Archive for 2010
Like St. Lucia, Shed Light
The annual Festival of St. Lucia at Gustavus serves as a reminder to all to take hold of legendary St. Lucia's values -- leadership, service, thoughtfulness, charity, and kindness -- and take initiative to be the light in a sometimes dark world. 2009 Gustavus St. Lucia Jen Fox '12 says now, with a finals' sleepless haze on campus and the cold and dark days of winter setting in, is the perfect season to find humility, take a new opportunity to serve, ignite thoughtfulness in your peers, and never miss a new chance to show kindness. It is now your time to shine. Make Saint Lucia proud in your community. Be the light.
Coach Mark Hanson Spends Fall in South Africa
Head Men's Basketball Coach Mark Hanson '83 recently returned from an educational and service-learning journey in South Africa just in time to begin another basketball season.
Program Benefits Local Youth
Gusties have busy schedules, yet each Tuesday several students take a break to just hang out. Not with their peers, but with children in the St. Peter area through the Gustie Buddies program. The program to mentor developmentally delayed youth was created five years ago by two Gustavus students working with the college's Community Service Center.
The Path to a Passion
Some students leave Gustavus with a clear plan for their life; others choose to be surprised by the path on which life takes them and hope for the best. Gustavus alumnus Abby Andrusko '00 fits in the latter category. Her path to becoming a small business owner came about through many twists and turns until she found herself combining a passion with a product of which she could be proud. Andrusko's Grass Fed Cattle Co. is a venture that offers naturally raised and local grass-fed beef as a convenient and affordable health-food option to residents in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
HHMI Grant Leads to Good Food in the Classroom
In 2008, Gustavus received a $1 million HHMI grant. Part of the grant was designated to support the implementation of the science outreach program. Focusing on the topic of each year’s Nobel Conference, this program seeks to help improve the high school science curriculum, increase high school students’ interest in the sciences, and better prepare teachers participating in the program and their students for the Nobel Conference.
iCF
Living in a residence hall can be a challenge. Luckily for students, a friendly, helpful face is available just down the hall in each Gustavus residence. These helpful fellow students are CFs, or Collegiate Fellows. The CFs are student residence hall leaders, hired and trained by the Office of Residential Life.
Volunteer Farm Continues to Produce for Local Foodshelves
Alumni Nathan '02 and Travis '00 Dahlke started a nonprofit volunteer farm in 2009 in their hometown of Green Isle, Minn. Their idea, along with hundreds of hours put in by volunteers, has allowed the Dahlke's to donate several tons of potatoes, carrots, and onions to local foodshelves.
THE “YES” MAN: The community contributions of Ellery Peterson ’49
Ellery Peterson, a member of the Gustavus class of 1949 and professor emeritus, is a Gustie who has demonstrated the Gustavus core value of community. Through all his efforts over the years, Peterson has made a difference by helping build a stronger greater St. Peter community, volunteering his knowledge, and bringing people together for a common good in the place that he lives. In 2010 he was named Nicollet County Outstanding Senior Citizen.
Gustie Greeters and the First-year Experience
The picturesque ascent up College Avenue toward Old Main on first-year student move-in day is a vivid image seared into the memory of many Gusties. As a new student, whether you were squirming anxiously in your seat, biting your fingernails nervously, or already saying your goodbyes gleefully to Mom and Dad, there's one constant: being energetically welcomed by an enthusiastic group of upperclass students to the place that becomes home for four years.
Steve Wilkinson: Tennis and Life
For the past 40 years at Gustavus, the name “Wilkinson” has been synonymous with “tennis.” Steve Wilkinson that is. Wilkinson's achieved the status of winningest coach in men's tennis collegiate history with his team's overall record of 929-279 (.768) and a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) mark of 334-1 (.997). He is also the founder of the Tennis and Life Camps (TLC)—the largest tennis camp in one location in the country.