10-Year
Class of 1998
Reunion date ― October 4, 2008
March 2008
Hello Class of ’98!
At least in
For this newsletter,
our guest writer, Karen (from the reunion committee) will be taking you back to
our freshman year…
Greetings fellow
Gusties! My name is Karen Delgehausen and I am one of the volunteers working diligently
on our 10-year class reunion coming up on
1994 was a pivotal
year for all of us; we graduated from high school and prepared ourselves to
meet a whole new group of friends. I
remember having so many mixed feelings as I headed south on Hwy 169 with my
parents in the family car, which of course was packed to the ceiling. I was confident in my decision to go to
Gustavus since I applied “early decision” and Gustavus was the only college I
applied to! Even though I was excited
for the whole college experience, the butterflies started to kick in as we got
closer to St. Peter. What if I picked
the wrong classes? What if I don’t get
along with my roommate? Will I meet my
future spouse at freshman orientation? What if I can’t decide on a major by the time
I’m a senior? My day-dreaming was thankfully
interrupted by shouts and whistles from an enthusiastic group of students I
would later learn were the Gustie Greeters. There was an energetic buzz about the campus,
and I remember feeling this overwhelming and dangerously exciting sense of independence.
I couldn’t wait to get the car unpacked
and meet my new buddies in good ol’ Rundstrom Hall.
As I started to
write this letter, I couldn’t resist looking back at the pop-culture world of
1994. Let’s take a break from the
reminiscing for a minute and look back at what we were watching and listening
during our freshman year…Forrest Gump
was one of the year’s most popular movies; I remember a bunch of us piling into
Alumni Hall to watch Forrest Gump on
the big screen. Jim Carrey starred in The Mask and Ace Ventura Pet Detective that year, too; I’ll just bet that if you
ask Carl Lockrem to quote either movie he’d still be able to! Keanu Reeves wowed us with his incredible
acting skills in Speed, and Harrison
Ford kept us on the edge of our seats once again in Clear and Present Danger.
And how about the music we listened to in 1994? Although our campus bands Mr. Hooper and The
Silent Grey Fellows were awesome, Coolio, Pearl Jam, Tag Team, Boyz II Men and
Hootie & the Blowfish topped the charts that year. Can you believe that out of all those great
bands Ace of Base had three songs in the top 10 for the whole year? Yikes! Whitney Houston also received the honors with
Record and Album of the Year for yep, you guessed it, “I Will Always Love You.” (My
apologies if it’s stuck in your head the rest of the day!) On TV we were introduced to “Friends” for the first time, and I never
knew that people were so into watching “Days
of Our Lives” until I walked by The Dive one day and saw at least 30 people
crowded around the TV! Another notable
event of 1994 was when Tonya Harding’s cronies injured fellow skater, Nancy
Kerrigan, in a below the belt stunt to keep her rival out of the Olympics.
Okay, okay I
digress, but I couldn’t help but share some fun trivial facts about the goings
on in 1994! Back to reminiscing…After we
got our cars unpacked we headed to the Chapel to listen to Chaplain Elvee
welcome us in true Elvee style to our new home on the hill. I can still hear his unmistakably shrill, but
comforting voice so clearly, “After you are here a few Septembers, you will
learn for yourself that the life of this little college is imprinted by the
natural world in which it is set. Fall
beginnings, middle-winter marches, late spring endings. And then once more, again, once more.” After the short service I believe we then
headed off to the college version of Home Room.
My class was music appreciation with Dr. John McKay. I remember sitting in that packed room in
Bjorling listening to him speak and wondering if this guy was for real; and in
an instant I was put at ease when he quoted a line from Young Frankenstein that had my parents and I giggling quietly to
ourselves while the rest of the room looked around with a blank stare.
Once the year
actually started and classes began, because everything was so new I remember
that I could hardly wait to participate in different activities and events on
campus: sports games, plays, concerts,
etc. I also thought that I had died and
gone to heaven when I realized that the Dive was open EVERY weekend. Most of us
received our very first email address that year, and we had to physically walk
or pick up a phone with a cord attached to it to find out where a friend was. Christmas in Christ Chapel was “Old and New
Spain;” I can picture myself playing cello in the orchestra while the larger
than life Sun and Moon appeared during a piece from The Mission. Then came J-term
when some of us went off on adventurous trips while the rest of us braved the
Our freshman year represented
a year of a lot of change for all of us. Maybe we met our new best friend, future
spouse, best man or maid of honor. Some
of us might have started to focus on a specific career path; but if any of you
are like me I finally settled in to a fitting career several years after I
graduated! As our class reunion
approaches, please keep an eye out for details on a project headed up by Joe
Gold and Mike Strong. We
would like to organize a list of bios for all of us to enjoy; Joe thought this
would be a good way to get the skinny on all of our classmates. So, we are going to ask that we all submit a
brief history of what we’ve been up to for the last 10 years: trips, births, marriages, promotions, career
changes―whatever you’d like to share.
Don’t forget to send in pictures you’d like to share at our reunion too!
Enjoy the
springtime―I hope you’re able to get outside and throw a Frisbee around.
I'm looking forward to seeing you all back on the hill in October!
Karen
Delgehausen
1998 Guest Writer
Aaaahhh…1994….it’s
fun to think back. It’s fun to look
back, too, so send us some photos, if you can!!
As we approach Spring Break time, look for your Gustavus Spring Break
pictures. You have them somewhere. Did you go on a Spring Break “Work Trip?” Did you work on campus during break? Did you go home to see family? Did you get to go to
Here’s what’s going on with the 10 year reunion plans:
By now you probably
get the idea that we are planning one big event on October 4! Tailgating, the homecoming game, campus
tours, slide shows, a sit down dinner (with child care provided!), and dancing
and socializing are all part of our plans.
We met at the end of
February to continue planning the details.
We are working to get some things on the menu that will bring back
memories. We are gathering songs for a
’94-’98 music play list. We are also
planning on having a shuttle van available (free of charge) between
Part of celebrating
our reunion is raising money for the Gustavus Fund in honor of our 10th
anniversary year. You may remember that
our goal is $35,310. Last I checked we
only had about $5,400. Now, my numbers
are not the “latest” (they are from the beginning of February), but at that
time, the class of 1999 was kicking our butt with almost double the amount
raised. C’mon, ’98, they are young and
immature, remember?! We can’t let them
beat us (er, I mean, this is not a competition…we are all in this together,
right?).
You may have
recently received a phone call from someone on the committee…we are trying to
touch base with
Here is a useful bit
of info that I didn’t know until recently: there is something called the “three year
pledge” that could really help our total for our 10-year reunion year. Three year pledges are counted in
the reunion
celebration gift to the college during the reunion year. For example, if you make a pledge/gift of
$100 during the reunion year and a pledge for $100 next year and the year
after, the reunion total will include $300 for the class celebrated at the
reunion, even though you are only responsible for getting the first $100 in by
And now, some
updates from your fellow classmates (a.k.a. the part of the letter where I feel
quite lazy as I look at what everyone else has been doing)…
Career News:
Aleida George Zollman is now a social worker for
Mike Brown is currently a national accounts manager for Saxon Fleet Services.
Matthew Santala is a kindergarten teacher for Billings
Public Schools (Boulder Elementary).
Jennifer Robe Reiland is a doctor of optometry at Dr. J. Marsh and
Dr. J. Reiland in
Paul Jessup is a vice president at Bank of America in
Jessica Rolf is a registered nurse in the Pediatric
Intensive Care Unit at Le Bonheur Children’s
Jake Heckenlaible is a partner at Leeward Trading Company in
Rebecca Wold Freeman is an associate pastor at
Emily Soderlund is an office manager for Grand Teton Brewing
Company in
Nathan Slinde is a lead teacher at Clover Ridge Elementary
in Chaska.
Bohdan Vadis is a pastor at
Katherine Liggett Patton is currently a 4th grade teacher
in
Ingrid Nelson Al-Sattam is a kindergarten teacher….in
Scott Ziegler was named a partner at Piehl, Hanson,
Beckman P.A., Certified Public Accountants.
Sara Olson McConnell is a first grade teacher in Jordan (ISD
#717), and graduated from St. Mary’s with a master’s in education (in May ’07).
Jennifer Lee-Pentz joined the Affiliated Community Medical
Centers in
John Anderson is an associate attorney at Bellows and
Bellows in
Engagements/Marriages:
Paul Jessup married Jian Tan on
Rebecca Wold married Leif
(aka “Sedge”) Freeman on
Births (Future Gusties):
Nathan Slinde and his wife, Kirsten, had a baby boy on
Kristina Johnson Milinkovich and her husband, Max, had a baby boy on
Rachel Kjellberg Carnahan and husband, Lance, had a baby girl on
Molly Milinkovich Wengler and husband, Robert, had a baby boy on
Ryan and Karen (Lantz) Holt are the proud parents of a baby girl born on
Stacey Olson Huebner and her husband, Charlie, had a, baby girl on
Kristi Maidment Osgood and her husband, Ryan, had a baby girl on
Cristina Zarate
Larson and her husband, Blake, also had a baby girl on
Something You Probably Didn’t Know:
Rick Henley is an instrument rated pilot of a single engine aircraft! This is a big deal―lots of work goes
into achieving this rating. He is also a
guitar instructor, a session guitarist, and a composer in the
Thanks, once again,
for reading this letter. Hopefully you
had a pleasant flashback of some sort to YOUR
freshman year on “the Hill.”
Alicia
Sutphen Schimke
1998 Guest Letter
Writer
Campus News
World Renowned Primate Expert Speaks in the
Twin Cities
Frans B.M. de Waal,
a Dutch psychologist, primatologist, and animal behavior expert, will present
two public lectures as part of a residency through the Rydell Professorship at
Join other
Minneapolis/St. Paul area Gusties for a once-a-month morning cup of coffee and
breakfast while getting an update on Gustavus. The group meets the third Wednesday of each
month
April 16 - featuring Linnaeus Arboretum Director, Cindy Johnson-Groh
May 21 - featuring Sports Information Director, Tim Kennedy
Alumni Awards Announced
The Alumni
Association announces the following 2008 awards selected by the Alumni Board of
Directors.
Greater Gustavus
Award - Given to those
who by deed, have notably advanced and aided
Jim and Susan
(Pepin) Peterson ’64 ’65
Distinguished
Alumni Citations - Recognizing
outstanding and exceptional professional achievement:
Craig Johnson ’69, bishop, Minneapolis Area Synod,
Talmadge King ’70, chair, Department of Medicine, University
of California San Francisco School of Medicine.
Barbara
First Decade
Awards - Recognizing
early professional achievement:
Miho Ihara, senior consultant, CPCS Transcom Limited.
Jason Smerdon, Barnard Environmental Science/Mellon
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Environmental Science,
The Greater Gustavus
Award and Distinguished Alumni Citations will be presented at the Alumni
Banquet on Saturday, May 31 and the First Decade Awards will be presented
during Homecoming Weekend, Oct. 4.
Athletics
The women’s hockey
team became the first team to finish the MIAC women’s hockey season undefeated.
The team is currently ranked #3 in the
country going into the playoffs. The men’s
tennis team claimed its fourth ITA Division
Upcoming Alumni Events
“On the Possibility
of Animal Empathy,” Rydell Lecture - April 3 on campus
“Our Inner Ape: Human Nature as Seen by a Primatologist,”
Rydell Lecture - April 8 at
Class Reunions - for
50-Year Club, 1958, and 1963 - May 30 and 31