Supporters – ��̽��

Spirit of Winter: ��̽�� Houston Nursing Students Connect with CAC

Tracy Donley — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 18:30:58 +0000

It might be hard to fathom the importance or impact of festive decorations making spirits bright during the holiday season. But when those decorations are decking the halls of the Children’s Assessment Center in Houston—which exists to provide compassionate treatment to sexually abused children and their families—things like twinkling lights and Christmas trees take on a deeper meaning. They can bring a small sense of comfort to the children who enter this place that will serve as a safe haven, where care and treatment can lead to the first steps toward healing.

A group of ��̽�� nursing students from the university’s Houston campus recently stepped forward to lend a hand at the center’s Spirit of Winter Holiday Prep event. “We were preparing for Christmas holidays by bringing decorations from storage into an area for sorting outside and inside, as well as trees and ornaments,” said Dr. Debbie McNair, clinical professor of nursing. “This helped the staff to stay on task to help clients coming in for treatment.”

McNair, who teaches Community Health Nursing, says this was the first time ��̽�� has done community service at the CAC—and the connection is an important one. “I hope this is the start of them allowing us to come in for future rotations and having the opportunity to shadow other workers through the process from admission to discharge, as well as everything in between,” she said. “There is a medical clinic, mental clinic, and numerous rooms for law enforcement and attorneys to gather evidence. Many of the children spend time learning, while receiving therapy to help them cope through the tough times they have endured.”

McNair says the student volunteers had the opportunity to tour the facility and meet CAC staff members and administrative leaders, including the CEO and the assistant administrator. “I work as a SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner), and the Children’s Assessment Centers are where many of the cases for sexual assault and domestic violence are initiated,” she explained. “Since I am showing the students how nursing plays a huge role in community health promotion and prevention, the CAC was a great place for them to see that nursing is broader than hospitals or clinics.”

“The ��̽�� Nursing Students were such a joy to host,” said CAC Volunteer Coordinator Yaren Zamarripa, adding that the students arrived ready to work and bring positive energy to the task at hand. “Because of your support, we were able to begin preparing for a memorable holiday experience for our children and families.”

“The facility utilizes donations and volunteers to function beyond the capability,” said McNair. “Again, it frees the social workers, nurses, law enforcement, and administration from excessive time spent to ensure things are done for the holidays, as well as making sure time is not reduced in actual care.” She says the students welcomed the opportunity to do what was needed for the holidays while at the same time learning how nurses fit into the process of caring for those who come to the center.

The connection between ��̽�� and the CAC will go on from here. McNair says the group hopes to help with the center’s holiday party, passing out toys and assisting with food—not only freeing up staff to devote their time to more pressing matters, but to bring a little bit of joy to some children who need it.

Graham Weston’s Foundation Donates Opportunity for ��̽�� First-Year Students to Find Their Strengths

Tracy Donley — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 19:07:29 +0000

First-year business majors at ��̽�� were recently treated to a wonderful opportunity: a chance to learn about their strengths—and what that means for their studies, their careers, their relationships, and their lives. The students are enrolled in the university’s signature Freshman Experience (FREX) course, centered around exploring the arts and sciences and helping new students get acclimated to a community of learning.

Graham Weston who, along with the Weston family, has long been a friend to the university, generously made the workshop possible through his 80/20 Foundation, donating enough of the widely-used CliftonStrengths for Students surveys so that all the students could participate, as well as receive guidance from Gallup Certified Strengths Coach Kathy Kersten. The workshop helped the students evaluate what they naturally do best and learn how to cultivate their gifts while appreciating the unique talents of those around them.

Weston is a founder of Rackspace, Geekdom, and the 80/20 Foundation, the latter of which is dedicated to promoting growth and innovation through grants. Some 70 students who attended the event left with a greater understanding of themselves, stronger connections with their peers, and increased confidence as they begin their college journey.

��̽�� thanks Weston and the 80/20 foundation for their support.

��̽�� Nursing Students Lend a Hand While Gaining Experience

Tracy Donley — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 21:18:58 +0000

Many people don’t know what a “File of Life” is—or that they really ought to have one. But now, ��̽�� nursing students will be offering some valuable community service, by helping local folks to create their own File of Life, a vital document packet that can save lives. It is kept in the home and contains medical information about the people who live there—like lists of emergency contacts, allergies, medications, insurance information, and more. For patients or seniors living on their own, should a medical emergency occur, the File of Life is used by first responders, allowing them to better assess the patient, who might be unable to communicate for themselves at such a time.

��̽�� Nursing is partnering with two local churches—Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church and Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church—to deliver this and many other medical services to the community at no charge. They’ll also offer health screenings, such as measuring and assessing blood pressure, pulse, respiratory rate, and temperature; education on medication and disease management; and targeted health promotion topics, bringing individualized education on chronic illness self-care, nutrition, and wellness practices to patients.

Participating volunteers are senior-level nursing students in the process of completing their final year in ��̽��’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. The experience they gain through volunteering will help them put what they’re learning in their Community Health clinical course into practice. “These students bring advanced clinical knowledge to the community setting,” says Professor Emerita for Nursing Dr. Cecilia Trinidad. “The course prepares them to look beyond acute bedside hospital care to address the broader health needs of individuals, families, aggregates, and populations.”

So, while the program advances ��̽��’s mission of civic engagement, service-learning, and social responsibility by actively working to reduce regional health disparities and preparing practice-ready nurse leaders, it also fosters a healthier, safer, and more informed community.

Nursing students will be available at Spirit of Joy on the first, second, and fourth Mondays of each month, and at Our Lady on the first Monday of each month. Hours are 9 a.m. to noon at both locations. This service is open to all residents of Guadalupe County, and there is no cost to participate.

Rise and Shine Through Service: ��̽��’s Fall H.O.T. Dogs Day

Tracy Donley — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 17:32:49 +0000

Every fall and spring, ��̽�� students, faculty, and staff set aside a Saturday to come together and do some good by giving their time and energy to a wide range of local volunteer projects—a thank-you in action from the university to its community. But the outcomes of the day stretch far beyond the scope of the work completed.

“H.O.T. Dogs Day (Helping Others Together) is important because it brings the heart of servant leadership to life,” said Dr. Pamela Ray, ��̽�� director of service learning and the Jon & Sandra Moline Center for Servant Leadership. “Our students are not simply volunteering for a few hours; they are building relationships, learning about the needs of our neighbors, and discovering how their time and talents can make a meaningful difference. At the same time, our community partners help educate our students in ways that extend beyond the classroom. It is a true partnership—��̽�� serving alongside our community, learning together, and strengthening the place we all call home.”

H.O.T. Dogs Day serves as a reminder that while one person can do a lot, when people join together, they can make a huge difference. Nearly two hundred ��̽�� students woke up early on Saturday, September 19, and headed out to give their time and efforts for a morning of service at ten different community partner sites throughout Seguin and the surrounding community.

They took on a variety of projects at local nonprofits—places like Emanuel’s Lutheran Church’s Garden of Eatin’, LULAC Community Garden, and Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church. They pitched in with the popular “Clean with the Dean” project right on the ��̽�� campus.

“Students also worked with Community Cycles, which repairs and restores bicycles for members of the community, also at Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church; supported seniors at Eden Court Senior Apartments; volunteered with Trails End Animal Rescue in New Braunfels; and partnered with Habitat for Humanity on a wall build for a local residence,” said Ray.

They spent their morning weeding and planting, painting and cleaning, repairing and building—in short, helping.

“Together, these projects reflected the fall 2026 theme, ‘Rise and Shine Through Service,’ demonstrating how Bulldogs can make a tangible impact while developing a deeper understanding of community, service, and servant leadership,” said Ray.

“We truly could not have accomplished the scope of this work without their service and support,” said Natalia Almquist, who is a member of the congregation at Emanuel’s Lutheran Church and serves on the church’s council as well as the Emanuel’s Lutheran Day School council, in addition to her role as marketing generalist at ��̽��. “These students were not there because they had to be. They showed up with heart, determination, and a genuine willingness to serve. Their work ethic was exceptional, and they consistently went above and beyond what was expected. Their efforts made a meaningful and lasting impact, and we are sincerely thankful for the time, energy, and care they invested in our church and community.

��̽�� has been organizing fall and spring days of service for the past twenty years, carrying forward a legacy of giving back, and turning out students who take to heart the value of serving others.

Catching Up with the Doctors Rodriguez

Tracy Donley — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 21:09:32 +0000

A Legacy of Healing

The desire to heal must run deep in the Rodriguez family. Brothers Limael (“Lee”) and Joel, both ��̽�� alums, followed their parents’ footsteps into the field of medicine. Their father is an orthopedic spine surgeon, their mother a nuclear medicine physician—both completing their residencies in New York and later settling their family in Texas.

“Joel and I grew up with two physician parents, so medicine was very much a part of our lives from an early age,” says Lee. “Watching both of them shaped how we viewed medicine and certainly played a big role in both of us becoming doctors.”

The brothers graduated ��̽�� a year apart. After following separate roads spanning countless miles in order to get their footing in their respective fields of medicine, Lee and Joel’s paths converged. Lee is a vascular surgeon, and Joel, a sports medicine physician—and now their practices, as well as their father’s, are housed within a shared clinical space, their varied skillsets complementing one another.

Lee

Lee earned his BA in biology and chemistry from ��̽�� in 2007. From there, he went to medical school at Universidad Central del Caribe. His path post-med school saw him as a postdoctoral fellow at Houston Methodist, a surgery resident at Centro Médico Episcopal San Lucas, a representative of the American College of Surgeons Resident and Associate Society, and a vascular surgery fellow at Eastern Virginia Medical School and then University of Colorado Anschutz, the largest academic health center in the Rocky Mountains.

These days, he’s busy working as a vascular surgeon in and around Houston and leading the independent vascular practice he founded and continues to build, Texas Vascular and Imaging. “Our practice has grown into a comprehensive vascular platform that includes vascular ultrasound technology, limb salvage, venous disease, and outpatient vascular procedures,” he explains. “A large part of my career now also involves the business and leadership side of medicine—building the practice, developing an ambulatory surgery center, teaching, research, and trying to create a model where physicians can still have a meaningful degree of independence while taking care of patients.”

“��̽�� was also a small enough environment that relationships mattered. You weren’t anonymous. Professors knew you, people expected something from you, and you were held accountable. That experience helped shape the way I approach medicine, leadership, and running a practice today.” ~Lee Rodriguez

He credits his years at ��̽�� with helping to prepare him—sometimes in unexpected ways—for the many things he’s accomplished since graduating. “��̽�� gave me a strong foundation, but probably not in the way I appreciated at the time,” he says. “Playing college soccer while managing academics taught me discipline, accountability, resilience, and how to work within a team. Medicine requires all of those things, particularly through residency and surgical training.”

Lee also found great benefit in ��̽��’s smaller size. “��̽�� was a small enough environment that relationships mattered. You weren’t anonymous. Professors knew you, people expected something from you, and you were held accountable. That experience helped shape the way I approach medicine, leadership, and running a practice today.”

Joel

Joel graduated from ��̽�� in 2008, then went on to earn his master’s degree in aerospace physiology and medicine at King’s College London. After medical school at Universidad Central del Caribe, he completed his residency training in Family Medicine at Methodist Hospital in Houston, followed by a fellowship in Primary Care Sports Medicine at Christus Santa Rosa Hospital in San Antonio. His practice, Return to Play Sports Medicine, specializes in helping athletes recover from injuries and improve performance. Together with their dad, he and Lee make up the medical team at Orthopaedic Institute for Spinal Disorders, which their father founded.

“��̽�� was a significant stepping stone for me professionally,” says Joel. “I always say that the tough curriculum got me ready for medical school. Majoring in molecular biology and a minor in chemistry put me in the classes of legendary professors including Dr. Hettinger, Dr. McClusky, Dr. Bohmann, Dr. Wasmund, Dr. Abbasian, and Dr. Lievens, just to name a few who supported my career directly.”

But like Lee, Joel also learned a lot of important lessons away from the classroom, out on the soccer field. “I played soccer all four years with ��̽�� men’s soccer, which helped me combine and propel my love of sports, medicine, and science throughout my career afterwards,” he says.

Bulldog Connections

As busy as they stay these days, the brothers’ connection to ��̽�� has never faltered.

“We have stayed very connected with the ��̽�� soccer program through Coach Eddie Salazar and teammates,” says Joel. “We have attended the alumni soccer events for years and donate to the program where we can. I was honored to give a lecture on preventing collegiate soccer injuries to the ��̽�� men’s team in 2024.”

Lee says the most meaningful connections are the relationships built during his undergrad years. “I made lifelong friends at ��̽��, and I still keep in touch from time to time with some of my former chemistry and biology professors. I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for the mentorship they gave me and for the friendships that have lasted well beyond college.”

Like Joel, he keeps up with Bulldog athletics. “I’m still a big fan of ��̽�� sports in general, and it has been impressive to watch the success the university has had across so many programs over the years,” he says. “Of course, having played men’s soccer there, I still follow the program closely and take a lot of pride in what they’ve accomplished. Those relationships—with professors, friends, and teammates—are what have kept ��̽�� an important part of my life long after graduation.”

Staying connected also means offering up a few words of wisdom to current Bulldogs, from two who have been in their shoes. Both brothers agree that getting the most out of your college years begins with gratitude. “Recognize the opportunity you have,” Lee advises. “Being able to study at ��̽�� is a privilege, and you may not fully appreciate that until years later.” He’s also a big believer in the value of the journey—not just the destination. “Have big goals, but don’t rush past the work in front of you. You can’t cheat the process. Show up, do the small things well, learn from the people willing to teach you, and build genuine relationships.”

He says it’s important to stay humble. “You can be ambitious and successful without ever believing you are above the people around you. In the workforce, and especially in leadership, people want to work with people they trust. Your plans will change. Be willing to adapt, but don’t lose your work ethic, your humility, or the way you treat people. Make the most of the opportunity in front of you.”

“This is a miniature version of society which, when you step out with your diploma, you will be faced with the real deal. There you will not be on your own though, because you will be standing on the shoulders of giants who helped you achieve an advanced knowledge base and you can face our societal problems with that Bulldog confidence.” ~Joel Rodriguez

“Enjoy and appreciate this time you have at ��̽��,” adds Joel. “Focus on your major, but even more important is the process of developing relationships with your professors, colleagues, and administrators. This is a miniature version of society which, when you step out with your diploma, you will be faced with the real deal. There you will not be on your own though, because you will be standing on the shoulders of giants who helped you achieve an advanced knowledge base, and you can face our societal problems with that Bulldog confidence.”

��̽�� Joins College Presidents for Civic Preparedness

Tracy Donley — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 15:44:29 +0000

College Presidents for Civic Preparedness is a coalition of more than 125 colleges and universities across the nation which have committed themselves to transforming their campuses into civic development hubs. The members come from a diverse range of ideologies and backgrounds—but they share a common goal: to equip students to learn to engage across divides, discern fact from fiction, and solve problems collaboratively.

��̽�� recently joined the coalition, affirming the university’s prioritization of three shared civic commitments: 1. Educating for democracy is central to our mission; 2. We will prepare our students for a vibrant, diverse, and contentious society; and 3. We will protect and defend free inquiry.

“Being part of this important initiative connects ��̽�� to significant conversations in higher education around how we can best prepare our students to be active and engaged society members,” said ��̽�� President Dr. Debbie Cottrell. “I look forward to utilizing the Coalition’s resources across all areas of campus to benefit our students and thus the world beyond our campus.”

��̽�� backs up its commitment to civic preparedness through numerous actions across campus.

“��̽�� students, faculty, and staff have long supported efforts to prepare students to engage in the democratic process both as a part of our campus community and as part of the broader world,” said Dr. William O’Brochta, assistant professor of political science and chair of the Division of Social Sciences at ��̽��.

Examples of those efforts: First, there is the Jon & Sandra Moline Center for Servant Leadership, which partners with the community in various ways and supports the university’s MOVE Texas student group, a nonpartisan, nonprofit, grassroots organization working to build power in underrepresented youth communities through civic engagement, leadership development, and issue advocacy.

��̽�� has consistently been recognized by the non-partisan ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge for cultivating informed citizens who are also engaged voters.

The university also sponsors local election forums, inviting candidates to campus, and has a history of hosting faculty-and student-led opportunities for dialog about democracy, including the Teach Peace initiative, collaborations to bring ELCA leaders to campus, and hosting a conference on faith-based civic engagement with faculty from around the country and featuring student presentations.

“When we learn to listen, learn, and respond thoughtfully, something remarkable, almost magical, happens. As individuals and as a community, we grow stronger, wiser, and more capable in every way that is important. These skills help sustain our democracy and prepare us for a future in which our ability to coexist and work together is essential to the well-being of all.” ~Liz Lowery, professor of communications at ��̽��

And of course, ��̽��’s overarching approach to education encourages students to engage and explore the concepts of democracy and what it means to be civically responsible. Challenging topics inspire meaningful conversation, leading to the opportunity to see both sides of issues and to make informed decisions. ��̽�� faculty members have long been recognized for their civic engagement work and hold national leadership roles in this area.

“By joining this consortium, ��̽�� makes an institution-wide commitment to support existing student-, faculty-, and staff-led initiatives and to consider ways to re-emphasize the components of our core values that center on education through ‘open dialogue,’ community through ‘promoting the common good,’ and faith through ‘inviting exploration and discovery’ at an institutional level,” said O’Brochta.

Professor Liz Lowery, professor of communications at ��̽��, agrees. “When we learn to listen, learn, and respond thoughtfully, something remarkable, almost magical, happens. As individuals and as a community, we grow stronger, wiser, and more capable in every way that is important. These skills help sustain our democracy and prepare us for a future in which our ability to coexist and work together is essential to the well-being of all.”

Top Ten: ��̽�� Once Again Ranked by U.S. News

Tracy Donley — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 18:13:05 +0000

There are many criteria by which colleges and universities are judged. But the bottom line is, when students are searching for the right fit—knowing that going to college will require a solid commitment, both personal and financial, one of the sources they look to is the annual U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings.

For those looking for a private school in the western region, which stretches from California to Kansas; Montana down to Texas, and all the states in between as well as Alaska and Hawaii, narrowing the choices down is certainly a daunting task.

But of all those schools, across fifteen states, the top ten were chosen based upon metrics like financial resources, student excellence, and retention rates, and ��̽�� proved to be a true contender—earning the number nine slot out of all private schools in the West for the 2027 rankings.

��̽�� also came in twelfth for best overall Regional College in the West, fifth for Best Value in the West, and made the top twenty-five in regional Top Performers on Social Mobility.

To be considered for the rankings, colleges and universities must grant bachelor’s degrees, hold regional accreditation, offer a traditional campus-based education, and actively accept new applicants for first-year, full-time students. Best Value ranking measures academic quality against cost of attendance. Social Mobility measures how well the university supports students receiving Pell Grants through graduation.

“As ��̽�� continues to focus on academic and institutional excellence, we are pleased to see external recognition in these important categories and their affirmation of the value of the education we offer in our region,” said ��̽�� President Dr. Debbie Cottrell.

The Truest Friends: Sigma Lambda Chi and Friends Host 50th Spring Party

Tracy Donley — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 21:28:26 +0000

It all started in 1975, when four recent ��̽�� graduates—all of them Sigma Lambda Chi fraternity brothers—proposed the idea of a spring gathering so that they could stay connected with their fellow Bulldogs as the years passed. The first Spring Party took place the following year, 1976, and those four—Stephen “Whip” Wendel, Vance “Vy” Youens, John Miller, and Frank Burk, later joined by Henry “Dutch” Schonenberg and Belinda Schmidt—have worked to keep the Spring Party alive for fifty years now. Gaeylyn Burk, Frank’s wife who passed away in 2023 after a courageous battle with cancer, was also a driving force behind the party, and in fact, became known as the mother of the Spring Party, as the event is usually held at the Burks’ home, and she was known to be such a gracious hostess.

This year, some seventy-five friends came together on a Saturday in June, celebrating their shared histories at ��̽�� and the bonds of enduring friendship. One has to wonder if they could’ve imagined, back in 1976, that they would still be faithfully gathering fifty years later.

As always, everyone chipped in to help cover costs—but with a generous donor choosing to foot the bill, the group once again was able to present a sizeable donation to ��̽��, this year benefitting the Frank and Gaelyn Burk Scholarship endowment fund, so that future generations of Bulldogs will live as a legacy, forging new paths, serving in new ways, and celebrating friendships yet to come.

Walking Alongside Them: Alum Erika Gonzales ’22

James Donegan — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 17:03:43 +0000

It’s hard to believe—considering where ��̽�� alum Erika Gonzales ’22 is now—that she actually never intended to become a nurse.

Where she is now: working in the ER at University Health in San Antonio, about to enter a highly elite training program for forensic nurses. Where she was back in college: studying biology and English, growing an appreciation for communication and the power of stories.

“I had no intention of becoming a nurse,” she admits. “Much less working in critical care or emergency medicine. I always imagined myself behind the scenes, doing research and trying to understand the why behind the human experience. I thought my purpose was to understand people. I eventually realized my purpose was to walk alongside them.”

Once she earned her degree in biology and English at Our Lady of the Lake University, she went on to study applied medical anthropology at the University of North Texas, which she says helped her gain a better understanding of culture, health inequities, and human experience. All of that, believe it or not, paved Gonzales’s path to nursing. “Looking back, I realized those disciplines weren’t separate at all,” she says. “They were all preparing me for the kind of nurse I wanted to become. Nursing became the place where all those passions intersected.”

That intersection brought her to ��̽��, where she pursued her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at ��̽��’s New Braunfels campus. But what truly brought her to the field of nursing was life itself. “The biggest turning point wasn’t in a classroom . . . it was in my own life.”

Turning Point

Gonzales watched her mother navigate a heart condition, and later, was with her uncle during his final moments after a battle with cancer. “Those experiences changed the way I viewed health care. I realized that two people could have the same diagnosis but experience care very differently because of their life experiences, culture, support systems, and access to resources,” she says. “I realized my family’s experiences weren’t unique; they reflected the realities faced by many individuals from minority and underserved communities.”

That marked the turning point. That was when Gonzales realized she wanted to do more than study the disparities that exist in our culture. She wanted to help change them.

“People sometimes describe my path as winding, but I see it as cumulative,” she says. “Every degree gave me another lens through which to understand people.” Nursing, she explains, offers the privilege of walking beside people with compassion during life’s most difficult moments. “I don’t see my education as a series of detours. I see it as the foundation that continues to shape the nurse I am today.”

That nurse works in trauma care, in emergency rooms, facing what most of us would consider some of the hardest moments in human existence. And as she moves into forensic nursing, she’ll take a step further, helping victims of abuse, neglect, violence, and assault, partnering with the legal system, and offering the truest kind of advocacy: She will not only care for victims; she will also stand up for them through her work.

“What motivates me isn’t the complexity of the work; it’s the opportunity to preserve dignity, empower patients, and ensure they feel seen, respected, and heard during some of the most difficult moments,” she says. “While people often describe this work as requiring courage, I’ve come to see it as an opportunity to meet people with compassion during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.”

Gonzales’s passion for advocacy has guided much of her career. For example, she helped establish her hospital’s Bereavement Committee, developing the Legacy Box initiative for grieving families of adult patients. She organized a hospital-wide Bereavement Conference, and now teaches trauma-informed care to postgraduate residents and critical care nurse fellows. “Those experiences have reinforced my belief that healing extends beyond treating physical injuries. It also means honoring a person’s story. For me, forensic nursing isn’t a departure from my career; it’s the natural continuation of it.”

Influences in Nursing School

And her years at ��̽�� helped her get here. She notes the genuine caring of the faculty, and specifically recalls three professors who changed the course of her career and left a lasting impression. The first: Dr. Sabrina Koog. “During my junior year, when I was struggling in one of my nursing courses, Dr. Koog met me at a local taqueria to study because she knew it was an environment where I felt comfortable and could focus,” Gonzales recalls. “It wasn’t just about reviewing content; it was about meeting me where I was and reminding me that I wasn’t alone.”

Then there was Dr. Elizabeth Garcia. “Later, after I failed one of Dr. Garcia’s courses, I seriously questioned whether I belonged in nursing,” says Gonzales. “Instead of letting that be the end of my story, she invited me to meet with her privately. She saw potential in me that I couldn’t yet see in myself. That conversation changed the way I saw myself. It reminded me that one setback doesn’t define who you are or what you’re capable of becoming.”

And finally, there was Dr. Wendi Gines. “Dr. Gines challenged me in a different way,” says Gonzales. “She encouraged me to become comfortable with being uncomfortable; to embrace uncertainty, trust the process, and move forward even when I didn’t feel completely ready. That lesson has stayed with me throughout my career, from trauma critical care to the emergency department, and now as I pursue forensic nursing.”

Gonzales says that those three, “along with so many others at ��̽��, didn’t just teach me how to become a nurse; they modeled what it means to walk alongside someone through moments of uncertainty. Their example continues to shape how I care for patients, mentor colleagues, and invest in the next generation of health care professionals. I hope that, in some small way, I can offer others the same compassion, encouragement, and belief that they so generously offered me.”

A Healing Presence

That’s exactly what Gonzales does on a daily basis for her patients. “For me, the most gratifying part of nursing isn’t any single procedure, diagnosis, or clinical success,” she explains. “It’s the privilege to be present for some of the most significant moments in another person’s life. Whether it’s celebrating a patient’s recovery, helping someone navigate an unexpected diagnosis, or supporting a family through the loss of a loved one, I’ve learned that the moments people remember most are often the human ones. They may not remember every intervention we performed, but they remember how we made them feel.”

Gonzales says that healing doesn’t always look like one would expect. “Sometimes healing means helping someone feel safe. Sometimes it means giving a family the space to say goodbye. Sometimes it simply means making sure a person feels less alone.

“One phrase that has stayed with me throughout my career is: Science tells us how to care for people; compassion reminds us why. That balance is what I strive for every day. Every patient has a story, and while I may only be part of one chapter, I hope it’s one in which they felt seen, respected, and genuinely cared for.”

One way she demonstrates compassion for her patients is through curiosity. “Early in my career, I thought becoming a better nurse meant learning more procedures, memorizing more medications, and having the right clinical answers,” she says. “While those things are essential, I’ve learned that some of the best nursing happens when we slow down long enough to become curious about the person in front of us. I’ve learned that asking, ‘What happened to this person?’ can be just as important as asking, ‘What’s wrong?’ That lesson continues to shape the way I care for every patient I meet. It reinforces my belief that science tells us how to care for people, but curiosity and compassion remind us why.”

Students Present Alongside Faculty at the Vocation of Lutheran Higher Education Conference

Tracy Donley — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 20:55:27 +0000

Dr. William O’Brochta, Emma Bohmann, and Andie Lozano-Lomeli at the 2026 VLHE Conference

The Vocation of Lutheran Higher Education (VLHE) conference has long featured engaging presentations on topics that impact university and student life. For the first time in recent memory, student voices were directly included in the conference with sophomore English and theology double major Emma Bohmann and junior communication studies and political science double major Andie Lozano-Lomeli presenting a session alongside Dr. William O’Brochta, the Hugo & Georgia Gibson Endowed Assistant Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Department of Political Science.

The path toward being invited to present their session titled “Sustaining Campus as a Civic Community” started last fall when O’Brochta organized a civic engagement and faith perspectives conference at ��̽�� (/news/a-meeting-of-minds-civic-engagement-and-faith-perspectives-conference). Lozano-Lomeli presented at the conference on her scholarship on civic engagement, and Bohmann contributed a reflection on her experience attending the conference that was later published in a special volume of Intersections on the conference that O’Brochta edited (/news/finding-intersections-tlu-contributes-to-necu-magazine).

After the special issue was published, one of the conference organizers, Rev. Dr. Colleen Windham-Hughes, reached out to O’Brochta to invite him to present at the VLHE conference. “I immediately wanted to invite Andie and Emma to present with me because the presentation topic focuses on students-as-partners in developing democratic decision-making on campus that then leads to civic engagement off campus,” O’Brochta said. Thanks to Windham-Hughes’s enthusiasm at the co-created presentation and the support of the Brandes Fund for Religious Activities, the group traveled to Minneapolis and presented the session twice.

The presentation began with a theological framework for holistic Christian civic engagement based on a model that Bohmann learned about in a congregational context. “The model is called ‘upward, inward, and outward,’ and the point is that each piece represents an area in which an individual may be involved in their life: upward describes interactions with the Divine, inward with close community (such as family, friends, and congregation), and outward with larger civic community,” Bohmann said.

Bohmann then connected the model to the college campus context, specifically NECU (Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities) institutions. “First, while many institutions place a strong emphasis on one of the three areas, the model is more productive when all three areas work in conjunction with the other two. That means that whatever is discovered in spiritual education must also be translated well to the inward communities and outward civic spaces. Second, each area of the model must be fully reflective of the students-as-partners approach (which includes both a clear invitation for participation and an ongoing accompaniment through the co-creation process) so that each student feels a sense of buy-in. Essentially, each step of the ladder must be democratic in nature. Finally, we suggest that the model most naturally flows from the top-down; when spiritual engagement inspires a call to civic action, students feel the need to discuss and deliberate about this vision with peers and mentors in close-knit community, and at that point they may feel empowered to implement this vision in their on- or off-campus civic community.”

Lozano-Lomeli then led the application section, where she provided examples from ��̽�� and invited the audience to brainstorm in small groups what it meant to include students-as-partners in cultivating on-campus civic engagement. “Many participants said that Emma and I presenting positively contributed to the learning atmosphere, making it so ideas being presented could not only be conceptualized through the lens of students, but also applied. This is why the presentation was so successful, as I felt universities had the opportunity to consider students-as-partners in a civic space through the lens of civic engagement, while listening to actual students present the idea,” Lozano-Lomeli said.

Both students reflected on their experience after the presentation. Bohmann said, “As I begin to spend the next three years of my undergraduate career discovering which context of ministry it is in which I am best fit to work, I found exposure to the high concentration of ministers from many diverse ELCA institutions to be an invaluable part of understanding my vocational path. Further, much of what we heard faculty and staff from other colleges and universities express was reflective of issues that we also experience and often see as unique to ��̽��. So, simply hearing that these pain points and concerns are not, in fact, unique means that they are also not unsupported or unsolvable. This also, I believe, created a renewed sense of responsibility for students, faculty, and staff at ��̽��; if we benefit from a common understanding of Lutheran identity in being a member of NECU, we must also take action steps to ensure that our Lutheran identity is recognizable and valued.”

“The conference served as a reminder that ��̽�� is a Lutheran institution, and we are better off for it,” Lozano-Lomeli said. “One frame that served me was seeing Lutheran values as an opportunity to embrace key features like vocational education and the insistence of inclusion on our campus. Having the time to discern my vocation with my peers and professors shifted my focus and gave me clarity on what it means to be an advocate and to intentionally practice advocacy. Dr. O’Brochta chose to include Emma and me to be in this space, and that inclusion reflects the idea of students-as-partners, making our existence in the space an immediate example to other institutions on how to apply the concept. This opportunity can be reflected across our university, and I look forward to seeing students intentionally being included as partners.”

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