Alumni & Friends
SPAN alumni are a treasured resource. Their experience, connections, contributions and willingness to assist new SPANners make alumni absolutely invaluable.
Tell Us About Your Reunion!
Have you recently had a SPAN reunion? We want to know about it! Please submit pictures and other information to span@umn.edu!60th Anniversary
SPAN's 60th Anniversary Celebration served up memories and more
The 2006-2007 academic year marks the 60th anniversary of SPAN, Student Project for Amity among Nations. Imagine this -- six decades of providing one of the more rigorous research and travel abroad opportunities for students from all Minnesota colleges and universities.
60th Anniversary festivities were held October 20, 2007 at the Humphrey Institute Conference Center on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus. An afternoon reception and evening banquet provided an opportunity for SPANners to reconnect with one another and discuss how the SPAN experience influenced ther personal and professional lives. Soon we hope to publish a recap of the event and share photos of the day's activities.
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Where are you?
We would like to hear from alumni with information on where you are and what you're doing. Please take a few minutes to tell us what is new and/or exciting in your life, then send it to us in the SPAN Office. The members of your SPAN group will be happy to read about you in an upcoming issue of the SPAN newsletter. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Name _________________________________________________________________
Date __________________________________________________________________
Address _______________________________________________________________
Telephone ______________________________________________________________
E-mail__________________________________________________________________
Country/SPAN Year Attended_______________________________________________
YOUR UPDATE OR MESSAGE:
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MAIL TO: Minnesota SPAN Association, 658 Heller Hall, 271 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55455 OR EMAIL TO: span@umn.edu
SPAN Alumni News
Jerry Loomis ~ England/ British Isles 1952
Jerry Loomis always wanted to be a Jazz Piano improviser. He played often in high school but never had much of an opportunity to improvise his music. After attend the University of Minnesota and obtaining a degree in Business Administration, he spent two years in Germany in the army. Upon returning, he married and had two children—with music performance being absent from his life for the next 25 years!
In the mid 1970’s, Jerry purchased a grand piano and took lessons from a jazz teacher. While he had no plans whatsoever for a second career, after volunteering for two years to play piano for the social hour of his bike club’s annual meeting, he decided to accept tips in a tip jar. After earning $300, he decided to become a professional!
Still, his dream was to improvise his music. Combating self-doubt, (“Am I good enough? Do people like what I’m playing?”), he remained persistent in his dream. He volunteered to play patriotic music for his Rotary Club, started the “Hope Jazz Group” at his church, and played with the Swing Beat Big Band. Through all these gigs and playing for the Von Maur department store in Eden Prairie, MN he honed his performance skills and learned how to play his way out of mistakes. He can now play 3-4 hours at a time and aims to form his own jazz group. Looking back, he says it was a “journey of skill building. My suggestion for changing careers is to work on skills by training, learning, and practicing. Overcome your fear of failure by continuing to keep at it.” Jerry now plays the background for soloists at funerals, wedding ceremonies and receptions. And he’s happy
Rodney Hokenso ~ India 1953
“[SPAN] was a pivotal experience in my life. My ongoing concern for other nations/peoples stems from those days.” Rodney Hokenso marvels at his interaction with religions and academic leaders through is SPAN experience. He went on to lead two Rotary projects to provide wells to Indian villages.
Helen Schetter Connolly ~ England 1947
“It’ll be 60 years next summer since we set off by Greyhound Bus (3 days, 2 nights) riding from Minneapolis to New York City. There we boarded the Marine TIGER with 1,000 students to cross the Atlantic for a great adventure! London was bombed out, we were on rations, but I was welcomed by the editors on Fleet Street to talk about how they handled news of the U.S.- a whole new perspective!”
Helen Connolly is currently living in an active retirement home. Her husband of 53 years, a professor at Stanford University, died in April 2006. Fifty years ago they spent four sabbaticals in Oslo, Norway where their daughter was born. She also spent time in Karlsruke and Julich, Germany where her husband did research on nuclear energy. In 1985 Helen and her husband were in a Germany University with 45 students when the Berlin Wall came down. Helen has three sons who are engineers and her daughter, who is a doctor.
Lee Carlson ~ Greece 1972
In March, Lee returned to Vietnam with a veterans group to visit a school they helped build through a group called DOUE Fund. The warm welcome they received touched all of them. They visited old battle sights and explored the beautiful country and its friendly people.
Patricia Brockman ~ Philippines 1958
Patricia is involved with the Portland Art Museum. She recently traveled to Egypt for 15 days and experienced a tour by an Egyptologist.
Paul Martin ~ U.S.S.R. 1960
Paul has had many international experiences since SPAN including: A Fulbright Fellowship in Germany (1961-1962), Peace Corps Volunteer (1964-1965 Malawi, Africa), Independent Science teacher in Malawi (1968-1974), Science teacher in American School of Madrid (1974-1980). He is married to Bridget since 1967 and has two adopted children (Malawi and Spain).
Linda Olson Gianoulis ~ Argentina 1966
“My participation in the SPAN trip to Argentina in 1966 contributed strongly to my choice of vocation and life interests. The years have been filled with language teaching (Spanish and English as a second language [ESL]) and countless warm relationships with internationals.”
In Memoriam
Dr. Walter T. Atcherson ~ Germany 1952
Dr. Walter T. Atcherson died on September 1, 2006 at his home in Iowa City. He majored in music at Gustavus Adolphus College and taught there after graduation. Most of his career was spent as a faculty member of the music department at the University of Iowa. He is one of eight people in the 1952 SPAN group to Germany led by the late Dr. Hildegard Binder Johnson of Macalester College.
Dr. Atcherson loved Germany and he and his wife Olivia made almost yearly trips there. He is survived by his wife and six children.
Donald Lounbeg ~ India 1975
Donald Lounbeg passed away February 23, 2007 after battling Alzheimers. The SPAN community sends its warmest wishes to Mr. Lounbeg’s family and thank them for all their contributions. Maybe he be at peace.
Thank you for your continued support...
The SPAN program would like to extend special thanks for the lasting support that has continued through the following annual scholarships; the Ruth Elliff Memorial Scholarship to each participating 2007 SPANner; the Anne E. Hammill Memorial Scholarship to Allison Tews, Egypt; the Judee J. Kleffmann Memorial Scholarship to Allisa Haupt, Greece, and Josh Schmidt, New Zealand; the John D. Lindstrom Scholarship to George Kontinakis, Greece; the Inez Wangaard Memorial Scholarship to Andrew Bockover, Egypt; and the Theofanis and Freda all SPAN Scholarship to Christopher Rene, Greece, and Karin Grimlund, Egypt.
The individuals and their families who have donated to these scholarships have made annual contributions to current SPAN students. Their contributions allow the SPAN program to be a lasting effort in international education.