The annual tradition brings together alumni, community members, students and families to celebrate Bronco spirit. Ahead of next weekend’s festivities, the student body selected 10 members of the junior class to serve on the 2026 Homecoming Court.

Homecoming Royalty, the top two recipients determined by a vote of the student body, will be announced during the student dinner on Friday, September 26.

For a full schedule of Homecoming events, including registration forms, visit hastings.edu/homecoming.

Key Homecoming events include:

Chamber Business After Hours: Kick off the weekend on Thursday, September 24, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Lynn Farrell Arena. The new Athletic Hall of Fame display will be unveiled as part of the event.

Homecoming Golf Tournament: Hit the links with HC! All proceeds benefit 香蕉视频 Athletics and student-athletes. Check in at Lochland Country Club begins at 10:00 a.m. and lunch will be provided. Registration is still open for this event.

Hall of Fame Inductions: Celebrate the outstanding achievements of alumni at the fine arts and athletic hall of fame inductions on Friday and Saturday night, respectively.

Melody Round-Up Parade: A downtown Hastings tradition, the parade takes place on Saturday, September 26, with step-off at 10:30 a.m.

Bronco Athletics and Tailgate: Join the Bronco Tailgate on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in the Gray Center/JDAC parking lot before an exciting day of sports. Cheer on the Broncos at these home contests, which are all on Saturday:

• Football vs. Northwestern, 1:00 p.m.
• Women鈥檚 Soccer vs. Waldorf, 5:30 p.m.
• Men鈥檚 Soccer vs. Waldorf, 8:00 p.m.

2026 Homecoming Court

Members of the 2026 香蕉视频 Homecoming Court include:

Sam Acosta Castellanos, a biochemistry major from Grand Island, Nebraska, is the co-founder of the Latino Student Organization, a member of Tri Beta biology honor society and the DEIB lead for the Student Association.

Lexi Benson, a K-12 physical education and secondary education double major from Hastings, Nebraska, is a resident assistant and officer for the Association of Student Athletes and Chi Omega Psi. She serves as secretary for the Student Association, is a member of the women鈥檚 tennis team and Alpha Chi, and was named a 2025 Women鈥檚 GPAC Tennis Honorable Mention.

Caden Block, a business administration major from Hastings, Nebraska, is a Scott Scholar and a Student Senate member. He also placed second in Big Idea Hastings with his business, Caden Block Media.

Leah Downer, a Spanish and psychology double major from Cambridge, Nebraska, is a Dean鈥檚 List student, resident assistant and Studio 200 tutor. She is involved in the 香蕉视频 Choir, swim team, SAI, Association of Student Athletes and Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society.

Abby Fielder, a physics major from Hastings, Nebraska, is a Dean鈥檚 List student and Scott Scholar, where she leads the Design Thinking Workshop. She is also involved in the Student Association, Alpha Chi and the pickleball club.

Stella Heapy, an accounting and finance double major from Curtis, Nebraska, plays on the 香蕉视频 women鈥檚 basketball team, serves as an FCA leader and is a Scott Scholar.

Brady Lichtenberg, a business administration and exercise science double major from Windsor, Colorado, is a Dean鈥檚 List student, member of the football team and a member of FCA.

Ellie Lloyd, a marketing and agribusiness double major from North Platte, Nebraska, played volleyball for two years before shifting focus to track and field, where she qualified for the national meet and earned academic all-conference honors. She is an NAIA Scholar Athlete, Scott Scholar, Student Association participant and serves in a leadership role with FCA.

Norah Stewart, a biology major from Lincoln, Nebraska, is a Scott Scholar, president of Chi Omega and a member of Bronco Catholic. A team captain for women鈥檚 soccer, she earned Bronco of the Year and is a two-time GPAC Honorable Mention recipient.

McKenna Yates, an exercise science major from McCool Junction, Nebraska, plays on the women鈥檚 basketball team, where she earned GPAC Freshman of the Year and back-to-back GPAC First Team honors. She is also involved in the Association of Student Athletes and the sports internship program.

香蕉视频 is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Founded in 1882, the College is dedicated to student success and service to the community. Discover more at hastings.edu.

Priebe, a resident of Gibbon, Nebraska, was a four-year letterwinner and a three-year starter for the Broncos. Playing his junior and senior seasons under legendary head coach Lynn “Doc” Farrell, Priebe averaged 11 points per game and earned Omaha World-Herald All-State honors as a junior, followed by an Honorable Mention selection as a senior. During his senior campaign, he helped lead the Broncos to a 23-4 record and a berth in the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City.

Priebe joins a decorated 37th Athletic Hall of Fame class that originally featured seven individual student-athletes and two national championship teams.

As previously announced, the 2026 induction class also includes:

• Logan Drueppel 鈥�17 (volleyball)
• Katie Placke 鈥�18 (volleyball)
• Marc Tautz 鈥�18 (men鈥檚 soccer)
• Erik Tello 鈥�19 (men鈥檚 soccer)
• Joe White 鈥�18 (men鈥檚 soccer)
• Daniel Whitehall 鈥�19 (men鈥檚 soccer)
• Jill (Bax) Whitehall 鈥�18 (volleyball)
• 2016 Volleyball Team (NAIA National Champions)
• 2016 Men鈥檚 Soccer Team (NAIA National Champions)

Banquet Details & Registration

The induction reception and banquet will take place on Saturday, September 26, in conjunction with 香蕉视频 Homecoming.
The celebration begins with a social hour at 5:00 p.m. in Kiewit Gymnasium (715 E. 7th Street, Hastings), followed by the banquet at 5:30 p.m.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at hastings.edu/homecoming or by contacting the 香蕉视频 alumni office at 402.461.7363 or alumni@hastings.edu. Tickets are $50 for adults, $20 for children ages 4-12 and free for children ages 3 and under.

Established in 1989, the Athletic Hall of Fame honors and preserves the memory of athletes, teams, coaches and supporters who have contributed meritorious service to the College and its athletic programs. A full directory of past inductees is available at hastings.edu/halloffame.

香蕉视频 is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Founded in 1882, the College is dedicated to student success and service to the community. Discover more at hastings.edu.

A new grant will help 香蕉视频 students explore both.

The College has received a $150,000 grant commitment from the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) for its project, “Civic Engagement and Calling: A First-Year Foundation.” The initiative will expand and institutionalize vocational discernment and community engagement through the College鈥檚 First-Year Experience program and the Doerr Center for Civic Engagement.

香蕉视频 received an initial $75,000 award, with an additional $75,000 available upon securing matching funds, bringing the total project investment to $225,000.

Supported by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and Lilly Endowment Inc., the initiative is part of NetVUE鈥檚 Vocation Across the Academy program. The College is one of just eight institutions nationwide selected for this grant in 2026.

鈥淥ur efforts are especially focused on the first-year experience, where we have a powerful opportunity to set the tone for students鈥� entire college journey,鈥� said Tessla Michael, director of student success and project director for the grant. 鈥淚t will help students connect their academic experiences and personal values in ways that prepare them for careers and lives of purpose and service.鈥�

By weaving vocational discernment and community engagement throughout their four years on campus, 鈥渁ll students will have ongoing opportunities to reflect on how their gifts and passions can meaningful impact the world,鈥� Michael added.

With civic engagement and vocational reflection as unifying themes, first-year students will explore how their personal callings connect directly to community impact. The initiative pairs structured reflection with real-world application through internships, community-engaged learning and active collaboration with local partners.

To ensure long-term support, an accompanying mentoring program will connect every student with a dedicated network of faculty, staff, peers and community partners. Additional co-curricular elements 鈥� including a lecture series, a storytelling initiative and a sophomore fellowship 鈥� will extend vocational discovery across the broader campus community.

“Each selected project pursues sound personal and pre-professional student formation overlaid with structures for reflection on meaning, purpose, and vocation,” said Carter Aikin, grants director at NetVUE. “Program design is excitingly diverse in this cohort, with emphases ranging from curriculum design and student advising to community engagement and student athletics.”

NetVUE is a nationwide network of nearly 350 independent colleges and universities dedicated to enriching the intellectual and theological exploration of vocation among undergraduate students. The College has previously received program and professional development grants through the network.

香蕉视频 is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Founded in 1882, the College is dedicated to student success and service to the community. Discover more at hastings.edu.

The article, titled “Restoring the Canon with New Translations of Yiddish Women Writers,” was co-authored alongside Na’amit Sturm Nagel, a doctoral candidate at UC Irvine.

Because Yiddish literary scholarship relies heavily on English translations, generations of female writers were excluded from critical discussion simply because their work remained untranslated. Waterhouse and Sturm Nagel explore how a recent wave of modern translations is breaking down those longstanding barriers, elevating voices that enrich and broaden how scholars view Yiddish literature.

By analyzing six recently translated works 鈥� including prose by Frume Halpern, Yenta Mash, Fradl Shtok, Miriam Karpilove, Anna Margolin, and Kadya Molodovsky 鈥� the article highlights how translators are bringing diverse perspectives on female fantasy, imagination, and immigration and refugee experiences to English-speaking audiences.

“In their pages, women are the dreamers who think, write and will their dreams into existence, or live within their fantasies when their realities become too harsh to bear,” the authors note in the article鈥檚 abstract.

By making these rich depictions of women’s inner lives accessible to contemporary readers, Waterhouse and Sturm Nagel demonstrate how modern translation efforts are redefining critical appraisal of the field.

The full article is accessible online through Project MUSE at .

香蕉视频 is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Founded in 1882, the College is dedicated to student success and service to the community. Discover more at hastings.edu.

Located in the West Gallery, “In Remembrance” explores the fragile relationship between memory and identity, inspired by Reynoso鈥檚 personal experience processing his father鈥檚 Alzheimer鈥檚 disease.

The minimalist works meditate on the transience of life and devotional religiosity. Highlighting the deeply personal nature of the show are five drawings made by his father, Cruz Reynoso, drawn on courtroom notes during his historic tenure as the first Hispanic justice on the California Supreme Court from 1982 to 1987.

In the East Gallery, “Hot Orb Fantasy” presents large, brightly colored paintings from Reynoso鈥檚 Things Eternal series, which originally debuted in 2006 as a meditation on the divine and the Imago Dei.

The exhibition takes its name from a critical review in the Sacramento News & Review that the artist felt missed the mark 鈥� a title he now embraces with subtle irony to contrast the vibrant, large-scale works in an intimate space against the minimalist, white compositions featured in the larger gallery next door.

The Jackson Dinsdale Art Center gallery, located at 700 E. 12th St., is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and noon to 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays.

香蕉视频 is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Founded in 1882, the College is dedicated to student success and service to the community. Discover more at hastings.edu.

The 2026-27 season marks the third consecutive year X-Stream Sports, at , has provided exclusive live play-by-play coverage of 香蕉视频 athletics, and this year’s agreement features even more extensive Bronco coverage.

鈥淲hen we started this partnership three years ago, our goal was to give 香蕉视频 fans more opportunities to follow the Broncos, no matter where they were,鈥� said X-Stream Sports owner and longtime Voice of the Broncos Mike Will. 鈥淓very year we’ve been able to add to that coverage, and I’m especially excited about what we’re doing this season. We’re covering more sports, more games and giving Bronco fans more ways than ever to watch and listen.鈥�

Chris Clements, vice president of athletics for the College, noted that the agreement expands coverage to additional sports, including more men鈥檚 volleyball matches and home conference games for the newly formed women鈥檚 flag football team.

鈥淥ur partnership with X-Stream Sports has been a great way to keep our alumni, parents and fans connected to Bronco athletics,鈥� Clements said. 鈥淓xpanding our broadcast schedule to include our inaugural women鈥檚 flag football team and additional men’s volleyball matches gives us a fantastic platform to showcase the hard work and talent of more of our student-athletes.鈥�

Expanded Coverage

Under the new agreement, X-Stream Sports will provide live play-by-play coverage of:

• Bronco football 鈥� All home and away games
• Women’s volleyball 鈥� Home conference matches
• Men’s and women’s soccer 鈥� Home conference matches
• Men’s and women’s basketball 鈥� Home and away conference games
• Baseball 鈥� Home conference games
• Softball 鈥� Home conference games
• Men’s volleyball 鈥� Nine home conference matches
• Women’s flag football 鈥� Five home conference games

One of the biggest expansions this season comes in men’s volleyball, where X-Stream Sports will increase its coverage to nine conference home matches.

X-Stream Sports will also add coverage of the newly formed 香蕉视频 women’s flag football program, providing live play-by-play coverage of five conference home games during the program’s inaugural season.

鈥淚t’s exciting to see where this partnership has gone in three years,鈥� Will said. 鈥淲e’ve continued to add sports and increase the number of games we’re covering. Women’s flag football gives us another opportunity to showcase 香蕉视频 student-athletes and introduce Bronco fans to a brand-new program.”

Links to all broadcasts will also be made available at .

Experienced Broadcast Team Returns

This year’s coverage will once again be anchored by longtime Voice of the Broncos Mike Will, who has been broadcasting 香蕉视频 athletics since 1999.

Will will be joined throughout the season by Jimmy Pursell, Tyson Havranek and Marcus Metcalf, providing play-by-play, analysis and coverage across the growing 香蕉视频 sports schedule.

鈥淚’m fortunate to have a great group of people working with me,鈥� Will said. 鈥淛immy, Tyson and Marcus all bring something different to our broadcasts, and that’s a big part of what allows us to provide the amount of 香蕉视频 coverage that we do.鈥�

Coverage Better Than Ever Before

As X-Stream Sports enters its third season as the exclusive broadcast home of 香蕉视频 athletics, coverage will be better than ever before.

Streaming has become the new way for sports fans to follow their favorite teams, and X-Stream Sports continues to invest in the latest broadcast and streaming technology to make Bronco athletics available to fans wherever they are.

香蕉视频 games will be available across the X-Stream Sports Broadcast Network at x-streamsports.com, on smartphones with the free X-Stream Sports mobile app, through smart speakers, on Roku TV and through Facebook Live, YouTube and Twitch.

Video coverage will also be available across X-Stream Sports’ social media platforms, giving Bronco fans more ways to watch and follow their favorite teams and student-athletes.

鈥淪treaming has changed the way people follow their favorite teams, and we want X-Stream Sports to be on the leading edge of that change,鈥� Will said. 鈥淲e’ve continued to invest in the latest technology to make our broadcasts easier to find and available on more platforms. Whether you’re sitting at home in Hastings or hundreds of miles away, we want you to be able to follow the Broncos. Our goal is to make this year’s 香蕉视频 coverage better than ever before.鈥�

香蕉视频 is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Founded in 1882, the College is dedicated to student success and service to the community. Discover more at hastings.edu.

Nettleton, a social studies teacher and head girls soccer coach at Lincoln Southwest High School, will be honored during the Athletic Hall of Fame induction banquet held in conjunction with 香蕉视频 Homecoming on Saturday, September 26.

A social hour at Kiewit Gymnasium (715 E. 7th Street) will begin at 5:00 p.m., followed by a banquet at 5:30 p.m. Reservations are $50 for adults, $20 for children ages 4-12 and free for children ages 3 and under, and can be purchased online at hastings.edu/homecoming or by contacting the 香蕉视频 alumni office at 402.461.7363 or alumni@hastings.edu.

The Outstanding Alumni Coach of the Year award was established by the 香蕉视频 Alumni Association in 2004 and is presented to 香蕉视频 graduates who have shown exceptional achievement in an athletic coaching profession.

Over 18 years of coaching 鈥� including 15 at the high school level 鈥� Nettleton has compiled a 211-46 record, an 82.1 percent winning mark. Under his leadership, the Silverhawks have reached new heights, capturing multiple city, conference and district titles while qualifying for the state tournament in 11 of the last 12 seasons. They won back-to-back Nebraska Class A State Championships in 2024 and 2025.

Following the program鈥檚 first State Championship in 2024, they were recognized as a United Soccer Coaches National Top 25 Program, finishing at number 13, and Nettleton was named the 2024 United Soccer Coaches Nebraska (Large Public School) Coach of the Year.

Beyond the pitch, Nettleton is a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Empowered Coach and has led the Lincoln Southwest FCA huddle for five years. He has worked tirelessly to establish a strong program culture where hard work, citizenship, inclusivity and team spirit are the driving forces behind success, and players are held to the highest of standards in the classroom, on the field and in the community.

Nettleton has been recognized by the U.S. Soccer Coaches as State Coach of the Year in 2024 and 2025, Region Coach of the Year in 2025 and also was recognized in 2023 as an Exemplar in Athletics through building strong culture and community by HumanEx Ventures.

香蕉视频 is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Founded in 1882, the College is dedicated to student success and service to the community. Discover more at hastings.edu.

The induction reception and banquet will take place in conjunction with 香蕉视频 Homecoming on Saturday, September 26.

The celebration begins with a social hour at 5:00 p.m. in Kiewit Gymnasium (715 E. 7th Street, Hastings), followed by a banquet at 5:30 p.m. Reservations are $50 for adults, $20 for children ages 4-12 and free for children ages 3 and under, and can be purchased online at hastings.edu/homecoming or by contacting the 香蕉视频 alumni office at 402.461.7363 or alumni@hastings.edu.

The Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1989 to honor and preserve the memory of athletes, teams, coaches and those who have contributed meritorious service to 香蕉视频 and its athletic programs.

The 2026 香蕉视频 Athletic Hall of Fame class includes:

• Logan Drueppel 鈥�17 of Denver, Colorado, for volleyball
• Katie Placke 鈥�18 of Lincoln, Nebraska, for volleyball
• Marc Tautz 鈥�18 of Limburg, Germany, for men鈥檚 soccer
• Erik Tello 鈥�19 of Webster, Texas, for men鈥檚 soccer
• Joe White 鈥�18 of Grand Rapids, Michigan, for men鈥檚 soccer
• Daniel Whitehall 鈥�19 of South Hampton, United Kingdom, for men鈥檚 soccer
• Jill (Bax) Whitehall 鈥�18 of South Hampton, United Kingdom, for volleyball
• 2016 Volleyball Team, which captured the GPAC regular season and Tournament Championships and the NAIA National Championship with a 33-3 record
• 2016 Men鈥檚 Soccer Team, which captured the GPAC regular season and Tournament Championships and the NAIA National Championship with a 24-0 record

Previous 香蕉视频 Athletic Hall of Fame recipients can be found at hastings.edu/halloffame.

Biographies of the 2026 Inductees

Logan Drueppel is the all-time school leader in career hitting percentage (.333) and fourth all-time in career blocks (565). During her career, she recorded 782 kills, 59 solo blocks and 506 block assists. Drueppel was a three-time First Team All-Conference selection, a two-time NAIA All-Tournament Team selection in 2015 and 2016, Second Team All-American in 2015 and First Team All-American in 2016. During the 2016 season, she led the country in blocks per set (1.79), hitting percentage (.418) and total blocks (218), and was named the National Tournament MVP, GPAC Player of the Year and AVCA Regional Player of the Year.

Katie Placke was a four-year starting setter/right side hitter, finishing her career with 3,493 assists, 920 kills and 1,034 digs. She ranks third in all-time career hitting percentage (.291) and fourth in school history for a single season hitting percentage (.330). Placke earned GPAC Freshman of the Year and AVCA Region Freshman of the Year in 2014, was a three-time First Team All-Conference selection, a two-time First Team All-American (2016 and 2017) and a two-time NAIA All-Tournament Team selection (2016 and 2017). She was named the NAIA CoSIDA Player of the Year (2016), GPAC Player of the Year (2017) and AVCA Regional Player of the Year (2017).

Marc Tautz finished his career with 29 goals, 23 assists and 81 points for the Bronco men鈥檚 soccer team. He was a three-time First Team All-Conference selection (2014, 2016 and 2017), a Third Team All-American selection and an Honorable Mention All-American Selection (2017).

Erik Tello was a three-time First Team All-Conference selection and a Third Team All-American for the Bronco men鈥檚 soccer team. During the 2016 season, he was named to the NAIA All-Tournament Team and recorded three goals and three assists in his career as a defensive back, including the game winner in the semifinals of the Broncos鈥� National Tournament victory against Grand View.

Joe White recorded 120 saves and .78 goals against average with 21 career shutouts. He was a two-time First Team All-Conference selection, two-time Second Team All-American selection and named GPAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2016 and 2017. White was named the 2016 National Tournament MVP.

Daniel Whitehall鈥檚 career resume includes an impressive 93 goals, 32 assists and 218 points; he currently holds the school record for career goals and points, and is also the school record holder for most goals in a season (34) and points in a season (77). He is a two-time First Team All-American selection and a Second Team All-American selection in 2018. A four-time First Team All-Conference selection and four-time GPAC Offensive Player of the Year, Whitehall was named the National Tournament Offensive MVP and the NAIA National Player of the Year, both in 2016.

Jill (Bax) Whitehall currently ranks second in school history in career digs (2,102) and recorded 124 service aces and 288 assists throughout her volleyball career. She was a two-time First Team All-Conference selection, a Second Team All-American in 2016 and First Team All-American in 2017. Her career culminated with being named the NAIA Libero of the Year in 2016 and 2017, GPAC Libero of the Year in 2017 and the AVCA Regional Libero of the Year in 2016 and 2017.

The 2016 Volleyball Team completed a 33-3 record (14-2 in the GPAC Conference), capturing the GPAC regular season and tournament championships and completing a historic comeback to win their first ever NAIA National Championship with a reverse sweep of GPAC rival Dordt College (Iowa) in a five-set thriller. Members of the team included Mikayla (Bax) Callaghan 鈥�17/MAT 鈥�19, Clare (Hamburger) Kitten 鈥�19, Sage Meyer 鈥�19, Jill (Bax) Whitehall 鈥�18, Cailyn (Ostrand) Grabill 鈥�18, Rielyn (Hoffman) Brown 鈥�19, Emily (Lenners) Lipovsky 鈥�20, Andrea (Jameson) LaVene 鈥�18, Katie Placke 鈥�18, Jennifer (Klaudt) Teten 鈥�17, Abbey (Preissler) Poppen 鈥�17, Catherine (Williams) Barber 鈥�18, Cassidy (Ostrand) Stevens 鈥�20, Jamie (Isaacson) Burr 鈥�18, Emily Filsinger 鈥�18, Casey Krolikowski-Molifua 鈥�19, Matti (Dabovich) Bufmack 鈥�19, Logan Drueppel 鈥�17, Casey (Sutherland) Wallace 鈥�20, Kortney Allen-Williams 鈥�19, Jenna (Denney) Fago 鈥�20, Josie Dominguez-Tyrell 鈥�20, Ally Ginkens 鈥�20/MAT 鈥�22, Sophie (Gruwell) Hadwiger 鈥�20, Emily (Herbek) Strotz 鈥�19, Jessica (Klaudt) Dea 鈥�20, Madeline (Pelster) Ondrak 鈥�20, Danielle Shenk 鈥�19 and Lindsy (Siegel) Stohlmann 鈥�19. The team was coached by Matt Buttermore, Laura Buttermore, Melissa Avila MAT 鈥�17 and Kelly O鈥機onnor MAT 鈥�17; Amanda Teter served as the team鈥檚 athletic trainer.

The 2016 Men鈥檚 Soccer Team completed a 24-0-1 record (9-0 in the GPAC Conference), capturing the GPAC regular season and tournament championships. The team sealed the NAIA National Championship with a 1-0 victory over the University of Rio Grande. Members of the team included Mateo Cuartas 鈥�20, Carlos Carmona 鈥�19, Brandon Hedgecock 鈥�17, Matt Post 鈥�17, Josh Horne 鈥�17, Nick Hinds 鈥�18, Daniel Fragachan 鈥�18, Kristian Moore-Cowell 鈥�19, Daniel Whitehall 鈥�19, Murilo Ceruli 鈥�18, Adam Knight 鈥�17, Miguel Mendoza 鈥�17, Joe White 鈥�18, Daniel Shonka 鈥�18, Jake Ridpath 鈥�18, Thomas Guthrie 鈥�17, Daniel Linstead 鈥�19, Cesar Herrera 鈥�19/MAT 鈥�21, Damien Austen 鈥�18, Lucas Venegas 鈥�18, Erik Tello 鈥�19, Bruno Moreira 鈥�19/MAT 鈥�21, Marc Tautz 鈥�18, Bryant Toro 鈥�20, Tor Trosten 鈥�20, Eric Birighitti 鈥�20, Bruno Trindade 鈥�18, Blake Willis 鈥�20, Dmytro Chepura 鈥�17, Charley Dukes 鈥�19, Jack Royston 鈥�19, Trent Boyer 鈥�18, Allen Castaneda 鈥�20, Austin Allen 鈥�18, Henry Finnis 鈥�19, Patrick Madden 鈥�20, Shevon Williams 鈥�19, Stefan Foulke 鈥�20 and Nate Miller 鈥�19. The team was coached by Aaron Champenoy, Scott Robertson MAT 鈥�17 and Marco Carvalho MAT 鈥�18; Simon Brown MAT 鈥�17 served as the team鈥檚 events coordinator, and Josh Church was the team鈥檚 athletic trainer.

香蕉视频 is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Founded in 1882, the College is dedicated to student success and service to the community. Discover more at hastings.edu.

Inductees include:

• Charlie Austin 鈥�75 of Seattle, Washington, for music
• Michelle (Schrad) Kondrich 鈥�04 of University Park, Maryland, for art
• Becky Noble 鈥�76 of Omaha, Nebraska, for theatre
• Jamie (Call) Reimer Seaman 鈥�00 of Papillion, Nebraska, for music
• Dena (Summerfield) Swasey 鈥�92 of Sugar Land, Texas, for theatre
• Mary Vaughan 鈥�82 of Hastings, Nebraska, for art

The Fine Arts Hall of Fame recognizes 香蕉视频 alumni who have made a difference in their communities. It recognizes their extraordinary contributions to the arts and the lasting impact on culture and society.

The reception for inductees begins at 5:30 p.m., with the ceremony beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the JDAC (700 E. 12th Street). Tickets for the event are $30 for adults, $15 for children ages 4-12 and free for children ages 3 and under. They may be purchased by contacting the 香蕉视频 alumni office at 402.461.7363 or at hastings.edu/homecoming.

Inductee Biographies

Seward native Charles Robert Austin 鈥�75 is an internationally acclaimed operatic bass-baritone. 鈥淧ossessor of a strikingly beautiful voice鈥� and 鈥渃ompletely commanding on stage鈥� are but two of the powerful phrases used by critics and writers to describe Austin鈥檚 vocal talents.

A 1988 Metropolitan Opera Competition Finalist, he has sung numerous roles and productions with the Metropolitan Opera, National Opera DC, Opera Pacific, Cincinnati Symphony, Pittsburgh Opera, Virginia Opera and the Tokyo Philharmonic. He was also a participant in the critically acclaimed 鈥淓velyn Lear and Thomas Stewart Emerging Singers Program,鈥� a program sponsored by the Wagner Society of Washington, D.C.

Austin鈥檚 operatic repertoire features over 100 roles, and his performance resume covers venues in North America, Europe and Asia, including seven Carnegie Hall appearances. He has appeared with the Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, the Holland Festival at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Spoleto Festival in Italy, Canadian Opera Company, Vancouver Opera in BC, the Tokyo Philharmonic, Mexico City Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Dallas Symphony and Dallas Opera, the Choral Arts Society of Washington, DC (Kennedy Center), Greater Miami Opera, Florentine Opera, Hawaii Opera Theater, Anchorage Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Los Angeles Master Choral, LA Opera and the VARA Radio Symphony of the Netherlands.

A former Marine Corps Officer, Austin can be heard on several recordings including the benchmark recording of Menotti鈥檚 The Consul as the Secret Police Agent, recorded under the direction of the composer himself at the Festival of Three Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, as Praise God Tewke in Howard Hanson鈥檚 Merry Mount, La Fedelta Premiata by Haydn with the Padua,Italy Chamber Orchestra, as well as Shostakovich鈥檚 The Execution of Stepan Razin, with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.

Michelle Kondrich 鈥�04, a Nebraska native, received her bachelor of arts degree from 香蕉视频 where she focused on studio art.

After a decade of developing as an illustrator and building a successful freelance career, she joined The Washington Post in 2023 as a designer and art director for the Opinions desk, and was recently promoted to senior designer. There, she creates illustrations, commissions other illustrators and has had several comic-style pieces published.

Prior to joining the Post, Kondrich’s career also included positions at The Getty museum in Los Angeles and Georgetown University, where she worked for the School of Continuing Studies. While working in these roles, she continued her freelance work providing editorial illustrations for an extensive client roster that included The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, Financial Times, The New York Times, TIME Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and NPR. In 2017, she also created and hosted a podcast, Creative Playdate, in which she interviewed artists about pursuing creative careers while raising children. She interviewed well-known illustrators such as Lucy Knisley, Keith Negley, and Dan Santat.

Her work in illustration and art direction has been recognized multiple times by the Society for News Design, American Illustration and The Society of Illustrators. With her illustration, Kondrich focuses on giving a narrative feel to even the most conceptual ideas, and she is passionate about telling visual stories in often surprising ways. In her art direction, she is persistently looking to bring in new artists with a diversity of perspectives and styles to engage readers on nearly any subject.

She lives and works in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband and daughter.

Becky Noble 鈥�76 is passionate about transforming lives through music and theatre. She graduated from 香蕉视频 in 1976 and taught music in Nebraska, Iowa and Massachusetts. In 1991, she founded Cabaret Theatre, a professional jazz ensemble that tours throughout the region and produces a sold-out Christmas Cabaret each December. In 1997, she purchased the Dundee Dinner Theatre, producing eight shows yearly until the theatre closed in 2004.

In 2006, Noble began teaching at South High Magnet School, soon becoming the visual and performing arts curriculum specialist. Her 16-year tenure led to specialized curriculums in piano, dance and guitar. In 2008, a summer performing arts academy was added; in 2017, it became the South High Summer Musical, whose mission was to maintain the integrity of multicultural musicals. Collaborating with local theatre companies, community actors and students, she produced critically acclaimed performances of In The Heights, Once On This Island and West Side Story.

Noble retired in 2022, and in 2023 became the interim executive director at the Omaha Community Playhouse. Six months became nearly three years; she recently retired for the last time.

Theatre credits include A Christmas Carol, Sweeney Todd, Parade, A Little Night Music, Nunsense, Godspell, the national tour of The Sound of Music and Hands On A Hardbody, for which she received the Playhouse Best Supporting Actor award.

Noble sang for four summers at Great Woods in Massachusetts with Maestro Michael Tilson Thomas. She served as chorale director of the Aksarben Coronation for seven years and co-directed, with husband Keith Allerton, the Nebraska Humane Society galas and Press Club shows for several years. Noble was a founding member of the professional chorale, Soli Deo Gloria Cantorum. She earned her M.Ed. from Doane University in 2008. Noble received the 2020 Governor鈥檚 Arts Award for excellence in Arts Education.

Recognized for her rich tone and nuanced storytelling, soprano Jamie (Call) Reimer Seaman 鈥�00, who is known as Jamie Reimer professionally, has appeared in opera, oratorio and recital venues across four continents. She received the Gold Prize for Best Professional Singer at the 2024 London Virtuoso Competition. Concert highlights include soprano solos in Mozart鈥檚 Requiem, Handel鈥檚 Messiah, Canteloube鈥檚 Chants d鈥橝uvergne, Beethoven鈥檚 Symphony No. 9 and Choral Fantasy, as well as Liszt鈥檚 Christus for the American Liszt Society. Her operatic repertoire includes Fiordiligi (Cos矛 fan tutte), Contessa Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Erste Dame (Die Zauberfl枚te), and Anna Maurrant (Street Scene).

Reimer and pianist Stacie Haneline form a dynamic duo that performs regularly throughout the United States and Europe, with recent appearances in Antwerp, Belgium. Their performance of Words Like Freedom 鈥� a song cycle composed for the duo by Shawn Okpebholo 鈥� earned the Gold Prize at the 2024 London Virtuoso Competition. Their recording, The Last Songs of Robert Owens (Centaur Records, 2020), was recognized by The American Prize for championing the art songs and chamber music of composer Robert Owens.

With a particular focus on contemporary American art song, Reimer鈥檚 scholarly and performance work centers on the life and music of Robert Owens, for which she received a Special Judges鈥� Citation from The American Prize in 2021. She gave the world premiere of Owens鈥� 4 Sonnets to Eleonora Duse 鈥� written for her voice 鈥� in 2012 and performed the role of Ursula in the North American premiere of his opera Culture! Culture! in 2015.

In 2025, she hosted the Robert Owens Centenary Festival at the University of Nebraska鈥揕incoln, where she also released the Robert Owens Songbook Centenary Edition, a collection of the composer鈥檚 unpublished works discovered in his archive.

A member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) since 2003, Reimer was a NATS Intern in 2006 and has presented at three national NATS conferences. Reimer was recently elected West Central Regional Governor for the organization. She is also a member of Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity and serves as the new music project director for Sigma Alpha Iota Philanthropies, Inc.

Reimer is the Richard H. Larsen Distinguished Professor of Music and Associate Professor of Voice at the University of Nebraska鈥揕incoln and serves as Artist-Faculty at the Orfeo Music Festival in Vipiteno, Italy.

After earning a bachelor of arts in theatre and English with a minor in history from 香蕉视频 in 1992, Dena (Summerfield) Swasey relocated to Michigan to pursue her passion for stage management. Following a brief but formative experience in summer stock theatre, she took a leap of faith and moved to Houston, Texas, to join The A.D. Players, a nationally recognized Christian theatre company. During her four seasons there, Swasey contributed to both mainstage productions and children鈥檚 theatre, refining her skills and deepening her love for collaborative storytelling.

While volunteering with the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Speaker鈥檚 Committee, Swasey met local actor John Swasey. Their shared appreciation for the arts led to marriage and new professional opportunities, including Swasey鈥檚 work with Actors Etc., a talent agency representing a diverse roster of Houston-based and regional performers. She later returned to the stage management world, collaborating with respected Houston companies such as The Ensemble Theatre and Stages Repertory Theatre.

In 2000, Dena and John welcomed their first child and eventually grew their family to five. As a devoted stay-at-home mother of three, Swasey continued channeling her creativity by founding Chaos to Order, a business specializing in personal assistance and organizational consulting.

Recognizing the need for a stronger arts presence at her children鈥檚 school, Swasey became fine arts director at Westbury Christian School. Over more than a decade, she built and expanded a comprehensive arts program encompassing theatre, music, dance, and visual arts, leaving a lasting impact on students and the broader school community.

In the years since leaving Westbury Christian School, Swasey has remained a devoted patron of the theatre and has supported her family鈥檚 artistic endeavors, and is now stepping back into the professional stage management realm.

Mary Vaughan 鈥�82 is a narrative, yet, abstract painter whose work exudes a strong painterly style through intuitive variations on land and earth entity.

From Nature Forms based on ecology, to her playful 鈥淏io-tiques Series鈥� (based on the words biotic and antique), Vaughan combines painting with vintage finds and inlays. This unique aspect of built composition, brings the past into the present through visual metaphor.

Vaughan holds a BA in Art, Literature & Education from 香蕉视频, an MA from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA (analytical theory guiding studio practice) from the Maine College of Art & Design. Vaughan taught Art and Art History in a prep school in Princeton, New Jersey, for 14 years before becoming a full-time painter in Santa Rosa, California in 2001.

Vaughan has had significant success showing her work over 20 years on the West Coast and in her home state. Accomplishments include recognition for provocative exhibits for Newcomer Artists under 30, coordinating Earth-Art shows every April to encourage environmental awareness, winning the cover image for the acclaimed Art Trails of Sonoma County magazine, having her work exclusively on localismwines.com labels, having her art digitalized as set design for Cather鈥檚 April Twilights as operatic song through the University of Nebraska, being the solo artist for Wings over the Platte at Stuhr Museum and, more recently, awarded a team residency in Nova Scotia though the Maine College of Art & Design.

Vaughan has maintained her ties to Nebraska, despite living on both coasts all of her working life and acknowledges the author Willa Cather as influence to becoming an artist.

Born in Hastings, Vaughan was encouraged to think in creative ways by a father whose love for old fonts and color as a commercial printer (William Byron Vaughan) and by a mother (Evadne Linnea Lonnquist-Vaughan) whose literary interests ignited intellectual thinking. Vaughan鈥檚 parents were also 香蕉视频 graduates.

Vaughan recently restored a 1933 warehouse in Hastings as her Midwest galleries and studio. This art space will offer the public in-depth art shows and projects to boost the importance of the arts in the region and beyond. March of 2028 will launch the official opening of this venue with 鈥淲inged Migration: Dance of the Braided Stream鈥� 鈥� hosting artists across Vaughan鈥檚 art life to celebrate the sandhill crane and what the natural world means to humanity.

Vaughan鈥檚 artwork can also be viewed online at maryvaughan.com.

香蕉视频 is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Founded in 1882, the College is dedicated to student success and service to the community. Discover more at hastings.edu.

In this role, Sabatka will oversee fundraising, advancement and alumni engagement.

“Hauli brings a remarkable combination of passion for 香蕉视频, proven leadership and a deep commitment to this community. As an alumna who also served the College as an employee for nearly two decades, she understands its traditions and aspirations, and the Foundation search committee is confident she will inspire alumni, donors and friends to invest in the College’s future,” said Danette (Wilson) Andley 鈥�01, chair of the 香蕉视频 Foundation Board.

Since 2016, Sabatka has served as executive director of the Hastings Catholic Schools Foundation, where she led a successful $13.1 million campaign to renovate St. Cecilia High School and create an endowed fund for teachers鈥� salaries.

Prior to that, she spent 18 years at the 香蕉视频 Foundation directing alumni engagement and campus events. As a graduating senior in 1996, she received the Bronco Award, the College鈥檚 highest non-academic honor for students, recognizing her exceptional leadership and contributions to campus life.

“香蕉视频 has shaped my life in so many ways, and I’m honored to return to serve this outstanding institution. I look forward to partnering with our graduates, supporters and the broader community to build on the College’s momentum while expanding opportunities for current and future students,鈥� Sabatka said.

A former chair of the eight-state District VI of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, she received the district’s 2022 Distinguished Service Award. In 2025, YWCA Adams County honored her with the Gretchen Hollman Lainson Award for community service.

She and her spouse, Bill Sabatka, a 1991 香蕉视频 graduate, are the parents of three grown children, Anthony, Ryann and Andrej.

Sabatka succeeds Chelsea LeMar, executive director of the Foundation from 2023 to May 2026