Fall 2008 n Vol. 98, No. 1

PublishersCindy Paavola ’84 BS, Director of

Communications and MarketingMartha Haynes, Executive Director

of Advancement

EditorRebecca Tavernini

News DirectorKristi Evans

Contributing Alumni Association andNMU Foundation Staff

Maria CourseyVincent GroutBrad Hamel ‘99 BSDeanna Hemmila ’88 BSAmy Hubinger

Contributing Editorial StaffVeronica Varney ‘74 BS

Northern Horizons, the magazine for alumniand friends of Northern Michigan University,is published three times a year (winter, sum-mer and fall) by the Communications andMarketing Office and the Alumni Associationof Northern Michigan University.

Funding is provided by Northern MichiganUniversity, NMU Alumni Association mem-bers, alumni and friends. Subscriptions areavailable at $15 per year, $7.50 for NMUretirees. Views expressed are not necessarilythose of the NMU Alumni Association.

Letters Policy: Unless noted as “not for publi-cation,” communications to the editor areconsidered for publication. Letters will beprinted as space permits and may be editedfor space and clarity. Please limit your com-ments to Northern Horizons magazine or totopics mentioned in the magazine. Mail to:Editor, Northern Horizons, Northern MichiganUniversity, 1401 Presque Isle Ave., Marquette,MI 49855; fax: 906-227-2722; or e-mail:horizons@nmu.edu.

Northern Michigan University is an equalopportunity institution.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes toNorthern Horizons, Communications andMarketing, Northern Michigan University,1401 Presque Isle Avenue, Marquette,Michigan 49855. Third-class postage paid atMidland, Michigan 48642.

Received the current issue of Northern Horizons [Summer 2008]. You are to becommended for this exceptional issue. It is one of significant content, and wellwritten. The information is certainly high caliber, and should be a genuine motiva-tor for our alumni and friends of the university. Northern Michigan University isclearly positioned for national and international recognition. As former president, Iview this progress and President Wong’s planning with pride. As we used to sayback 24 years ago: “Working to Put Tomorrow in Good Hands.”

—John X. JamrichPresident Emeritus

Northern Michigan UniversityJacksonville, Fla.

I read with interest your articles in the Summer 2008 issue on NMU's newinternational emphases. I welcome the efforts to expand the horizons of ourstudents. However, in the article by Richard Whalen on his experiences in BuenosAires, an error occurred somewhere along the way. In the interest of further inter-national enlightenment, it should be noted that the picture on page 16 was takenat a site familiar to me in the Old City area of Montevideo. The photo on thefollowing page also obviously is not from B.A., but perhaps it is at least fromArgentina.

—John W. RenfrewProfessor Emeritus,

half-time resident in Montevideo

Editor’s note: We have not been able to reach the author to determine the location of theother photograph. We appreciate the clarification of the implied location of this one.

In another photo note, this image of Plaza desArmes, Cusco, Peru, that appeared in oursummer issue as one of the winners of ourinternational photo contest was attributed to adifferent photographer. It is the work of NMUstudent Alex Holley.

letters

Love and musicDo you have an unusual story of romanceat NMU? Were you involved in the localmusic scene or are you making music asyour career today? Would you sharememories of your days rousing the crowdsat Memorial Field (or far-away fields), aspart of the marching band? We’re working on these themes for thewinter issue of Horizons, and we’d love your help! Please e-mailhorizons@nmu.edu.

Fall 2008

On campus today2 New Directions

5 Redefining the Classroom

6 Sports at NMU

Cover Stories8 Involved. Community engagement and

leadership programs are growing at NMU, making learning more meaningful and fun.

13 Running the Race. How teamwork between campus and the community make the U.P. 200 sled dog race run smoothly.

16 Building a Better World. A student construction group lends a helping hammer.

18 Emerging as Butterflies. Two students discover their hidden talents through the Student Leader Fellowship Program.

20 Dedicated Mentor. The rewards go both ways for mentors and students.

24 One Net at a Time. A new group at NMU works to prevent malaria.

Alumni in action21 Coaches for Life. Retirement hasn’t stopped this dynamic duo from

inspiring young athletes, as they have for more than 30 years together.

23 Mission Possible. A recent pre-med grad makes house calls around the world.

25 Assignment: Thailand. An insider’s look at what it’s like to serve in the Peace Corps.

Foundation news28 Imaginative and vital ways donors are supporting NMU.

Alumni in touch30 Alumni Association news and events.

33 Keeping Track. Updates from fellow alumni.

ON THE COVER: NMU students on Make a Difference Day 2007, helping a resident by raking leaves, and sharing somecolorful smiles. Photo courtesy of the NMU Volunteer Center.

Contents

page 8

page 16

page 21

page 13

Northern received $65,000 to establish a Business andIndustry Center. It will be located in the Jacobetti Centerto take advantage of available space and manufacturing-type equipment. Student interns will assist new businessventures with financial and marketing plans, Web sitecreation, e-commerce and information technology soft-ware. They will also provide design and prototype devel-opment services. NMU will complete the package bytapping into the expertise and resources of two local enti-ties: Northern Initiatives and the Lake SuperiorCommunity Partnership

It’s all part of the Michigan Initiative for Innovationand Entrepreneurship, a new consortium of Michigan’s15 public universities with the goal to raise and distrib-ute $75 million to help create 200 start-up companiesover the next decade.

“This project demonstrates that Northern is makinga serious contribution to the economic recovery of thestate and the region,” says Fred Joyal, NMU’s specialassistant to the president for regional economic develop-ment. “And the consortium’s effort on a wider scale rein-forces the importance of strengthening the connectionbetween academia and industry. Universities will play akey role in creating diversified, knowledge-based busi-nesses that will enhance Michigan’s economy.”

The one-stop center is expected to open this winter.For more information, visit http://bizcenter.nmu.edu.

The School of Art and Design’s new Studio forExperimental and Eco-Design (SEED) will assist regionalentrepreneurs in developing prototypes for products thatare innovative, sustainable and customized. It will alsogive students career-building opportunities to interactwith clients and respond to real-world design challenges,in addition to promoting economic development andcommunity service outreach.

While the studio won’t be engineering or manufac-turing products, its state-of-the-art digital equipment for3D development and prototypes will be available as wellas faculty expertise.

Professor Peter Pless will determine which productideas to assign his students. “We’re looking for productsthat will improve people’s lives and stimulate economicdevelopment,” he says. “But sustainability will be a keyfeature. We’ve adopted the ‘cradle to cradle’ philoso-phy—that every product has a cyclical life and it shouldreturn to where it came from. Another important ele-ment is the ability to customize products so they havemore personal value to their owners.”

Pless offers an example of a local woman who want-ed help designingprotectors thatwould shield mail-boxes from poten-tially damagingbrushes with snowplows. “I challengedthe students tocome up with adesign for a protec-tor that was durableand effective, yethad some aestheticqualities. They came up with 15 different designs. Somecould be customized with home addresses or other fea-tures, such as a flower pot on top for someone who’sinterested in gardening.”

2 H O R I Z O N S

NMU to help jump startbusinesses

On campus todayNEW DIRECTIONS

Eco-design = Eco-nomics

The “End-to-End” mailbox designed bystudent Andrew Volpe. At top left is an“Arbor Bench” designed by studentLauren Strpko.

Brazil, Argentina, Peru... NMU’scampus boundaries keep expanding.

Thanks to a federal grant, NMUwill collaborate with Western IllinoisUniversity and two Brazilian institu-tions—Universidade Federal Rural daAmazonia and Universidade Federalde Lavras—in an exchange programto prepare U.S. and Brazilian stu-dents for highly skilled 21st centuryjobs requiring expertise in entrepre-neurship, corporate social responsibil-ity and sustainable economic devel-opment.

The first year of the four-yeargrant will be used to formalize rela-tionships between the participatinguniversities and develop online cours-es for combined classes of U.S. andBrazilian students.

“An exciting feature of the pro-gram is that it provides scholarshipsfor our students’ study abroad andlanguage immersion,” says College ofBusiness professor Ray Amtmann.“NMU students will learnPortuguese, develop internationalskills, work with international stu-dents in their classes, participate ininternships and have a semesterabroad in Brazil. This will place ourgraduates at a distinct advantagewhen they compete for jobs and it

will help to developthe College ofBusiness entrepre-neurship programinto one of the lead-ing programs in thecountry.”

About 20 stu-dents from theUnited States and20 from Brazil (10from each universi-ty) are expected toparticipate in theprogram, providinglasting cross-cultural learning experi-ences and enormous opportunities forMichigan’s businesses and residents.

In another recently signed coopera-tive agreement with Universidad delSalvador in Buenos Aires, Argentina,and Centro Tinku, an organizationthat facilitates study-abroad programsin Peru, NMU students may spendtwo semesters in Latin America: onein Argentina studying Spanish andtaking courses related to theiracademic majors; and one in Peru(based in the city of Cusco) takingnative culture and history courses.Another group of advanced Spanishstudents will spend a month in

Argentina, studying the language in atotally immersive Spanish-speakingenvironment, participating in culturalevents and visiting archeological andindustrial sites.

“Our goals for future growth inLatin America include faculty/studentexchanges and research collabora-tions,” explains Marcelo Siles,NMU’s director of international pro-grams. “We are trying to develop astrong presence in Latin America forseveral reasons. Latinos represent thefastest-growing ethnic group in thiscountry, so there is added motivationto study their language and culture.Also, Latin America offers diverseinternational experiences close tohome and it is relatively affordable.”

Southern exposure: new programs in Latin America

F A L L 2 0 0 8 3

Photo of Machu Picchu by NMU student Sara Hartley. MoreNMU students will experience the ancient site thanks to a newagreement with a university in Peru.

Intel products have powered notebook computers atNorthern since the university launched its technologyprogram in 2000. But the vendor relationship has recentlyexpanded to include student internships at the corpora-tion’s Oregon facility, on-campus testing of new productsand direct access to Intel technical support.

Seniors Cory Perry and Joe Manier were the first NMUparticipants in the Intel Wireless Internship Program.

“I learned a lot about how a corporation works andwhat programming in the real world is like with large and

small teams,” reports Perry. “It was perfect for the dreamcareer I have in mind as a 3D computer simulation enginedesigner. I also worked alongside some of the most knowl-edgeable people in computer networking and I must say alittle rubbed off on me.”

The students were paid by Intel for their full-timesummer training so that they could return to campus andserve as company contacts for tests of new wireless cardsand drivers. Other NMU students, faculty and staff alsowill be invited to test new Intel products.

Intel onsite

4 H O R I Z O N S

On campus today

It’s not everyday you receive an auto-mated immunoassay analyzer, but forNMU’s Clinical Laboratory Sciencesdepartment, it’s a very good day whenthat happens. The $127,000 piece ofequipment is a donation fromAbbott’s “Labs are Vital” program.This large instrument will provideresearch opportunities for NMU fac-ulty and allow students to be trainedon the same equipment they will findin most hospital laboratories.

“These analyzers are workhorsesfor hospital chemistry labs,” saysKevin Foley, department head. “Theyare used to measure analytes in bloodand serum; analytes such as choles-

terol, hormones, metabolic products,vitamins—anything we can targetwith antibodies.

“Very few universities have thembecause they’re so expensive. In fact,NMU is one of only four in the worldto receive an analyzer from Abbott.The company has generously donateda variety of state-of-the-art instru-ments, but this is the biggest awardthey give. We had to apply for it andshow that we have a quality, accredit-ed program that would integrate theanalyzer into its curriculum.”

NMU also receives the reagents—chemicals—used with the analyzerand technical support from Abbott.

Amazing analyzer

A critical need in health care thatNMU is helping to fill is forsurgical technicians. To highlightNMU’s excellent one- and two-yeartech programs, the department heldan open house during NationalSurgical Tech Week in September.Student Jackie Froiland (in scrubs,above) says she was a dental assis-tant and really liked passing theinstruments, and was attracted tohow quickly she could earn a degreein a new field and get a job. She’llgraduate next year and has alreadybeen offered a position, close to home.

Clinical supervisor JasonPrunick ’01 Cert. says, “You cangraduate here and go anywhere inthe world and do this. My favoritepart is to see a patient I’ve assistedwith in the OR doing great a fewweeks later.”

Another residence hall has gonegreen. NMU can now claim two ofeight campus residence hall renova-tions in the United States to achieve

sustainability benchmarks set by theU.S. Green Building Council. Van Antwerp Hall has joined Meyland

Hall in receiving certifications through the nationalLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)rating system. Hunt Hall, which was renovated this sum-mer, is also expected to achieve the LEED rating. Eachfacility was recognized for performance in sustainable sitedevelopment, materials selection, water savings, energyefficiency and indoor environmental quality.

More than 250 tons of metal piping and wiring wererecycled between the two projects. Many of the materialsare made of recycled content and were regionally manu-factured. Regulated water use has been reduced by up to60 percent, and energy savings have been increased byputting occupancy sensors or timers on lights and byadding windows to increase natural light.

The new furnishings are made with environmentallyfarmed, quickly renewable Malaysian hardwood and weremanufactured in Indiana. The replaced beds were donatedto a nonprofit organization that supports residents on thePine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Other furnish-ings were donated to Marquette’s Habitat for Humanity.

The 10th-day enrollment report showed a total headcount of 9,123, anincrease of 12 students over last fall’s 10th-day figure.

Paul Duby, associate vice president of institutional research, says, “We hadbeen anticipating a 0.5 percent to 1 percent drop in enrollment because of UpperPeninsula high school demographics; the dismal state of the economy; and thehigh cost of driving. The fact we’ve made a small gain is a testament to theeffectiveness of our recruiting and the academic strength of the institution.”

One of the main reasons for the turnaround is new graduate studentenrollment, which increased sharply from 96 to 148. Total graduateenrollment is up by 10 percent to about 785.

Enrollment rebound

Sustainable living

Scrubs

F A L L 2 0 0 8 5

The presidential race isn’t just something NMUstudents are watching on TV or reading about inmagazines; they’re helping to create those broadcasts, arti-cles and Internet coverage, and casting delegate votes.

At the Democratic National Convention, politicalscience majors Anke Hildebrandt and Lauren Mattioliinterned with NBC News and Bloomberg News,respectively. Katie Cox, a media production and newstechnologies major, worked for TIME Magazine andTime.com. Students who gained experience with theDemocratic National Committee are Danielle Stein, apublic administration major, and Chelsea Smit, a politi-cal science and pre-law major. Jason Morgan, political sci-ence major, was a delegate to the Democratic convention.

At the Republican National Convention, Neil Passinault worked with NBC News; Keith Voorheis with TIMEMagazine and Time.com; and Darren Widder with Bloomberg News.

The Political Science and Communication and Performance Studies departments used videoconferencing technol-ogy to extend the educational value of the internships to students enrolled in a joint “politics and the press” course.Interns delivered live reports from Denver and Minneapolis, interacting with their peers on campus. They alsodocumented their experiences on text blogs. Links to the blogs and video streams are at www.nmu.edu/politicalscience.

“These internships represent an unbelievable opportunity for some of our best students to witness historicconventions and to network with some of the biggest names in politics and the media,” says professor Steven Nelson.

In-person politics

At the Democratic convention in Denver: (from left) Miles Baker ‘08 BS,Katie Cox, Lauren Mattioli, Tony Tollefson ‘81 BS, Danielle Stein, JasonMorgan and Steve Nelson.

Branching out with WiMAX The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hasgranted NMU an Educational Broadband Service (EBS)license. EBS is a type of wireless spectrum that supportshigh-speed Internet access using “WiMAX” technology.

The license will allow NMU to better serve the uni-versity’s growing commuter and off-campus populationswith broadband access to critical course related materialscurrently available to on-campus students, expand the col-laborative efforts between area K-12 schools and NMUstudents fulfilling course requirements related to studentteaching activities, and continue the development of newwireless services that are critical to the NMU’s Teaching,Learning and Communication technology initiative.

President Les Wong says, “Northern’s TLC technolo-gy program began with a bold decision to provide eachstudent with a notebook computer. Building on thatconcept, our new EBS license takes Northern’s technology

to a new plateau by expanding our wireless network in away that will make handheld and notebook devices trulyportable. WiMAX wireless technology is a global standardfor cutting-edge technology that will help provide ourstudents and faculty fast, reliable access to the future’smulti-media content and communication demands. Itmeans much greater wireless penetration throughout thecentral portion of the Upper Peninsula.

“Although other schools and universities in theUnited States have access to EBS spectrum, to ourknowledge NMU is among the few to use it to provide aWiMAX-based broadband network solely for educationpurposes. Reliable broadband Internet connections arenot uniformly available in Marquette County, and NMUintends to use this new wireless broadband authorizationto bridge the Internet service gap many students face.”

REDEFINING THE CLASSROOM

6 H O R I Z O N S

On campus todaySPORTS AT NMU

NMU vs. MTUgame sets footballattendance recordA new Superior Dome footballattendance record was set during the2008 Miner’s Cup game held onSept. 18 between the NorthernMichigan Wildcats and MichiganTech Huskies. A crowd of 8,672 wason hand to see the Huskies down theWildcats 47-21, smashing the oldmark of 8,432 set on Oct. 5, 1991,when NMU played Ferris State. Theseating capacity of the Dome is8,000.

“I was proud of the NMUstudents who were there two hoursbefore the game, painted green andmaking noise,” Hobie Webster,president of the Associated Studentsof NMU.

The game was televised on CBSCollege Sports Network and FOXSports Network–Detroit. The telecast

featured an on-site interview withTom Izzo ’77 BS, men’s basketballcoach at Michigan State, and phoneinterviews with Lloyd Carr ’68 BS,’70 MA, former University ofMichigan football coach, and SteveMariucci ’77 BS, ’83 MA, formerNFL coach and current NFLNetwork game analyst.

Follow the ‘CatsWildcat fans are reminded that theycan find all the current NMU teamrosters, schedules, results and latestteam updates at www.nmu.edu/sports.Broadcasts of NMU Wildcat football,hockey, and men's and women's bas-ketball games can be heard onWUPT 100.3 FM, Gwinn-Marquette. Audio streaming over theInternet is also available fromWNMU (http://wnmu.nmu.edu).Also, Northern Michigan Universityand B2 Networks (www.b2now.com)have created a partnership to provide

Wildcat fans with live game actionover the Internet via broadbandbroadcasting. The broadcasts featurevideo from the team’s videographerand audio from the team’s officialplay-by-play broadcaster. The cost is$6 per game. B2 will provide thisservice for Wildcat men’s andwomen’s basketball, football, volley-ball and hockey action. B2 Networks’president is former NMU studentGreg Bell.

Two Former USOECAthletes Win BronzeFormer U.S. Olympic EducationCenter resident athletes AdamWheeler ’06 BS and Randi Millerwon bronze medals at the BeijingGames. Wheeler, who graduatedfrom NMU with a degree in criminaljustice, competed at 96 kilogram or211.5 pounds, in Greco-Romanwrestling. Miller, who was an out-door recreation major at NMU, com-peted at 63kg, or 138.5 pounds, inwomen's freestyle wrestling.

On the final day of Greco-Roman wrestling, Wheeler defeatedHan Tae-Young of Korea in thebronze medal match, 3-1, 4-1. It was

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Bronze medalist Randi Miller (left) andAdam Wheeler.

F A L L 2 0 0 8 7

the first medal won by the UnitedStates in wrestling at the BeijingGames. Wheeler won his first twomatches, then was defeated in thesemifinals by Mirko Englich ofGermany, which placed him into thebronze-medal match.

Wheeler was thrilled with hismedal adding, “There were 19 people—members of my family and friends—who came here for me, so this can’tget any better.” Among his contingentwas his wife Marley Garceo ’06 BS.

Miller, the only U.S. women’swrestler to win a medal in 2008,defeated Canadian MartineDugrenier in Beijing to earn hermedal. "It was surreal. It was adream come true," she said followingthe Games.

She was the first African-American women’s wrestler to win anOlympic medal and only the thirdU.S. women’s wrestler to claim anOlympic medal.

Miller won her first twomatches, before dropping a quarter-final match to 2004 Olympicchampion, and ultimately the 2008champion, Kaori Icho of Japan. Shebattled back with a clutch win in therepechage round to earn a spot in thebronze-medal match.

USOEC Athletes inMichigan SportsExhibitSeveral athletes with NMU connec-tions are among those featured in thenew exhibit "Faster, Higher, Stronger:Michigan Women in the Olympics"at the Michigan Women's HistoricalCenter and Hall of Fame in Lansing.

Text from one of the exhibitpanels reads: " ... Another education-al institution that has drawn out-of-state athletes is Northern Michigan

University. Some women, likeLindsey Weier and Lindsay Williams’05 BS, pursued their Olympicdreams while participating as varsityathletes on the school's cross countryski team. Others, like speedskatersAllison Baver and Caroline Hallisey,took advantage of Northern's U.S.Olympic Education Center: the onlyOlympic training center located on acollege campus. The USOEC hasgraduated 30 female Olympians sinceits inception in 1985 and currentlyoffers training for women athletes inspeedskating, weightlifting andwrestling."

The exhibit runs until Dec. 28.

The Michigan Women’s HistoricalCenter and Hall of Fame is located at213 W. Main Street in Lansing. Theorganization’s Web site ishttp://hall.michiganwomenshallof-fame.org.

Boxing’s BackThe boxing program at the USOEChas been reinstated by USA Boxing,after an eight-month hiatus. “We’reso excited to have it back,” says JeffKleinschmidt, program director. “Ofall the programs here, this one doesmore to change the lives of athletesthan any other.”

Five new members were inducted into the Northern Michigan UniversitySports Hall of Fame in conjunction with Homecoming 2008. They are:Hong Shao ’93, swimming—five-time NCAA national champion; LoriJuntila Rupert ’81, women’s basketball—first 1,000-point scorer in NMUhistory and is currently 10th overall in career scoring; Timothy Kerwin,men's swimming and diving team, 1975-79— MVP honors all four years,multiple-time GLIAC champion with 27 NCAA and All-America honors;Derrick Munos ’86, wrestling—two-time All-American and team MVP, mid-dle school wrestling coach (awarded posthumously); Bill Schafhauser, hock-ey, 1980-84— played with Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyersorganizations and in Europe; George Works Jr., football, 1978-80-81-82—set a number of NMU records, many of which remain today, including careerpoints and touchdowns, points in one season and touchdowns in one game,also played for former U.S. Football League and Canadian Football League.

8 H O R I Z O N S

learned much from being an engaged citizen,but most importantly, I learned that there ismore to college than the classes. Obviously

classes are important and there is no substitute for goodgrades, but I was reminded that I needed to be responsi-ble for my personal growth as well … to appreciate mycommunities much more and look past my own needs tosee the needs of others.” So writes NMU senior ChristinaBoncyk, who took part in one of Northern’s manyprograms that blend service with learning.

While volunteering to help people in Marquette,supporting causes in Washington, D.C., or launchingefforts to feed refugees in a third-world country is nothingnew at NMU, the role of service and experience as a vitalpart of an education has recently taken center stage. Notonly has increased “service learning” become a goal of the

university, it has been eagerly embraced by students. Consider Superior Edge, for instance. It was

launched two years ago with the goal of having 1,000students enroll in the program. In the first year alone, 900registered, and today 1,738 students are actively partici-pating in it, with many more expected. That’s 17 percentof the student body voluntarily taking part in a programthat requires 100-400 hours of activities, often above andbeyond their packed class schedules.

Christina’s “edge” experience was with theAlzheimer’s Association, hospice and the hospital’spsychiatric ward. Ironically, by giving more, she got more.She says, “When I started volunteering regularly, just acouple of hours a week, I realized how others with muchgreater needs than me were coping.”

The benefits of Superior Edge, the Student Leader

Cover story

I N V O LV E DHow thousands of NMU students are getting their feet wet,and hands dirty, as leaders in and contributors to the local

community and beyond...

””I

By Rebecca Tavernini

F A L L 2 0 0 8 9

Fellowship Program (SLFP), academic service learningclasses, and other campus-community involvement andvolunteer activities radiate in many directions—and theyare long lasting. For one, (and for those who like quanti-tative proof ), graduates in programs where engagement isheavily integrated have high employment or graduateschool admission rates. Furthermore, adds NMUPresident Les Wong, “Students who have a record ofservice learning help employers see that their investmentin a student is going to pay off sooner.”

But there’s so much more. Here’s an overview ofthese programs at NMU, and how they’re changingstudents, faculty, organizations and communities, and willsurely make the world a little bit better.

Superior Edge“Learning to live a life that matters.”

Superior Edge gives students the opportunity to combinein- and out-of-the classroom experiences in a way thatwill provide them an “edge” with employers or graduateschools. Students can participate in any number of theprogram’s four edges: citizenship, diversity, leadership andreal world experiences. To complete an edge, studentsmust devote 100 hours to it, log the hours and complete areflection paper. So far, 100,000 total hours have beenlogged.

While a number of universities have leadershipprograms, what’s unique about this one is that it offerssuch a variety of exploration in one program, and allowsstudents to design their own experiences, using acombination of courses, research, service, internships,work, involvement in organizations and other possibili-ties. This program is open to all students, regardless ofmajor, class standing or grade point average. Completededges are noted on a student enrichment transcript, whichaccompanies their academic transcript.

“Superior Edge is providing a transformativeexperience for participating students as they discover that

a meaningful life is built on a foundation of hard work,service, and the courage to take chances,” states RachelHarris, Superior Edge associate director. “Their hours ofwork, volunteering, and commitment represent a pricelessinvestment in confidence, self-esteem, and the future.”

It’s been rewarding building this one-of-a-kindinitiative to prepare our graduates to be effective in theirwork and in society, to help employers thrive, to solveproblems, take risks, and embrace responsibility.

In the citizenship edge, students might do such thingsas assist with a fund-raiser for the Humane Society, workwith YMCA programs, volunteer with hospice, harvest onan organic farm or take phone-in questions during publicTV programs.

The diversity edge may find students learning dancesfrom New Zealand, taking part in discussions on Islam,helping coordinate a Native American food tasting eventor exploring Japanese art.

In leadership edge activities students might tutorstudents, help create a school newspaper, intern with aprogram getting high school students interested in careersin geriatrics or lead a team of entrepreneurs in securingfunds for a new business.

And in the real-world edge, students may expandtheir business skills at an insurance agency, teach Spanish,build homes or even dress up as Paul Bunyon for a lessonin Michigan history.

Superior Edge graduates possess a “value added”degree that says to employers or grad schools that they’renot only smart, they can also communicate, lead, work inteams, analyze problems, work hard and manage theirtime.

“During the medical school admissions process, myinvolvement in the Superior Edge and SLFP was one ofthe central topics of many interviews,” writes AmandaMoraska ’08 BS, who is attending medical school atMayo Clinic. “It set me apart from pools of thousands ofother applicants. With the growing need for effectiveleadership in health care, admissions committees were

“I learned that being uncomfortable in a situation isn’t always a badthing. I overcame that uneasiness and had one of the best summersof my life. It was great. This edge helped me to take a chance anddiscover who I was. Maybe this is what the Superior Edge is allabout, taking chances.”

—Tyler Weber

10 H O R I Z O N S

particularly impressed with the diversity of my leadershipknowledge and experiences combined with real worldapplications of these skills, which they felt were aninvaluable supplement to my academic preparation.”

Student Leader FellowshipProgram

“Building Blocks for Your Future”

With a mission to develop competent, ethical, community-centered leaders, this two-year program takes a selectgroup of about 50 students each year, trains them inleadership theory and practice, exposes them to at least 15different “skill builder” workshops, matches them with aleadership mentor in the community and then culminatesin a year-long community service internship, which eachstudent independently plans, organizes and implements.

This year the program was one of four state finalistsfor the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Partnership Award forCampus-Community Collaboration.

“It is truly remarkable that each year 50-60 moreNMU students commit to setting aside approximatelyfour hours every week throughout two academic years forthe sole purposes of developing themselves and enhancingthe community,” says Jon Barch, assistant director for theCenter for Student Enrichment. “It is equally remarkable

that 50-60 civically involved members of the Marquettecommunity join in to mentor the first-year studentfellows and 30-40 staff members at various communityorganizations commit to offering advisement and supportfor second-year student fellows in their internships. Thisprogram, a one-of-a-kind partnership between NMU and theMarquette community, is just one example of how NMU isan extraordinary place for developing citizen leaders.”

Each cohort chooses a “color block” to representthemselves. Students in the Mint Block, who graduatedfrom the program in May, performed approximately4,500 hours of service at 30 different internship sites, 19

of which were new project sites. This year’s block marksthe 17th year of the SLFP. Over this time, 653 leadershave been nurtured, 535 community members haveserved as mentors, and more than 73,000 hours of servicehave been performed at 302 different internship sites.

Not only are the experiences life-changing at thetime, but they serve students well as they move on.

“Graduate school admissions drilled me withquestions about my experience in leadership, manage-ment, volunteerism, and with questions that wentsomething like, ‘What kind of familiarity do you haveworking with a diverse group of people?’” says AmandaLobsinger ’08 BS. “Luckily, I could tell them all aboutmy SLFP Community Service Internship at Superior HillsElementary School and how I spent 100 hours workingtowards my diversity edge. Without these extracurricularexperiences, I’m not sure I would have been able toanswer half of my interview questions with suchconfidence and ease. I will be bringing what I learnedwith me down whatever path I take in the future.” She ispursuing a master’s degree in higher education at IllinoisState University.

Barch adds, “The talent and dedication of ourStudent Fellows is truly impressive. They leave mereassured that our world, with all of its challenges andproblems, is in good hands with the leaders that areemerging.”

Academic Service Learning“Connecting the Community

and the Classroom”

A relatively new and growing teaching methodology,academic service learning is a course-based, credit-bearingeducational experience in which students participate in anorganized service activity that meets identified communityneeds. Students reflect on their service activity in such away as to gain further understanding of course content, abroader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhancedsense of both personal values and civic responsibility.

“After two years in the program, I look back at my younger self and seemotivation without purpose, drive without direction, and a person not quitesure of what she could do with her time to give. Two years later, I feelconfident, strong in my leadership abilities, and extremely self-aware with aclear idea of what I can do to make a difference, no matter how small.”

—Kara Granroth

F A L L 2 0 0 8 11

“Well over 50 percent of students learn best fromhands-on experiences. Many students have expressed howmuch better their experience is in a class when it includesactive learning,” explains Dave Bonsall, director of theCenter for Student Enrichment. “A number of studentshave found that an academic service learning experienceaffirms their choice of a major/career. There have alsobeen cases where this type of experience has helpedstudents come to the realization that the major they arein is not the right one for them.”

President Wong echoes that sentiment: “Academicservice learning enables students to test drive a career beforethey enter it. It adds the emotional element to an educa-tion. And it allows students to discover their self-identity.”

HPER associate professor Bill Connor agrees.“When you get the kids out there you can see the fire intheir belly—or you can see ‘this isn’t for me.’” In his ASLclasses that pair his students with K-12 students in gymactivities or in which they create and instruct individual-ized aquatics lessons for handicapped children, he’s seenstudents who were scared and unconfident turn intostudents with a passion for their subject and a gift forteaching. “It’s a win-win collaborative program,” he adds.

Currently, 52 courses at Northern have an ASLcomponent. Official designation began in the winter2008 semester, so there are likely many that includeservice learning, but are not yet registered.

While faculty report that ASL is a great way toengage students who are different types of learners,improve content learning and student-to-student cama-raderie, students aren’t the only ones who benefit fromASL courses. Instructors also find rewards in improvedstudent-to-teacher camaraderie and job satisfaction. AsASL becomes more prevalent (and understood) on cam-pus, there’s more collaboration between faculty oncurricula and outreach efforts.

Also, fifteen $500 “action grants” are provided bythe provost’s office to help facilitate some of the courses.Two NMU faculty members, Sandra Poindexter and

recently-retired Bob Kulisheck, were honored withawards in 2007 from the Michigan Campus Compact(along with six NMU students) for being champions ofacademic service learning.

“I like ASL projects because so many people benefitfrom the work,” says Charles Ganzert, Communicationsand Performance Studies professor and ASL faculty liai-son. “Students try harder when they know their projectsmean something. The community participants enjoy thechance to share their work with young people and getassistance on a project. As a faculty member, it is morefun to come to work when you know you can make adifference in your town.”

Basically, ASL makes learning fun and meaningfulfor all involved. A few recent activities include:

• Student teacher candidates in three educationcourses created “book bags” containing books, artmaterials and ideas for first graders, to promote literacydevelopment at home.

• A construction management class, CN 450 ProjectControl, took on the conceptualization, planning, sched-uling, budgeting and design of a renovation of the localAmerican Legion post. A group of 35 students workedon the project for about seven weeks, presenting differentoptions to the Legion group. “The student effort wasphenomenal,” says instructor Mike Andary. “And theylearned a lot about the importance of client

relationships.” As far as the client goes, Post CommanderFrank Donckers affirms, “They brought a lot of expertiseand enthusiasm I hadn’t expected. This plan had been onthe table for years, but once they got involved, it gotdone. And the end product is outstanding.” StudentJamie Martin says, “It was a living, breathing experience.As a class it gave us pride to take part in a communityproject. Personally, it was a real stepping stone in mycareer.” This semester the class is evaluating which one ofthree new projects to undertake.

• English Prof Kia Richmond used a $6,000 grant toimplement a “Good Books” project that paired her

“For the last 24 months, I’ve learned theories, practices and casesthat relate to public relations. Academic service learning in my PR330 Message Design course allowed me to apply those conceptsin an area of interest. By working alongside an actual client, I wasable to experience breakthroughs and setbacks, like a professionalPR practitioner.”

—Andrea Jerabek

students with high school students from Teaching FamilyHomes (a facility for neglected and abused children) toexplore books together.

• Many activities live on after a semester is over. Incourses offered through the Nursing and HPER depart-ments which have taken students to Honduras over thepast three years to practice public health, students are nowundertaking the development of a Web site to raise fundsfor a new hospital there, which adds another dimension ofskills to apply to real-world situations.

NMU Volunteer Center

The NMU Volunteer Center is another way thatNorthern connects with community. Needs are e-mailedor phoned in to the center, which is staffed by threestudent employees. An e-mail update is sent out weekly to2,000 students, faculty and staff who have registered toreceive the list of volunteer opportunities and events. Thecenter also runs a program that matches agencies to stu-dent organizations committing a certain number of hoursa month. The center sponsors a number of annual projectsthat include blood and bone marrow registration drives andSpecial Olympics.

“A good estimate is that there are a couple thousandstudents volunteering doing about 100,000 hours a year,”says student Nicole Weber, the center’s assistant coordinator.

One of the biggest activities the center coordinates isthe annual Make a Difference Day. Last year more than90 student organizations and 900 students participated,doing painting and yard work for elderly or disabledresidents. The center hopes to implement a spring editionof Make a Difference Day in April.

“Service can be such an integral component of highereducation and can help students develop community-minded thinking and life skills,” adds Nicole. “Manystudents move here from outside of Marquette and areinterested in volunteering but can find it overwhelming orchallenging to find opportunities on their own since they

are not aware of what is located in Marquette. It is impor-tant to instill a sense of service and community instudents while in college so that they will continue tovolunteer as a lifelong passion.”

• • •

Whether it’s Working with the Wongs for Habitat forHumanity, a student group raising $22,000 for cancerresearch, Art and Design students creating Web sites forsmall towns or a geography class partnering with the NatureConservancy to monitor a watershed, a fervent osmosis ofservice and engagement is occurring at NMU.

With “Community Engagement” and “Meaningful Lives”as two of the four driving forces in the university’s strategic plan,The Road Map to 2015, it’s clear those goals are already inmotion.

As collaborations expand, an important distinctionhas emerged. “In discussing potential programs with agen-cies, we’ve been changing the language we use from‘volunteer’ to ‘partner,’” explains President Wong. “Whenwe talk about ‘co-instructing’ there’s a real excitement, andmore of a sense of responsibility attached to it.”

“Service-related activity is being embraced at NMUand is rapidly becoming a distinguishing feature of thisuniversity for some very good reasons,” says Bonsall. “Wehave a very genuine student body with a strong service

ethic, a supportive faculty and an engaged, welcomingcommunity. But the rapid growth of learning throughservice has created one of those ‘good problems’—wesimply do no have the staff or resources needed to fullydevelop all of the opportunities that are available to us.”

“As we grow, we need to find ways to betterdocument and share these activities, to organize andcoordinate our efforts,” states Provost Susan Koch.“These are critical experiences at our university. It’s morethan volunteering—it’s an intellectual activity. It’s part ofour identity.” n

12 H O R I Z O N S

Make a Difference Day Good Books for Teaching Family Homes Stream restoration partnership

While many NMU individualsand groups volunteer on their ownaccord, there are also coordinatedclass activities. One is an academicservice learning course that allowsstudents to apply classroom theory toreal-world situations and write areflection paper on the experience. Itis taught by College of Businessprofessor Carol Steinhaus.

She started volunteering for therace in part because of her profession-al interest in organizational behaviorand how people function in groupactivities.

"I met with the volunteer coor-dinator and we talked and I becameexcited about the prospect of initiat-ing some student involvement,"Steinhaus recalls. "The first year, Ihad a few students from my classeshelp out. But then we created a one-credit, special topics teamworkcourse.

Students applied concepts theylearned in a prerequisite managementcourse to actually managing aspectsof the race."

This year the course hasmorphed into a pair of two-creditsessions—one in the fall that coversevent planning and one in the winterthat focuses on event management.Students will assume major planningand leadership roles for both theNoquemanon cross-country ski racein January and the sled dog races inFebruary. The latter includes the U.P.200 and the shorter-distanceMidnight Run and Jack Pine 30.

Steinhaus says her studentsoriginally helped in setting up and

Running the Race

he U.P. 200 Sled Dog Race will reach its 20th anniversary milestonein February. Thousands of visitors will descend upon Marquette andjoin with local residents to line downtown Washington Street for the

start of this Iditarod qualifier. They will cheer as each 12-dog tandem—withmusher and sled in tow—eagerly lurches from the chute and begins carvingthrough the snow with rhythmic precision before disappearing down thedarkened trail. For spectators, the race is poetry in motion. For organizers, itis a smooth operation, thanks in large part to the work of 1,000 volunteers.Many are NMU students or employees.

“We can and have run the race with less support, but it’s much easierand there’s better coverage all around since we’ve been able to mobilize theuniversity community,” says Cori Bodeman, U.P. 200 volunteer coordinator.“Of the 600 people I’ve got working the start and finish, half are NMU students.”

Volunteers also help with set up and take down, vet checks before therace and at checkpoints, dog handling, road crossings, crowd control and bagchecks to ensure mushers comply with the rules and carry the required gear.

“Several student organizations and the Greek system help out and it’snice to see the legacies they’ve created by taking on the same jobs or helpingat the same locations each year,” Bodeman says. “The constructors groupbuilds the barricades, the rugby team helps erect them and groom snow, thecrew team helps with the take down and other groups follow a similar patterneach year. The volunteer registration has also improved. With the help ofNMU, almost all of it’s done online now.”

The U.P. 200 injects more tourism revenue into the local economy thanany other annual event, according to Pat Black, director of the MarquetteCountry Convention and Visitors Bureau. “My guess is that the race brings inabout $2 million in spending in the county over the three days. It certainlygenerates out-of-town visitors. Hotel rooms are generally sold out well in advance.”

T

F A L L 2 0 0 8 13

“Of the 600 people I’ve got working the start

and finish, half are NMU students.”

By Kris t i Evans

Andy

Gre

gg,

MQT

Pho

to

taking down barricades along theroute, serving as road crossing guardsand performing key activities atcheckpoints and the finish line. Thisyear they will also take on major rolesin Munising to mark the finish of theMidnight Run, and in Gwinn, thestart of the Jack Pine 30. The classalso will supervise other studentgroups in race operations.

“It is important people realizethat NMU students support thecommunity like the communitysupports NMU,” Steinhaus says.“The sled dog folks have been veryhappy with the students’ work andsome students have even received joboffers from people who wereimpressed by the effort they saw.Overall, this partnership of a wonder-ful community group, a ratherunusual event and an NMU class ofenergetic, committed and focusedstudents has been a fantastic success.”

The students do everything—they’ve even helped sled dog teamsthat have stopped get back on track.In Munising, one student had herNMU laptop with her to study dur-ing the slow periods. When the racecoordinator’s computercrashed, they

ended upusing her laptop.

Students in English profes-sor Cate Terwilliger’s feature writingcourse also put their notebook

computers to use. They work withTerwilliger and U.P. 200 Web sitemanager Bev Stroh ’98 BS ’00 MPAto conceptualize story ideas andconduct necessary interviews beforewriting content that is posted online.

“It turns out to be a great experi-ence for everyone,” Terwilliger says.“It provides real-world reporting andpublication experience for studentsand solid content for Bev.”

Former feature writing studentNancy Longtine described theexperience as both

challenging andrewarding.

“This has really been a sort of atrial by fire,” she says. “Each of us hashad some experience writing in thepast and we all bring different skillsand ideas to the table when we work-shop our articles. It was exciting, not

only because there was a chance ofhaving a piece published, but becausewe have been given the chance towork with community members whoare involved in a huge communityevent. I interviewed a musher whoinvited me to attend her dog team’spre-race vet check. That’s somethingI’d probably never have gotten thechance to do if it hadn’t been for thisassignment.”

Communication andPerformance Studies professorDwight Brady, along with students inhis advanced field production course,shot and contributed video footage ofthe 2005 race to ESPN’s “Timeless”series. They also produced a docu-mentary titled “U.P. 200: ACommunity Pulling Together,” whichwon a Michigan BroadcastersAssociation award and—at thiswriting—could be viewed onthe event’s homepage at

www.up200.org. Audio communication

is a vital component of the race.NMU employees and alumni affiliat-ed with the Hiawatha Amateur RadioAssociation (HARA) provide a criticallink between checkpoints along theroute and the race headquarters inMarquette.

“The ham radios are unbeliev-ably valuable,” says Pat Torreano ’68BME, U.P. 200 director. “Computers

14 H O R I Z O N S

Communication andPerformance Studies

professor Dwight Brady,along with students in

an advanced fieldproduction course,

shot and contributedvideo footage of the2005 race to ESPN’s“Timeless” series.

can go down, so they’re a big safetynet. With the ham radio network andthe computerized system, though,we’ve sure come a long way from thevery first race. That was done with onetelephone at the Holiday Inn … andwhite trail markers.”

One contingent of ham opera-tors—including retired and currentengineering and technology profes-sors Carol Hicks and Mike Cauleyand NMU alumnus Pete Kotila ’79MS—even constructed an igloo fromscratch one year as a creative windblock at their remote location on theRapid River truck trail off M-95.

“The operators report inall of the bib

numbers andtimes that sledders come

through our locations,” explainsHicks. “They also take care of emer-gencies that come up. One time, asled came through with no rider. Weran out and stopped the dogs andcalled it in. About a half hour laterthe driver jogged in looking for herteam. Now and then racers also dropout, so you have to call in and get asupport team to truck out there andhaul the dogs and sleds away. We alsoassist with traffic control when teamscross a road.”

Eric Smith ’95 MA, director ofNMU broadcast and audio-visualservices, has assisted in the effort. He

says ham radios are more viable thancell phones for relaying the progressof the race, in part because there areno disruptions in signal or servicebetween Marquette and GrandMarais (the farthest checkpoint of the200-mile race).

“And unlike cell phones, whichonly allow point-to-point communi-cation, ham radios are all tuned tothe same frequency,” Smith adds.“The information is shared among allof the operators simultaneously,so they can follow upwith

questions orhelpful feedback immedi-

ately, if needed. It has worked outvery well.”

Mushers are intensely focused ontheir dogs and the race, but thatdoesn’t mean they are blind to theimpact of volunteers they brieflyencounter along the way.

“It wouldn’t be a race withoutthem,” stresses Pete Curtice ’86 BSof Chatham, a past winner of theU.P. 200 who is taking a year offfrom competitive racing. “Mushersare there to satisfy their own personalneeds and some are there to hopefullywin a share of the purse. Volunteersput up with the odd hours and frigidtemperatures because they want tohelp out and they simply find thesport attractive.”

Darlene Walch ’90 MA is

NMU dean of Academic InformationServices and a spare-time musher,competing in mid-distance events inWisconsin and the Upper Peninsula,including the Midnight Run. Walchhas seen university employees inaction and has enjoyed watching stu-dents help mushers get their teams tothe start line and assist with vetchecks. She’s also spottedat least one

NMU alumwho returns to

Marquette specifically for the race.“Lee Nowak ’66 BS and his

wife, Claudia, come from TraverseCity to volunteer,” Walch notes.“When Lee interacts with currentstudents, I think he serves as a rolemodel for them, exemplifying contin-uing participation in the community.And he’s a Wildcat fanatic, so I’msure the students know he’s aNorthern graduate.”

This is hardly an exhaustiveaccount of NMU involvement andthe U.P. 200 is among several annualevents that draw student and employ-ee volunteers. But the race is perhapsthe most shining example of the uni-versity’s impact in giving back to thesurrounding community throughservice.

The 20th running of the U.P.200 is scheduled for Feb. 20-22. n

F A L L 2 0 0 8 15

orthern Michigan Constructors leave behind tangi-ble proof of their commitment to community serv-ice at every project location.

In Escanaba, an injured marine and his family nowhave a home that is wheelchair accessible and more energyefficient. In the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Lower NinthWard of New Orleans, hopeful facades emerged from thedesolation because students willingly sacrificed most oftheir holiday break to install new roofs and siding. At theSuicide Bowl in Ishpeming, an elevated judge’s standoffers an improved vantage point for ski jumping compe-titions. And in Marquette, the club’s organization anddesign efforts contributed to a memorial overlooking thebeach near Picnic Rocks. The resulting sculpted metalangel standing atop a stone monument was motivated bythe tragic 2005 drowning deaths of two NMU students.

Activities like these helped the constructors earn

“Student Organization of the Year” at last spring’s leader-ship banquet.

“Sure, it’s nice to be recognized, but I don’t believethat’s the drive behind the members in the club steppingup to volunteer,” says Colin Philipp, NMC vicepresident. “It’s just who we are. We have some uniquetalents and when we pull all of our resources together, wecan accomplish great things. I don’t think that it’s impor-tant if we are remembered for the work that we havedone, but rather that we know personally and as a groupwhat we can and have achieved as a team.”

Co-adviser Daryl Delongchamp adds, “I’m extremelyproud of what they’ve done in the past and they’re just asaggressive this year. It’s a very active and well-organizedgroup. They’ve had a growth in members—30 percent orbetter over the last year or so. The Superior Edge helpswith that because it gives incentives for students to join

BBuuiillddiinngg aa bbeetttteerr wwoorrllddThe NMU Constructors working on a Habitat for Humanity project in New Orleans, where they happened to meet up with the crew of“This Old House,” and were featured in an episode. They are pictured with the show’s iconic carpenter, Norm Abram, bottom center.

NN

16 H O R I Z O N S

By Kri s t i Evans

and get involved.” The Constructors group is composed mainly of con-

struction management and building technology majors,but membership is open to anyone. Many of its serviceactivities are facilitated through previously establishedrelationships with local organizations.

Students have provided leadership and labor forMarquette County Habitat for Humanity projects. Theyhelped the Kiwanis Club demolish its former pavilion atSunset Point on Presque Isle and will rebuild it in thenear future. Constructors also field requests from on-campus entities.

“We fabricated wood sign cutouts used to publicizethe USOEC versus China event throughout the commu-nity and we’re helping to rebuild USOEC weightliftingplatforms,” says Ben Herman, president. “We designedand built a new modular display wall system for exhibitsat the Beaumier Heritage Center and a new display forthe Student Art Gallery. We’ve also built a relationshipwith the hospitality management program, helping onseveral projects including the design and construction ofprops used at their dining events.”

Constructors expanded their outreach to the nationallevel in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. ThatDecember, 10 members worked on a Habitat forHumanity house in Montgomery, Ala. Their effortsgarnered an extensive feature story in the MontgomeryAdvertiser. Most recently—in December 2007—theorganization raised $10,000 to fund a trip to NewOrleans for another Habitat project. Nineteen studentsmade the trip and put in 640 hours.

NMC member James Conlin reflects on the experi-ence: “We repaired three roofs, sided two houses, finished

trim work on two porches and did other miscellaneousjobs, yet it didn’t feel as though all that work made muchof a dent in a city with so much left to rebuild.”

Constructors also partnered with Heroes atHome/Rebuilding Together, a national effort to assistmilitary families who lack the financial or physicalresources to complete home repairs and other necessaryimprovements. Mark Bonovetz ’00 BS recruited the clubfor this Escanaba project.

“We not only helped with the accessibility aspect of thehome, but we also installed in-floor heating, more energy-efficient windows and insulation,” explains Philipp.

Despite many contributions of sweat equity, Constructorsmanage to inject some fun into their organization. “We like towork hard and play hard,” says Herman. “Each year weput on barbeques, softball games and an annual icefishing outing at Harlow Lake. The club provides aperfect opportunity for its members to evolve bothprofessionally and socially. It’s a great way to meet newpeople and take on new leadership roles.”

NMC secretary Jake Supa agrees: “I have made manylifelong friends being involved with the club. Being withso many amazing individuals on different volunteeringprojects is awesome. You really grow as a person, but yourpersonality and hard work help others grow, too.”

The organization’s motto—“Service, Leadership,Respect”—doubles as its mode of operation.

“It’s not a matter of having to help; our membershave a drive to help,” Philipp says. “We are constructionpeople. We are about building a better world for every-one, not only for ourselves.” n

F A L L 2 0 0 8 17

18 H O R I Z O N S

nspirational writer Richard Bachonce penned, “All we see of some-one at any moment is a snapshot

of their life, there in riches or poverty,in joy or despair. Snapshots don'tshow the million decisions that led tothat moment.”

It’s a sentiment to which seniorBetsy Ott and junior RichardAndersons can certainly relate. Today,they are viewed by student peers, fac-ulty and staff as dynamic studentleaders—a snapshot in time so differ-ent than the picture they have ofthemselves back in high school.

That was back before deciding toattend Northern MichiganUniversity; before joining NMU’snationally recognized Student LeaderFellowship Program (SLFP) andgetting involved with the university’snew civic development Superior Edgeprogram. It was back before life-changing international study andinternships.

One could argue that all studentschange during the collegiate experi-ence. Andersons and Ott can onlyadd, “some more than others.”

Ott, who hails from Brooklyn,Wis., says that while she was “quiet”in high school, she was active insports—basketball and softball—themarching band and art club.

“But I wasn’t the one younoticed and whose name you knew. Iwas that kid who didn’t really fall intoa category. I was hard to describe,”she says.

Ott was set to attend St. CloudState in Minnesota when her mom, aschool psychologist, met an NMUadmissions counselor and decidedthey had to check out Northern.

“I was so taken with the beauty

of the area, but what really got mewas that as we walked around NMUon the campus tour, everybody keptsaying hi to the student tour guideand most of them called her byname,” recalls Ott. “I thought thatwas amazing.”

Being impressed with a schoolthat seemed high on interactivityamong campus members, however,didn’t translate into an engaged andinteractive first semester for Ott, whosays she “didn’t do anything, didn’tjoin anything, didn’t make manyfriends.”

“Toward the end of the year, Ithought, ‘This is crazy. I need to getinvolved in something.’

She decided to run for anASNMU student government

position and won. As an ASNMUrepresentative, Ott met people allover campus and in the community,learned about issues and began takingsteps on a service path. By the end ofthat year, she applied and was accept-ed into the SLFP program. She alsoarranged for a study abroad experi-ence in the Czech Republic for thefollowing winter semester.

“I was on a course to getinvolved, but being in SLFP gave methe kick to take things to the nextlevel. It made me think about thingsdifferently,” the English major says.“Everybody hears about how changewon’t happen on its own, but beingin SLFP turned that from somethingyou hear people say to a choice abouthow you live.”

Ott got involved withGreenpeace when an organizationalrepresentative came on campus look-ing for a coordinator of an eventcalled the International Day ofAction, which highlights the effectsof global warming. She signed up forthe job, then spent equal amounts oftime organizing things and wonderingwhat she had gotten herself into. Butshe was hooked; she’d found a calling:advocating for the environment.

The Greenpeace connection con-tinued. Two weeks after arriving inthe Czech Republic, she received ane-mail from Greenpeace about anevent at a coal mining site and wasasked to participate.

“I said I’d go and then once I’dcommitted, I thought, ‘Oh my God.I don’t speak Czech. I can’t do this.’Forcing myself to get up and go, towalk into that group not knowinganyone and with the language barrierwas one of the hardest things I’ve everdone, but I did it. Today, wheneverI’m intimidated by something, Ithink about that day,” Ott says.

Ott’s SLFP community serviceinternship was working with

Emerging as ButterfliesBy Cindy Paavola, ’84 BS

I

“I think the biggest difference in me is that I’m just confident now.

I know I’m good at what Ido. I can go anywhereand make a community

for myself.”

Greenpeace. She attended numerousregional and national conferences onenvironmental issues and was sooncalled upon by different nationalorganizations to help train otherstudents on advocacy. Last spring,Ott was chosen by the MichiganCampus Compact for NMU’sCommitment to Service Award.

With graduation just monthsaway, Ott looks forward to a possiblecareer in public policy, which makesher chuckle with irony, consideringshe never cared much for politicsbefore coming to NMU.

“I think the biggest differencein me is that I’m just confident now.I know I’m good at what I do. I cango anywhere and make a communityfor myself,” Ott says. “And I’velearned how to be comfortable inuncomfortable situations. In fact, I’velearned that the more scared I amabout doing something, the more itmeans I should do it. To have pro-grams where you can learn thesekinds of lessons is a huge, huge assetto students. The bottom line is this:If I can learn to do the things I’vedone, anybody can do them. Myadvice: Just jump in.”

Which is exactly what RichAndersons didn’t do in high schooland had no intention of doing whenhe arrived at NMU from his home-town of Lawrence, Mich.

“In high school, I was veryquiet,” he says. “I got along withmost people and I had friends, butnone really close enough to do a lotof things with. Getting involved backthen? I just didn’t do it. And when Igot to NMU, I wanted to go to class,study and stay in my safe dorm room.”

Someone living down the hall,resident adviser and SLFP participantJeron Schmidt, had other ideas.

“Basically, Jeron drove me nuts.He simply would not leave me be.He kept asking me to go to things

with him and others in the house.Finally I went to dinner with himjust because I couldn’t keep sayingno. At dinner, he and the othersasked me all kinds of questions aboutmyself. I remember thinking, ‘Thesepeople seem genuinely interested inme.’ I didn’t expect that.”

Schmidt later convincedAndersons to take the hall treasurer’sposition, which made him the onlyfreshman on the hall governmentexecutive committee. The new expe-rience left Andersons with anotherunexpected situation—an outrighthunger to get involved. Differentstudent organizations were next onhis agenda, which led to a shockingdiscovery.

“I found out I like being aroundpeople. I mean I really, really likedpeople,” he says.

When Andersons first consid-ered applying for SLFP, he thought,“Am I up for this?”

“For me, applying to SLFP was achallenge. It was kind of surreal. Iknew if I applied and was acceptedthat it would be a whole new place forme. I would be making a statement.

“I remember the interview. I wassure I wouldn’t be chosen. I toldmyself, ‘They’re looking for peoplewho are more outgoing, people whocan talk in front of a group, peoplewith lots of leadership credentialsalready on their resume,” he says.

But he did get in and spent lastyear with the rest of the ceruleanblock in the leadership theory course,meeting with his mentor, attendingSkill Builder workshops, choosing acommunity service internship andstretching his definition of leader-ship. He also served as president ofHunt’s hall government.

“Before getting involved withprograms like SLFP and nowSuperior Edge, I thought a leader hadto have just the right credentials, butI know now that anyone and every-one who wants to lead can. If you’reinspired and choose to step up, youcan change things.”

That new-found confidenceserved him well in an internship withZurich Financial Services inSchaumburg, Ill., last summer,writing about insurance businesstechnology integration.

“Keep in mind that I’ve neverworked in a business office in my lifeand I didn’t know anything aboutinsurance! But since coming toNMU and getting involved in all ofthe things I’ve gotten involved in,I’ve learned how to talk to be people,so that’s what I did. Before I wroteanything, I’d find the person incharge of it and go and talk to them.They were so impressed that thisintern was taking such initiative.That’s just one example of what I’vebeen learning to do here at Northernthat I didn’t even really realize I was

F A L L 2 0 0 8 19

“Before getting involved, I thought a leader hadto have just the right

credentials, but I knownow that anyone and

everyone who wants tolead can. If you’re

inspired and choose to step up, you can

change things.”

20 H O R I Z O N S

The demands of being a student can be rigorous, and it’seasy to get so caught up in school that having a life out-side of it seems barely possible. The same goes for adultswrapped up in their busy careers. But Gloria Clocklin’75 BSN, a nursing professor, not only thinks it’s impor-tant to create a fuller life, she makes it happen—for her-self and the many students she has mentored through theStudent Leader Fellowship Program. “I was involved inseveral different groups in the community and I saw that Imight help students see the possibilities for not only pro-fessional development after school, but also how to have alife outside of nursing,” Clocklin recalls about initiallyvolunteering as a mentor.

She has been matched mostly with nursing stu-dents— about eight of them over the years—and they’lldo things they’re both interested in, like take Skill Builderworkshops together, perhaps go hiking, biking or snow-shoeing, meet for lunch or coffee, volunteer at an event,and maybe do some baking and bring goodies to a localhomeless shelter or safe house for abused women. “Thestudents who live in the dorms especially enjoy the cook-ing part!” she jokes. “They learn that it doesn’t take ahuge commitment to make an impact on people.”

Clocklin says her involvement with the Junior RedCross in high school was an experience that influencedher whole life, and not just her career. Serving as a mentoris a continuation of that, and a chance to pay back men-tors she had along the way. “Just spending time together,being there for them to bounce ideas off of, or to talkabout breaking up with a boyfriend, or challenges atschool—I find that very rewarding,” she says. “It’s alsoexciting to watch them grow, become student leaders andstart their careers. Many of us keep in touch long after thementorship is over.”

learning to do.” This year, Andersons remains

involved in several student groupsand he’s now resident adviser forHunt’s Arctic House. He’s alsocompleting his SLFP communityservice internship, which consists ofweekly after-school writing camps atBothwell Middle School.

“When my old friends visit now,they are like, ‘Who are you?’ and Ithink that’s hilarious, but somethingthat really moves me more is thateven my parents have been impacted

by myactivities at

NMU. I thinkI’ve kind ofmotivatedthem to get

out of their shells, too. My mom hasstarted volunteering at the localschool and my dad is getting out

more in general and becoming moreactive in the community,” he says andcan’t help but smile.

Andersons says that being an RAhas given him a chance to be the“Jeron Schmidt” for other NMUstudents.

“I tell other students, ‘You canbe something different than who youwere in high school. Look for oppor-tunities you think you might like andjust go for it. Break out of your box.Take up a leadership role.’ Some justnod their heads, but some are takingmy advice. I’m living proof that itdoesn’t take much to get started—sometimes nothing more than adecision to go to dinner!” n

This artistic demonstration outside ofCohodas Hall was part of the campusproject Ott organized for Greenpeace tobuild awareness of global warming.

Dedicated mentorBy Rebecca Tavernini

Gloria Clocklin with student fellow mentees Heather Lanenga ‘99BSN and Jenny Petiprin ‘99 BSN, volunteering together at theSpecial Olympics.

F A L L 2 0 0 8 21

Alumni in action

hy would two retired menchoose to spend their dayswith 40 or so rowdy teenage

girls? And then spend nights and week-ends with a team of pubescent boys?

For Tom Schwab ’72 BA, ’74MA the answer is simple: “I lovevolunteering, to coach and to teach,both boys and girls at all age levelsand all types of teams.” For MikeLilleeng ’74 BS, ’77 MA beingretired “gives me more time to thought-fully plan workouts and give even moreof my energy to the swimmers.”

When Lilleeng decided to tryout for the NMU swim team, littledid he know that he’d be starting alifelong teaching and coaching part-nership and friendship—one full of

mentoring and inspiring others tosucceed. Schwab came to NMU on aswimming and diving scholarshipand immediately saw great talent inMike. Both were studying to becometeachers (Tom in industrial arts andMike in physical education andbiology) and hoped to coach as well.

They excelled on the swim team.Tom finished out his undergrad yearsat NMU as a two-time NCAA All-American and co-captain of the men’steam, then continued on to coachdiving with former head coach DonTrost. Lilleeng was cut short on asure road to being an All-Americanwhen he was stricken with meningitishis junior year while en route toFlorida for winter training with the

team. However, he went on to attainAll-America status as a master’s swim-mer in later years in many events. Atage 48, he placed second in YMCAnationals in the 100-yard butterflyand first at the Senior Olympics atage 50 in the 50-yard butterfly and500-yard freestyle.

After recovering from themeningitis and entering the graduateprogram in health education, Lilleengserved as swimming coach whileTrost became diving coach, leadinghis team to a top 10 finish, withmultiple swimmers earning All-America honors (including TimKerwin, who was just inducted inNMU’s Sports Hall of Fame.) With acareer filled with only winning

Coaches Tom Schwab and Mike Lilleeng with the John Hersey High School 2008-2009 girls swim team

W

By Rebecca Tavernini

Coaches for Life

22 H O R I Z O N S

seasons, Trost set the bar high forTom and Mike. Schwab says of Trost:“What a winner and fantastic leader.”

After a couple of years teachingat Wheeling High School, in a sub-urb of Chicago, Schwab had theopportunity to recruit Lilleeng, whohad gone on to teach high school inBeloit, Wis., and coach two statechampion boys swim teams. “Tomdid such a great job of talking me upI was able to get the job atWheeling,” recalls Mike. “From thispoint on he and I taught andcoached the boys and girls swimteams together for the next 30 years.”Always a team, they alternated ashead coach. Not surprisingly, the duoled many of the young athletes tostate honors and even one to qualify-ing for the Olympic Trials. They havesent several of their students on toNMU, too, including Missy Baron(All-America diver) and LisaGoodman (springboard divingnational champion).

In 2000, Schwab was given theService Award by the NationalInterscholastic Swimming CoachesAssociation and was inducted intothe LakeCounty/WaukeganHall ofFame.

“Butour greatachievementI feel is thatwe work withevery studentthat comes out, nomatter their ability,”says Schwab. “Mikeand I have always takenspecial needs students onour team, including MMI [mildmental impairment] students.”

One of those students was Rick.“He never earned one point for the

team, but he taught us many real-lifelessons about other people,” recallsSchwab, who explainshe used swimming as areward system to helpthe student learn howto make change for adollar and how totell time. “Everymeet our swim-mers, and theaudience, wouldbe cheering likecrazy whenRick wouldfinish, withgreat pride.”Rick wenton to earna varsityaward.

“I felt a greatpersonal need to gain a betterunderstanding of the special needsstudents, who I felt were oftenmisunderstood,” explains Schwab,who went back to school to earnanother master’s degree (a third), this

time in special education.After retirement, the pair

were asked tocontinue

coaching swim-ming and diving at John

Hersey High School inArlington Heights, Ill. Last year,their team was undefeated in the reg-ular season. Schwab was recruited toalso teach and coach part time at analternative school for special educa-tion students. In addition, he volun-

teer coaches youth baseball and soft-ball, which he has been doing for 30years, with equally stellar success. Healso enjoyed returning to Northern to

assist running the NationalSwimming andDiving

Championshipmeet and the

NCAA divingevent and to judge

at the NCAANational

Championships. (Hiswife, Carol [Sepanek],

attended NMU forthree years and the cou-

ple loves to come back toMarquette, as do Mike

and his wife.)When so many people

long for the relaxation ofretirement, why do these two

keep so involved?“I like working with student

athletes to try to improve them inswimming as well as their future. Italso keeps me involved in a sport Ilike and makes me feel good aboutmyself,” says Lilleeng.

“I simply love teaching andcoaching. It’s still a big high for me!”adds Schwab. “I’ve had an excep-tionally lucky career, being able toenjoy a lifetime of achievement witha teammate and best friend.” n

“Coach Mike Lilleeng and I coach togetherduring our retirement every day, as we both

were invited back because of our teams’successes. We work well together and can

read each other’s minds both in a coachingrelationship and as best friends.”

Tom Schwab with national diving

champ Lisa Goodman ‘85 BS, whom

he coached in high school.

Mike Lilleeng (left) w

ith friend Jim

Rivers

‘74 BS at Presque Isle in 1976.

Tom and Mike would love to hearfrom their classmates and teammates:mikelilleeng@comcast.nettom.schwab@d214.org

F A L L 2 0 0 8 23

f a commitment to service is somehow embedded inour DNA and if Shawn Brown ’07 BA passes on even

a portion of the charitable gene to her first child—due inJanuary—the world will be better for it.

While enrolled at NMU as an athletic training majorin the pre-med program, Brown amassed an impressiveservice record on campus and across the globe. She hascontinued on the same track at the University ofMichigan, despite the rigors of medical school.Impending motherhood might have interrupted a plannedtrip to Haiti last summer, but it has not diminished herdrive to make a difference.

“I think of volunteering as a way of life—I’ve neverthought of not volunteering,” Brown says. “Northern wasan amazing environment for it because the smaller sizegave me opportunities I wouldn’t have had at a largeruniversity and direct access to the people who could makeit happen. Northern also embraces globalization to theextent other universities don’t. If you’re willing to look,there are plenty of ways to get involved.”

One option is the Superior Edge, which helpedBrown identify “gaps” in her engagement in domesticdiversity. Another is the International VolunteeringStudent Organization, which Brown established at NMUwith encouragement from an adviser to increase awarenessof overseas service options. She led by example, travelingon service missions to Kenya, East Timor and Peru.

Brown worked with grassroots organizations inremote Kenyan villages on women’s empowerment andAIDS/sexual education programs. The latter includedhome visits to registered AIDS patients. Brown offered

whatever help she could—from nutritional support andeducation to counseling and medications.

“We tried to make their home life as easy as possi-ble,” she says. “There’s a stigma in tribal Kenya that AIDSis punishment for something you did and families oftendisown or ignore individuals after a diagnosis. But whatwas eye-opening to me is that people weren’t dying ofAIDS; they were dying of starvation. They created every-thing they ate. If they got sick, they couldn’t fish or workthe land, which meant they couldn’t produce food andeat. The cycle would just continue. It’s interesting tothink of not being able to go to a corner grocery store toget what you need.

“I hadn’t been outside of Michigan and my first-everairplane flight was to Kenya, so you could say I was thrustinto a very different culture. I had a hard time reconcilingmyself to living by tribal society rules. But the people werewelcoming and seemed genuinely thrilled to have me there.It was a self-driven environment. I filled in where I could.”

Brown arranged the trip herself and traveled solo, butshe was accompanied by NMU peers on future missions.

In East Timor, a trio of pre-med students spent twomonths at the Bairo Pite Clinic. Brown says it was found-ed by Dr. Dan Murphy, a U.S. physician born inIshpeming, and is one of only two major medical facilitiesin the country. Both are staffed by Timorese nurses andadministrative assistants, but rely on overseas volunteersto serve as doctors. The country regained its independ-ence earlier this decade, and 20 years of Indonesianoccupation and genocide left behind palpable deficits inmedical services and infrastructure.

I

Mission

possible

Shawn Brown is pictured at left,working with a community AIDS

program in Kenya.

By Kris t i Evans

24 H O R I Z O N S

The students witnessed a tuber-culosis epidemic and worked mostlyin the clinic emergency room, assist-ing with wound care. They stayed inshipping crates that had been con-verted into living units, completewith air-conditioning.

In Peru, Brown and other NMUstudents assisted teachers at schoolsin the slums outside Chiclayo andmoonlighted as English languageinstructors. Their daytime roleextended beyond the classroom.Sometimes they wandered through

neighborhoods, looking for childrenwho weren’t in school. Youth oftenearn money for their families by col-lecting tickets on buses and otherodd jobs. Brown talked to theirfamilies about the value of education,to convince them that children couldsecure more lucrative jobs if theycontinued on to secondary school.

“The three service trips I tookwhile I was at Northern completelychanged my life and outlook. I neverrealized before I went just what it waslike overseas and how good we haveit here. From a personal perspective,it was empowering. I wasn’t sure Ihad enough resources or knowledgeto help anyone, but when you gosomewhere with so little, everythingyou do makes a huge difference. Iwas a licensed EMT, so the first twomissions involved a lot of basic med-ical work. That hands-on and healtheducation experience were more upmy alley and really cemented my

mission to do overseas medical workas a career.”

At the University of Michigan,Brown is involved in the StudentAlliance for Global REACH, a largerversion of the organization she start-ed at NMU. After completing hersurgical residency, her goal is to worknine months out of the year in astateside clinic near her and her hus-band’s families in Traverse City, andspend the remaining three months inforeign clinics, doing work withtrauma relief.

“My extended family has goneon international missions to Haitiand China and a cousin works forthe United Nations on refugee reset-tlement work. I think the impetus forme to volunteer came from them.”

It looks like Brown will likelyignite a similar passion that willextend her family’s tradition ofservice to a new generation. n

The Northern Michigan University student chapter ofNothing But Nets figures that even from halfway aroundthe world, it protected 480 lives last year.

The group of about 75 NMU students raised morethan $1,200 in its first year of existence, which helped tobuy 120 insecticide-treated, anti-malaria bed nets used toprotect African families at night, which is when the vastmajority of the malaria-causing blood parasite,Plasmodium, is transmitted from mosquitoes. Each netcan protect a family of four for up to four years.

The national Nothing But Nets campaign was creat-ed by the United Nations Foundation following the out-pouring of response to former Sports Illustrated writer RickReilly’s April 2006 column about his family bringing thewrong kind of nets—sports-related nets—to the childrenof Tanzania, when what they needed most desperatelywere bed nets.

Each year, about a half-billion people (or the equiva-lent of the population of Canada, Mexico and the UnitedStates combined) are infected and more than a millionpeople die— about a person every 30 seconds. Malaria is

the leading cause of death of children in Africa. The NMU chapter of the national organization was

started by students Allison Gager and Stevie Fisher, bothof Marquette.

“We had been involved in the project through asocial justice committee at our church,” says Fisher. “Aftera couple projects there, we saw that the cause was very effec-tive in our area. We felt that through Northern it would givestudents an opportunity to help internationally.”

Among the group’s fund-raising efforts were a raffle, acar wash, an auction, contribution tables and a verysuccessful fashion show.

“A lot of students want to make a change in theworld, and this is a way to do it. They know that the timeand energy they spend working with us directly affectsand saves lives,” Fisher says.

Fisher added that several of the group members havetraveled to Africa in the past. “Those who have said thatthe bed nets are just a way of life; they're a necessity toprotect yourself. One girl who helped us out last yeargrew up in Africa and when she was young, a close frienddied from malaria. I think that put it into perspective fora lot of people.”

One net at a time

F A L L 2 0 0 8 25

Becky Korpi ’07 BS signed up for the Peace Corps shortlybefore graduating from NMU. She is now with the Corpsteaching English in Thailand in an elementary school andshort-session “camps.” She also has recently been appointedco-editor of Peace Corps Thailand’s volunteer magazine,Sticky Rice. Following are excerpts from her blog.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2008

Lost Count

Last week Eric John, the UnitedStates ambassador to Thailand,swore me and my 53 colleagues inas official Peace Corps volunteers. There were representa-tives from the Royal Thai Government and Washington,and we took the same oath that is given to members ofCongress and other government employees—"protectagainst all enemies foreign and domestic" and suchlike.We looked over the words beforehand, but once we saidthem they weighed down the air in the room. Thosewords can’t be taken lightly, no matter how good a senseof humor you have.

But Eric John, surprisingly, is a hilarious guy. "Todayyou are all ambassadors to Thailand. No wait, there’s justone, and that’s me." He’s also got one of the most amazingspeaking voices I’ve ever heard. If he wanted to narrate anaudio book, even a motorcycle repair manual, I’d buy seven.

Now I live in Buriram province; six hours fromBangkok, a million years from being able to take care ofitself. People stare at me and wonder what I’m doinghere, but they still smile because they’re Thai and that’s

what they do. I am currently staying with Jeab, my 29-year old teaching counterpart, and it’s been a helluva tripso far. Just today alone we drove to Prakhon Chai in adeath trap truck, almost hit several things because thewheel doesn’t turn well, got locked out for a good hourbecause the doors stick, and nearly ended up in a ditchbecause it was raining and we weren’t able to locate thewiper button. All the while with her 2-year old screamingin the cab.

TIT: This Is Thailand. You either roll with it or gohome, and I’d rather not go back to Michigan when it’sstill winter.

Tomorrow I’m renting a house. Not an apartment, ahouse. I have two to choose from, one with air condition-er and one that’s more gorgeous than any home I haveever lived in. I have $16,000 baht and a craving forindependence.

Jeab and I just bought papaya salad, sticky rice andfresh mangoes from the market, so it’s time to chow andthen chase her sons around for awhile. The school yeardoesn’t start until May 16 here, so actual work isn't neces-sary for weeks yet.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2008

Lucky

I thought it would never stopraining in Buriram. When it did,22,000 people were dead next doorin Burma.

Then when we had our backs turned, our neighbor

Assignment: Thailand

One of the outside vendors in Singburi making guaidio nam--noodle soup. Thailand air conditioning.

All p

hoto

s co

urte

sy o

f Be

cky

Korp

i

26 H O R I Z O N S

to the north—China —had an earthquake and anadditional 10,000 people lost their lives. All Peace CorpsChina volunteers and staff are accounted for and safe,thank goodness. There is no Peace Corps Burma, alsothank goodness.

Jeab and I sit in a small but expensive hotel room inSaKaeo province, watching the rain return to Thai skiesand drinking cold glasses of rum and Pepsi. If women areseen drinking in this country it's a decision that followsthem the rest of their lives, but once a month Jeab and Ifind a remote place and indulge with just one drink. It'senough to endure whatever's coming for the next fourweeks, whether it's from man or nature.

Our hotel —The River Resort—caters to foreigntourists by having bilingual signs and menus, but the TVchannels speak no trace of recognizable English. The newsis all the same and so Jeab does not translate for me. Wewere invited to SaKaeo to participate in a teacher trainingthat fellow volunteer Chris was hosting; it's business asusual in Thailand while the rest of Asia scrambles for aidand answers.

"What do we call this in English?" Jeab asks, heralmond eyes focused hard on the TV screen. She is notpointing to a specific object, so I know she's inquiringabout the situation—the devastation, loss of life andshock combined. Peace Corps didn't put us together forour shallow thinking, that's for sure.

"Two near-misses," I answer. It's not always easy totranslate the kinds of things she wants to know, but I try.She looks this up in the battered English-Thai dictionarythat she bought at the Sunday market and nods with sat-isfaction.

"The gypsy said you'd be smart," she adds a few min-utes later, changing the channel to an American movie

that has been dubbed—poorly —in Thai.Her English is still developing and is therefore usually

straightforward, but every once in awhile she throws mecompletely off. "Arai na ka?" ("Pardon?") I ask.

"You were supposed to be 24 years old but she gotthe rest right." This is one of those moments where shekeeps the specifics vague on purpose and she knows itdrives me batty.

It's starting to rain hard again and we know thefloors will be wet when we get home (Jeab's house iscursed with leaky ceilings). But with the air conditioningon full tilt and a strange Thai voice coming from MattDamon's mouth, we also know how lucky we are and cel-ebrate by playing "rock, paper, scissors" to see who goesdown to the lobby for more ice.

FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2008

Kuhn Kruu

My fourth graders pick flow-ers for me so that I'll sing forthem at the end of the day.But it can't be something asshort and sweet as theABC's; it has to be some-thing uniquely Americanwith a catchy tune and a lotof words. They're absolutely hungry for my native lan-guage, always listening and watching my mouth withcareful concentration.

The media and their parents tell them that Americais the future and English is the vessel of passage. You cansee it while they practice "Hello, what is your name?"

Ja, Jeab's youngest son, who will be 2 next month. He's either contemplating the fascinatinghistory of the Phnom Rung ruins or he's just in need of a nap. My fourth graders presentingtheir favorite colors. Note their uniforms; this style is the same throughout Thailand.

F A L L 2 0 0 8 27

with each other, the intensity in their eyes as though the rest of their livesdepend on this lesson.

But the singing thing is my own fault. I have a habit of filling silencesby softly crooning something, whatever's in my head at the moment. Asbroad of a musical horizon as I have (everything from Arlo Guthrie toWarren Zevon on my iPod), it's usually something gutless and poppy fromthe mainstream. I'm like an American radio a notch above "mute" while Iwalk around my cramped classroom surveying my kids' work. Sonic wall-paper, as my NMU music prof. Floyd Slotterback used to say.

In this way, I pay more attention to how beautiful my own language is. Ising every word slowly and clearly for my kids, and they marvel at the mostcommon words because the sounds are brand new to them.

This week was Rhianna and Nelly Furtado. Next week will be Madonnabecause her 80's hits are probably easier for them to pick up. Luckily I justbought five of her albums on one CD for 300 baht (about $5) at a Bangkokmarket. For as disillusioned as Thais are about catering to Americans, they atleast know how to make a good deal that no foreigner can refuse.

I will probably completely lose my voice in two years, but having a freshcupful of jasmine and buttercups on my desk every morning trumpseverything. n

The Peace CorpsTradition at NMUThe Peace Corps loves to recruit atNMU. The number of studentswho are interested in the Corps andsign up for service “is impressive forthis size of a school,” says recruiterJulia Capizzi. On top of that,NMU students bring with themimpressive qualities. “They tend tobe engaged, open-minded, curious,flexible and adaptable,” she adds—a backpack full of skills that arecrucial to those who undertake the27-month commitment. Not onlydoes she find full houses at NMUinformation sessions and invitationsinto many classrooms, she’s metwith enthusiasm and a real respectfor what Peace Corps does and thepower it has to make a resuméglow.

While a stint with the Corpscan be a great transition betweenschool and work or grad school, itslife-changing powers are open topeople of any age, as James Peters’78 BS, age 52, is finding out. Hestarted serving in Cape Verde,Africa, this summer, where he’ll befacilitating vocational education forpost-secondary students and creat-ing construction jobs. “After work-ing 28 years [for a major automo-tive company], it’s just time to giveback,” he told the Oakland Press. “Iwant to share my experiences andknowledge and hopefully make adifference in others’ lives.” Capizziadds that the Peace Corps has justlaunched an initiative to bringmore people age 50 and older intothe Corps and “hear the call.”

They're absolutely hungry for my nativelanguage, always listening and watching mymouth with careful concentration... Inthis way, I pay more attention to how

beautiful my own language is.

Playing a balloon game of Jeab's creation to help remembercolors. Jeab, my trusted and loyal teaching counterpart. Shealso doubles as my landlady and partner in crime.

Me and mysupervisor,AtcharaBuayam. Shecould makemy lifemiserableif shewanted to,but as youcan seethere'snothing butlove here.

28 H O R I Z O N S

Foundation news

Diane and Greg Besse of Gladstonehave agreed to serve as co-chairs ofthe NMU Parents Fund. Diane andGreg have two children attendingNorthern, Gabrielle, a senior, andCain, a sophomore.

“We were very excited to take anactive role in the parents fund” saysDiane. “This is a great way for us tocontribute to our children’s educa-tional success.”

For many years, the family hasbeen a part of the NMU community,and they weren’t surprised when theirkids made the decision to attendNMU. “We have been NMU hockeyseason ticket holders for many years,”

adds Greg, president and owner ofBesse Forest Products Group. “Froma young age, our kids were familiarwith NMU and the Marquette com-munity. We visited several differentcolleges in the Midwest, but bothGabrielle and Cain knew Northernwas the best fit.”

As co-chairs of the fund, theBesses are strong advocates ofproviding an education that creates

the widest variety of opportunitiesfor NMU students to travel, extendtheir learning beyond the classroom,explore new experiences and othercultures, develop as citizens andleaders and have the best campusexperience possible.

Diane and Greg hope theiractive role in the parents fund willserve as an example for other NMUparents. “As parents, we can all getinvolved in a way that is productivefor our kids and beneficial to theuniversity. The parents fund is one ofthe most direct ways to do this.”

To date, the parents fund hasraised over $200,000 in pledged giftsand continues to be one of the mostsuccessful annual fund-raisingprograms at NMU.

Leading theParents Fund

NMU premedical graduates get more than a diplomawhen they cross the stage. Because entering medicalschool means facing a long road filled with challenges, ithas been a tradition at Northern to give these graduates ahead start by equipping them with a medical tool so basicthat it is easily overlooked: a stethoscope.

Each year, eight to twelve NMU students enteringmedical school receive the gift of a stethoscope. In thepast, the stethoscopes have been paid for out of the annu-al premedical program operating budget. Now, thanks tothe generosity of two NMU premed alums, this traditionof recognition and support will continue for years tocome while freeing up money that can be used elsewherein the premed program.

In 2006, with a gift of $13,000, alumna Dr. JeanneGroos ’79 BS established a fund to pay for the stetho-scopes. At the same time, she also established thePhysician Alumni Scholarship that helps offset tuitioncosts for juniors or seniors who are participating in theNMU premedical program. Groos is board certified inpediatrics and currently has a practice with the MinistryMedical Group in Stevens Point, Wis.

Now, the stethoscope has been fully endowedthrough a gift from Groos’ premed classmate, Dr. JanetBalbierz ’80 BS. Balbierz has donated $12,000 to thefund to bring it to its endowment level of $25,000. Shepractices physical medicine and rehabilitation in Utah.

The Stethoscope Endowment Fund is a unique andimportant way to support premed graduates, to recognizetheir efforts and to encourage them in their upcomingendeavors in a way that will reach far beyond our campusinto the world of health care and medical research. It is agift that will be remembered day after day, patient afterpatient, heartbeat after heartbeat.

Tool of the trade

F A L L 2 0 0 8 29

While picking up shells on the beach today,I found a fragment of what must have been a magnificent conch…

an exquisite shard…a remnant of a masterpiece.Holding it gently, I tried to imagine the part as the whole.

What it was like at its best, before it was broken by time and the churning sea.It must have been an elegant creature, a prime example of its species.

I thought of my mother, who was, before she was broken by time and degenerativedisease, a prime example of our species.

Those of us who remember the bright, gracious, lovely lady that she was at her best,are grateful when you, who know only the remaining fragment of herself,

handle her gently and with respect, as a once magnificent shell.

John Argeropoulos ’60 BA quotes from this poem by Phyllis Yingling inexplaining what helped inspire a scholarship he and his wife, Mary ’68 MA,created to support caregivers at the nursing home where his mother resided.“The fact that the Mather staff was able to nurture my mother for 10 longyears of deteriorating health (she was almost 100 when she died), speaks vol-umes about their dedication, compassion and quality care, especially when shehad reverted back to her native language (Greek),” John says. “But they nevergave up on her.”

The couple established the James and Barbara Argeropoulos Scholarship,in honor of John’s parents, to support health professionals at Mather NursingHome in Ishpeming. The awards are given to employees or their dependents

who are studying in a care-related field at NMU.

“We are very grateful to theimportant service that theseunsung heroes are providing tothe frail elderly in our communi-ties,” he says. “They come in anddo such difficult work day afterday, year after year. Many makeminimum wage, with few bene-fits. Yet they serve others becausethey see it as a privilege to do so.”

The Argeropouloses alsohelp fund in-service support and

self-renewal training for the staffs of all nursing homes, hospice programs andhome care workers in Marquette County.

“What would really be wonderful,” John says, “is the possibility thatother alumni might be inspired to contribute to the Foundation fund and bypooling our resources designate scholarships for caregivers at other MarquetteCounty nursing homes or facilities where they may have a parent, grandpar-ent or spouse—and allow them to benefit from a Northern education just aswe have—while thanking them for the care they provide.”

Honoring unsung heroes

Mary, Barbara and John Argeropoulos, celebrating Barbara’s 99th birthday at the nursing home where she received gentle carefor over 10 years.

Most people, at some point in theirlives, have found themselves in needdue to circumstances beyond theircontrol. This is particularly true forstudents who often pursue theireducation on a shoestring budget.

With this in mind, Lon andLynn Emerick are re-establishing theEmerick Book Fund that they origi-nally founded in 2002. The fundwas started to assist students who,through unusual circumstances, findthemselves without money to buytheir textbooks.

In a note to award recipients,the Emericks state, “When we werestudents and later in first jobs, therewere people who saw we were work-ing hard, but struggling, and gave usan encouraging word, a bag of gro-ceries, an invitation to a meal. Thatfeeling of support, and the knowl-edge that someone believed we wereworth helping out, has lasted withus over many years. All we wereasked, and all we ask of you, is thatyou ‘pay it forward.’ Someday—when you are able—find a way tohelp out someone else.”

There is no cap on the number ofawards, which do not count againstfinancial aid. Money awarded is puton account at the NMU Bookstore.

Lon is an NMU professoremeritus and the couple run apublishing company.

The Emericks celebrating their 50thanniversary in the Swiss Alps.

Book smart

30 H O R I Z O N S

We’d like to thank thefollowing people who haverecently joined as lifetimemembers of the NMU AlumniAssociation.

Nancy L. Cunningham ’78Dr. Scott ‘78 and Deanne

(Hanson) ‘80 PynnonenDr. Janet M. Balbierz ‘80Mary L. Myllyla ‘83, ‘89Dr. Marianne T. Erickson ‘89Michelle A. (Hiebel) Todzy ‘90Lawrence Wilkins, Jr. ‘92Daniel ‘99 and Amanda

(Miettinen) ‘00 HuyckJerome G. Lombardo ‘01Dr. Kathryn Prevost ‘02Brian M. Johnson ‘05Timothy '04 and Angela

(Graves) ’06 Tanis

Four alumni were recognized fortheir achievements at a celebrationbrunch during Homecoming:

Outstanding Young Alumni AwardHeatherAlbrecht ’96BS, of Chicago,is vice presidentof non-profitservices forRuffaloCODY,the nation’s

largest and oldest higher educationfund-raising consulting/ softwarefirm. Her areas of expertise are help-ing to design and oversee annualgiving fund-raising efforts for col-leges and universities. As a studentat NMU, Albrecht was supervisorfor telephone campaigns and over-saw the telemarketing program. Shelater was promoted to associatedirector of the annual fund andserved as co-founder of the NMUStudent Alumni Foundation.

Alumni Achievement AwardMike Ross ’76BME, ofAppleton, Wis.,is director ofbands atAppleton WestHigh School.

His groups have been invited to per-form at the Wisconsin State MusicConvention and have done concerttours in Italy, Germany, France,England and Greece. Ross has heldmany positions in different orches-tras and symphonies in theMidwest, including conductor ofthe Green Bay Youth Symphonyand principal timpanist with the

Green Bay Symphony Orchestra.He played football at NMU from1972-74, then played in the “Prideof the North” marching band. Heholds a master’s in music educationfrom Northwestern University.

Distinguished Alumni AwardsLarry Inman’76 BS, ofTraverse City, isa retired vicepresident ofHuntingtonNational Bank.He serves as

Traverse County Commissioner andhas been instrumental in assistingwith economic development for thecounty. He holds a number of posi-tions on various local and state boards,including the State of MichiganCommunity Corrections Board. Heserved four years on the NMU Boardof Trustees and recently began a termwith the NMU Foundation Board.

DuaneVandenbusche ’59BS, of Gunnison,Colo., is a historyprofessor atWestern StateCollege ofColorado and the

author of six books. He also is anationally recognized, recentlyretired, cross country and track andfield coach. He coached 10 NCAAnational championship teams, bothmen and women, and was a seven-time recipient of the national “CrossCountry Coach of the Year” award.He holds a master's and doctorate ineducation from Oklahoma StateUniversity.

NMU alumni honoredMissing Alumni

Lifetime Members

We know they’re out there.Can you help us locate thesepeople?

Jack B. Griffin ‘23

William W. Nicholls ‘46

Gretchen O. (Olmsted) Tompkins ‘58

Frank J. Waitrovich ‘58

Paul E. Kirschner ‘60

Jean C. Larson ‘65

Mary (Hendrickson) Beckley ‘71

Barbara A. (Burkman) Sippola ‘75

Geraldine L. Smith ‘82

Christine M. (Tornberg) Niemi ‘89

Jeffrey S. Cashman ‘92

Ann M. (LaCosse) Halvorson ‘93

Dwayne S. Smith ‘97

Jonathan D. Cooper ‘04

Megan E. Anthony ‘08

Alumni in touch

F A L L 2 0 0 8 31

Wildcat Night Across the County,February 13The NMU Alumni Association’s annual Wildcat NightAcross the Country celebration is Friday, Feb. 13. TheNMU hockey team faces off against Notre Dame inSouth Bend, Ind., The game broadcast begins at 8 p.m.on CBS College Sports Network.

Now is the time to plan a Wildcat Night Across theCountry party for your area. All you have to do is find alocal sports bar or restaurant that gets the CBS CollegeSports Network and then work with the staff to allowWildcat fans to convene there. Once that is in place, letthe NMU alumni office know. We’ll publicize the loca-tion and details of your event, send out e-mail invitationsto area alumni and send you a “party package” thatincludes green and gold decorations.

Heading into the 2008-09 season, Coach Walt Kylesaid, “I am excited about the prospects for our team thisseason. We have a number of returning faces and will alsosprinkle in some new names that we feel can help us. Ourrun over the second half of last year and into the playoffswill hopefully provide us with experience and make us astrong team to contend with this season. After watching

us on the ice inthe pre-season, Ireally feel we havethe most excitinggroup of playerswe have had inquite some time.As a coach you cannever tell how thattranslates into wins, but I can assure you we have someguys that will get our fans out of their seats. It should bean exciting year.”

Last year, the Wildcats met the Fighting Irish threetimes, with a final score of 2-1 each time. In the Januaryhome series, the ’Cats won the first game and lost the sec-ond. NMU beat the nationally ranked Irish in the conso-lation game of the CCHA Championship at Joe LouisArena in Detroit in March.

Let’s make this the biggest and best Wildcat NightAcross the Country ever. Be a ’Cat on the prowl—organize an event for NMU alumni in your area. Thanksto those who have served as Wildcat Night coordinatorsin the past. This program has been successful, in largepart, because of you.

A Wildcat Night gathering in Asheville, N.C.

F A L L 2 0 0 8 33

NMU Alumni Associationmember

NMU Alumni Association lifetime member

’60sL. E. Ward ‘66 BA, ‘67 MA hasbeen chosen for the 2008 Editor’sChoice Award from theInternational Library of Poetry.

Gary Johnson ‘67 BS hasretired from a 37-year

human resources and certifiedsafety professional career.grjsafetyconsult@aol.com

Norm Virenius ‘69 BS retired fromteaching in the Lena, Wis., SchoolDistrict after 39 years of service.

’70sRobert Bolitho ‘70 BS of Lyman,S.C., is serving in Kampala,Uganda, as business manager forthe African Bible University.ptlalways@prodigy.net

Irma Hamilton ‘71 BA ofSouthfield has been appointeddirector of education with theDetroit Zoological Society.

Don Stacks ‘71 BA wasrecently elected as a distin-

guished teaching fellow by theEastern Communi-cationAssociation. He is program directorof the School of Communicationsat the University of Miami.

Marlane Bengry ‘72 BS ofBellbrook, Ohio, retired in

June as a personnel director withDelphi Corporation after 31 years.

Tim Furno ‘72 BS has been induct-ed into the Michigan High SchoolFootball Coaches Association Hallof Fame.

Gregory Hekel ‘72 BS hasrecently retired after 33 years

as an intelligence officer with theCentral Intelligence Agency, serv-ing in the U.S. and overseas.

Bonnie Ledy ‘72 BS retired asprincipal of St. Ignace schools aftermore than 35 years of service.

Margaret Coughlin ‘73 BSwas recently elected chair of

the Eastern Michigan Chapter ofthe Air and Waste ManagementAssociation. She specializes in envi-ronmental law.

Michael Webb ‘73 BS of CrystalFalls was recently elected chairmanof the executive committee ofMichigan Bankers Title of theUpper Peninsula.

Garry Parrett ‘73 BS, ‘78 MAE,‘82 MAE retired in June after 34years with with Wausaukee, Wis.,School District.

Judith (Mills) Vanderwalker ‘73BSN of Marshfield, Wis., has retiredas nurse practitioner in internalmedicine at Marshfield Clinic after34 years in the nursing profession.

Randy Middlin ‘74 BS retired inJuly after serving the Vassar SchoolSystem for 34 years, most recentlyas superintendent.

Jean, Joan and Jan Ball ‘74 BS, ‘74BS and ‘76 BS are sisters who haveretired from Menominee AreaPublic Schools after a combined 99years of service. They jointlyreceived the 2008 Menominee CityDistrict Education AssociationOutstanding Person in Education,and the Marinette-MenomineeChamber of Commerce Educatorof the Year.

MichaelRoesner ‘74BS retiredfrom theU.S. Navy asrear admiralinSeptember,after 39years withthe Navy,most recent-

ly as commander, Naval InventoryControl Point, in Mechanicsburg/Philadelphia. His sea and shoretours have included points aroundthe world, from the Antarctic toHawaii. He has also receivednumerous medals for outstandingservice and achievement.

Mary Tippett ‘75 BA has beennamed senior director of marketingat Marquette General HealthSystem, overseeing communityrelations and marketing, printingservices and volunteers.

Thomas Cornell ‘76 BS of St.Louis, Mo., has earned his doctoraldegree in educational leadershipfrom St. Louis University.

Tom Kelly‘76 BS ofGrandvillehas receivedtheOutstandingAlumni K-12TeacherAward fromthe

Michigan State University Collegeof Education Alumni Association.He is a science specialist withGrandville Public Schools.

Keeping track

34 H O R I Z O N S

’80sBob Waddell ’80 BS is a businessdevelopment manager for LCDDisplays for Avnet, and would loveto hear from "the old marketingcrew." He and wife Sandy (Perry)‘80 BSN live in South Lyon.bob.waddell@avnet.com

Abe Zain ’84BS of Sault Ste.Marie wasrecently electedpresident of theMichiganIndustrial andTechnologyEducation

Society, the state's only industrialarts teacher organization.

MichaelParejko ’88 BShas beenpromoted toexecutive vicepresident andchief operatingofficer of theIndiana BloodCenter.

’90sTim Thomas ‘92 BS has been hiredas the director of administration andfinance for the Catholic Diocese ofMarquette.

Jennifer Roth ‘93 BS was hired lastMarch as the K-6 principal ofHesperia Community Schools.

Kathleen Heideman ‘94 MA wasselected for the artist at PineNeedles residency in St. Croix,Minn., and also as artist in residenceat Isle Royale National Park.

Angie (Gaspar) Griepentrog ‘96BS and her husband, Roger, ofFreedom, Wis., have won fiveWisconsin Newspaper AssociationBetter Newspaper Contest awardsfor their paper, The Freedom Pursuit.

Eric Mason ‘96 BS of Marquette is apharmaceutical sales rep for Eli Lilly.The company recruits NMU grads

and provides real case scenarios forNMU marketing strategy classes.mason_eric_w@lilly.com

Travis Conley ‘96 BS, ‘99 MA andhis wife welcomed son Bjorn inFebruary.

Randy Schaedig ‘96 MAE wasrecently appointed sciencecoordinator for the Midland PublicSchools.

Donald Archambeau ‘97 BS,‘99 MPA of Alexandria, Va.,

has been promoted to humanresources generalist with EIT(Electronic Instrumentation andTechnology).darchambeau@eitinc.com

Bridget Gazlay ‘98 BSW wasrecently named the AmericanChristian Writers 2008 Writer of theYear. fabricards101@charter.net

Jim Lorenson ‘98 MPA of Ironwoodwas recently named president ofGogebic Community College.

Kristin Biekkola-Vergstegen ‘99 BSand husband, Jamie, of Appleton,Wis., welcomed their first child,Nathanial Lee, in April.biekkola@fvtc.edu

’00sAndrew Zager ‘00 BFA is digitalmedia engineer for a new casinoand resort in Las Vegas. He is also anaward-winning photographer.aczphotos@mac.com

Lori (Morgan) Friend ‘00 BS ofHoughton Lake is working as acareer adviser for the RoscommonCounty Michigan Works!lorifriend@webtv.net

Kerry Slife ‘01 BS of Rocky River,

Ohio, is working for SearchPathInternational and recently spent 10weeks in Vienna, Austria, where shewas invited to play rugby on theWomen’s Austrian National Team,and the Vienna City team, whichwon the national championship.

Daryl Vizina ‘01 BS was thekeynote speaker at the springcommencement ceremony forInland Lakes High School.

Dionne ’01 BS and George Jackson‘03 BS recently came back toMichigan (Troy) from WashingtonD.C. In October of last year theywelcomed their second child,Geremiah.bicepbulletin@gmail.com

Orion Couling ‘02 BS and his sister,Emily, a student at NMU, taughtstage fighting workshops at the SooTheatre this summer.

Julie (Schenning) ‘03 BA andGrant Murray ‘04 BS of Gurnee, Ill.,welcomed baby girl, Aubry, inOctober. jmurray@alumni.nmu.edu

Michael Barnhart ‘03 BS has joinedthe Coalition for Christian Outreachto work with students at theUniversity of Findlay in partnershipwith Gateway Church.

Jennifer Yatchak ‘03 BS recentlyreceived her master’s degree inphysician assistant practice from theCollege of Health Professions atRosalind Franklin University.

Scott ‘03 BS and RagenToennessen ’03 BA of Lombard, Ill.,became the parents of an adoptedson, Dane, in May.stoennes@alumni.nmu.edu

Timothy Tanis ‘04 BA recent-ly accepted a position as the

compensation manager for Cabela’sin Sidney, Neb.ttanis@alumni.nmu.edu

Scott Fluette ‘04 BS of Traverse Cityworks for the Grand Traverse Resort& Casinos as a hotel manager.scott.fluette@charter.net

Amber (Pairolero) Quigley ‘04 BSwas the honorary speaker at theWatersmeet High Schoolcommencement this spring.

F A L L 2 0 0 8 35

Jeff ’04 BS and AmandaBeneteau ‘05 BSN live in

Phoenix, Ariz. Jeff is employed as afinancial adviser with Merrill Lynchin Scottsdale. Amanda is a regis-tered nurse with the Mayo Clinichospital in Phoenix.jeffrey_beneteau@ml.com

Jackie Dummer ‘05 BS has beenpromoted to account executivewith the health-care practice groupWeber Shandwick.

Derek Main ‘05 BS has beenappointed manager of All-PhaseElectric Supply Company inMarquette.

Alexander Hansen ‘07 BFArecently had a digital print titled"Azureus Sapiens" (below) acceptedto the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts.He is also writing a documentaryabout his experience converting acombustion vehicle to an electricvehicle.

Dustin Skerbeck ‘07 BS is thegeneral manager of the familybusiness, Skerbeck BrothersCarnival. He started working in thecarnival at age 5.

R. J. Walters ‘07 BS has beennamed sports editor for theHillsdale Daily News.

Amy Chartier ‘08 BSworked as a nature instruc-

tor at Bay Cliff Health Camp in BigBay this summer.

MarriagesJennifer Ketola ‘94 AB to StevenHaldane.

Rebecca Rudden ‘97 AS to KevinSmith ‘06 Cert.

Amy Cameron ‘99 BS to WilliamDeGraw.

Richard Gleeson ‘99 BS toJennifer Johnson ‘01 Voc.

Lori Barborich ‘00 BS, ‘07 BSN toDavid Peura ‘06 BS.

Susan Chouinard ‘00 BS to BrianEllis.

Christopher Penney ‘00 BS toMegan Kippola.

Anthony Crispigna ‘01 BS, ‘02 BS,‘07 MS to Lacey Klucas ‘04 BS.

Joshua Cittadino ‘02 AAS toDanielle Magnuson.

Holly Lawer ‘02 BS to JeremyLetson.

Jennie Arduin ‘03 BS to AdamThill.

Benjamin Bursack ‘03 BS toMelissa Hedberg ’07 BS.

Dana Ferguson ‘04 BS to RebeccaKraemer ‘04 BS.

Kimberly Malandron ‘04 Cert. toAlan Swanson ‘05 BS.

Joshua Olson ‘04 BS to DanielleVentre ‘07 BS.

Kelly Schlumpf ‘04 AB to DonaldThurber.

Lindsay Schneider ‘04 BA to ChadLindstrom ‘07 BS.

Chelsee Bergman ‘05 BSN toJoshua Bal ‘06 BS.

Kristin Finco ‘05 BS to MichaelPfarr.

Danielle Lawrence ‘05 BS to JohnWheeler.

Kristen Thorpe ‘05 BSN toMichael Truscott ‘06 BS.

Eric Young ‘05 BS to Amy Reetz‘07 BS.

Daniel Bonetti ‘06 BS to MelissaPeymann ‘06 BS.

Stephen Hellman ‘06 Cert. toAlicia June.

Joseph Ostlund ‘06 BS toCatherine Guerts.

Lindsey Pepin ‘06 BS to TysonButorac.

Angela Tasson ‘06 BS to RobertLehtinen.

Jeremy Bovan ‘07 BS to StephanieCoron.

Alex Buck ‘07 BA to LaurenJohnson ‘07 BS.

Jennifer Danielson ‘07 AB toJonnathon Pucel.

Mirinda LaCombe ‘07 Cert. toBenjamin Benson.

DeathsRuth Bucklin ‘35 Life Cert., Feb.21, 2008, Traverse City.

Sofia Bernhardt ‘38 BS, March 17,2008, Coldwater.

Clarence Sargent ‘39 AS, May 19,2008, Fairfax, Va.

Helen Gaffney ‘49 BS, April 21,2008, St. Johns.

John Larsen ‘50 BS, March 23,2008, Detroit.

Robert St. Louis ‘50 BS, ‘75 EDS,April 24, 2008, Kingsford.

William Sutter ‘50 BA, May 22,2008, Ludington.

Anne Magnusen ‘52 BS, May 9,2008, Escanaba.

Mildred Mattson ‘54 BS, June 25,2008, Manistique.

Charles Harju ‘55 BS, April 26,2008, Petoskey.

John Wuorenmaa ‘56 BS, April 15,2008, Colorado Springs, Colo.

John Slapp ‘57 BS, ‘64 MA, ‘76MAE, April 3, 2008, MountainHome, Ark.

36 H O R I Z O N S

Donal Sorby ‘59 BS, March 19,2008, Marquette.

James Legault ‘63, Feb. 22, 2008,Galien.

James Barkow ‘64 BS, May 8,2008, Madison, Wis.

Dennis Boyak ‘68, April 9, 2008,Munising.

Virginia Collins ‘68 BS, ‘74 MAE,June 15, 2008, Sault Ste. Marie.

Linda Maki ‘69 BA, June 2, 2008,Eden Prairie, Minn.

Marc Hagerty ‘70 BS, May 12,2008, Iron Mountain.

Robert Rocchi ‘70 BS, ‘78 MAE,May 21, 2008, Morris, Ill.

Jeanne Wiitanen ‘70 BS, June 7,2008, Munising.

Jeffrey Smith ‘72, March 18, 2008,Allen Park.

Michael Granlund ‘74 BS, June 9,2008, Republic.

Richard Bedard ‘79, April 18, 2008,Waucedah.

Lynn Caylia ‘82 BS, ‘91 MA, May12, 2008, Flippin, Ark.

Rory Emblad ‘86 AS, May 17,2008, L’Anse.

Loralee Larson ‘90, March 30,2008, Marquette.

Linda Ehrhardt ‘91 BS, May 24,2008, Escanaba.

Kama Mottard ‘94 BS, May 27,2008, Menominee.

Erick Waisanen ‘95 BS, March 2008Feb. 21, 2008, Houghton.

Robert McInnis ‘05, June 24, 2008,Lansing.

Eric Tourangeau ‘07 BS, March 14,2008, Gladstone.

FriendsLawrence Swanson, who retiredfrom the trades department in1993, April 25, 2008, Marquette.

Robert Cooke, former facultymember, April 30, 2008,Ontonagon.

Patricia Lindquist, former assistantregistrar and 1982 retiree, May 7,2008, Palm Dessert, Calif.

Bob Maust, former associate dean ofstudents, May 9, 2008, KalkaskaCounty.

James Dillehay, visiting professorfrom 1980-84, June 6, 2008, SaintParis, Ohio.

Friedhelm Rickert, former languagesprofessor and retiree, July 17, 2008,Marquette.

Northern HorizonsCommunications and Marketing OfficeNorthern Michigan University1401 Presque Isle AvenueMarquette, MI 49855

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. Postage

PAIDMidland MI

Permit No. 135

Of course I’m a member.

I’m a member of the NMU AlumniAssociation because it helps me keep intouch. I love receiving the weekly e-mailsthat keep me in the loop on what’shappening with the students and facultyof NMU and with other alumni. Some ofmy fondest memories are of my days Ispent at Northern interacting with otherstudents, faculty and the community. Tothis day, I still like to stay engaged andthe Alumni Association helps me do that.

What’s really a highlight for me is whensomeone in my family tells me a storyabout making an NMU connection. Forinstance, my son told me about a timethat he was shopping in Washington,D.C. He was wearing a Northernsweatshirt. A guy recognized the Wildcatlogo and asked my son about NMU. Well,it turns out that I went to Northern withthe guy. Amazing.

I also know that we, as NMU alumni, canaccomplish a lot together. I’ve beenrunning a small business for 35 years. Inthe last year I’ve hired seven people. Withone exception they were all graduates ofNMU. Currently, 16 of our 31 employeeshave degrees from Northern.

I associate great value with being agraduate of NMU, and I associate greatvalue with being a member of the NMUAlumni Association.

Bill Hetrick ‘73 BS Member of the Alumni Associationand Student Leader Fellowship Program mentor

Are You?

Consider joining the NMU Alumni Association today.www.nmu.edu/alumni • 1-877-GRAD NMU • alumni@nmu.edu