CHADRON STATEAlumni Magazine

Table of contentsNext Horizon Campaign . . . . .1Hildreth Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Winter Commencement . . . . .14CSC Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Alumni Events . . . . . . . . . . . .24Class Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Winter 2016

1

Letter from the President

The Alumni Magazine is published twice per year by the Chadron State College Alumni Office.Magazine StaffDaniel Binkard Dewayne Gimeson Con Marshall Jacob RisslerConor Casey Alex Helmbrecht Connie Rasmussen Karen PopeKaleb Center Kris Koza SuAn Reece Ben WatsonTena Cook George Ledbetter

Alumni Board of DirectorsLou Alcorn Stephanie Cogdill Bobby Griese Clayton Riesen Shane ShepherdTammy Calamari Ron Grant Russ Harford Vince Ryan Loni Watson

Please forward address changes to:CSC Alumni Office, 1000 Main Street, Chadron, NE 69337 or email alumni@csc.eduCSC is a proud member of the Nebraska State College System.Past issues of the Alumni Magazine can be found at www.csc.edu/alumni

On the Cover:A historical photograph of Hildreth Hall, the fourth building featured in the Alumni Magazine.

As you may have read on Chadron State College’s website or seen elsewhere, sig-nificant time by numerous individuals and committees is being dedicated to the reaf-firmation of the college’s accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).

One of the first major steps in the process before HLC visits campus in April 2017 was a panel review of our Quality Initiative (QI). This review either confirms or questions an institution’s effort in undertaking the QI proposal approved by HLC. The institution is encouraged to take risks, innovate, take on a tough challenge, or pursue a yet unproven strategy or hypothesis with its QI. Genuineness of effort, not success of the initiative, constitutes the focus of the QI review.

I am pleased to report the review panel confirmed genuine effort on the part of CSC. The panel also determined CSC’s QI demonstrated the following: its serious-ness of the undertaking, the initiative had scope and impact, a commitment to and engagement in the initiative and adequate resource provision.

Chadron State’s successful QI focused on supporting its Essential Studies Program (ESP) launched in 2012. The ESP was a significant investment of faculty time and energy to create a more vigorous and exciting General Education. CSC’s QI was developed on the foundations of two national programs – HLC’s Academy for the Assessment of Student Learning and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ Red Balloon Project.

The QI was also clearly aligned with the 2014 Master Academic Plan, with the first priority to “continue to implement and improve” the ESP. HLC’s panel reviewers encouraged Chadron State “to carefully consider how the new ESP relates to the rest of their curriculum” and the Faculty Senate ESP Committee has made several related adjustments such as reducing the capstone credits from six to three and accepting certain department capstone courses as fulfilling requirements.

We identified three critical objectives to meet the goal of supporting the ESP and integrating it across campus: establish a Teaching and Learning Center; streamline and improve support for adjunct faculty; and improve communication between Aca-demic Affairs and Student Services.

Although all three QI goals did not succeed to the same degree, Chadron State is an exemplary model of how faculty, staff and administrators can collaborate to suc-cessfully tackle a major quality improvement initiative. I look forward to providing you with a report about the accreditation process in my June letter.

I wish you a year of happiness and health.

Sincerely,

Dr. Randy RhinePresident

The Foundation’s first comprehensive campaign, Vision 2011, transformed the campus, providing historic levels of support from alumni and friends for capital projects, scholarships and program support. The campaign raised the awareness of the campus and the community of the life changing impact of private support.

We are pleased to have the opportunity to again partner with Chadron State College on Next Horizon: The Campaign for Chadron State College, a compre-hensive multi-million dollar campaign focused on raising program enhancement funds and capital funds for a renovated and expanded Math Science building and sports complex.

Next Horizon sends a clear message to the dedicated faculty and staff at Chadron State who continue to prepare generations of students for professional and personal successes. We appreciate all of the alumni and friends who are committed to giving current students the same opportunities they experienced at CSC. Thank you for your loyal support of Chadron State. It is an exciting time to be a part of the CSC family.

Sincerely,

Connie RasmussenChadron State Foundation CEO

“As an undergraduate at CSC, adapting to the change of life-style and college courses was difficult. Scholarships allowed me to focus on why I was at CSC and not how I was going to pay for it.”

Hearing that from a former student is powerful. The Founda-tion and its endowed scholarships help provide the opportunities to deserving students by taking some, if not all, of the financial burdens away. Scholarship support makes a significant contribu-tion to increasing enrollment and retention rates.

Next Horizon: The Campaign for Chadron State College is a five to seven year fundraising endeavor with a working goal of $40 million. The campaign is raising funds for capital, program enhancement and scholarship endowment objectives across mul-tiple scholastic disciplines and athletic programs.

Scholarship and Program Enhancement InitiativeThe Chadron State Foundation seeks to secure $15 million in

charitable gifts to strengthen, expand and grow resources which enable students, improve instruction and enhance the educational experience. Gifts can be made in support of any department or degree program at Chadron State and can be used for:

• Scholarship Funds• Department Funds• Equipment, Capital Improvements and Technology Funds• Travel and Conference Funds• Internship Funds• Research Funds

For more information on Next Horizon or to be part of this important project, please contact the Foundation office at 308-432-6366 or visit https://csc.edu.foundation/nexthorizon/index.csc

32

Chadron State College’s Math Science building was completed in 1968. It’s also the final year a major renovation occurred in the facility.

“We, of course, have seen an evolution in the way things are done in science,” said Tim Keith, a professor of physical and life sci-ences.

The Math Science building is incredibly important to Chadron State’s faculty and stu-dents. The building houses nine different ma-jors and two pre-professional programs and thousands of students each year utilize its labs and classrooms. The High Plains Herbarium, the Eleanor Barbour Cook Museum of Geol-ogy and the planetarium serve the broader geo-graphic region as well.

Learning and technology has changed dramatically over the last 49 years. With no significant remodel or renovation since its con-struction, the Math Science building is out of date. Classrooms are barely large enough to fit the number of enrolled students. Potentially

hazardous courses utilizing dangerous chemicals are taught in labs that lack proper ventilation. The building design does not allow for modern learning. Chadron State con-tinues to overcome the many obstacles that a significantly outdated facility presents.

The Math Science building is also home to Health Professions and the Rural Health Opportunities Program. RHOP has a great purpose – to recruit and edu-cate students from rural Nebraska who will re-turn to practice in rural areas of the state. This program represents a commitment and dedica-tion to the education of rural Nebraskans and quality healthcare for the citizens of the state.

Seventy-seven percent of the over 310 gradu-ates of the RHOP program are practicing in rural Nebraska.

Math and science degrees have launched thousands of opportunities for Chadron State graduates. Alumni earning these degrees have gone on to accomplish amazing things. The legacy continues to this day. The new disci-plines and occupations awaiting today’s stu-dents require an ever greater foundation in math and science. Chadron State is committed to investing in the equipment, capital improve-ments and programs required to ensure today’s students are prepared with the tools to meet tomorrow’s challenges.

The Next Horizon Campaign Math Science Initiative seeks to secure over $25 million to renovate and expand the Math Science build-ing. Additional funds will be raised to provide scholarships and program support. Chadron State faculty challenge, inspire and prepare students for their next journey in life – whether that’s in the classroom, workforce or in profes-sional school.

The new disciplines and occupations await-ing today’s students require an ever greater academic focus in math and science. Upon legislative approval, the State of Nebraska will invest $21 million in the renovation and expansion of the Math Science building. The project requires the Chadron State Foundation and college to secure $4 million as part of the funding package.

The current facility will be gutted and rebuilt for the 21st century. A new 15,000 square foot wing will be built to extend the center of the building to the north towards Andrews Hall. The east and west wings will be completely renovated to include state-of-the-art class-rooms and laboratories with modern electrical and climate controls.

Athletics has been part of Chadron State since its founding in 1911. For more than 100 years, athletics has brought us together as students, as families, as a community and as a region. Young men and women came to campus and became leaders on the fields of athletic competition. Leaders developed into champions. Leadership lessons imparted by the guiding hands of coaches and faculty are carried long after Eagles leave the nest. Those lessons contribute to Eagles’ ongoing success in the communities where they land.

The central grandstand at Don Beebe Sta-dium and Elliott Field was built in 1929, serv-ing as home for the Eagles for almost 90 years. Structural engineers have reported the existing grandstand is beyond repair. The concrete is crumbling, safety is a real concern – and some-thing must be done about it. Problems include crowded facilities, lack of restrooms, inad-equate coaches’ box spaces and a press box not equipped with today’s technology. An un-even playing surface damaged over the years by use and weather, including unprecedented snowfall from Storm Atlas in 2014, also needs replaced.

Chadron State track and field has produced four individual national champions and a Rocky

Mountain Athletic Conference team championship with no outdoor track fa-cilities. Eagles are soaring in spite of not having facilities to support them.

Chadron State is committed to pro-viding top-notch facilities for our athletes, coaches and fans. Facility renovation and new construction enables future Eagles to “Protect the Rock” while past Eagles support them in facilities of which they can be proud.

The Next Horizon Student Athlete and Sports Complex Initiative has received over $7.48 million in funding from state and pri-vate sources to help make the sports complex a reality, but there is work to be done. If the final $3.12 million can be secured as gifts and pledges by May of next year, demolition and construction can begin immediately follow-ing the last home football game in November, 2017. Over the winter, construction crews will

work diligently to rebuild the grandstands, press box and install a synthetic turf playing surface.

The Next Horizon Campaign serves to pro-vide the funding needed for Chadron State to continue to grow as a premier program in Divi-sion II athletics. There are many ways you can designate your support to these efforts. We’ve reached unprecedented levels of success thanks to the creative vision, dedicated leadership and private contributions of our incredible donors. Enabling success requires a team.

Together, Eagles Soar.

Math Science Sports Complex

A view of the Math Science building taken from the High Rise. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

Design concepts for the addition and renovations to the Math Science building.

An aerial view of Don Beebe Stadium and the Con Marshall Press Box. (Courtesy Photo)

Conceptual drawings of proposed renovations to the central grandstands and press box.

54

By Conor P. CaseyAfter more than a decade of planning by

Chadron State College students, faculty and administrators, ground was broken for the Rangeland Complex in September 2012. The Rangeland Lab opened to students this fall.

The Coffee Agriculture Pavilion, which fea-tures a 25,000 square foot space for livestock classes and rodeo practice, opened in Decem-ber 2013.

The Rangeland Lab boasts a walk-in cooler, a walk-in freezer, two dedi-cated laboratory spaces for animal dissection and ob-servation, and soil analysis labs.

Dr. Joel Hyer, dean of Business, Entrepreneur-ship, Applied and Math-ematical Sciences and Sciences, said the facility will be integral in propel-ling the rangeland program, one of the largest in the na-tion, to the next level.

“This is going to be a game-changer for the pro-gram. The facilities cer-tainly reflect CSC’s commitment to teaching and learning. They are a visible reminder of who we are as an institution. We are a teaching and learning institution,” Hyer said. “Our fac-ulty will be better equipped to provide learning activities that students will never forget.”

In addition to the classrooms and laborato-ries, the surrounding land is being utilized as a living lab.

Dr. Teresa Frink, CSC applied sciences de-partment chair and professor, teaches range-land and wildlife classes in the new facility. Frink recognizes the new building as a bless-ing.

“Previously, we had a sort of a primitive dis-secting table, no running water or ventilation. The Rangeland Center not only offers new technology like a downdraft necropsy table, but also allows students to practice and learn in safer conditions,” she said.

Rangeland students were also the beneficia-ries of a grant from the Bill and Virginia Cof-fee Family Foundation. The grant helped make a practitioner-in-residence position possible during the fall semester. The collaborative venture be-tween CSC and the C. F. Coffee Gallery will also fund three rangeland stu-dent research grants and a public event, according to Dr. Ron Bolze, range professor.

The practitioner-in-residence during the fall semester was Bill Whitney, director of the Prai-rie Plains Resource Institute in Aurora, Nebras-ka. Whitney taught a one-credit hour course, “Ecological Restoration on the Great Plains and Related Natural Resource Issues,” in the first four weeks of the second eight-week term.

The subject matter in the course was an outgrowth of the instructor’s 40 years of do-

ing ecological restoration and management and land education on the native prairies of Nebraska. It contained the history of restora-tion, methods, current issues, landscape scale examples, as well as discussion about wider environmental and cultural issues surrounding natural resources.

By George LedbetterResponding to the shortage of lawyers in

many small Nebraska communities, Chadron State College is offering students who are in-terested in practicing law in a rural area of the state full tuition undergraduate scholarships and provisional acceptance to the University of Nebraska College of Law through a program developed in collaboration with UNL and the Nebraska State Bar Association.

CSC is joining Wayne State College and the University of Nebraska at Kearney in the new Rural Law Opportunities Program (RLOP) which will enroll its first group of prospective small-town lawyers in the fall of 2017. Each of the schools will provide full tuition scholar-ships for up to five students a year who meet admissions criteria and have an interest in a legal career, and will ac-cept as many as 10 alternates to the program.

RLOP, a program pat-terned after the existing Rural Health Opportunities Program (RHOP), will pro-vide a selected number of students at Chadron State with provisional admittance into the Univer-sity of Nebraska College of Law. CSC students from rural counties in Nebraska would be en-couraged to practice law in rural Nebraska upon graduation. For purposes of RLOP eligi-bility and reporting, rural Nebraska is defined

as all areas of the state other than Lincoln, Omaha, Ralston, Boys Town, Elkhorn, Bel-levue, Papillion, La Vista, Chalco and Offutt Air Force Base.

In addition to the scholarships, RLOP par-ticipants will be pro-vided with mentoring, NU law school visits and Legal School Ad-mission Test (LSAT) preparation services. CSC students in the program don’t have to choose a Legal Studies major, but must com-plete requirements for a minor in Legal Studies.

Participants will also participate in a legal in-ternship as part of the program. Upon gradua-tion they will be guaranteed a seat in the NU College of Law, provided they maintain a 3.5 grade point average and meet a minimum LSAT score.

Impetus for developing the RLOP came from the Nebraska State Bar Association, which says that 11 of Nebraska’s 93 coun-ties have no lawyers at all, and 20 others have three or fewer attorneys. A majority of those underserved counties are in the Chadron State College service region of western Nebraska.

The lack of legal assistance in rural areas means residents have limited access to the court system for resolving disputes, and must travel long distances for even basic services such as drawing up wills and contracts or con-ducting real estate transactions.

“The shortage means that for many Ne-braskans there is no local access to the legal advice and protections afforded those in more populous areas,” said Jim Margetts, Dean of Essential Studies and Liberal Arts at CSC.

Information about applying for the Rural Law Opportunities Program is available by contacting CSC coordinator of admission ser-vices, Erin Heide, at 308-432-6263, or on the web at csc.edu/rlop.

By Alex HelmbrechtJacob Rissler, a 2015 graduate of Chadron

State College, is the new Development Officer for the Chadron State Foundation.

Rissler, a native of Gillette, Wyoming, be-gan his duties in September. In his role, he will solicit support from area businesses for schol-arship and general support for the college, plan and implement the annual fall fund drive and phonathon, and serve as a liaison for students and the Foundation office regarding fundraiser policy and approval.

“I’m genuinely excited to be working with the Foundation staff,” Rissler said. “They’ve all been extremely helpful in assisting with the learning curve associated with beginning a new position. I’ve especially enjoyed having Ben (Watson) and Karen (Pope) as mentors. Being able to work in a business related field, while progressing on my master’s degree, is

truly a blessing. I thoroughly enjoy giving back to an institution and community that has pro-vided so much.”

Prior to working for the CS Foundation, Rissler, who expects to graduate with a Master of Business Administration degree from Chad-ron State in 2017, was an assistant director of residence life at the college from May 2015 to Sept. 2016. Among his daily work duties, he managed a staff of six and ensured compliance with college policies.

In addition to his work experience, Rissler was an intern at Stevens, Edwards, Hallock, Carpenter & Phillips, P.C., in Gillette.

Rissler was active in student government and activities during his time as an under-graduate at CSC. He was the Student Trustee for the Nebraska State College System Board of Trustees and served as the Student Senate President for one year. He also was the former

president of both the Newman Club and Col-lege Republicans Club and was a member of Blue Key.

Practitioner-in-Residence Bill Whitney describes prairie plants to more than 100 Crawford school children Monday, Oct. 31, 2016. (Photo by Tena L. Cook)

Practitioner-in-Residence Bill Whitney, right, assists Crawford students with harvesting seeds from Chadron State College’s living fence along Tenth Street Monday, Oct. 31, 2016. (Photo by Tena L. Cook)

Practitioner-in-Residence Bill Whitney, right, leads more than 100 Crawford school children on a hike to learn about prairie plants at Chadron State College Monday, Oct. 31, 2016. (Photo by Tena L. Cook)

Students benefitting from Rangeland Complex

“This is going to be a game-changer for the program. The facilities certainly reflect CSC’s commitment to teaching and learning. They are a visible reminder of who we are as an institution. We are a teaching and learning institution.”

— Joel Hyer

provisionally admitted to the

CSC partners with UNL College of Law to form RLOP

Jacob Rissler

Rissler named Development Officer for Chadron State Foundation

“The shortage means that for many Nebraskans there is no local access to the legal advice and protections afforded those in more populous areas.”

— Jim Margetts

76

On-campus finds add to CSC’s rich fossil collectionBy George Ledbetter

Students at Chadron State College who have an interest in paleontology don’t have far to go to experience the excitement of find-ing traces of the creatures that lived on Earth some 40 million years ago because there are fossils right outside the classroom doors.

And the discoveries that students make as part of their classes in that branch of geosci-ence are adding to the rich collection that has been part of CSC since Eleanor Barbour Cook established the college’s geology department in 1924, according to faculty member Dr. Mike Leite.

Cook was the daughter of Erwin H. Barbo-ur, who was chair of the geology department at the University of Nebraska and director of the state museum, and the wife of paleontolo-gist Harold J. Cook.

“She started bringing in (fossil and min-eral) specimens as soon as she moved here,” Leite said. “A lot of the specimens she put in the collection.”

Over the years, CSC faculty members have added to the collection that Cook assembled, which is named in her honor and was once housed in the basement of Crites Hall.

Initially, rock and mineral specimens were the most important part of the Cook collection but the emphasis has changed to vertebrate

fossils, primarily from the Oligocene epoch, a period between about 40 million and 20 mil-lion years ago. In part, that is because much of Nebraska, along with adjoining portions of Wyoming and South Dakota, is the best place in North America, and maybe in the world, for finding vertebrate fossils, Leite said.

During the Oligocene period, the region was hot and humid and in-habited by far different animals than today.

Oreodonts, a small sheep-like creature, were among the area’s inhabit-ants in those times, and the Cook collection has many oreodont fossils, including some that were discovered and excavated from the gul-lies and ravines of C-Hill by Chadron State students.

Leite said he wasn’t aware that Oligo-cene fossils could be found on C-Hill when he started teaching at CSC 20 years ago, although the existence of fossils on college grounds had been reported in a 1960s survey by a noted paleontologist.

However, in the early 2000s a paleontol-ogy student, Ed Welsh of Winnebago, Ne-braska, and his roommate, Kyle Cooper, of Rapid City, South Dakota, used their free time to wander around C-Hill and began finding fossils.

Now Leite regularly takes classes onto C-Hill and gives students the hands-on expe-rience of paleontology field work. Students have found whole skulls, vertebrae and leg bones of oreodonts, as well as fossils of other animals.

“The students get really excited,” he said. “No matter how many they find, they are as excited as the first one.”

The opportunity for students to do pale-ontology field work right on campus may be unique to Chadron State College, accord-ing to Leite.

“I couldn’t name an-other college that has

vertebrate fossils on campus,” he said. “It’s not just fossils. It’s geology, too. We have incredible canyons to explore. We have faults, we have unconformities and all kinds of geological phenomena out there. It’s right out the door.”

Many of the most interesting items in the Chadron State College collections are on dis-play in different rooms in the Math Science building, but Leite said a planned upgrade of the building is expected to include new exhibit space that will improve the displays. He is also working on a searchable database of the fossil and mineral specimens that can be put online so other researchers can make use of them.

By Tena L. CookTwelve Chadron State College actors pre-

sented the prequel to “Peter Pan” in “Peter and the Starcatcher” public performances in early October. A special performance for regional high school students and teachers was the cul-minating event of CSC’s annual Theatre Day.

The cast portrayed orphans, pirates, sailors, villains and mermaids during their production of the five-time Tony Award winning play by Rick Elice. The play, based on the novel by

Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, combined old-time British Hall humor, children’s theatre, story theatre and silent movie music and sound effects.

Thanks to funding from the Dean’s Council, CSC alumna Amy (Petersen) Campion was invited to campus as the guest sce-nic designer. She has been the Boulder Dinner Theatre’s set designer for 10 years. Her hus-band, Jeremy Campion, also a CSC graduate, is the accountant for the organization.

As she and CSC theatre faculty member Scott Cavin corresponded about productions and prop rentals for the Fort Robinson Post Playhouse this summer, they discovered CSC would be performing the same play done ear-lier this year by Campion’s employer.

“It’s fantastic to have a CSC graduate with her experience come back for a residency,” Cavin said.

Not only was Campion able to design the set built by Cavin and his students and attend her former teacher’s classes to demonstrate set painting techniques in September, she was also able to give a second life to the false pro-

scenium she and her assistants constructed for “Peter and the Starcatcher” at the Boulder Din-ner Theatre.

“It took hundreds of hours to find the objects for the false proscenium. We used 11 pounds of hot glue to attach costume jewelry, toys, phone, remote controls, golf clubs and other cast-off items from rum-mage rooms and thrift stores to it. Then we painted it gold to achieve a Victorian look,” Campion said.

The show is one of Campion’s favorites.“It’s cleverly written and I’m super excited

the timing worked out for my tight schedule so I could come back to CSC. This school is dear to my heart,” she said. “The students here can see that it is possible to have a career in theatre.”

Amy Campion, left, Chadron State College alumna and guest scenic designer for “Peter and the Starcatcher,” consults with her former instructor Scott Cavin, lighting designer for the production Oct. 6-9, 2016. (Photo by Tena L. Cook)

Geoscience professor Mike Leite examines a drawer of fossils in the paleontology research collection at Chadron State College. (Photo by George Ledbetter)

CSC geoscience professor Mike Leite examines the fossilized jaw of an animal that lived in this area some 40 million years ago. (Photo by George Ledbetter)

“The students get really excited. No matter how many they find, they are as excited as the first one.”

—Mike Leite

Aaron Wood shows an oreodont skull he found in a dig at the Chadron State College campus. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

Alumna returns to campus for ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’

By Tena L. CookTwo Chadron State College alumni are

members of the Nebraska Sesquicentennial Commission.

Dora Olivares of Gering and Dr. Marty Ramirez of Lincoln, were appointed to the 17-member body in 2014 by then Gov. Dave Heineman and will each fulfill a four-year term.

The 150th anniversary of Nebraska’s state-hood will be celebrated throughout the state in 2017.

Celebrations include parades, conferences, art exhibits, plays, heritage festivals and nu-merous other events shown on an interactive calendar on the ne150.org website.

Olivares, who is the principal at Gering High School, is on the education committee. She said she was honored to receive the invita-tion from the former governor’s office.

“It’s amazing how various entities, both pri-vate and public, have worked together to help Nebraska’s Sesquicentennial be a wonderful celebration for all Nebraskans,” said Olivares, who is part of the committee that approves events submitted for grant funding.

She plans to attend regional events such as the Scottsbluff Monument Marathon, the Bal-loon Fest, Oregon Trail Days and the rededica-

tion of Centennial Mall as part of the Sesquicen-tennial. Additionally, she will attend the Statehood Spectacular in Lincoln in Au-gust 2017 featuring a parade, fireworks, light show and music.

Olivares, who graduated with her master’s degree in education from CSC in 1999, has been active in education for 26 years. She has taught in Lincoln, Torrington, Wyoming, and Scottsbluff. She has been a translator as well as a Spanish instructor, curriculum coordinator and assistant principal before she was named to her current position in 2008.

Ramirez, who was honored in 2013 with a CSC Distinguished Alumni Award, is a retired psychologist from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he worked for 38 years.

“Initially I was not sure about our charge as a commission but as we are nearing 2017 with our motto and mission in mind, we are reaching out to all Nebraskans to partici-pate through celebration of our statehood,” Ramirez said.

Ramirez, a member of the arts and cultural committee, says he sees his charge is to reach out to Latinos and their communities inviting

them to participate in the celebration of Ne-braska’s statehood.

“Immigrants have made Nebraska what it is today. This upcoming celebration will be inclu-sive of all Nebraskans,” Ramirez said.

In 1987, he received the NEBRAS-KAland Days “Hispanic Man of the Year Award” in North Platte and the League of United Latin American Citizens “National Hispanic Man of the Year Award” in Corpus Christi, Texas.

He also was presented Omaha’s “Mexican Independence Day Veterans Award” in 1992 and Lincoln’s YWCA “Mentor and Allies Award” in 2000.

In 2013, he received the “Melvin W. Jones Mentoring Award” during Lincoln’s Celebra-tion of Community Leadership Dinner. The award recognized how he had assisted clients by serving as their mentor and inspiration. The presenters also honored him for promoting di-versity throughout the community.

Marty RamirezDora Olivares

Two alumni serving on Nebraska’s 150th Statehood Commission

Peter (Wacey Gallegos) is thrown overboard during Chadron State College’s production of “Peter and the Starcatcher.” (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

98

Among traditional festivities surrounding Chadron State College homecoming weekend, royalty were announced and alumni were hon-ored for their accomplishments since gradua-tion.

The CSC homecoming queen was Kayla Morgan of Alliance, Nebraska, and king was Taylor Osmotherly of Crawford, Nebraska.

The queen’s attendants, in no particular order, were Whitney Coop of Columbus, Ne-braska, Chelsea Haynes of Auburn, Nebraska, Karson Langley of Sidney, Nebraska, and Sara Marlatt of Gordon, Nebraska.

The king’s attendants, in no particular or-der, were Ian Ahrens of Palmer, Alaska, Hector Bustillos of Gillette, Wyoming, Garret Dock-weiler of Oconto, Nebraska, and Curtis Ste-vens of St. Paul, Nebraska.

Turning from students to alumni, the Distin-guished Alumni Award recipient was Keanna Leonard from Grand Island, Nebraska. Leon-ard, a 1991 graduate with a degree in biology, is the director of education at the Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary near Gibbon, Nebraska.

Three graduates of Chadron State Col-lege receiving the 2016 Distinguished Young Alumni Award were Travis O’Gorman, Trevor Schmidt and Corey Staab.

The CSC Justice Studies department host-ed a Justice Studies Alumni Forum featuring O’Gorman and Schmidt in Old Admin on Fri-day, Oct. 7.

After graduating from CSC, Leonard worked for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the Grand Island Heritage Zoo. In 2001, she was hired as the director of education for the new education center at Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary near Gibbon, Nebraska, to develop conservation-based programs.

Before her recently announced retirement, she was responsible for all educational aspects for the center. Each year, thousands of visi-tors experienced the Platte River ecosystem and the crane migration through programs she developed. Leonard also conducted numerous workshops and presentations at The Festival of the Cranes in New Mexico, Holiday with the Cranes in Galveston, Texas, and other regional and national events.

O’Gorman, a 1999 alumnus with a degree in criminal justice and legal studies from Al-liance, Nebraska, is the Judge of the District Court, 12th Judicial District that encompasses 12 counties in the Nebraska Panhandle. He was appointed in 2011.

A native of Central City, Nebraska, O’Gorman earned his Juris Doctorate with highest distinction in 2002. He and his wife, Kim, have three children.

He is a member of the Nebraska Bar As-sociation and was a member of the Nebraska Law Review from 2000 to 2002. From 2002

to 2011 he was employed by the Cline, Wil-liams, Wright, Johnson, and Oldfather law firm in Lincoln, starting as an associate and being promoted to partner in 2009.

O’Gorman was a member of the Chadron State Foundation Board of Trustees in 2011 and a graduate of Leadership Lincoln in 2007. From 2007 to 2011 he was an adjunct teach-ing legal writing at the University of Nebraska College of Law.

Schmidt, a Chadron native who now lives in Durham, North Carolina, is a trademark and technology lawyer at Hutchison PLLC. He re-ceived a degree in physics and legal studies in 2003.

He graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 2006, with honors. While in law school he was a staff member of the North Carolina Law Review.

Schmidt is married to CSC alumna Anna Henkens and they have two daughters.

Staab from Spring, Texas, is the vice presi-dent of procurement and administration for Kinder Morgan. He received his business ad-ministration degree in 1996.

The same year, he joined Kinder Morgan, the largest energy infrastructure company in North America and has served in various roles in the company before assuming his current position in 2014.

Staab’s responsibilities include leading pur-chasing, contract management, materials man-agement, facilities, real estate, fleet, security, contractor safety and records and information governance initiatives.

He and his wife, Kristan, have three sons and live in Houston, Texas.

Taylor Osmotherly of Crawford, Nebraska, and Kayla Morgan of Alliance, Nebraska, were crowned Chadron State College king and queen of homecoming in the Student Center Ballroom, Oct. 5, 2016. (Photo by Conor Casey)

Trevor SchmidtTravis O’GormanKeanna LeonardCorey Staab

A family with long-standing ties to Chad-ron State College was recognized as the recipi-ent of the institution’s Family Tree Award on Homecoming weekend. Families with three or more generations that have attended the insti-tution are eligible for the award.

The families of brothers Joe (1957) and Larry Lytle (1956) were honored with the 2016 Chadron State College Family Tree Award.

Joe who lives in Rapid City, South Dakota, was born in Martin, South Dakota, and attend-ed Wall High School. While enrolled at CSC, he lettered in basketball for three years and was elected student council president. Following graduation from CSC, he went on to earn his D.D.S. from the University of Nebraska in 1961.

He retired from his dentistry practice in 2014 and is now farming and ranching. Joe Lytle and his wife, Wimona “Nonie,” are the parents of Rusty Lytle and Jody Gallino.

Rusty Lytle, who earned his bachelor’s de-gree in 1983, and his wife, Angela Lytle, own and operate an irrigated farm and ranch near Wall, South Dakota. They have four children, Dalton, Zeb, Kale and Clancy. Kale Lytle earned his bachelor’s degree in 2015 and is currently seeking his master’s degree at CSC and working on campus as an interim assistant director of residence life.

Jody Gallino attended CSC for three years and competed on the rodeo team. She lives in Wasta and is the owner and operator of the Corner Pantry and Subway in Wall, South Da-kota. She has two children, Kaylee, who has attended CSC and manages the Corner Pantry

and Subway, and Kole, who attends Wall High School.

Like his older brother, Larry Lytle also lives in Rapid City and is a retired dentist. After graduating from CSC, Larry earned his D.D.S. from the University of Nebraska in 1964 and a Ph.D. in nutrition from Donsbach University in 1979. From 1990 to 2015, he operated a busi-ness making low level lasers.

He and Norma Lytle are the parents of Kip Lytle, Kim Ryan and Kelly Lytle.

Kip Lytle graduated from CSC in 1982 where he played baseball and was a member of C Club. He died in 2014. He and his wife, Beth, have a daughter, Lynsey, and a son, Brandon.

Kim Ryan, who lives in Sheridan, Wyo-ming, is the mother of Rebecca Newman, Rachel Ryan, Riley Ryan, Rickie Ryan and Robbi Ryan. She was a member of the Chadron State College women’s basketball team from 1978 to 1982. She graduated in 1983 with a bachelor’s in education and has coached and taught middle school in Sheri-dan County School District No. 2 for 17 years.

Kelly Lytle is a dentist living in Rapid City. She earned her Medical Technology degree through CSC in 1984 and graduated from the University of Colorado School of dental medi-cine in 1989. Kelly is the mother of Eli Lord and Levi Lord.

Family Tree awarded at Homecoming

The families of Joe and Larry Lytle were honored with the Family Tree Award during Chadron State College’s homecoming. Front row, from left, Kelly Lytle, Kim Ryan, Larry Lytle, Joe Lytle, Nonie Lytle, Jody Gallino. Back row, from left, Kale Lytle, Rusty Lytle, Angela Lytle and Kole Gallino. (Photo by Tena L. Cook)

The members of the Chadron State Alumni Board and the Student Alumni Council met in November. It was an opportunity for the groups to compare experiences of CSC students through the years. The Student Alumni Council is a campus club that aims to improve student and alumni relations and increases student awareness of the CSC Alumni Association. Alumni board members and their spouse/guests are pictured in the back row: Shane Shepherd, Heather Bach, Tom and Lou Alcorn, Ron and Cheri Grant, Bobby and Leah Griese, Jon and Stephanie Cogdill, Russ Harford, Loni and Matt Watson with Reese, and Clayton Riesen. The SAC students seated in the front row: Molly O’Connell, Courtney Munger, Teryn Blessin, Jessica Hurd, Melissa VanDerslice, Jamie Sigel, Rachel Dowling, Meadow Will and Jamie Brinamen. Sidney Shuler, assistant professor of music at Chadron State, leads the CSC band down Main Street as part of the

2016 Homecoming Parade, Oct. 8, 2016. (Photo by Conor Casey)

Royalty, alumni honored during Homecoming

Hildreth Hall, near and dear to Chadron State

and former studentsBy George Ledbetter

The hallways are empty now and it’s been years since any lessons were

written in chalk on blackboards in the classrooms of the three story brick building on the Chadron State College campus known as Hildreth Hall.

But memories created in the structure, built as a Training School in 1926-27, remain fresh for former students and faculty who had classes in the building over the years.

“It was just a wonderful experience,” said Jan Adams, who attended elementary classes in Hildreth when it was the Campus Laboratory School, the K-12 school known as Chadron Prep that was operated by the college from its earliest days until the mid-1960s.

“I don’t think you could ask for better teachers,” said Ken Maika, who entered Prep as a second grader and graduated in 1957. “They were really dedicated.”

Founded in 1911 as Chadron Normal School to train teachers for the nation’s public school system, CSC, like most other Normals around the country, included a Model School to provide fledgling teachers experience working with elementary and high school students.

For several years, the first building on the Chadron campus, now called Old Admin, provided classroom space for Prep students. How-ever, as enrollment grew in the 1920s, more room was needed for both college and K-12 classes, and in 1925 the board governing Nebraska’s four Normal schools approved a $100,000 appropriation to build a training school as the fourth building at Chadron Normal.

“When completed (the building) will doubtless prove to be a tre-mendous asset to the institution,” said a front page story in the Jan. 5, 1925, edition of “The Chadron Journal.”

Construction work began that fall using a design by a Norfolk, Ne-braska, architect.

“This new training school will be modern in every respect and will be a training school in fact as well as in name,” “The Chadron Journal” reported on Sept. 4, 1925. “No effort has been spared to get the latest and best ideas on training school construction.”

The significance of having a K-12 school was evident to Chadron’s college students. “Training School has made an Excellent Showing during Year,” proclaimed a front page headline of the March 23, 1926, issue of “The Eagle,” CSC’s student newspaper. “The training high is one of the most important features of the Normal,” the story declared.

In a June 8, 1926, story about plans for a Masonic cornerstone laying ceremony for the new building, “The Eagle” also said the building’s burnt brown brick construction matched the look of the gymnasium (now Miller Hall) that had been built a few years earlier. It also noted the new structure “will be only half the building that is planned for” since an addition of equal size would be constructed on the west side “as soon as the necessary appropriations have been made.”

Chadron attorney Edwin Crites officiated at the Masonic ceremony the following week, but the building wasn’t declared ready for oc-cupancy until Feb. 1927, when the first Prep students began classes in the building.

“It is by far the best building on the campus and even in the city,” declared “The Eagle” at the time.

A few years later, money that might have been used for an addition to the structure went instead to construction of the library (now the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center). As a result, the Admin-istration Building remained home to Prep’s 9th-12th grade classes.

A spacious playground, with a swing set, slide and merry-go-round, was one prime feature for Prep elementary students, said Maika, who also remembered the school bus dropping him off right at the build-ing’s front door.

Interacting with college students, especially student teachers, was an advantage of attending Prep, said Fayne Larsen, another graduate.

“You got so much more listening to their stories and where they were from,” Larsen said.

But a gymnasium in the building’s basement was less pleasant, said Adams.

“When it was cold we had to go down there to play. It was dirty and stinky and old,” she said.

Responding to budget pressures, CSC finally closed the elementary school portion of Chadron Prep in 1964 and the building was remodeled for college classrooms and offices. It was reopened in 1966 and officially named for Dr. Glen Hildreth, who had been director of Prep from 1937 until his retirement in 1961.

In the following decades, the building was home to CSC’s education, psychology, counseling and graduate studies departments and continued to leave its imprint on students and faculty members.

“It was a just one of those classic old buildings. You knew if the walls could talk, the stories it could tell,” said education department chair Don King, who taught and had an office in Hildreth for several years. “It had a vibe.”

Some remaining features of the Prep years were part of that vibe, said Tammy Calamari, who took business education classes in Hildreth in the 1980s and later had graduate level counseling classes there.

“I remember the pencil sharpeners in the classrooms,” said Calamari. “Right over by the blackboard you had your pencil sharpener.”

The building’s wide staircases were another part of the historical at-mosphere, said King. “The steps are worn and cupped from eons (of students),” he said. “They are beautiful.”

Calamari also remembered the staircases, and an elevator that had been added to make the building handicap accessible.

“I remember climbing the stairs. You didn’t want to take the elevator. You didn’t know if it would work and it was slow,” she said.

“You could hang meat in (the elevator), it was so cold,” said King. “Going from first to third, it would kind of bump and it would get stuck.”

The old building’s heating system was also unpredictable, said Cala-mari.

“You never knew how to dress. Sometimes it was freezing cold and sometimes it was really, really hot,” she said.

During the winter months, maintenance staff were constantly working on the old radiators, King recalled.

“It was like something out of Oliver Twist. You just kind of got used to it,” he said.

Despite the imperfections, both King and Calamari remain fond of Hildreth.

“It was just funky, but we made it work,” said King. “We all loved it.”Although Hildreth Hall shares common features of height, form,

workmanship and materials with other structures from CSC’s earliest years, the extent of exterior alterations kept it from the 1986 nomination that placed five other campus buildings (Sparks, Miller, Library, Edna Work and Crites) on the National Register of Historic Places.

However, a reminder of the building’s history remains on the west exterior wall that was built of a soft brick in anticipation of the addition that never

materialized. The red bricks are deeply etched with first names and dates, some from as far back as the 1930s.

Maika has made rubbings of many of the inscriptions and said they were likely created by Prep students during recess time.

In 2009, CSC relocated the education, psychology and graduate stud-ies departments to renovated spaces in Miller Hall and Old Admin and the active use of Hildreth Hall by students and faculty was suspended. Since then it has filled a need for storage of supplies and surplus items, said Dale Grant, vice president administration and finance.

“It’s really helpful. We were stuffing things in basements and any-where we could,” he said.

Plans for future use of Hildreth are uncertain. A 2012 campus master plan notes that “historic building stock” is a key feature of the CSC cam-pus and calls for Hildreth to be “mothballed” and eventually renovated for some new use.

“Structurally, I’d say it is a very sound building,” said Grant.Meanwhile, in addition to functioning as a storage locker for the col-

lege, Hildreth Hall still sees some student activity. A creative use of space in the basement of the old training school building allows members of the women’s golf team to practice there when weather conditions keep them from the outdoor course.

“It was a just one of those classic old buildings. You knew if the walls could talk, the stories it could tell.”

— Don King

Names and dates etched into the red brick of the west wall of the Glen Hildreth Education Building at Chadron State College were apparently carved by students of the Chadron Prep elementary school during recess time. Soft brick was used for the wall of the 1927 building in anticipation of an addition that was never constructed. (Photo by George Ledbetter)

A story on the front page of the Feb. 8, 1927 edition of “The Eagle,” the Chadron Normal School student newspaper, announces completion of the building now known as Hildreth Hall. The building was home to the K-12 Training School known as Chadron Prep for more than 30 years and housed the CSC education, psychology, counseling and graduate studies departments for another 40 years. (Photo by George Ledbetter)

A poster on the wall of a former classroom in Hildreth Hall recalls the days when the building was used for elementary school classes of Chadron Prep, the K-12 school operated by Chadron State College until 1964. (Photo by George Ledbetter)

1110

By George LedbetterHildreth Hall, the venerable Chadron State

College building that served as a Training School for elementary students for some 37 years and then was home to the college edu-cation department for another four decades is aptly named for Glen William Hildreth, a

professional educator with a long career in Nebraska schools.

Hildreth was born in eastern Nebraska in 1893, and by the time of his marriage in 1916 he was a school super-intendent at Roseland. He left education for military service in WWI, but resumed

his career upon returning. A 1952 issue of CSC’s student newspaper, “The Eagle,” said Hildreth had attended the first convention of the Nebraska State Educational Association in 1911 and had not missed a single district or state convention since, except while serving in the military.

Hildreth had been superintendent at five schools in Nebraska by the time he arrived at Chadron State College in 1937. That year he was named head of the Campus Labora-tory School, better known as Chadron Prep. Classes for the first nine grades of the K-12 school were in the Training School building, while Prep students moved to the Adminis-tration building for their final three years.

During WWII, Hildreth returned to active

military duty as a Lt. Colonel and worked with a selection of aviation cadets for the Army Air Force, among other duties. He was gone for 57 months before returning to Chadron. He was named Dean of Instruction in 1950 and in 1954 he was selected as Dean of the College.

In the role as the principal for Chadron Prep, Hildreth had a reputation for being strict, according to some former students.

“He was always grouchy,” said Jan Adams of Chadron. “He was a nice guy, but he had the students scared.”

Prep students didn’t want to get sent to see Hildreth because “he had a paddle in his office,” said Ken Maika, who added that he didn’t know if the legendary paddle was ever used.

Hildreth remained active in the Nebraska State Education Association throughout his time at Chadron and was elected president of the organization in 1955. His opponent in

that election was Barton Kline, who soon af-ter became president of CSC.

Hildreth was nearing the mandatory retire-ment age of 68 for administrators in April 1961, when Kline resigned as college presi-dent. Two weeks later, Hildreth also turned in his resignation. Although he had planned to remain on the CSC staff as a psychology professor, Hildreth suffered a stroke shortly after the start of the 1961-62 school year and left the teaching post.

In May 1962, Chadron State awarded Hil-dreth the Distinguished Service Award. The same year, budget pressures caused CSC to close the high school section of Chadron Prep. The elementary school portion of the Prep closed in 1964. After remodeling work was done in 1966, the Training School build-ing was renamed as the Glen Hildreth Educa-tion Building.

Two years later, in Oct. 1968, Hildreth died in Colorado.

Facts and Figures of Hildreth Hall $100,000 cost of building the Training School, now Hildreth Hall, in 1926.

1927 the year Chadron Prep opened. Chadron Prep, which was for grades K-8, operated at Hildreth Hall until 1964. Students in grades 9-12 finished their high school work at Old Admin.

1966 Hildreth Hall came back online to the campus and was home to education, psychology, counseling and graduate studies.

2009 the year the custodial department moved into Hildreth Hall.

2010 the year Hildreth Hall went offline, meaning day-to-day operations don’t occur anymore.

14 offices in Hildreth Hall. The building used to be the home of CSC’s teaching program, so many of the offices were devoted to education faculty. Now, the offices are used as storage.

9 classrooms that now house a variety of materials. The custodial department uses two rooms and an office on the first floor for light bulbs, paper products and cleaning storage. Rooms are also used for the college’s surplus inventory that is sold on eBay. Additionally, there are rooms devoted to storage for Information Technology, the Chadron State Foundation and athletics, outdated phones and other storage devoted to the music department, holiday lights, and paint for the football field. Hildreth Hall also has storage devoted to recycling.

4 Hildreth Hall was the fourth building constructed on Chadron State’s campus.

1 driving range. The CSC women’s golf team uses the basement as a practice space. Previously, the basement featured a small theatre.

(Richard Grimes submitted memories of Hildreth Hall for the magazine, in-cluding this excerpt. The entire submission is available on the alumni website: www.csc.edu/alumni/connected/newsletter.csc)

I attended Chadron State College for 18 and one half years. Eleven of those years were in Hildreth Hall.

I started Chadron Prep in pre-kindergarten in 1943 at the tender age of almost four years of age. Our school was situated in our own building later called Hildreth Hall. Kindergarten and the first and second grade classrooms were on the left when you entered. Grades one and two were combined as were grades three and four and grades five and six. The junior high consisted of grades seven through nine.

On the second floor was the music room. It also served as a lunch room for the brown baggers. Turning right was the fifth and sixth grade room on the left and the third and fourth on the right. Each grade had rows of desks that divided the classes so the teacher could address each class separately.

The junior high occupied the entire third floor. There was an assembly room, adjoining classrooms for English, math, science and social studies.

We always enjoyed looking out at C Hill on the south side of the building and the rest of the college campus on the north and east. In the basement was a small gym where we had PE and exercised on bad weather days. On the south side of the building were swings, a slide, a sandbox and plenty of space for running around.

Dick GrimesStudent, 1943-1962

Memories of Hildreth Hall

Glen Hildreth

Who was Glen Hildreth?

An all-college cleanup day was organized in the early 1950s by Pauline Bateman, home economics instructor. After the cleanup was completed, the students who participated were treated to a barbecue prepared by members of the professional staff. Bateman also made the aprons and tall caps that the chefs wore. Bateman is standing on the left. Wiley Brooks, the college president, is on the left in front. Others in the group include Don Burkhiser, Paul Dannacher, Kenneth Findley, Glen Hildreth, Albert Kent, Charles Ruff and Charles Skinner.

Robert H. Olson was the principal of the senior high and senior class adviser. Chadron Prep’s upper classmen studied in Old Admin.

The cover of the Eagle’s Tale in 1949. The Eagle’s Tale was the yearbook for Chadron Prep students.

A photo from the 1958 Eagle’s Tale shows the first through sixth graders standing on the front stairs of Hildreth Hall.

1312

1514

By Tena L. CookTwo Chadron State College professors, Dr. G.W. Sandy Schae-

fer and Bruce Hoem, were speakers during Winter Commencement Dec. 16, 2016.

Ninety graduate students received their diplomas in Memorial Hall. The ceremony was opened with a moment of reflection by Sheyenne Sandstrom of Chadron, Nebraska. Austen Stephens of Lincoln, Nebraska, offered the closing moment of reflection.

The undergraduate exercises in the Chicoine Center included conferring of degrees upon 144 candidates, an opening moment of reflection by Alyssa Sanders of Dalton, Nebraska, and clos-ing reflection by Heather Ong of Singapore. Two ROTC cadets were also commissioned as second lieutenants. They are Megan McLean of Brewster, Nebraska, and Major Armstead of Granada Hills, California.

In his address during graduate commencement, Schaefer, pro-fessor of Music, commended the graduates for completing their de-grees and encouraged them to continue exhibiting the self-starting drive that brought them to commencement and step up to fill future leadership roles.

“In many cases, you only need to express your willingness to help and those leadership opportunities will open magically before you. You just need to show up,” he said.

He shared another key to leadership he recalled from a business session at a National Association of Music Merchants convention more than a decade ago: “To establish a good working relationship you must make people feel good about themselves when they are with you.” This advice may seem counterintuitive in a career full of asking others for something.

“It is really pretty simple. You don’t have to lie to people, you just have to make them feel comfortable around you,” Schaefer said. “This advice struck a chord in me. In fact, it is part of the Golden Rule.”

Building rapport with others will allow for honest but kind criti-cism, Schaefer said.

Schaefer urged the graduates to introduce themselves to oth-ers in their field and not shy away from networking. He cited an example from his life when he missed an opportunity to know an educational director of a major drum company for several decades.

He told how he had overlooked the drum expert because he worked in a music store in Schaefer’s hometown rather than the well-known drum shop in downtown Chicago where Schaefer went to make his purchases.

“For whatever reason, I did not reach out and speak to him. If I had, I would have had a friend in the music industry for over 40 years. Over 40 years of wasted time. This mistake didn’t stop me

in my career, but it would have been much richer with his friend-ship,” Schaefer said.

Hoem, professor of Counseling, Psychology and Social Work, addressed CSC’s undergraduate candidates in the Chicoine Center. Hoem’s speech encouraged them to reject the tendency to be jaded but instead consider compassion.

Addressing undergraduate candidates for graduation, Hoem shared a story about a life changing encounter after he had returned from service in the Vietnam War.

“It was not my desire to go to Vietnam. I really only wanted to remain a cowboy for the rest of my life. That was my desire. There was nothing I liked more than riding a fast quarter horse through the Wyoming sagebrush,” Hoem said.

He said his fear in Vietnam came not from the daily possibility of dying, but from pondering his country’s involvement.

When he returned, as part of his personal campaign to inform and convince others about the follies of war, he wrote numerous stories and poems. His writings led to a suggestion that he should attend college.

“How could I ever go to college? I had never been on a college campus. And a college campus was a place where I believed I might not be welcomed. I was no longer a soldier, but I was a lot closer to being a soldier than I was to being a student,” Hoem said.

His decision to enroll at a community college was followed by the relentless question that had followed him home from Vietnam.

“’How do we abolish the evil that rears its ugly head in so many places and so often on our earth?’ Which of my teachers was going to answer that question for me?” Hoem said.

He said he sensed a growing, blinding hardness in his heart as he realized that no teacher could point to the answer he was seeking.

Then, the answer came. In cold, snowy conditions, Hoem found himself on a highway looking at a seriously injured cat. He would be late for his college class if he stopped to help but he wrapped the animal in his prized leather coat and took it to a vet who said he could save it.

That night, Hoem said he found the answer he had unfairly ex-pected from his teachers.

“The answer you all have the potential to hear is not to be heard in the classrooms on this campus or any other campus. The answer for each of you right now is in your heart in the small kindnesses you can show every moment of your life to all others around you, including all creatures great and small. If you look into your heart and find hate or malice or hardness, search farther and longer until you find better. You do not have to allow the unfortunate, the un-fair, and the sometimes ugly circumstances of your life – or in this world – to decide the person you will be,” Hoem said.

CSC professors encourage, motivate winter graduates

Marci Luton of Grand Island, poses during the Chadron State College undergraduate commencement in the Chicoine Center, Dec. 16, 2016. (Photo by Tena L. Cook)

Stephanie Buckman-King takes a photo of her daughter, Taylor Schommer with her children and husband, Joel, and father, Don King, a professor in the education department, during the Chadron State College undergraduate commencement Dec. 16, 2016, at the Chicoine Center. (Photo by Tena L. Cook)

Heather Ong offers the opening moment of reflection at Chadron State College undergraduate commencement Dec. 16, 2016, in the Chicoine Center. (Photo by Tena L. Cook)

Sheyenne Hunn Sandstrom offers the opening moment of reflection at the Chadron State College graduate commencement in Memorial Hall, Dec. 16, 2016. (Photo by Tena L. Cook)

Bruce Hoem, professor of Counseling, Psychology and Social Work, addresses the audience at the Chadron State College undergraduate commencement in the Chicoine Center Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (Photo by Tena L. Cook)

Dr. Sandy Schaefer, professor of Music, addresses the audience at the Chadron State College graduate commencement in Memorial Hall Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (Photo by Tena L. Cook)

Graduates and professors listen to honored speakers, during the Chadron State College undergraduate commencement Dec. 16, 2016, at the Chicoine Center. (Photo by Dewayne Gimeson)

1716

Request for CommentsChadron State College is seeking comments from the public about the College in preparation for its periodic evaluation by its regional accrediting agency. Chadron State College will host a visit April 24-25, 2017, with a team representing the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association. Chadron State College has been accredited by the Commission since 1923. The team will review the institution’s ongoing ability to meet the Commission’s Criteria for Accreditation.

The public is invited to submit comments regarding the college to this address:

Public Comment on Chadron State CollegeThe Higher Learning Commission

230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500Chicago, IL 60604-1411

The public may also submit comments on the Commission’s Web site at www.hlcommission.org/comment. Comments must address substantive matters related to the quality of the institution or its academic programs. Comments must be in writing.

All comments must be received by March 24, 2017.

By Tena CookLaw enforcement officers, judicial representa-

tives and school officials discussed the availabil-ity of drugs and their negative effects, as well as resources for treatment during the annual Chad-ron State College Social Work (SW 435) confer-ence in October.

The day-long conference in the Student Center included speakers, videos and panel discussions.

The opening speaker, Jay Dobyns, spoke about assignments where he infiltrated criminal organi-zations as an undercover Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agent.

“It’s a nasty, dirty, vomit-covered world. Drug dealers don’t value human life. They take what they want,” said Dobyns, who is now retired after 27 years with the ATF.

The former college football player at the Uni-versity of Arizona said he didn’t have what it took to be in the NFL, so he joined the ATF.

“Don’t become jaded or lose sight of what you’re doing. Do your work for the greater good, make sacrifices to help others, not for the money,” Dobyns said.

Dobyns’ son, Jack, is a CSC criminal justice major and member of the football team.

Dobyns said a case where he was involved with the Hells Angels got the most publicity but it wasn’t his most important one.

After the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, Dobyns helped stop a plan he called “Oklahoma City, Part Two” to bomb three casinos in Las Ve-gas that potentially could have killed thousands.

“We (the ATF team) built the bombs they wanted but arrested them before they could use them,” he said.

Shelley Thomas, a forensic interviewer with CAPstone Child Advocacy in Gering, Ne-braska, focused her presentation on metham-phetamine, noting 75 percent of children she interviews are exposed to the drug in their homes.

She said Panhandle meth arrests have in-creased over the past three years and the amount of meth seized increased from 228 grams in 2012 to 5,500 grams in 2015.

Many of Thomas’ clients’ parents steal to get money, buy meth, use it and then repeat the pat-tern daily. She cited lost work productivity and increased traffic fatalities among adults and nu-tritional, emotional, social, medical and dental neglect among children as some of the vast array of negative effects of meth use.

“The children are awake all hours of the day and night, strangers are coming and going, they are exposed to porn and sexual abuse when their parents are either buzzed or crashed,” Thomas said. “Kids are taking care of themselves and younger siblings. Often, their utilities are dis-connected, or they are evicted, living in cars or hotel rooms.”

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson compared the marketing campaign directed at

young people by cigarette companies decades ago to sales techniques being used in Colorado and other states where marijuana is legalized.

“Marijuana is our number one problem. It is cigarettes 2.0,” he said. “If you feel big tobacco deceived consumers by not disclosing the risks of their product, the marijuana industry is do-ing the exact same thing now with products like candy.”

At a conference of western attorney generals several years ago, Peterson said attorneys and other members of the expert panel were saying to the governors, “Get over it. You can’t stop it.”

Within months, he learned that the panel mem-bers had changed their stances.

“They admitted they were not prepared for it, that it got ahead of them and that bad actors are a bigger problem than they anticipated,” Peterson said.

Peterson also discussed heroin and prescrip-tion opioids abuse and their proper disposal.

During a law enforcement panel, officers dis-cussed new methods youth have invented includ-ing pouring vodka in their eyes, snorting bourbon and inhaling alcohol fumes poured over dry ice. Retired Nebraska State Patrol officer Chuck El-ley said more women are raped under the influ-ence of alcohol than all other drugs combined.

Retired Nebraska Army National Guard Colonel Tom Brewer shared slides of missions he led in Afghanistan to prevent production and exportation of heroin. He said 94 percent of the world’s heroin is produced in Afghanistan. He said his team burned 28 tons of heroin a week during one period.

He noted drugs and alcohol are both prob-lems on the reservations north of Chadron and encouraged audience members to volunteer with youth so they can see good examples of healthy lives.

The final panel discussion addressed drug court, treatment options, drug testing, school programs and their varying degrees of effec-tiveness in helping addicts and their families.

CSC graduate is head of Pine Ridge Job Corps Center

Tammy Calamari

Social work conference sheds light on drug dangers

Attorney General of Nebraska, Doug Peterson, speaks during “High in the West: The Tragic Trail Left by Drugs” Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016, in the Student Center. The conference was the ninth annual sponsored by the Professional Social Work class. (Photo by Tena L. Cook)

Retired federal Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms agent Jay Dobyns shows the shirt he was wearing when he was seriously wounded four days into the job. Dobyns spoke at the Chadron State College social work conference about drugs Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016, in the Student Center. (Photo by Tena L. Cook)

“I went to Chadron State and found that some of the teachers had the same values that were important to me.”

— Tammy Calamari

By George LedbetterChadron State College courses in busi-

ness, education and counseling provided an excellent background for a career that has led alumna Tammy Calamari to a position as director of the Pine Ridge Job Corps Center, one of the top ranked Job Corps facilities in the nation.

“Chadron State prepared me in a way that I have a great blend of business, education and counseling background,” Calamari said. “They work hand in hand to prepare me for

what I do.”Calamar i s ta r ted

working at the PRJC, lo-cated about eight miles south of Chadron, imme-diately after completing her business education degree from Chadron State in 1984.

The center is one of 127 Job Corps facilities across the country cre-

ated by a 50-year old federal program that provides alternative educational opportuni-ties for students who have had problems in the public school system. About 160 students are currently enrolled at PRJC, where they take classes to prepare for the GED test and can choose from a variety of career technical training courses including health care, busi-ness/office, carpentry, painting, welding and facility maintenance.

After working at the center for a couple of years, Calamari moved away for a time, but returned to her position as business educa-tion instructor in 1991. Knowing that the job as center counselor was going to open, she also started graduate courses in counseling at CSC.

The graduate degree Calamari earned helped her land the job as the center’s coun-seling manager and she later took on addition-al duties as supervisor of residential living.

She was also able to sharpen her managerial skills through temporary postings to other Job Corps centers and to positions with the U.S. Forest Service, the agency that oversees the PRJC.

Calamari applied to become PRJC center director when the position came open early this year with the retirement of long-time di-rector Clyde Franklin. She was awarded the director position in May.

As director, Calamari oversees a staff of about 58 and a budget of about $6.5 million. Job Corps offers students, many from disad-vantaged, minority, or refugee communities, the training they need to get good jobs, and extensive tracking of graduates, part of the system used to rank each center’s perfor-mance, shows that it is successful, according to Calamari.

Last year the PRJC was ranked fifth of 26 Job Corps centers operated by the U.S. For-est Service, and 29th out of the 127 centers in the country.

“We are doing pretty well,” said Calamari.

Besides helping stu-dents get needed edu-cation and job training, residents of northwest Nebraska reap benefits from the many commu-nity work projects that PRJC students have com-pleted over the years, said Calamari.

“There is so much you don’t see,” she said. “I don’t think people really understand how much we have done for the community.”

Over the years, the long standing tradition of cooperation between PRJC and Chadron State College has been beneficial for both in-stitutions.

Job Corps student crews have worked on numerous projects at Chadron State. Every year Job Corps teams help set up dormitories for summer camps and arrange residence hall

rooms for students in the fall. Recent larger projects include construction of portions of the women’s softball field and pouring con-crete for the Eagle Ridge housing complex.

Throughout the year, CSC provides a va-riety of cultural and academic activities for Job Corps students, including free attendance at cultural and sporting events, special per-formances of theatre productions, and joint activities with international students. And the center frequently hosts CSC students as interns in various programs.

“It’s helping them and it’s helping us. It’s very win-win,” Calamari said.

Connections between the two institutions proved extremely valuable during wildfires that forced evacuation of the center in 2006 and 2012, when CSC made space and facili-ties available to shelter and feed displaced Job Corps students.

The proximity of Chadron State has also helped maintain a highly qualified staff at PRJC, according to Calamari. Nearly half of

the center’s staff mem-bers have undergraduate degrees from CSC, and several have also earned master’s degrees at the college, she said.

“We get the degree people where we need them,” Calamari said. “That’s very beneficial

to us. A lot of centers aren’t fortunate enough to have them.”

Calamari’s ties to Chadron State aren’t just professional. Her father, an elementary school teacher and principal in Bayard, com-pleted his master’s degree at CSC. Calamari’s daughter, Tara Hoffman, earned her teach-ing degree from Chadron State and is now a kindergarten teacher in the Chadron Public School system.

Looking back on her own time at Chadron State, Calamari said she remembers enjoying the small campus, the camaraderie she shared with other residents of the West Court apart-ments, and several inspirational teachers.

“I went to Chadron State and found that some of the teachers had the same values that were important to me,” she said. “I had awe-some teachers.”

An enthusiastic supporter of CSC, Cala-mari serves on the Chadron State Alumni Association Board, keeps books for the vol-leyball team and said she does whatever she can to stay part of Chadron State.

“I can’t imagine what it would be like with-out Chadron State here. I love Chadron State,” Calamari said. “We are very, very, very lucky in Chadron to have both Chadron State and Pine Ridge Job Corps opportunities for kids.”

1918

Eight former Chadron State College student-athletes were inducted into the college’s Ath-letic Hall of Fame Oct. 1.

Five of the inductees played football, two were All-American throwers for the track and field team and the other was an All-American wrestler.

The football choices date back to 1972, when Don White recovered eight opponents’ fumbles for a school record that has never been threatened and also was the Eagles’ leading scorer during their 8-2 season. He scored 39 points by returning one of the fumbles 60 yards for a touchdown, booting four field goals and 18 extra points.

The Bassett native was an all-district choice in ‘72 and graduated in 1973. He began preach-ing at the Chadron Community Church the fol-lowing year and has been a minister in Omaha the past 31 years.

Jim Fairfield, who was a wide receiver in the early 1980s, was also inducted. His banner season was 1981, when he caught 60 passes for 821 yards and six touchdowns.

Fairfield was from Scottsdale, Ariz., and was the head football coach at Fountain Hills High School near there for 23 years. He also was the school’s athletic director for five years.

The remaining football honorees played in the 1990s.

Kory Richardson, a native of Ainsworth who manages an oil company in Gillette, Wyo., became a starting defensive tackle mid-way through his freshman season in 1995 and started every game the remainder of his career. He had 81 unassisted tackles and 22.5 tackles for negative yardage during his career.

John Chancy started at offensive tackle for 3 ½ years and as a senior in 1999 earned the same all-star honors as Richardson had earned the previous year on the other side of the ball. The Eagles averaged more than 400 yards in total offense in both 1998 and ‘99 and shared the conference championship both seasons.

Chancy is a native of Florida, where he has an insurance agency. His family owns land in the Crawford area.

Jarod Moeller was the Eagles’ punter and kicked the ball nearly 5.4 miles while averag-ing 38.6 yards a punt. He ranked among the top 12 in NCAA II net punting three of the four years. He was selected the Nebraska DII all-star punter twice during his career.

Moeller is a manufacturing process analyst for an Omaha firm.

Deron Dolfi came to Chadron State from Pennsylvania and was the NAIA District 11 champion javelin thrower three times in the late 1980s. He earned All-American honors twice by placing at the NAIA National Meet. As a senior in 1988, he sailed the javelin 204 feet, 1 inch to finish third at the national meet.

Dolfi is now a school administrator in South Carolina.

Mandy Kubo Chubb wrapped up her career at Chadron State in 2001 by winning both the shot put and the discus and placing second in the hammer throw at the RMAC Outdoor Championships, earning 28 points for the Ea-gles. After finishing eighth in the shot put at the NCAA Division II National Indoor Meet her senior year, she placed fourth in the shot at the outdoor meet with a mark of 48-10.

Kubo Chubb and her husband, Skip, live in Crawford and operate his family’s well drilling and repair business.

Ed Hermsen came to CSC from Fort Collins, Colo., and concluded his wrestling career at Chadron State in 1996-97 by placing at every tournament the Eagles entered that season. That included winning the 177-pound cham-pionship at the West Region/RMAC Tourna-ment. His 29-9 record that season included a 2-2 mark at the NCAA Division II Champion-ships, where he placed seventh place.

His 83 career victories when he graduated were eighth on the Eagles’ all-time list. He is a mortgage loan officer at a Fort Collins bank.

Online campus map designed to help students, employees and visitors

In an effort to assist Chadron State College students, employees and visitors, College Rela-tions launched an interactive, mobile-friendly online map of the campus in the fall semester. College Relations worked with CampusBird, an interactive map and virtual tour platform for higher education institutions. The online map consists of a custom rendering of the campus overlaid on Google Maps with software that enables map interactivity.

In addition to showing academic, admin-istrative and residence life buildings, other searchable map categories include campus trails, gardens and museums. Buildings on the National Register of Historic Sites and location information for CSC offices in North Platte and Scottsbluff are also included. When users click on a map item, they will be able to view descriptions, photos, links to related web pages and videos, if available.

Drawings of campus were completed based on photos and GPS information. Marketing

Coordinator Tena Cook and Digital Graphic Designer Dan-iel Binkard led the project for CSC and the pair worked with CampusBird staff so that new construction and other details were included. Cook worked with Google to provide ac-curate locations for several spots on campus and she and Binkard also collaborated with others on campus to develop an extensive keyword search for each category to help en-sure a positive user experience.

“The online map features a fantastic level of detail, and is flexible. We can update map entries and fine-tune the experience for users, whether they are campus-based, or visitors looking to see a virtual tour,” Binkard said.

Map users with GPS activated on a mobile device will be able to access walking and driv-

ing directions to their destinations while view-ing the map. Map visitors can easily explore and share links to specific locations, zoom in to see great detail about the campus and facili-ties, as well as find parking, ADA accessible routes, and more.

To see the map, visit http://www.csc.edu/visitors/location.csc.

These former Chadron State athletes, shown on the field at halftime of the Eagles’ football game, were inducted into college’s Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, Oct. 1. They are, from left, Don White, Kory Richardson, Mandy Kubo Chubb, John Chancy, Jim Fairfield, Ed Hermsen, Jarod Moeller and Deron Dolfi. (Photo by Con Marshall)

These Chadron State graduates spent the weekend of Sept. 16-17 at Chadron State and were introduced at halftime of the Eagles’ football game. Known as the Trailblazers, they competed in athletic activities at CSC in the late 1960s when those opportunities were limited. Shown, from left, are Wanda Rainbolt, The Villages, Fla.; JoAnne Owens-Nausler, Lincoln; Alberta Olson, Hay Springs; Wendy Lehi, Chadron; Cheryl Cauble, Gering; Helen Slattery, Lake City, Colo.; Mary Lou Marshall, Chadron; Jan Weber, Ord; and Pat Weinhold, Scottsbluff. A majority of them were physical education majors and their careers have included teaching PE, coaching and serving in various leadership roles that helped blaze the trail for today’s opportunities. (Photo by Con Marshall)

Eight former student-athletes inducted into Hall of Fame

2120

CSC Sports

Chadron State College volleyball launched a new era in 2016, as head volleyball coach Riann Mullis took charge of the program after a highly successful stint in the junior college ranks.

Mullis came to CSC from Cowley College, where she was part of two NJCAA Champi-onship seasons as an assistant. Taking over as a head coach in 2014, Mullis went 56-22 (17-1 conference), earning two conference and two district championships, finishing both seasons among the top six teams at the national tournament.

Although the wins and losses did not stack up as the Eagles had hoped, Mullis’s first CSC season made significant progress behind the scenes. Part of what she achieved in 2016 was the formation of a nucleus of young, talented players who were able to pick up a new sys-tem and go forward enthusiastically. Another hallmark of the season was the progression shown both statistically and visibly on the court of nearly all the major contributors on the team.

In particular, Alia Brennan, a four-year starter at middle hitter from Chadron, had without question her best season as an Eagle, hitting for a .266 percentage, which was well over her stated goal of 20 percent, and record-ing the most kills per set (2.13) she has tallied in any of her four seasons.

Fellow senior Rudy Leasau also topped her 2015 performance, getting 3.63 kills per set

at outside hitter to outlast her 3.36 per set in 2015.

Leasau was named All-RMAC Second Team following the season while Brennan received honorable mention.

Sophomore setter Madison Webb was one of the younger members of the team who forms a solid base to improve on for the com-ing two seasons. Webb’s 10.40 assists per set in 2016 easily outpaced her 9.19 from one year prior.

The team suffered quite a setback on the front line when sophomore middle blocker Kenzie Chrisman was lost for the season half-way through October. Nevertheless, redshirt

freshman Timmi Keisel stepped in admirably, giving the team plenty of veteran experience to head in to 2017.

“We look at Rudy, Gaby [Varela], and Alia,” said coach Mullis after the season, “and their individual stats like kills per set and blocks per set. You look at Madison and her assists. I feel like our offense has become dynamic and we’re running a solid pass-hit attack. I think you can tell we’re implement-ing the system we want to run. We’re dis-ciplined and we’re trying to stay consistent in our foundation - the defense, the offense, the energy, and the unity. That, to me, is pro-gression.”

Volleyball launched a new era in 2016

The 2016 CSC volleyball team, led by first-year coach Riann Mullis, showed improvement from the beginning of the season to the end. (Photo by Tara Medigovich)

It goes without saying: Everyone connected with the Chadron State College football pro-gram was disappointed with the team’s record this fall. The Eagles went 3-8, producing the fewest wins since 1987. It was just their third losing season since then.

Naturally, head coach Jay Long was among those who took the losses hard. But he ex-pects the Eagles will bounce back and become a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and playoff contender again.

“We’ve got a few things to fix, but the pro-gram’s not broken,” Long said. “We’ve had a lot of injuries the past two years that have hampered us both years (the Eagles were 5-6 in 2015).

“But that should help us next year. It has given a lot of young players the opportunity to get on the field ahead of schedule. We expect that experience will pay off next season.”

Long said 19 Eagles who were on the travel roster missed at least one game be-cause they were banged up and 10 missed all or a majority of the schedule. The latter included two defensive standouts—end Ty-ler Kiess and safety Ryan Wood—who were sidelined in the first game, a few days after they had been elected team captains. Oth-ers who were knocked out of action early included starters TD Stein at quarterback

and defensive backs Kirk Durtsche and Trey Mosley.

Despite the dismal record, the Eagles were competitive. In 11 games, they were outgained by only 219 yards (4,291-4,063) and outscored by just two points (308-306).

The losses included three of four or fewer points and another of nine points in which the Eagles scored what appeared to be the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth period, only to have the play nullified by a holding call.

Long, who played on three CSC teams that won conference championships, two of which advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs, and was the head coach of the Eagles’ 2012 team that was in the playoffs, agrees and is working to make it happen.

Within a week after the season ended, he had met with all 100 players with eligibility re-maining, discussed their commitment and roles in turning things around in 2017. He and his assistants also hit the recruiting trail on Dec. 1, the first date the NCAA allows coaches to contact players in person.

“We may bring in a few junior college guys to help us in places, but we have a lot of faith in the players who will be returning,“ Long said. “We have three good classes (of recruits) and primarily just need to get everyone healthy and plug them in at the right spots. Spring practice

will be really important to us because that’s when we’ll get a better look at this year’s group of freshmen. We like them, but I’m not going to brag on them too much until we get a closer look at them in the spring.”

Coaches believe Eagles will rebound from disappointing season

Chadron State College honored 18 of its 25 all-time winningest wrestlers Saturday in con-junction with the start of practices by the 2016-17 team.

The 18 ex-Eagles were introduced and pre-sented plaques during halftime of the football game against New Mexico Highlands.

Prior to that, the honorees attended a practice session by the members of this year’s squad.

“I wanted to invite wrestling alumni back onto campus,” said CSC coach Brett Hunter, “because some of them haven’t been here in 10 or 15 years.”

Hunter’s 133 victories, which he accumulated while winning national championships in 2007 and 2009, are the most in Chadron State his-tory. All the others in the top 25 won at least 78 matches.

Hunter’s goal was to put the Eagles’ wrestling tradition on display so the current team members will know more about the legacy of the program and how they can fit into it.

“I talked to my wrestlers about it,” said Hunter. “I said, ‘these guys laid the foundation for you.’ When I wrestled, I saw those names on the wall every day, and I wanted to be on that wall. So if you want to get on that wall, it would be great to actually meet the people behind those names.”

Hunter said he hopes to continue to reach out to alumni and make it an annual tradition to fo-

cus on a different aspect of the program’s history so the student-athletes on campus learn what it means to be an Eagle.

The coach has kept in contact with several of the alums and is able to connect with them via phone calls or text messages. Others were reached with the help of the alumni office, which issued formal invitations to each of the 25.

Those returning included 13 wrestlers who were All-Americans during their time at CSC.

Some of the more noteworthy grapplers were unable to attend the reunion. They included

Hunter’s classmate, Josh Majerus, who became CSC’s third national wrestling champion in 2008 and is second on the all-time victory list; Josh Schommer, who owns the CSC single-season record of 40 wins; Bob Waldner, the Eagles’ first three-time All-American; and Bob Lynch, the program’s first national champion who also owns the school record for highest percentage of victories, .935, after going 87-6 in his four years at CSC.

Another of those on the “top 25 list,” Mike McClaren, died in a traffic accident in 2009.

These former Chadron State wrestling greats were honored at halftime of the Eagles’ football game Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016. Each is among the top 25 in career victories in the CSC wrestling program’s history. In front, from left, are Brett Hunter, Leonard Hawkins, Jared Webster, Jordan Johnson, Jake Holscher, Jason Dye, Jon Hughes, Devlon Webb and Dean Barent. In the back are Joe Callahan, Travis McDermott, Dan Barent, Kevin Allison, Jeff Rusher, Cody Beguin, Justin Hoopman, Seth Groff and Travis Peak. (Photo by Con Marshall)

Alejandro Garcia, Chadron State’s senior cross country runner from Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, capped off his collegiate career in historic fash-ion, becoming the first Eagle to qualify individually for the NCAA Championships.

Garcia finished 21st at the 2016 NCAA South Central Regional Championships in Denver on November 5, qualifying for NCAA by grabbing the third of the three at-large slots that are awarded to runners whose teams did not qualify for the national meet as a group. His time of 32:20.3 in Denver was his personal best at the time for a 10,000 meter cross country race and stands as the third-best 10k by an Eagle all-time.

At nationals on November 19, he topped his best-ever 10k time, running the fastest cross country time in CSC history with a mark of 31:44.3 to finish 65th in the nation.

Prior to the championship meet, Garcia was honored by the NCAA as the Elite 90 award winner. The Elite 90 is awarded to the athlete at each of the NCAA championship finals sites with the highest cumula-tive grade point average after a minimum of two semesters enrolled. Garcia’s 4.0 GPA also earned him similar honors at the RMAC Cham-pionships in October, as he took home the Summit Award from the conference.

Garcia will be able to compete again in the spring outdoor track and field season, as a senior, having already exhausted eligibility for indoor track and field.

Garcia caps season to remember by qualifing for nationals, earns Elite 90 award

Alejandro Garcia with his Elite 90 trophy. (Photo by Con Marshall)

Senior Ryan Wood, who will return after an early-season injury shelved his season, flies high to attempt a blocked kick in the season opener against Fort Lewis. (Photo by Tara Medigovich)

Eagles’ most successful wrestlers return to campus

2322

By Alex HelmbrechtThe sound of clapping in Memorial Hall is

nothing new.However, the recent cheers in that building

weren’t directed at performers, instead they were focused on celebrating the Chadron State College music department’s recent accredita-tion by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM).

Dr. James Margetts, dean of liberal arts, and Dr. Una Taylor, music department chair, attended the NASM annual meeting in Dallas in late November to receive the good news: CSC was one of five institutions out of 143 applicants to be accredited by NASM.

“The NASM accreditation is truly a great thing,” Margetts said. “It is an assurance to current and prospective students and faculty that we have received the blessing of our peers because we went through the accreditation pro-cess. Our reputation cannot be questioned and now we are seen as equals with many high-caliber music schools.”

Taylor said she is both proud and satisfied the music department earned accreditation.

“The NASM organization maintains rigor-ous standards in every detail, and although there are things we are expected continue to work on and make improvements in order to maintain our accreditation, we meet the stan-dards now,” she said. “I am confident that our department and the administration will con-tinue to support our commitment to maintain-ing our accreditation.”

According to its website, NASM, which was founded in 1924, is an organization of schools, conservatories, colleges and universities. Cur-

rently, it features 648 accredited members. NASM establishes standards for undergradu-ate and graduate degrees and other credentials for music and its related disciplines.

The process for CSC’s accreditation with NASM took nearly five years, said Margetts, a former faculty member in the music de-partment who became dean in 2014. The ac-creditation process began in 2012 when Taylor initiated the self-study.

“Una (Taylor) was a key player in CSC gaining this accreditation. Her willingness to work on the self-study was so important. Mu-sic faculty teach a lot and meet with students frequently, so it’s hard to find time to get things like that done,” Margetts said.

The self-study answers a series of questions that outline qualifications to meet high profes-sional standards in music departments. The self-study asks for the institution’s financial assets, the type of equipment used by the mu-sic faculty, credentials of faculty members, and

it gauges the support from the administration and campus services, as well as measuring the rigor of the curriculum.

The music department’s self-study was sub-mitted in 2014 to NASM and a visiting peer group toured campus that fall. At the end of the fall semester, the peer reviewers told CSC there were 18 concerns, or qualifications, that needed to be addressed.

While that number seems high, Margetts said schools rarely reach accreditation on the first attempt.

“A big tenet of NASM is ensuring student wellness and so most of their qualifications dealt with that,” Margetts said. “So an example of one of the things the music department did to meet the qualifications was to install earplug dispensers for student performers in the band rehearsal room.”

Following two additional rounds of re-sponses from CSC where it addressed addi-tional concerns from NASM, Margetts and Taylor waited anxiously for the accrediting body’s decision. During that time, Taylor said they were able to reflect on the positive changes that occurred in the music depart-ment – all of which benefitted the students.

“During the process of writing the self-study and examining our programs from every an-gle, it helped us become a better department,” Taylor said. “The process also helped our ad-ministration realize more about what a music department needs in order to function well.”

Now, after receiving accreditation, Margetts said the benefits of it extend across campus.

“To be honest, we really didn’t think about the benefits of becoming accredited,” he said. “The music department has made a lot of im-provements and that extends to everything from curriculum to facilities. It is now a better department for students because they have the appropriate rigor and their wellness has been improved. That all works together to make bet-ter students and performers.”

The Chadron State College cowboys are making a strong bid to return to the Col-lege National Finals Rodeo as a team after winning the Central Rocky Mountain Re-gional title by more than 1,000 points a year ago.

Through the first half of the Central Rocky Mountain Region’s 2016-17 schedule, the CSC men are second place in the standings and sev-eral of them are among the event leaders.

Bull riding has been one of CSC’s strongest events this fall. Chasen Cole and Cordale Mar-

tin are one-two in the event with 430 and 350 points, respectively. In addition, Dakota Rice is sixth with 160 points. One or the other has won top honors in bull riding at four of the five rodeos.

Prestyn Novak has the regional lead in tie down roping with 395 points, 135 ahead of the runner-up. He’s won the event twice and was the all-around cowboy at the Central Wyoming Col-lege rodeo and the runner-up at the CSC rodeo.

In addition, Lane Day is fifth in the tie down standings with 210 points.

The Chadron State women’s team is fifth in the regional standings, just 163 points out of third place. Elsie Fortune won the breakaway roping at the CSC rodeo in 2.7 and 3.2 seconds and is third in the event for the season. Also, Jordan Tierney and Brandi Cwach rank among the top eight in goat tying.

Coach Dustin Luper has more than 40 con-testants on his teams.

Don’t be shushed anymore! The Old Library is our next featured building.

Please let the Alumni Office know about your memories of the Old Library, now known as the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center.

The Old Library will be the Alumni Magazine’s featured building in the June edition.

Share your memories, stories or photos about the Old Library: email alumni@csc.edu or mail to Alumni Office, 1000 Main St., Chadron, NE 69337.

Members of the Chadron State College Concert Choir, led by Dr. Joel Schreuder and accompanied by Bobby Pace on the piano and Ann Sundberg on the cello, perform at the Chadron Arts Center. (Photo by Tena L. Cook)

The Chadron State Alumni Associationannually awards

two $500 scholarships. Applicants must have a relative who graduated from CSC.

Interested applicants may print and complete the scholarship application on www.csc.edu/alumni/scholarship.csc.

Return it to the Alumni Office by April 1 for consideration for the 2017-18 academic year.Contact the Alumni Office for additional information.

Music department earns accreditation through NASM

Chadron State rodeo team riding high again

Chadron State cowboy Prestyn Novak won the first go-round of tie down roping at the CSC rodeo with this run. He also was third in steer wrestling and was the runner-up all-around cowboy. (Photo by Con Marshall)

Sid Shuler, music professor at CSC, leads the CSC Wind Symphony at the Fall concert for the CSC Wind Symphony and Campus and Community Band in the Memorial Hall Auditorium Dec. 2, 2016. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

2524

Class Notes

50sRoy Milliken ’54 Huron, S.D., was presented with an “Ambassador of Peace” medal as an expression of appreciation from the people of Korea to Americans who served in the Korean War. He was a paratrooper and made five jumps to help break up prison fights.60sDr. John Harms ’62 Scottsbluff, received the Western Nebraska Community College Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize his lasting commitment to serve the mission of WNCC.70sDennis ’70 and Stephanie (Schmeeckle) Vick att. Lakewood, Colo., celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in June.

Jack Gutierrez ’76 Columbus, has worked at Central Community College for 36 years where he coached men’s basketball for the first 27 years and started the softball program nine years ago. He is currently athletic director and softball coach.Gerry Brew ’77 Windsor, Colo., is the new Chief Financial Officer for North Range Behavioral Health in Greeley, Colo.80sTerri (Perkins) Haynes MA ’85 Chadron, was recognized with the Ann Mactier Leadership for Learning Award for her dedication to improving reading instruction, her support for the Fine Arts, and her leadership in expanding curricular opportunities for all students as the president of Chadron’s school board.90sCurtis Moffat ’95 Torrington, Wyo., has been promoted to deputy warden at the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution.

Dustin Ladenburger ’99 Stratton, was elected by the Nebraska Farm Bureau to represent District 7.00sJanelle (Dinnel) Schultz ’05 Scottsbluff, re-ceived the 2016 NCTE Affiliate Intellectual Freedom Award from the National Council of Teachers of English. The award honors indi-viduals for advancing the cause of intellectual freedom.Sara (Schneider) Linsacum ’08 Craig, Colo., was recently named the principal and athletic director for Craig Middle School.

MARRIAGESKelsy (Brown) ’10 married Tim Murman June 25, 2016 in Eagle. They live in Lincoln where she is an occupational therapist at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital.Lucas Albrecht ’12 married Amie Yowell July 9, 2016 in Limon, Colo. They live in Wilber where Lucas teaches and coaches boys’ basketball.Zac BA ’14, MBA ’16 and Hannah (Flamming) Bargen ‘15 were married on July 16, 2016 in Wichita, Kansas.Heather (Bogner) Bauerkemper ’15 Chadron, married Brenton Bauerkemper on Oct. 22, 2016.

FUTURE EAGLES00sRiver Leopold to Anthony ’05 and wife Paula Perlinski ’07 Chadron, June 6, 2016.Bridger Henry to Alex Helmbrecht ’05 and wife Brittany, Chadron, July 2, 2016.Jax to Brett ’05 and Ashley (Clayton) Hunter att. Chadron, Nov. 9, 2016.Jace Vaughn to Joslynne (Simpson) Stauss ’08 and husband Jeff, Lincoln, on Aug. 23, 2016.Breyer Reed to Sarah (Andreasen) McCabe ’09 and husband C.J., Alliance, on August 25, 2016.Oakley Elaine to Jenna (Foral) BA ’09, BS ’11 and Judson Hall, Scottsbluff, Dec. 5, 2016.10sHenry to Jacob ’13 and Caitlin Rodiek ’10 Ashland, June 9, 2016.Eleanor to Josh ’14 and Caitlin (Spencer) Redden BA ’10, MS ’14 Chadron, Oct. 4, 2016.

OBITUARIESFriendLee Wahlstrom Chadron, Oct. 15, 2016.Former FacultySonia Cox Lake Hughes, Calif., Nov. 6, 2016.

30sIrene (Robinson) Perreten ’35 St. Paul, Minn., Oct. 8, 2016.40sHelen (McCray) Roth ’42 Gordon, July 3, 2016.Hope (Hampton) Weaver ’46 Lincoln, Sept. 22, 2016.Joy (Norman) Isham ’48 Chadron, April 27, 2016.50sMarilyn Larsen, wife of Norman “Bud” Larsen ’53, Springview, July 25, 2016.Maxine (Stumph) Cavaness ’54 Chadron, Nov. 4, 2016.Robert Hampton ’54 Omaha, Nov. 11, 2016.Theodore Turpin ’54 Tucson, Ariz., Dec. 5, 2016.Robert Leishman ’56 Lakewood, Colo., June 21, 2015.John “Jack” Roth ’56 Sioux Falls, S.D., Feb. 22, 2016.Gene Turechek ’57 Loveland, Colo., April 23, 2016.Donald “Yogi” Wheeler ’57 Worland, Wyo., June 2, 2016.Anne (Hinton) McCracken ’57 North Platte, July 27, 2015.M. Jay Stopher ’58 Liberty Lake, Wash., March 29, 2016.Aaron “Sid” Hoar ’59 Crawford, June 14, 2016.60sDixie (Foley) Moss ’62 Lincoln, July 4, 2016.Howard Wingren ’64 Denver, Colo., July 1, 2015.Judy (Stower) Gasseling ’68 Omaha, June 30, 2016.Walter Stoeger, Jr. ’68 Boelus, July 5, 2016.70sJames Hunter ’70 Denver, Colo., March 12, 2016.Dennis Wire ’71 Dover, Ohio, March 8, 2016.Ben Andrick, Jr. ’73 Boise, Idaho, March 20, 2016.Tamlyn Steinke, wife of Richard Steinke ’78 Long Beach, Calif., Sept. 2, 2016.80sH. Duane Hymer ’83 San Antonio, Texas, April 12, 2016.Debra (Bunch) Hanlon ’83 Omaha, June 9, 2016.90sArdith (Navis) Morse ’93 North Platte, Aug. 13, 2016.Richard Taedter ’95 Crawford, Aug. 7, 2016.Michael Fritzel ’95 Keller, Texas, Nov. 9, 2015.Josephine “Josie” Macias ’98 Friend, Aug. 24, 2016.

Dr. Merlin Butler was selected as the 2016 Chance l lo rs C lub Research Award recip-ient by the University of Kansas. The award was presented in October. Butler is a leading researcher in genetic disorders and

has been a faculty member at KU Medical Center since 2008. He also is the director of the Division of Research and Genetics for the clinical department and the medical director of the Genetics Clinic. Butler is a 1975 graduate of Chadron State College and was the 1986 recipient of CSC’s Distinguished Service Award.

Merlin Butler

Chadron State CollegeGolf Classic - Don Beebe TournamentMemorial Day weekend, Ridgeview Country Club in ChadronFour-person scramble Saturday and Sunday, May 28-29

Entry fee of $150 per person. Proceeds benefit Chadron State College Athletics.

Alumni Events

2017 Alumni GatheringsJanuary 27 Tucson, Arizona Chandler, ArizonaJanuary 28 Mesa, Arizona Scottsdale, ArizonaJanuary 29 Sun City West, ArizonaMarch 4 Dallas, TexasMarch 25 Houston, TexasMarch 26 San Antonio, TexasApril 8 Des Moines, IowaApril 9 Omaha, NebraskaJune 4 Denver, Colorado

Watch for details in your mailbox or on the CSC website at www.csc.edu/alumni/events.csc

We hope to see you soon!New Hampshire, 2016 gathering: From left, Karen Pope, Randy Rhine, Marlena Richardson, Beverly and Grant Clark, Kathie and Ken Emonds, Connie Rasmussen. A special thank you to the Emonds for hosting this wonderful luncheon.

Cheyenne, Wyoming, 2016 gathering: Seated, JoAnn Hunter, Anna Ruble, Barbara Knopp, Jan Shaw, Doris Jensen. Standing, Phil Caldwell, Don and Denise Streeter, Frank and Carol Stearns, Randy Hardsocg, Richard Roller, Joe and Otty Farris with Skye, Chuck Kisicki, Devany Farris, Marie Datus, Lynelle and Bryce Bump, Colleen Kisicki, Helen Oates, Gary Datus, Kathy and Larry Malm, Mary Ann and Steve Ellis. Also attending, but not pictured, were Karl and Judi Kreiger, Joe Chasteen and Steve Dilsaver.

The Chadron State alumni travel program toured Northern Europe from June 13-24, 2016. The trip included visits to ports in London, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Copenhagen. Pictured from top right, clockwise, Gayle Hytrek, Rick Kolkman, DiAnn Kolkman, Michelle Haynes, Norma Perkins, Maxine Dunsmore, Istar Dunsmore, Rick Koza, Kris Koza, Connie Rasmussen, Rita Horse, Bev Hanks, Judy Hiles, Bert Lesher, Dick Lesher, Jan Taylor, Steve Taylor, Lorrie Bauer, Randy Bauer, Margaret Crouse.

Non ProfitOrganizationU. S. Postage

PAIDMONTEZUMA, IA

Permit No. 301000 Main StreetChadron, NE 69337

Change Service Requested

Now in Washington, D.C.

Bernhardt remembers good days at CSC

When you see “CSC” on your caller ID……it could be me!

A Chadron State College student will be calling soon to talk with you about your college experience and how you can make a difference in the lives of current CSC students.Please consider a gift to fund scholarships and campus services to help students reach their educational goals.

CSC PhonathonFebruary 6 - 23, 2017

Like many students when they enter college, Gordon Bernhardt didn’t have much idea what he wanted to study when he enrolled at Chad-ron State College in June 1978, shortly after he’d graduated from Hay Springs High School.

But before long, he joined a couple of or-ganizations and was elected to the Student Senate. He also recalls that courses he took in criminal justice under the late Dr. George Watson and political science under Dr. Jim Sheafer increased his interest in those areas. In addition, he remembers developing a friend-ship with the college president, Dr. Ed Nelson.

“My interest in what was happening in our nation grew and so did my confidence,” Bern-hardt relates. “In the fall of 1980, I applied for an internship with Virginia Smith, who was the Third District congresswoman in the House of Representatives. Dr. Nelson was among those who wrote a letter of recommendation for me and I was accepted.”

Bernhardt’s timing was good. He arrived in Washington, D.C., in January 1981, just in time for President Ronald Reagan’s first inauguration. Hours later, the American hostages, who had been held in Iran for more than a year, were released in Tehran and within a week were given a “welcome home” celebration in the nation’s capital. Bernhardt had a special interest in the lat-ter event because the previous spring, when he was president of the Student Senate, it promoted the tying of 50 yellow ribbons to a tree on campus to honor and remember the hostages.

“I was really consumed by everything that was happening in Washington,” Bernhardt said. “My six-week internship turned into a job and I stayed on Capitol Hill for two and a half years, working for Virginia Smith and the U.S. Senate Finance Committee when Senator Bob Dole was its chairman.

Bernhardt then transferred the 101 hours of credit he had earned at Chadron State to the University of Virginia, where he received a de-gree in commerce. He still lives in the Wash-ington, D.C. area. After becoming a certified public accountant and working in public and corporate accounting, he founded Bernhardt Wealth Management and built a team that pro-vides investment advice and services to busi-ness owners, executives and retirees.

Through it all, he’s not forgotten his roots. In appreciation for his background, he has es-tablished an endowed scholarship to help Hay Springs High graduates who attend CSC and he has also joined the Living Legacy Program that specifies a portion of his estate will go to the Chadron State Foundation to benefit the college and its students.

“My parents raised me to do the right thing, work hard and help those in need,” he reflects. “And, without Chadron State I would not be the same individual. It helped this farm boy and in some small way I hope my contributions (to CSC) will help the next person succeed.”

Gordon Bernhardt