broadcaster

W I N T E R 2 0 2 2 | V O L . 1 0 0 | N O. 1
C O N C O R D I A U N I V E R S I T Y, N E B R A S K A

Distinctly Lutheran
 Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

To be distinct is to be recognizably different from something else—to be distinguishable, differentiated. At Concordia,

our Lutheran identity is a central aspect of our distinction. This means that we are a higher education community that
regularly turns to God’s Word and the Lutheran Confessions, a place where we invite one another to, “behold the Lamb of
God who takes away the sin of the world.” We see each other as fallen and sinful people who are dearly loved by the God of
the universe, loved so much that He sent His one and only Son to die for our sins, to redeem us. Each person at Concordia
is also understood to be a unique child of God, full of worth because God declared them to be so.

Saved by grace through faith in Christ, we also have the joy of exploring what is next. Knowing this Good News, secure in
the love of God in Christ, how will we live? As a Lutheran university, we have the joy and honor of helping students explore
that question as we strive to equip them for lives of Christian conviction, character, courage, compassion and competence;
using their gifts, talents and abilities to be a blessing to their families, churches, communities, workplaces and the world.
We pray that students will be humble and honest salt and shine the forgiving light of Christ as they embrace their callings
to love the many neighbors around them.

We do not take this task lightly, nor do we claim perfection in how we do it. Yet, it is a central, fervent and persistent aspect
of our mission. It calls for finding and equipping faculty and staff who embrace that mission, which is why 100 percent of
our faculty are Christians with close to 90 percent being Lutheran. They heed the call to help students explore the nexus
of faith and academics, and they do so as professors but also as mentors. These are Christian faculty who urge students
toward Christ-centered academic excellence and service.

Being distinct in this way also calls for other actions. It requires thoughtful and prayerful consideration of the spiritual life
on campus. It inspires us to recruit and cultivate a student body where a critical mass of our students is here because of
our mission, positioning us to foster a notable Christian community while also faithfully welcoming those to our campus
without a church home. Being distinctly Lutheran calls for us to be actively engaged with the life of church and world
beyond our campus—to regularly seek out and participate in addressing pressing problems and promising possibilities
in our Pre-K through 12 schools, churches, communities and the larger society.

We embrace the opportunity to point students to timeless truth, beauty and goodness, preparing them to stand up for
biblical convictions even when that is a lonely or difficult charge, and to resist the temptation to marry the spirit of the
age. We enjoy the task of preparing students to embrace callings with humility, fidelity and excellence. These students go
on to be musicians, artists, healthcare workers, lawyers, church workers, entrepreneurs, business leaders, public servants
and more. They also heed callings as family members, citizens and members of their congregations and communities.

As you will read in this Broadcaster, Concordia is a distinctly Lutheran Christian university, not perfectly but persistently
seeking wisdom from God’s Word and the Lutheran Confessions to inform what we do, how we do it and why we do it.
Living in God’s grace by faith in Jesus Christ, it is Concordia’s privilege to humbly be salt and light. We invite your con-
tinued partnership in this good and important work.

Together in His service,

Dr. Bernard Bull, President

Concordia University, Nebraska

Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony

Photos: Asa Coppinger and Eva (Lube) Coppinger ’17

2 Broadcaster cune.edu Nebraska’s University With Value(s) Broadcaster 3

Broadcaster Staff MYSTERY PHOTO
Associate Vice President of Marketing &
6
Communications
Emily Witt
Lutheran Education in the
Editor
Danielle Luebbe Real World
Art Director Lutheran education is more important now
Elizabeth Kucera
than it has ever been.
Contributors
Amy Crawford
Rev. Pete Jurchen ’04
Jake Knabel
Brooke Lange ’24
10
University Administration
Prepared to Serve
President
Dr. Bernard Bull Concordia offers students options for a rigorous
Provost education that prepares them for their vocations There are many hidden gems around campus, if you look closely enough! Do you recognize where this photo was
Dr. Tim Preuss ’83 after graduation.
taken? Email us at broadcaster@cune.edu!
Executive Vice President, CFO & COO

MYSTERY SOLVED
David Kumm

Vice President for

Enrollment Management & Marketing
Dr. Gary McDaniel ’83
14
Vice President for Student Affairs
Gene Brooks CO ’91 GR ’03 A Lutheran Chapel
Concordia’s chapel focuses on spending time
Board of Regents in the Word.

Mrs. Krista Barnhouse CO ’95 GR ’01, Lincoln, Neb.

Mr. Stuart Bartruff, Omaha, Neb.
Rev. Brad Birtell ’88, Madison, Neb.
Mr. Ryan Burger ’04, Lincoln, Neb.
Dr. Craig Ernstmeyer CO ’96 GR ’02, Saint Peters, Mo.
Mr. John Fraser, Omaha, Neb. 20
Rev. Doug Gaunt ’77, Kearney, Neb.
Mrs. Gail Hawkins, Omaha, Neb.
Mr. Dick Helms, Arapahoe, Neb. A Fellowship of Sowers
Mr. Timothy Hu, Cheyenne, Wyo.
Mr. Richard Huebner, Centennial, Colo. Concordia’s Sower Fellowships are designed
Mrs. Jill Johnson GR ’17, Seward, Neb.
Mr. Dennis Meyer ’70, Miami Beach, Fla. to provide participants with solutions to
Mrs. Trudy Meyer ’92, Lincoln, Neb. pressing problems in the church and world.
Mr. Timothy Moll ’89, Seward, Neb.
Rev. Richard Snow, Seward, Neb.
Mr. Erik Vieselmeyer, Holyoke, Colo.
Rev. James Woelmer GR ’99, Plano, Texas
24
About the Cover
Finding a New Way to Serve
Concordia University, Nebraska has been

T
a distinctly Lutheran institution equipping Concordia is fostering a Christ-centered
students for service in God’s church and world his is the cornerstone of Founders Hall, laid on August 29, 1894, inscribed with the initials of the school at the time:
since the doors opened on Nov. 18, 1894. community to encourage future church
workers in traditional and not-so- Evangelische Lutherische Schullehrer Seminar.
traditional roles.

Faculty and Student 28 Athletics

Highlights
Discover the many accomplishments
of our students, faculty and staff.
We love hearing from our readers!
Have feedback or comments on our latest issue?
We want to hear from you! Email the editor at
broadcaster@cune.edu.
34 Alumni & Friends

© 2022 Concordia University, Nebraska cune.edu/highlights

4 Broadcaster cune.edu
 elsewhere. They feel Lutheran higher education may
not offer as many programs as other schools, it may not
offer as many potential opportunities for connection to
future careers, extra curriculars aren’t as numerous or
it’s just too expensive. After all, shouldn’t the purpose of

Lutheran education to be to prepare people for the real world and

to give students the best opportunity to thrive there?
Maybe you’re a parent, alumni or just a reader who

Education in feels this way. Maybe you have serious doubts about the
purpose of Lutheran higher education in the real world.

the Real World

story: Rev. Pete Jurchen ’04
photos: Liz Kucera
In the modern age, a Lutheran education provides not only
excellent academic preparation for future vocations, but
also the resources to navigate God’s world.
M ost people think the purpose of education is to
prepare young people for the real world. This is the
world where success matters and only the fittest survive.
The world where we need to navigate the complexities of
finance, relationships and social conventions. The world
where we seek the great ideal of happiness, where we find
fulfillment and where we have the greatest opportunities
to live and thrive.
It is the version of the real world which drives so
many parents to actually resist encouraging their
children to attend Lutheran higher education. Sure,
Emma Brand ’20, Lutheran school teacher
some parents choose to put their children in Lutheran
parochial preschools, elementary schools and even high
schools. But only for a time. In these institutions children
and young people learn the basics of faith and life in a
personal, safe environment. But when the opportunities
for the real world weigh heavy, including opportunities
in sports, academics, scholarships and a broader social
network, Lutheran schooling seems somehow lesser.
Children are pulled from schools or encouraged to seek
higher education that will prepare them for the real world
But what is the real world? Really?
The real world is, actually, the one described in and
defined by God’s Word. The real world is the one in
which Jesus Christ reigns as king. This same Jesus is
the heart and center of this reality. All history revolves
around Him. He was there in the beginning; He made
all things good. After our first ancestors, Adam and Eve,
joined in Satan’s rebellion against their creator, Jesus’
coming was promised. The scope of the Old Testament
points us to God’s plan for His breaking into the world
to defeat sin, death and Satan for us. Jesus eventually
did so on the cross and in the empty tomb. He sent His
New Testament followers into the world to bear witness
to His salvation, so that more may hear, repent and be
given faith in Him. He reigns now and is coming again
to raise the living and the dead. He will make all things
new for those who believe in Him.
This is the real world. We live in this world now, in
the final age of reality. Through the cross the debt of
sin is paid for all who believe in Jesus. God has called
His Church to stand firm in this real world, to teach
this Gospel promise from generation to generation.
The promise of the final overthrow of death is ours and
cannot be unmade. Satan, the deceiver, cannot win. All
that Satan can do is, like a mortally wounded animal,
lash out and push against this real world. And he uses
the other fallen powers of our sinful nature and the
corrupted world to tempt God’s people into false security
or believing downright lies about the world. Satan is on
a sinking ship, and he will one day be forever banished
from this reality, but until he is he will use every method
and trick up his sleeve to convince us that the real world
that God’s Word describes is indeed not the real world.
Because this is the real world, we need Lutheran higher
education more than ever. This is not an alarmist call for
“This is the real world as
it always has been, and
this is what Lutheran
education strives to
prepare students for.”
retreat or an overreaction to trends in the culture wars.
This is just reality as described in the Bible, God’s Word.
This is the real world as it always has been, and this is
what Lutheran education strives to prepare students for.
The beauty of this preparation, from a Lutheran
perspective, is what Lutheran education aims to do.
It does not seek to remove students from all harm and
danger. Lutheran educators do not seek to create a
purely inward-seeking sect where we only interact with
like-minded people. Lutheran education does not pull
away from arts and sciences, math and social sciences,
language, music, business and practical life. No, instead,
Lutheran education seeks to prepare learners for these
fields, but in light of the real world as described in the
Bible. Lutheran schools prepare people to embrace their
callings to go into the world, as Jesus commanded. But
they do so with God’s plan of salvation as accomplished
by Christ on their hearts and minds. To love and serve
their neighbor as Christ first loved and served them. To
embrace what is good and right and true in this world,
while navigating and avoiding the complex sets of lies
and temptations that the fallen powers of Satan, our
sinful flesh and the fallen world lay before us.

6 Broadcaster cune.edu Nebraska’s University With Value(s) Broadcaster 7

 Why should you consider going to or sending your
children into Lutheran higher education? A Lutheran
institution provides students with many resources and
allies. These will help you or those you are called to care
for to see the real world as it is and cling to their belief
in Christ as they navigate it.
A school like Concordia University, Nebraska will
provide them with daily spiritual routines, like daily
chapel, prayer with professors, theology classes, Bible
study groups, support groups and conversations with
other Christians that will encourage them in their daily
life of faith.
An institute of Lutheran higher education will provide
you or your loved ones with a community that is being
formed in the same worldview. Christians are meant Dr. John Jurchen ‘97, associate professor of chemistry at Concordia

to navigate this broken world together. All Lutheran
education, but especially Lutheran higher education,
provides students with a network of Christian friends
that can help support and sustain that faith as they are
launched into the world.
Lutheran higher education provides a proper
perspective on vocation. Students attend higher education
institutions to become trained for careers and meaningful
work. Through the Christian lens of the real world,
as defined above and not defined by the world’s false
messaging, students at a Concordia will be trained to
properly love and serve their neighbor through their
work. As they go into the world, whatever work they
do, they will be prepared to think of it as a way to enact
God’s loving care for their neighbor.
Lutheran schools have some of the best education
outcomes of all schools in the country on a myriad of
measures. It is certainly true that Lutheran schools
sometimes don’t have the same variety of majors and
facilities as large state universities, but the education
Krista Barnhouse CO ’95 GR ’01, Lutheran school principal
students receive at Lutheran institutions is of exceptional
quality. Faculty in Lutheran higher education excel
not only in Christian contexts, but across the higher
education sphere.
Most importantly, however, Lutheran higher education
is focused on Christ. Professors, leaders, administrators
and fellow students are all challenged to orient their
lives around the Gospel. This real world, defined by
Christ and communicated through God’s Word, is the
heart and center of this Lutheran institution. There
is no greater focus one can have, and Lutheran higher
education exists to prepare students to go into the world
as Christ’s forgiven, redeemed and loved ambassadors.
And as they go, gathered together as the body of Christ,
forgiven and adopted into His family, continually formed,
reformed and transformed by the Spirit in their hearts
and minds through God’s Word, they do so with our their
eyes on the real world.

8 Broadcaster cune.edu Nebraska’s University With Value(s) Broadcaster 9

 Prepared to Serve
story: Amy Crawford
photos: Liz Kucera
Concordia’s Luke Scholars honors program and classical
liberal arts major prepare students for all the many
vocations in which they will serve after graduation.
C oncordia University, Nebraska promises students
an outstanding education that will prepare them for
various vocations serving both the church and the world.
One way Concordia delivers that distinctive education is
through its Luke Scholars honors program, which gives
matchless education and enrichment opportunities to
a select number of students. In addition, the university
also offers a classical liberal arts major and minor, both
of which feature a robust suite of classes that educate,
enrich and equip students. The Luke Scholars program
and classical liberal arts program are both relatively
new to the university. Students from all backgrounds
are welcome in both the classical liberal arts program
and as applicants for the Luke Scholars honors program.
LUKE SCHOL ARS PROGR AM
Luke Scholars is Concordia Nebraska’s honors program,
which is open to all students with any educational
background. In its fourth year, participating students
are selected via application, and about 15 to 20 new
students are admitted annually. This year, the program
has 53 students and will be graduating its first seniors.
“It’s fun to see these students starting to think deeper
about their passions and training in particular majors
and the needs within society and how they can serve.
They are not just looking backwards, they are thinking
about what’s next,” says Concordia Nebraska associate
professor of history and director of Luke Scholars Dr.
John Hink. “The Luke Scholars program is not an end,
it is the start of a path that allows them to continue
academic and spiritual growth.”
Hink describes the students who participate in the
program as young people with both great ability and
great grit.
“These are students who are interested in cultivating
the mind in a Christian sense, with a Christian worldview,”
he says. “These are students who like to ask big questions,
Philip Norton ‘23, Luke Scholar
10 Broadcaster cune.edu
who want to have debates, who want to be in an intellectual
community with others who will challenge them
constructively. This is not about students that are all
the same. What they have is a common commitment to
cultivation of the mind to really push themselves to see
how far they can go intellectually.”
In addition to enjoying unique Luke Scholars classes
that are paired with students’ other courses, program
participants receive access to the Luke Scholars library,
benefit from tuition waivers for course overloads, have
access to funds to support research, receive supplemental
study travel stipends and more. Hink says program
participants have visited the Dominican Republic,
Guatemala and Tunisia as part of the program.
CL ASSICAL LIBER AL ARTS
The 2022-2023 school year marks the first full school
year that a major in classical liberal arts has been offered
at the university. A minor in classical liberal arts has
been available to Concordia’s students for several years.
“A classical liberal arts education is a foundational
education that can be paired with a more career-oriented
second major or minor,” says Concordia Nebraska associate
professor of English Dr. Gabriel Haley. Haley holds a
degree in English and classics from Hillsdale College,
and his graduate work at the University of Virginia
focused on medieval and Renaissance literature and
theology. “People change career paths multiple times.
A hyper-specific degree may not prepare you for those
job changes. Being well educated—studying history,
literature, philosophy and theology—helps us to be good
citizens and good neighbors, and it helps us to be ready
to address the complications of the present day.”
The classical liberal arts program allows students to
pore over matchless great works of literature, interact
with timeless works of art and engage with perennially
important questions and issues. The program offers a
Nebraska’s University With Value(s) Broadcaster 11
 V I C TO R I A ( TO R I ) R I T Z M A ’ 2 3
LUKE SCHOLARS
MEET THE Luke Scholars Program Participant
Luke Scholar Victoria Ritzma dreams of
teaching in a Lutheran high school. Tori
says the Luke Scholars program offers
students a unique opportunity to develop
the gifts that God has blessed them with in
order to allow them to better serve in their
future vocations.  does so with a Lutheran perspective.
“Few universities in existence today offer a
true education, one that shapes the heart,
mind and soul of a student. Instead, most
offer little more than mere job training in
a highly specialized field,” she says. “Even
fewer schools shape their students’ hearts,
minds and souls in accordance with God’s
Word. Most fail to recognize the eternally
essential reality that all truth is God’s truth
and accordingly allow students to grad-
uate without having learned about how
God works in and for His creation in history
classes, how God provides for His creation
in science classes, how to effectively use
the languages that God has blessed us with
to glorify Him, how to create and appreci-
ate beauty in the fine arts and more.”
AARON FOSSE ’24
Classical Liberal Arts Major
Concordia junior Aaron Fosse is majoring in
classical liberal arts with hopes of becoming
a teacher or pastor.
“I am pursuing classical liberal arts because
it is a growing movement that aligns with my
ideology that more alternative education is
needed in today’s society,” he says. “Classi-
cal liberal arts is a program that submers-
es one in history, language and thought,
all elements that are considered vital to a
well-rounded individual. I’m so excited to be
taking Latin and Greek classes and studying
medieval history and Roman culture.”
“Concordia Nebraska offers the best op-
portunities to network and participate in a
great community of like-minded thinkers,”
he adds. “We focus on deep, purposeful and
meaningful conversation.”
B E T H A N Y DAW N ’ 2 4
Classical Liberal Arts Major
Bethany Dawn is majoring in classical liberal arts
and minoring in history. A transfer student, she
found the classical liberal arts major at Concordia
Nebraska to be the best program for her interests.
She said the program offers classes and an overall
curriculum that rivals other similar programs yet
“The program offers a wonderful intersection of
classes, ones that not only give a good glimpse
into the deeper truths of human existence, but
also of the practice and philosophy involved in
theology, history, English and philosophy,” she
says. “Companies need people who can write well,
think analytically, construct good arguments while
recognizing poor ones, research deeply and truth-
fully, organize thoughts, data and works, speak
well on multiple educational subjects that people
around the world learn and understand the many
perspectives represented in the world.”
She says a classical liberal arts major is a good
choice for students who are unsure which course
of study they wish to pursue and is also fitting for
students interested in multiple disciplines in the
humanities.
“You can easily pair it with another major that
dives deeper into what your interests are, or
switch majors after getting a glimpse of what
each of the subjects covered entails,” she explains.
M I C A H W I L LW E B E R ’ 2 4
Luke Scholars Program Participant
Micah Willweber is studying physics and computer
science and is also in the university’s Luke Schol-
ars program.
“I am not a classics major, and was largely un-
aware of classical education opportunities at Con-
cordia [prior to coming here],” he says. “A major
reason that I decided to attend Concordia was
because it offers a high-quality Christian liberal
arts education, and I knew that would be further
enhanced by participating in the Luke Scholars
program. The program does so in a way that is ac-
cessible and understandable to someone like me
who has not been classically educated while still
pairing well with the classics major for students
that choose to pursue that route.”
Willweber says he applied for the program be-
cause he was intrigued by the interdisciplinary
and discussion-based nature of the courses in
the program. 
“Luke Scholars are an outstanding group of stu-
dents to be around: they are friendly, inquisitive,
well-spoken and kind,” he says. “They are involved
in many aspects of campus life – music, athletics,
chapel, speech, student government – and study a
variety of subject areas.”

breadth of learning that equips students to be adaptable
and creative. It also emphasizes the higher aims of
education, not simply to make a ‘worker’ but a person
ready for all life vocations— family member, church
member, friend, coworker and citizen.
“Often, the understanding of the modern-day liberal
arts has been watered down, and not many people really
know what it is. This is not underwater basket weaving,”
laughs Haley. “By calling it classical liberal arts, we
“The goal of this program is to allow students to to their children,” adds Haley. “This vision of education
pursue what is good, true and beautiful within the light encompasses the Lutheran doctrine of vocation, where
of Christian revelation,” says Haley. “This is designed you are not just training for a job, but you are preparing
to serve as a springboard in student’s pursuit of lifelong for your role in the home and the community as well as
learning.” the workplace.”
With course options in Latin, Greek, philosophy,
history, literature and early Christian theology, the
university’s classical liberal arts program is designed to
educate students in foundational sources alongside the

“The earliest Lutheran are emphasizing the historic model of learning. It’s not
a particular trend, it’s something that’s historically
distinctively Lutheran education for which Concordia
Nebraska is known.

universities were liberal existed. The earliest Lutheran universities were liberal
arts programs. Studying foundational sources helps us
“Both the classical liberal arts program and the Luke
Scholars program are tied to the humanities and a liberal

arts programs. Studying rediscover our roots.”

Concordia’s classical liberal arts major pairs well
foundational sources helps with many majors for a double major, he explains. Some
students instead opt to add classical liberal arts as a
us rediscover our roots.” minor to support their education.
arts education,” says Haley.
“This goes back to the Lutheran church. Martin
Luther encouraged families to send their children to
school to be educated in liberal arts. He talks about the
liberal arts being a lasting treasure that families give

12 Broadcaster cune.edu Nebraska’s University With Value(s) Broadcaster 13

 A Lutheran Chapel
story: Danielle Luebbe
photos: Liz Kucera and courtesy of Concordia Archives
Concordia’s chaplains have each put their own unique
spin on chapel, but the mission of spending time in
fellowship in the Word remains the same.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host:
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Amen.
those years we had few outside leaders, such as pastors
of neighboring congregations.”
During the 1960s until 1972 when Concordia High
School graduated its last class, there were two morning
chapel services. The first was for college students and

I ’m partial to the doxology at the beginning of chapel,” says the second for the high school. “The services were brief,”
Pfabe says, “about 15 minutes. And they were more for-
Rev. Ryan Matthias, Concordia University, Nebraska’s
mal—leaders, whether clergy or not, wore vestments.”
current chaplain. “I started using that to quiet the crowd
Previous to 1966, the responsibility of finding faculty
fourteen years ago rather than shouting.”
to lead chapel fell to the Dean of Men, who reported to
Matthias has been serving at Concordia since 2008
the Dean of Students.
and beginning chapel with the doxology has become
There are some things about Concordia’s chapel that
part of the daily routine on campus. But each chaplain
don’t change, however, such as the charge of spending
before him also added their own particular flair to chapel.
time in God’s Word.
Concordia’s senior director of alumni and university
relations, Jen Furr CO ’97 GR ’03, vividly recalls chapel
service from her time as a student.
“When Pastor [Gregory] Mech ’75 would give the
benediction, he would almost yell the word shine,” she
says. “’May His face SHINE upon you!’ Sometimes when
I hear the benediction now, I’ll wait to see if there’s that
extra emphasis on ‘shine.’ I loved it.”
And most of the students who were here between 2001
and 2008 will remember Rev. Wesley “Bo” Baumeister
’85. “He would occasionally remove his prosthetic leg to
illustrate a point in chapel,” says Corrie Johnson ’08, now
assistant director of graduate recruitment for Concordia. 1971 Rev. Gordon Gross 1977 Rev. Richard Pflieger 1990 Rev. Gregory Mech
“It was wild.”

Focused
“Chaplain Baumeister’s transparency and reliance
on the Lord amid adversity was inspiring,” notes Rev.
Russ Sommerfeld, assistant to the president for church

on Faith
engagement.
Rev. Gordon Gross was Concordia’s first called chap-
lain in 1971. Prior to that, the position of Dean of Chapel
was established in 1966 and held by Rev. Erwin Kolb.
“He assigned chapel leaders,” says university archivist, A TIMELINE OF
Dr. Jerry Pfabe. “In the 1960s and beyond, faculty were C O N C O R D I A’ S C H A P L A I N S
assigned to lead chapel, even if one was not good at it. 2001 Rev. Wesley Baumeister 2008 Rev. Thomas Schoech, 2008 Rev. Ryan Matthias
listed by starting year
That assignment system continued until recent years. In interim

14 Broadcaster cune.edu Nebraska’s University With Value(s) Broadcaster 15


“We are led by the Word,
gather together as the
family of Christ, at times
receive the Lord’s supper
and we pray as Christ
commanded us to do.”
Constructing the chapel organ, 1952
16 Broadcaster cune.edu
“Our chapel looks a lot like Acts 2:42: ‘And they devoted
themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship,
to the breaking of bread and the prayers,’” says Matthias.
“We are led by the Word, gather together as the family of
Christ, at times receive the Lord’s supper and we pray as
Christ commanded us to do.”
Matthias tries to choose texts for chapel that students
probably haven’t heard before, ones that they aren’t getting
in church on Sunday. “This may be the only place they’ll
ever get to hear a text from Nahum or Jude preached on,”
he says. “Sometimes the pastors roll their eyes about the
texts that I assign, but I think it’s good for us to consider
the entire Word given to us.”
Another thing that makes Concordia’s chapel special is
the plethora of local pastors and ordained faculty members
and alumni who are willing to come and share with campus.
Students and faculty and staff get to hear different takes
on the scripture, listen to different voices and experience
the various ways different pastors lead chapel.
Even when guest preachers are in charge of leading the
campus community through the selected text, Matthias
still does quite a bit of preparation to make sure chapel
runs smoothly.
“Every day I look at the text assigned for chapel, read
through it and put one thought in my mind just in case
the scheduled preacher doesn’t show up because of an
emergency,” says Matthias. “On the days that I am as-
signed, I’ll be thinking on that text for the better part of
a few days. When I’m walking around campus or towards
home, I’m mulling the text over and praying about what I
think God wants the students and staff to hear.”
Weekly, more than 1,500 students attend chapel ser-
vices, which are held every weekday, Monday through
Friday, at 11 a.m. The Tuesday and Thursday chapels
are livestreamed to Concordia’s Facebook page and are
viewed by nearly 1,000 members of the wider Concordia
community each day.
Matthias shares the Monday through Wednesday
texts with Dr. Jeffrey Blersch, professor of music and
Concordia’s university organist, so he can choose hymns
accordingly. Thursday and Friday texts are sent to stu-
dent band leaders so they can prepare songs for the more
contemporary services on those days.
It’s important to make chapel as impactful as possible.
Going to chapel builds good habits, Matthias says. A
daily chapel probably won’t be offered in most students’
lives once they graduate, so learning to create space to
spend time reflecting on God’s Word each day is important.
“I think chapel is way for all of us to understand the
necessity of relaxing in the Word every day,” he says.
“Prayerfully, it creates a set aside time for the rest of the
students’ lives to make time for meditation on the Word.”
Matthias is trying to create an experience through
chapel where students and others can contemplate the
Bible and be in community with other Christ-followers,
to pray with and for each other and find a quiet moment
outside the rigors of college life.
“It’s nice to have a worshipful community to support
and sustain you during some of the tough times of college.”
Nebraska’s University With Value(s) Broadcaster 17
 A SEMESTER
IN PHOTOS
Concordia’s fall semester 2022 was full of
service, worship and learning.

18 Broadcaster cune.edu Broadcaster 19

A Fellowship
of Sowers
story: Danielle Luebbe
photos: Jen Furr CO ’97 GR ’03
Concordia’s Sower Fellowships are designed to provide
participants with solutions to pressing problems in the
church and world.
C oncordia University, Nebraska’s mission hasn’t
changed since the first class was held in 1894
with Rev. George Weller and the 13 students who lived
and learned in Founders Hall, though the mission
statement has gone through several wording revisions.
Currently, it reads, “Concordia University, Nebraska is
an excellent academic and Christ-centered community
equipping men and women for lives of learning, service
and leadership in the church and world.”
But Concordia’s mission goes beyond just preparing
students for their future vocations while they’re on campus.
“A Lutheran university like Concordia has a role as
an active and engaged citizen in the church,” says Dr.
Bernard Bull, president of Concordia. “We are called
to be a porous university, listening and learning and
engaged with what’s happening in the world, so we can
best equip students to faithfully serve. But we also are
called to be a blessing to those outside our community.”
From this charge came the idea for Concordia’s
Sower Fellowships, a customized learning experience
developed for business leaders, educators, counselors,
teachers or anyone seeking to become a transformational
leader in equipping their school, learning community
or organization. The fellowships provide participants
with solutions to pressing problems in the church and
world and mentorship from thought-leaders who are
building and influencing Christian education and
serving Christian organizations and churches across
the nation.
“Institutionally, we are answering the needs we
hear from leaders in schools and the church body,”
says Jeremy Geidel, director of graduate admissions
and operations. “We want to help them address the
problems, concerns and challenges in their classrooms,
organizations and communities, to help them stay
true to who they are as a Lutheran school or business,
while navigating the changes that every Christian and
Lutheran leader is dealing with as we face a culture
shift away from the Bible.”
The design of the fellowships is simple: a select cohort
of students takes graduate-level classes online. Each
topic consists of four eight-week courses that offer a
deep dive into the material and feature guest experts
who are there to mentor each cohort of Fellows and
offer their specialized expertise in the topic. Those
who complete the fellowship receive a certificate, and
they can apply those credits towards a master’s degree,
if they choose.
Fellowship experts are chosen because of their ex-
pertise in their fields, but also for their unique Christian
perspectives and approaches to problems Christian
and Lutheran leaders experience.
“Our program deans coordinate with our own fac-
ulty experts internally and determine who are the top
five or ten people in the world who are well-equipped
to challenge people to think deeply about this issue
who can offer special insight and guidance,” says Bull.
“Then we start a conversation with those experts and
see if they want to be a part of our fellowship courses.”
So far, the first cohort of Sower Fellows is under-
way, begun in October 2022. The courses in the initial
fellowship focus on trauma and resilience training, a
subject that is increasingly important in today’s world,
and of special interest to many Lutheran educators.
“We started with trauma and resilience, in part,
because we already have similar courses built in our
M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction Trauma and
Resilience program,” says Geidel. “But trauma and
resilience is also one of the fastest growing interests
for many educators. It was an area we felt we could
offer right away to get Lutheran schools a set of tools
so they can start equipping their teachers with trau-
ma-informed teaching skills.”
According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,
more than 38 percent of children in the United States
have suffered a traumatic event, whether it be the death
of a parent or loved one, living with someone suffering
from substance addiction or even the lingering effects
of trauma caused by the uncertainty of the COVID-19
pandemic. Trauma and resilience programs help edu-
cators respond effectively to trauma in their students
and equip them with resilience techniques necessary
to learn and thrive in and out of the classroom.
Future fellowships to address challenges in both
Christian education and business are already being
“A Lutheran university
like Concordia has a role
as an active and engaged
citizen in the church.”
developed, with the next group scheduled to launch as
early as summer 2023.
“Every time we are at a conference or event—the
Lutheran Educators Association conference, for ex-
ample—we’re there to recruit students and engage
with our alumni, but we’re also listening and finding
ways to intentionally survey people on possible future
fellowships and courses,” says Bull. “We’re trying to
understand what people need, what their pain points
are and figure out how to help solve them.”
Some topics that seem to be of most interest to Lu-
theran educators and business leaders, and which are in
development as future fellowships, include fundraising,
enrollment and marketing in Christian organizations,
futures and innovation in Christian education and
nonprofit management. Each of these fellowships will
be offered yearly, and those who enroll as fellows are
Nebraska’s University With Value(s) Broadcaster 21
 welcome to join future sessions with fellowship experts
in any course of interest.
“Once a Sower Fellow, always a Sower Fellow,”
says Geidel.
“With the fellowships, we are trying to reach lead-
ers who are not afraid of mission-minded hard work,”
says Bull. “This is not just a group of people who will
go to webinars and listen to professors speak. We want
people to be engaged and bring their own experiences
and ideas to the table. They will then be equipped to
take their skills and knowledge back to their school or
organization and use the ideas they learned in the fel-
lowship to make their classroom or board room better.”
Concordia’s intention is to continue to launch new
fellowships each year as the needs of Christian orga-
nizations and schools change and grow.
“We want to help serve and resource and equip ed-
ucators and leaders in our schools and churches and
businesses,” says Bull. “We’re looking for unmet needs
and unmet opportunities.”

Learn more about Concordia’s Sower Fellowships at

cune.edu/fellows.

Concordia Nebraska’s booth at LEA.

22 Broadcaster cune.edu Nebraska’s University With Value(s) Broadcaster 23


Finding a New
Way to Serve
story: Brooke Lange ’24
photos: Liz Kucera
Concordia is fostering a Christ-centered community to
try to encourage future church workers in traditional
and not-so-traditional roles.
I f you were a high school student coming to Concordia University, Nebraska
for a visit day, you would first enter the front doors of Weller Hall. Immediately
in front of you, you would find a baptismal font and, about 50 feet past that, a cross
hanging in the university’s chapel.
On campus, there is a clear, present desire to have faith fostering opportunities
for all students. There are eight or more worship opportunities during the week,
six bible studies one can be a part of if they so choose and every staff member that
comes through Concordia’s doors has an interview with president Dr. Bernard Bull,
personally, about their religious beliefs to determine if they are a good culture fit.
Giant decals of Bible verses are spread throughout the campus. Resident assistants
are encouraged to host Bible studies for their residents. Christianity is essentially
unavoidable.
This strong sense of Christianity can have a profound impact on the students. In
the beginning of these interviews, I spoke to Dr. Bull about this impact. Before his
Concordia’s Baptismal Font
24 Broadcaster cune.edu
time at Concordia, Dr. Bull served at two other colleges
and interviewed people at many others. “I have spent my
life studying and interviewing people from hundreds of
schools. And never have I encountered one like this one,”
he told me.
I have worked in the marketing and communications
office at Concordia for all of my three years of college,
and I have interviewed around fifty people of all different
ages and majors. In every interview, every person stated
that their favorite part about Concordia is the Christian
community. Sometimes they mentioned it by sharing
stories about professors that went the extra mile to fix
their washing machine for them, or when they were lost
as a freshman and someone helped them find their class,
but it was always there. “The community is absolutely
vibrant here,” said Deborah Holle, a senior at Concordia.
“God’s love just radiates from this place, and there’s no
way to deny it.”
“Concordia is centered around God and built on the
principle that we are all flawed, sinful people who believe
in a God that loves us more than we could ever imagine,”
said Dr. Bull. As a result, or maybe a side effect of this cen-
tering on Christianity, 27 percent of Concordia’s student
body is pursuing church work. Concordia’s church work
population is comprised of five different church work
programs: Director of Christian Education, pre-semi-
nary, pre-deaconess, Lutheran Teachers Diploma and
church music.
Out of the seven different Concordias in the Concordia
University System, Seward graduates account for over
one fifth of the church workers in the LCMS. In other
words, Concordia Nebraska has been quite successful
in putting church workers into the LCMS.
Despite this success, there has been a steady decline
in the overall number of students pursuing church work
since the school’s beginning.
“It’s not easy to be a church worker these days,” said
Rev. Russ Sommerfeld, director of church engagement.
“Some teachers are not paid very much, and there are
some pastors in rural communities that serve three or
four churches at a time. It’s not an easy field to go into.”
There seem to be two different ways to go about solving
that issue. One is the need to explicitly tell people that
you see the gifts that they have within themselves that
might make them excellent church workers. The second
is to acknowledge that church work may look different
from before, and we need to find new ways to encourage
people to do it.
The first way to fill the church work gap is communicat-
ing to people about the need for church workers. I had the
opportunity to have a conversation with Dr. Sommerfeld,
a former pastor, about his calling to be a church worker.
Surprisingly, it did not start with him figuring that out on
his own. It started with his confirmation pastor that pulled
him aside and told him that he would make a good pastor.
“I was a very shy kid,” Sommerfeld told me, in a voice
that always reminds me of Santa, “and one day my con-
firmation teacher in seventh grade told me to meet him
after class, which was very scary to me, and he told me:
‘I want you to pray about being a pastor. You love what
you’re doing. You love what we’re learning.’ And that,
along with my parents’ encouragement, planted a seed
that grew in me throughout the years.”
It took Sommerfeld more time to eventually recognize
his call to be a church worker. But he attributes the en-
couragement from his confirmation teacher as the first
step. “What people don’t often realize is that God can use
his whole church to raise a church worker. We need to be
able to nurture that along.”
“It’s very empowering
to be able to use the
gifts I already have to
serve God.”
Professors and other students help to foster that com-
munity at Concordia. “Usually, the people who want to
be DCEs are leaders in their youth groups at their own
church, and they come here wanting to be what their DCEs
were,” said Dr. Mark Blanke, chair of the DCE program.
“In the DCE program, we attempt to show them the depth
and complexity of the task, while also teaching them to
come into their own with it. They can grow with their
peers and instructors and learn what being a DCE will
look like for them.”
Sommerfeld also mentioned that there are times
when people come into Concordia planning to do church
Nebraska’s University With Value(s) Broadcaster 25

Deborah Holle ’23
work and then eventually find that it is not the best fit
for them.“Students do not always have the skill set that
matches a church work program,” said Rev. Dr. Chuck
Blanco, pre-seminary program director. “And they should
not feel bad about that, because church work is not a higher
calling than any other vocation. It just means that they
are finding a different way to serve. Students are more
satisfied when they find a way to serve God that fits with
who they are.” As a pastor for many years, Dr. Blanco
found that their parishioners were often able to spread
the gospel, just in different ways. “We’re just supposed
to point other people to God. I was just humbled at how
my parishioners used their gifts in their secular jobs to
be able to spread God’s word.”
Deborah Holle was one of the students who took some
time finding how she would serve God. Throughout her
college career, Holle majored in business, elementary
education and Christian education leadership. “They
26 Broadcaster cune.edu
sure that 10:31 is an environment that reflects Christian
living. In the way I oversee and train my employees, and
with the people I hire, I try to make it a place where we
make good coffee and we make disciples of Jesus.”
Deborah then decided to change her majors to Chris-
tian education leadership and theology, so she could get
a solid foundation in theology and then move from there.
She hopes to work for a registered service organization
and then eventually, if she can, buy a coffee shop and use
it to help people learn about Jesus.“It’s very empowering
to be able to use the gifts I already have to serve God.”
Regardless of where you will end up, or maybe have
already ended up, there is a common theme: we need to
tell people. Tell people when you think they have gifts
for a certain calling. Tell the people you work with why
you believe what you believe. Regardless of what our
occupations end up looking like on this earth, the most
important part is that we can show and tell people about
the profound hope and rest with God. And that’s some-
thing people always need to hear in all jobs, all places, all
throughout the world.
all seemed pretty random at the time,” said Holle, “but
the main consistency is that I wanted to share the love
of Jesus with other people.”
Even though Deborah loved to tell people about Jesus,
she didn’t necessarily know how to do it. “At one point, I
had to shadow in a third-grade classroom, and it was at
that moment, I realized that this wasn’t going to be my
path in life.”
When Deborah got her job managing 10:31, Concor-
dia’s coffee shop on campus, she started to get a better
sense of how she could serve God with her talents. “I
love budgeting, Excel and general organization of things.
I started doing all of those things while working at 10:31;
I learned foundational things that people should know
while working at a coffee shop.”
Not only was Deborah able to use her organizational
skills at the coffee shop, she also found that there’s a great
opportunity to create Christian community. “I try to en-
Nebraska’s University With Value(s) Broadcaster 27
 Concordia’s Godfather
of Basketball
story: Jake Knabel
photos: Courtesy Concordia Athletics
Grant Schmidt was the kind of coach who pushed his
players to be their best, on and off the court. Now he’s
using those same skills to serve the church.

G
rant Schmidt ’83 sat alone in a jeep in Haiti, sobbing.
As Schmidt puts it, his legs went numb while his
mind slipped into a state of disbelief. Schmidt had never
felt something so powerful.
Nothing in his career as a collegiate basketball coach
had ever inspired quite the same emotion. From 1989
through 2012, the unmistakable Coach Schmidt guided the
Concordia Men’s Basketball program. Schmidt demanded
maximum effort, refused to tolerate excuses, coached
with tough love, toed the line with officials, fought for
his players with intense loyalty and made Concordia an
outfit the opposition feared. He brought the old gym to a
fever pitch and inspired a reverence for him that was and
still is felt emotionally by his former players
But in that moment on the Haitian Islands, no one
cared how many basketball games Schmidt had won. In
a new chapter of his life as Vice President of Operations
for Orphan Grain Train, Schmidt could feel his eyes
opening wide. The already faith-filled Schmidt had
gained a new perspective.
Schmidt is the type of person that others gravitate
towards. In that Haitian village, a young mother ap-
proached Schmidt and asked if he would bless her baby.
“Oh boy,” Schmidt thought. He couldn’t understand what
this woman saw in a “poor, miserable sinner” like himself.
Grant Schmidt
There was no choice. Schmidt blessed the baby in the
name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. When it was
over, the woman hugged Schmidt – and to his surprise,
a line began to form.
“You don’t know who looks at you and you’re the
only image of God that they have,” Schmidt says. “You
don’t know who looks at you, and you’re the only Bible
they’re reading.”
This wasn’t something that would make the newspa-
pers in the way that the conference championships and
national tournament victories did. But in a new vocation,
a world away, Schmidt was still following the same motto
he always had: give it everything or don’t do it at all.
THE ESSENCE OF COACH SCHMIDT
There is only one Coach Grant Schmidt – and everyone
has a Coach Schmidt story. He might call you out one
day for what he perceived as a lack of hustle or effort
on defense, but there he would be propping you up the
very next day when you needed it most. If you wanted
to speak with him, his door was always open, especially
for his players, the people he cared for like they were his
own family members.
Over time, there became an aura about Schmidt, but not
because he wanted it that way. He carried himself with a
certain swagger, something that likely made a difference

28 Broadcaster cune.edu Nebraska’s University With Value(s) Broadcaster 29

 when he broke into the head coaching ranks at an early
age and jumped into the fray against more established
coaches. He became famous among his players for extended
postgame speeches. Drew Olson ’03 smiled when talking
about how he used to have an understanding with Coach
Schmidt. After games, Drew would quickly go visit with
his parents. Every moment with his mother (who battled
ALS for 31 years) was truly precious. Drew would then
make his way to the locker room where Schmidt would
be on his “second or third version” of what took place in
that particular game.
There may not be a more moving story regarding
Schmidt than the one that unfolded in the mid-1990s. On
a winter road trip, Darin Engelbart ’96 and his teammates
were riding in a van that hit a patch of ice, spun out and
rolled into the ditch along Interstate 80. That frigid winter
day, Schmidt, who was in a van in front of the one that
lost control, came sprinting towards the scene to check
on his players. “You could see the concern on his face,”
says Engelbart. “He was potentially putting himself in
harm’s way to come check on us.”
“I loved what I did, and
I love the opportunity
coaching has for changing
people’s lives. But I’m in a
life now where I can’t help
but do good.”
While still a student at Concordia, Micah Parker ’91
developed close relationships with classmates Devin
Smith CO ’92 GR ’01 and others on the men’s basketball
team. Parker aspired to become a basketball coach and
had asked Schmidt if he could observe practice. It wasn’t
necessarily part of the plan, but Parker was quickly
thrust into a role as the junior varsity coach. Looking
back, Parker remarks that Grant had given him “more
responsibility than I deserved. I couldn’t have had a better
mentor at that age.”
When Coach Schmidt earned his 200th career victory
at the very start of the 1998-99 season, members of the
team wanted to make sure that Schmidt felt appreciated.
They bought their coach a milkshake and a card while on
a road trip in Vallejo, California. Ben Limback ’99 recalled
writing “200” on the outside of the shake and presenting
30 Broadcaster cune.edu
it to Schmidt. As someone who helped Schmidt reach
that win total as a player and assistant, Smith called
Schmidt one of the five male figures in his life that he
never wanted to disappoint. “He inspired me, motivated
me and held me accountable, and I feel responsible (as
Concordia Director of Athletics) to make sure this place
thrives,” Smith says.
It seems fair to say that none of Schmidt’s former play-
ers know him as well as his own son Brandon Schmidt
’10 and son-in-law Ryan Shrum ’11. Shrum calls Schmidt
“the most competitive person I’ve ever met.” At the same
time, Shrum routinely sees the softer side. He sees the
grandfather that so lovingly cares for his grandchildren.
“My kids just light up when they know they’re going to
visit Nani and Papi (Deb (Aurich) Schmidt CO ’81 GR
’04 and Grant),” says Shrum. “To know him for some of
the speeches in the locker room and during timeouts,
for some of the butt chewing and seeing him now as a
grandfather is crazy. He had an effective way of commu-
nicating with young adults and he has an effective way
of communicating with young kids.”
2005 Men’s Basketball Team
Of course, people also got a kick out of watching
Schmidt’s interactions with officials. The tall and lengthy Rivera’s home country of Panama. As Schmidt says, “I
Schmidt could make a scene with his intimidating pres-
ence, but he knew how to toe the line without crossing it.
found myself in a new era, a new life.”
Proverbs 16:9 has helped Schmidt explain to others
He once got a technical from an official who mistakenly what led to these circumstances. “A man’s heart makes
its own plans,” says Schmidt. “God decides his course.”
thought Schmidt had been yelling at him. On the contrary,
Schmidt had been voicing frustration with his own player. Out of the spotlight of GPAC and national tournament
As part of his Concordia Athletic Hall of Fame speech, arenas, a fire still burns in Schmidt. The Lord continues
Schmidt made several jokes about referees. to direct his steps in ways that give him a different kind
Before there was a transfer portal, Schmidt made a
habit of reeling in big fish that had first tried their hand
of joy. “I didn’t know what the Lord had in store for me,”
says Schmidt. “To be in the position of humanitarian
elsewhere. This phenomenon could also be thought of as aid and helping others is something that’s different from
part of the secret to his success. “There were opportunities coaching and different from the athletic field. I loved
they tried out and their heart was saying, ‘I don’t want what I did, and I love the opportunity coaching has for
to just be a guy that sits here. I want to finish my career changing people’s lives. But I’m in a life now where I can’t
playing and being a leader’,” says Schmidt. “They belonged help but do good.”
in a school and in a program where they could lead.” In coaching, teaching, administration and in his role
at Orphan Grain Train, Schmidt has built a legacy worth
A LASTING LEGACY
celebrating. When Grant Schmidt finished his Concordia
It was a hard stop in 2012 when life changed course and
Athletic Hall of Fame speech in September 2022, he left
there was no more game planning for the next opponent.
everyone with this message:
Schmidt’s at peace with where God has guided him.
“Play hard. Be courageous. Be aggressive. Be passionate.
Sometimes that means a trip to Haiti, a meeting with the
Be nice to the referees sometimes. Give it your all. When
president of Peru or a visit to the home of former New
you win, be humble in it. When you lose, be gracious. Be
York Yankees closer Mariana Rivera. As part of his voca-
a difference maker by how you act.”
tion as Vice President at Orphan Grain Train, Schmidt
helped arrange for food to be delivered to orphanages in
Nebraska’s University With Value(s) Broadcaster 31
 2022 Men’s Soccer Team
Bulldogs
Return
to GPAC
Mountaintop
story: Jake Knabel
photos: Ben Meyer
The 2022 Bulldog men’s soccer team had a special kind
of chemistry.
T he 2021 season didn’t sit well with the Concordia
Men’s Soccer program. The Bulldogs fell short of
the 10-win mark for the first time since 2010 while often
losing games by the slightest of margins. The talent was
there, Head Coach Jason Weides felt confident in that.
Something was just a bit off, so Weides and his team went
to work on fixing it. The Bulldogs became a grittier team
and one determined to come out on the winning side in
those tight and physical battles.
Senior leader Isaiah Shaddick prior to the start of the
2022 season said, “We came together as a team with Coach
Weides and decided there needs to be something culturally
within the team that we need to change. We created a set
of rules that we have as a team to help lead us to that goal
of being successful.”
The lessons learned from 2021 may have been painful,
but perhaps necessary for the program to reach the highs it
experienced on Nov. 11, 2022. As temperatures dipped well
below freezing that night in Hastings, Nebraska, Concordia
celebrated long after the sound of the thud that came from
Federico Simonetti clinching victory with the penalty
kick save. A dawgpile ensued in reaction to a truly gritty
GPAC tournament championship winning performance.
32 Broadcaster cune.edu
Matt Schultz
The Bulldogs had rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to force
overtime on the home turf of the archnemesis Broncos.
The ’22 team finished at 15-3-3 overall as arguably the
greatest side in program history. Along the way, Concordia
dropped only one conference game, went undefeated
at home (9-0-1) and put together a 12-game unbeaten
streak (9-0-3) before the NAIA National Championship
first round loss to ninth-ranked Keiser University (Fla.).
The Bulldogs outscored their opponents by a combined
total of 51-21 while getting a major boost from transfer
Dominic Abdel-Ahad, who put away a team high 12 goals.
“We created a set of rules
that we have as a team to
help lead us to that goal of Making
being successful.” Disciples for Life
From 11 different countries, these Bulldogs came to-
We love our Lutheran schools! Jan. 22–28, 2023, is National Lutheran Schools Week, and we hope you’ll join us
gether as a group and accomplished their goals. A more
in praying for the teachers, administrators, students, families and staff that make our Lutheran schools great!
intentional focus on team chemistry and togetherness
“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore
became a factor in pushing Concordia to the national
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
tournament for the first time since 2015. Members of Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the
the team keep coming back to this one word – family. end of the age’” (Matt. 28:18-20).
Read more about the men’s soccer team and other fall
sports summaries at cune.edu/summaries.
Nebraska’s University With Value(s) Broadcaster 33
 Alumnotes
1970s
Carl Ramsey ’75 was recently
nominated for caregiver of the year
by the Home Care Association of
America and the Marine of the Year
by the Marine Corps League. Carl
also serves as historian for the POW MIA Museum at
Jefferson Barracks and works for the Marine Corps
League, American Legion and VFW. In the photo, Carl
is pictured at the Lutheran High School North 2021
homecoming with classmate Curt Von Der Ahe.
1990s
Dr. Erin (Ziegler) Huebschman ’94 was nominated
by her colleagues as a community hero for “Going the
Extra Mile” in her rural Wisconsin family practice. Erin
currently serves as a family practice and OB physician at
Grant Regional Health Center in Lancaster, Wisconsin.
Deborah (Kern) Mhoon ’95 recently took a new
position as a Healthcare Recruiter at CHRISTUS St.
Vincent Medical Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Jeff Gilbertson ’96 was named
the 2022 High School Principal
of the Year by the Nebraska State
Association of Secondary School
Principals.
Jered Sprecher ’99 exhibited a
new painting in the summer 2022
show at Rarity Gallery in Mykonos,
Greece. The painting is titled “Light
First Went Forth,” oil on canvas.
2000s
Katie (Stiegemeier) Brown ’06
and Chantz Brown welcomed their
second son, Carter Grant, on May
3, 2022. Carter joins big brother
Easton. The family lives in Blue
Springs, Missouri.
34 Broadcaster cune.edu
Rachel (Micheel) Goodpasture
’09 and Adam Goodpasture wel-
comed Stella Rose on January 4,
2022. Two big sisters, Emma, 4, and
Clara, 2, welcomed her home! Stella
was washed in the waters of Holy Baptism on January 30,
2022, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Atchison, Kansas.
The family lives in Atchison, where Adam is a physical
therapist and Rachel is a stay at home mom to the girls.
Mickey Ebert ’04 successfully defended his dissertation
on July 14, 2022, to earn his Doctor of Education degree
from Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida.
The title of Mickey’s dissertation is “An Evaluation
of the Effects of Student Participation in High School
Athletics and Grade Point Averages in a rural Title I
School District.”
2010s
Ellen Birkedal ’11 earned a Master of Music - Orches-
tral Emphasis from Kansas State University in August
2022. She is the Orchestra Director for the Affton School
District in St. Louis, Missouri.
Rebekah Freed ’11 completed a
master’s degree from Liberty Uni-
versity in May 2022 studying Dis-
cipleship in the context of Crisis
Response and Trauma. She pre-
sented content from her research at the LCMS Youth
Gathering in July 2022 and at various LCMS district
level gatherings and conferences this fall.
Rev. Joe Pierson ’17 and Han-
nah (Weber) Pierson ’16 were
blessed with the birth of their first
child, Miriam, in August. They are
currently serving Joe’s first call in
Webster City, Iowa.
Cedric Lenox GR ’18 published his
first book, “You Are a Hope Dealer:
Inspiring Kids to Their Destiny” in
July 2022. Cedric works as an ed-
ucational consultant, motivational
speaker and special education teacher. He currently
resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Amy received a call to a school in Rockford, Illinois,
upon graduation. She thought she would be there
about three years but ended up serving for more
than three decades.
“It’s interesting how God worked in that path, too,
because I started off as an elementary school
teacher, became an elementary principal and then
had the privilege of working with two-year-olds
when I was staying home with my kids,” she said.
“And then I went from there to teaching middle
school, being a middle school principal, and then
eventually ending my time in a middle school and
high school. God was still working, still moving.
And He took me to that higher ed piece at Concor-
dia Chicago, and then eventually brought me here
to Concordia Nebraska. It has been fascinating
how God has been that moving piece in my life
and has set some incredibly important people and
circumstances that were all planned for me.” 
TOUCHING
As she now guides and teaches young people who
wish to serve as teachers, Amy said she seeks to
share with students some of the things she didn’t
LIVES INTO
know and realize at that age.
“You might have that heart for people, that heart
for developing relationships, that heart for serv-
ETERNITY
ing, and that heart for teaching lives and touching
lives beyond this world. So, touching lives into
eternity,” she said. “And a desire to be creative, a
desire to serve and a desire to touch the future. I
A
mean, that’s an opportunity that we have as teach-
ssistant professor of education Amy (Denck- ers. How many other professions get to explore or
lau) Stradtmann ’91 distinctly remembers enjoy that?”
when she transitioned from attending a public
school to a Lutheran School. The public school she
attended closed when she was in sixth grade, so her
father decided the day before she began seventh
grade that she would attend a local Lutheran school.
“It was only for two years, but it made a huge impact
in my brother’s life and my future, too,” she said.
Amy said her educational path was unique and
winding, but ultimately led her to pursue a career
in education. Following her beginnings in public
school, Lutheran middle school experience and
Catholic high school, her teachers, relatives and Class Endowments
others kept asking her about career goals and col- Concordia holds 21 endowments that offer
lege plans. scholarships from alumni classes to current students.
Learn more about our class endowment gifts at
“I hadn’t even thought about that!” she said. “[But]
cune.edu/class-endowment.
my grandmother came up with this idea… that I
would make a great teacher. [And then] a coach Share Your News
that I knew from that Lutheran school experience
Have you experienced a life-changing event? Perhaps
brought me here to Concordia. Seward is the only you got married, had a baby or moved. Maybe
place I visited because once I was here, I knew that you got another degree, wrote a book or earned a
this is where I was meant to be.”  promotion. Let us know!
Submit details and a photo at cune.edu/broadcaster.
Nebraska’s University With Value(s) Broadcaster 35
 In Memoriam
Walter Bartels HS ’39 CO ’52
Lera (Jagels) Koenig CO ’47
Dr. Thomas Langevin CO ’47
Edmund Martens CO ’49
Lavina (Schaefer) Nagel HS ’49 ALND ’53
Henry Knueppel CO ’52
Lucille (Johnson) Marquardt HS ’52 ALND ’54
Paul Koehnke CO ’53
Lois (Ruhlig) Lutz CO ’53
Georgene (Holtzen) Schlichting ALND ’53
Fredric Kamprath HS ’54 CO ’58
Edward Mueller HS ’55 CO ’59
Dr. Ralph Geisler HS ’56 CO ’60
Benjamin Markin IV CO ’58
Roger Hartner HS ’60
Florence (Schaal) Saeger CO ’60
Edith (Wehmeyer) Wolters CO ’60
Cliford Doll HS ’61 CO ’65
Rev. Raymond Pollatz Jr. CO ’61
Donna (Haake) Holsten ALND ’62
Dr. David Kruse HS ’62 CO ’66
Judith (Guenther) Clay CO ’64
Nancy (Becher) Kapels CO ’65
Mary Jo (Werner) Schamber CO ’65
Janice (Teggatz) Goldsmith CO ’67 GR ’80
James Herre CO ’67
Dianne (Huedepohl) Metzner CO ’67
Bonnie (Brehe) Smith CO ’67
Dr. John Eggert CO ’68
Judith (Albright) Schepmann CO ’69
36 Broadcaster cune.edu
Dianne (Rhinehart) Wrase CO ’69
Daniel Kottman CO ’70
Susan (Curtis) Miller HS ’70 CO ’73
Dr. Eunice (Cordes) Streufert CO ’70
Katherine Perkins CO ’71
Lynne (Netland) Raisley CO ’71
Elizabeth (Cihal) Kobza CO ’72
Rev. Mark Wenger CO ’73
Wayne Dibos CO ’79
Lon Jungemann CO ’79
Craig Busseau CO ’80
William Tillman CO ’80
Diane (Steffen) West CO ’82
Douglas Denzler CO ’95
Joseph McCormick CO ’96
Randy Catlin CO ’97
Linda (Schoenleber) Dressler GR ’03
Donald Olsson GR ’11
Arranged by graduation year: current as of Dec. 5, 2022
HS: High School
CO: College
GR: Graduate
ALND: Alumnus Non Degreed
Nebraska’s University With Value(s) Broadcaster 37
MISSION LIVES ON THROUGH
ENDOWMENT GIFTS
story: Scott Seevers ’90
photos: Liz Kucera and Courtesy Photos
Endowments from closed LCMS institutions help their mission to support the church live on through Concordia Nebraska.
Dr. Mark Wahlers ’78, complet-
ing a long and distinguished
career in Lutheran education,
recalls the important work he
was called to do in 2021 when
Concordia College New York
announced its imminent closure.
Wahlers, who served as Chief
Administration Officer of the
Bronxville, New York, college
in its final months, later stayed
engaged as co-chair of a small
group charged with ensuring
“an orderly closure reflecting
good stewardship.” Some of that
stewardship involved distribut-
ing the institution’s endowments
to selected LCMS organizations.
Thirteen hundred miles away on
the great plains, Concordia Uni-
versity, Nebraska was one ben-
eficiary of those Concordia New
York endowment funds. At the
time, the Nebraska sister school
was busy building a majestic
new Music Center, set to open in
Spring 2023, and received word
it was receiving an endowment
fund tied specifically to music
and ministry. Professor of mu-
sic Dr. Joseph Herl, himself a
Concordia Bronxville alum, was
delighted at the news. “It’s going
to be great to have a little piece
of that school come to Seward,”
Herl says. That “little piece” is a
not-so-little endowment with a
strong mission match to Con-
cordia Nebraska’s vibrant music
programs. “We’re keeping alive
Bronxville’s mission and spirit in
Seward,” says Herl.
Nearly a million dollars of
CCNY’s endowment funds have
moved into Concordia Nebras-
ka’s Music Center Excellence
38 Broadcaster cune.edu
Endowment, which ensures the
new facility will have perpetual
funding from the endowment’s
investment income. The income
will help maintain and update
the Music Center’s technolo-
gy, instruments and facilities.
Generous individuals added
an additional $500,000 for
the Music Center endowment
through current or planned gifts.
“Among many other blessings,”
Herl says, “with these gifts we
can be assured that our pianos
and organs will always stay in
tune and in good repair.”
Well-funded Excellence En-
dowments are relatively new at
Concordia Nebraska. From 2015
to 2020, $4 million was given
or pledged for the Dunklau
Center Excellence Endowment,
supporting Concordia’s Science,
Math and Business facility. It will
soon provide $175,000 or more
in annual income for the build-
ing’s ongoing equipment and
technology initiatives.
Dr. Rob Hermann ‘87, Concordia
Nebraska’s Natural Science
Department Chair, understands
how that perpetual endowment
income will be a game-changer.
“Excellence is not a fixed target,”
Hermann explains. “What was
excellent a decade ago might
be outdated today.” Noting that
the new science facilities have
positively changed the way fac-
ulty prepare students, Hermann
also appreciates how the build-
ing’s Excellence Endowment
promotes better teaching and
learning. “Simply knowing there
is a continual source of funds for
upgrades changes the way fac-
To learn more about supporting Concordia
through endowments, visit cune.edu/give.
ulty think about our programs.
Our mindset changes from one
focused on maintenance to one
that looks toward improvement.”
Interestingly, one of the largest
gifts for the Dunklau Center’s
Excellence Endowment also
came from an LCMS organi-
zation at the end of its orga-
nizational lifespan. Redeemer
Lutheran Church of Denver,
Colorado, upon closing and sell-
ing its property in 2021, gifted
$300,000 of the sale proceeds
to the Dunklau Center Excel-
lence Endowment. Former Re-
deemer board member Marvin
Achterberg ’72 says, “Our wishes
were to have a lasting influence
on something worthwhile,”
noting their “primary quest” was
to give to LCMS schools’ endow-
ments. “The gifts that transcend
others are those given to organi-
zations training people who will
enter ministry.”
Wahlers, thinking of his New
York experience, remembers
a similar goal among his col-
leagues—to ensure Concordia
New York’s 140-year mission of
excellent Lutheran higher edu-
cation continues. He is pleased
with how the endowed monies
will bless Concordia Nebraska
music students in the long term.
“We, like the original donors,
wanted to perpetuate the music
and ministry of a Concordia ed-
ucation. These endowed monies
are an enduring gift.”
“People and organizations
all have a life cycle,” Wahlers
concludes resolutely, “but the
mission continues on.”
“Simply knowing there is a
EXCELLENCE ENDOWMENTS EXPLAINED
continual source of funds
In recent years, Concordia started establishing
Excellence Endowments in conjunction with new for upgrades changes the
capital building projects. A powerful and lasting
tool to maintain and improve a facility over its way faculty think about
lifespan, an Excellence Endowment is a perpetual
fund ensuring new facilities and equipment remain our programs.”
excellent over time. Income from the professional-
ly invested funds provides a reliable stream of re-
sources lasting the entire lifespan of the building
and beyond.
Resources for daily care, preventative mainte-
nance and planned improvements to the facility
and its surroundings are just one component of
the benefits. Future additions or renovations can
also be partially funded through the endowment.
Equipment needs and technology change rapidly,
and an Excellence Endowment also helps make
those updates possible to best serve the teaching
and learning needs of the faculty and students.
Perhaps most importantly, Excellence Endowment
funds allow Concordia to operate new facilities on
campus without passing on new operational costs
to students in the form of higher tuition.
“The Dunklau Excellence Endowment will be an
opportunity for the academic programs in the
Dunklau Center to really pursue excellence. The
fact that Redeemer Lutheran Church in Denver
would use the proceeds from the closing of their
facility to contribute to the Dunklau Excellence
Endowment is such a beautiful illustration of the
hope that the members of the church have in
Christ. At a time when they would naturally be
thinking about endings and loss and remembering
the past, the members of the congregation chose
to look to the future with their gift. And now that
gift allows the faculty at Concordia to continue
looking to the future as they use the proceeds of
the endowment to constantly pursue excellence
in their programs for their students today and into
the future.” -Dr. Rob Hermann, Natural Sciences
Department Chair
800 North Columbia Avenue
Seward, NE 68434-9980