Angels Greet with Anthems Sweet. Mark your calendars now! Luther would be happy to see you there!
Until next time- GO NORSE!
Your 2017 class agents:
Stephanie Duregger
2614 Westview Lane NW
Rochester, MN 55901-2362
641-231-2013
[email protected]
Luigi Enriquez
321 Camden Road
Iowa City, IA 52245
262-672-0039
[email protected]
Samantha Phillips
8010 White Cliff Road
Egg Harbor, WI 54209
920-493-8746
[email protected]
Solveig Nelson
16580 Wild Plum Circle
Morrison, CO 80465
303-550-3275
[email protected]
CLASS NOTES
Rachel Adkins is a residential counselor at Rogers Behavioral Health in Oconomowoc, Wis.
Haley Allen is marketing coordinator at Stone Mountain Access Systems, Inc. in Hillside, Ill.
Brinn Anderson is a health educator at Health Solutions in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Shelby (Gebhardt) Ballard is a charge medical technologist at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Leah Barkema teaches eighth grade science at Miller Middle School in Marshalltown, Iowa. She is also head coach of the Miller swim team and assistant coach of the Marshalltown High School swim teams.
Meghan Barker is the Alaska organizer at Trout Unlimited in Anchorage, Ala.
Matheus Beato is marketing manager at Oxford Group in Boca Raton, Fla.
Hannah Bernatz is sales lead for Decorah’s Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. in Boston.
Cade Bolen is field community organizer at Clean Water Action in Minneapolis.
Andrew Botz is provider services coordinator at Medica in Minnetonka, Minn.
Hannah Brosnahan is a rehabilitation technician at ChildServe in Johnston, Iowa.
Sam Buffington is management assistant at Enterprise Holdings in Fort Collins, Colo.
Diane Connors is a dedicated functional screener at My Choice Family Care in Madison, Wis.
Brooke Debroux is an electrocardiogram technician at UW Health in Madison, Wis.
Connor Delaney is an emergency room scribe at Mercy Medical Center in Mason City, Iowa.
Tyler DesRochers is assistant director SAE at the Jeffco Public Schools in Littleton, Colo.
Grant Diedrich is a leading agent and resident manager at Lloyd Management in Mankato, Minn.
Kileigh Dudek is a registered nurse at Mayo Clinic Hospital, Saint Mary’s Campus, in Rochester, Minn.
Sam Dunnett is a strength and conditioning fellow at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
Sarah Feltault is contract services manager and raw material coordinator at Pace Analytical in Minneapolis.
Connor Fitzpatrick is mobile developer at Bank of America in Boston.
Rhianna (MacDonald) Freiburger is head athletic trainer at Salt River High School in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Eva Gemlo is an actor at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, Minn.
Elise Gerhart is a sales associate at Cooks of Crocus Hill in St. Paul, Minn.
Sarah Grabe earned a master’s degree in public health from San Diego (Calif.) State University.
Casey Greufe is a sawyer at American Conservation Experience in Hurricane, Utah.
Hannah Haugen is a restoration technician at Stantec in Minneapolis.
Emily (Alcock) Henriquez is coordinator of external affairs at OneGoal in Chicago.
Christina (Byrne) Henson teaches first grade for the Boone (Iowa) Community Schools.
Emily Holm is project manager at Bluedoor Publishing in Minnetonka, Minn.
William Janke is a financial analyst at Medtronic in Virginia Beach, Va.
Julia Johnson teaches ESL at VIPKid in San Francisco.
Miranda Joslin is field events planner at Northwestern Mutual in Milwaukee.
Genevieve Kalland is an administrative support associate at Executive Title in Bloomington, Minn.
Catherine Karsell is clinical program assistant at Fraser in Minneapolis.
Paxton Kempel is a nurse on a women’s care and general surgery unit at UnityPoint Health in Des Moines, Iowa.
Daniel Kibat is program director at Spirit in the Pines Church Camp in Hackensack, Minn.
Teddy Klingsporn is a business payment consultant at U.S. Bank in the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
Kyle Knoke of St. Louis Park, Minn., is a health care IT consultant for Nordic Consulting Partners.
Jonathan Kobs teaches grades 6-12 vocal music in the Brillion (Wis.) Public Schools.
Nathaniel Koch is a swim instructor at Williston Fitness Center and a summer program counselor at Breck School in Golden Valley, Minn.
Kylie Kozelka earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Jordan Lawrence is a veterinary assistant at Madison (Wis.) Veterinary Specialists.
Ellen Larsen is executive director at the Volunteer Network on Aging in Galesburg, Ill., and is a guest vocal soloist with the Knox-Galesburg Symphony.
Anna Madrigal is an analyst at Nordic Consulting Partners, Inc. in Madison, Wis.
Robert Marston is business development manager at Worrell in Minneapolis.
Mady Martini is and ADE intake and assessment specialist at the Rochester (Minn.) Public Schools.
Gideon Matchey is band and orchestra director at Hill-Murray School in Maplewood, Minn
Daniel May is junior copywriter at Stephan & Brandy in Madison, Wis.
Emily McLaughlin is a business development representative at Groupon in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Kyle McNeese is a software developer for IBM in Rochester, Minn.
Stephanie Murray teaches eighth grade English for the Waseca (Minn.) School District.
Sarah Nelson is business analyst at UnitedHealth Group in Minnetonka, Minn.
Solveig Nelson is master data assistant at Leprino Foods in Denver.
Skye Newcom is a gallery assistant at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
Lam Nguyen is a software developer at Larsen & Toubro Infotech in Edison, N.J.
Grace O’Brien is vacation home rentals administrator at PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Veronica Seher is clinical research coordinator at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
Evan Seegmiller is social media coordinator at Century 21 in Madison, Wis.
Miriam Sellers is a Spanish teaching fellow at Conserve School in Land O’ Lakes, Wis.
Rosen Slavov is solutions manager for the Energy Management Collaborative in Plymouth, Minn.
Jonathan Springer is a software engineer at Express Scripts in Bloomington, Minn.
Brynne Stellner teaches English language arts at Northfield (Minn.) High School.
Mitchell Stenoien is assistant manager at Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Maxwell Tiedemann is distribution coordinator at FiXT Music in Burlington, Iowa.
Reed Van Anrooy is junior software engineer at Lotus Apps in Knoxville, Tenn.
Dmitry Vorona is investment analyst at Aon Foundation in Chicago.
Coltin Wellmann is environmental health and safety technician at Exide Technologies in Manchester, Iowa.
MARRIAGES
JONATHAN OPDAHL and JENNA DENGLER '16, Dec. 23, 2018
RHIANNA MACDONALD and Casey Freiburger, Sept. 29, 2018
MEGAN GEYER and GRANT DIEDRICH, Oct. 6, 2018
ALEX DANA and RYAN EHRHARDT, Dec. 30, 2017