Class Notes
Giving List

Spring 2013

Dear Classmates –

One day, back in late December, I idly flipped through my cable TV listings. When was season three of Downton Abbey starting again? Imagine my surprise when I found Christmas at Luther broadcast on my Dallas, Texas, PBS station.  I settled in for an hour of amazing Christmas music....and it did not disappoint.   Because, as my good college friend Sherry Atienza Joseph commented on Facebook, "Nobody does Christmas like Luther!"

I was especially struck by the Norsemen's Caribbean-influenced song, “A King is Born.”  In fact, it was so lively and entertaining, I forced my kids to watch it with me. My 11-year-old son watched it three times in a row, struck by how the singers "really got into the music."  It was a joy to share that with them - it's still on my DVR! I can't bear to delete it!

Memories and traditions like Christmas at Luther are so comforting in times of change.  This year, my oldest leaves elementary for middle school, and the whole family is feeling a bit unsettled.  Change is an inevitable part of life.  Children grow, get older, and I realize high school is but a few years away.  But constants like memories, friendships, and the love of learning that was nurtured during my years at Luther, never change.  In fact, sharing those memories with my children has made them grow richer for me, while shaping my children’s futures as well.

Speaking of shaping the future, Luther continues to do just that....and I am amazed by the changes, particularly in solar energy at the college.  In Luther's recent alumni magazine, both U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad commended Luther on its leadership role and commitment to increasing the college's reliance on clean energy.

The new solar energy field, which went online in late August, will move Luther ever closer to its goal of reducing the college's carbon footprint 50 percent by 2015. Complete carbon neutrality is the college's goal by 2030, a mere 17 years from now...amazing!

As you can see, there are big changes in store for all of us.  Life moves on and takes us with it.  How we approach the future, and those changes, is completely up to us. 

Take a moment to remember your experience at Luther...share it with others.  I promise, you (and your memories) will grow richer with that experience.

Happy spring,

Jennifer (Hinman) Miller
jjmillertwister@aol.com

Brenda Brockman
brendabrockmandds@yahoo.com

Class Notes
MUKESH AGARWAL is the senior director of information strategy and architecture for OptumHealth at UnitedHealth Group in Minnetonka, Minn.

PAUL BLOM is the nonmedical health care CEO of Right at Home, an organization that provides elderly clients with in-home care. Right at Home was ranked first this year in the Star Tribune survey for top-ranked workplaces.  

JOHN HATLE is associate professor of biology at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.  His article “What Grasshoppers Can Teach Us About Food, Sex and Aging,” based on his research on the effects of reducing feeding and reproduction on lifespan, was published by the Huffington Post. Hatle’s findings indicate that the reduction of one or both decreases aging and increases lifespan in animals such as mice, worms, and grasshoppers.

DAVID HEINE is a family physician at the Family Care Clinic in Decorah. He was recognized by Telligen for his efforts and leadership in the transition from paper to electronic medical health records nationwide.

Birth
Lori and RUSTY SCHLACKE welcomed a daughter, Kyler, in October 2011.  Kyler joins sisters Bailey, Taylor, and Riley.

Don't forget your Annual Fund giving!