“The cranes are a captivating species. They’re big, they’re easy to see and watch, and 1.25 million come together in one place. There are not many places where you can see a migration of that scale all at once,” said Matt Fong ’05, director of fundraising and outreach for Crane Trust, a nature and visitor center near Wood River, Nebraska, that welcomes 60,000 bird enthusiasts and nature lovers each year, half of them during Crane season.

“This spring we had someone visit from every single state in the U.S.,” Fong said. “For our overnight VIP program, we had folks from Canada, England and China. It’s really amazing to see people from all over the world come to Central Nebraska.”

Along with his fundraising duties, the business administration and media production graduate works to draw national attention to the annual phenomenon. In March, CBS Sunday Morning sent a videographer to film the cranes for “Moment in Nature,” the closing segment of the iconic program. Smithsonian Magazine ran a feature story.

Fong said the public’s fascination is easy to understand. Sandhill Cranes stand four-feet-tall and boast a wingspan of six to seven feet. Gray-plumed with a patch of red on their heads, the cranes mate for life and engage in elaborate dancing rituals with leaps, calls and elegant bows. A flock of more than 500 Whooping Cranes, a highly endangered species, joins the massive crane migration each year.

Visitors on guided tours watch the cranes from riverfront blinds. The Trust’s “high touch” VIP program offers overnight lodging in cottages and suites, catered meals and sunrise and sunset viewing from heated blinds. The past two years, �㽶��Ƶ reserved a block of rooms for alumni and special guests.

“So many visitors say this trip has been on their bucket list for a decade,” Fong said. “How wonderful is it to spend time with someone who’s fulfilling a bucket list item?”

Beyond crane season, the Trust welcomes visitors and educates the community year-round. As chief fundraiser, Fong visits donors and foundations and prepares grant proposals and solicitation pieces. He connects with the public and oversees special events and membership services.

His team includes �㽶��Ƶ alumni Sarah Nottage-Tacey ’04, development and special events coordinator, and Matt Urbanski ’23, a Crane Trust Fellow before being hired as marketing coordinator. Venn Wood ’26, a junior from Lincoln, Nebraska, majoring in wildlife biology, will intern at Crane Trust this summer.

Protecting the environment, serving the community

Raised on a farm near Lexington, Nebraska, Fong has been drawn to the natural world since childhood. He gardens, landscapes and spent several years on the Hastings Tree Board. After graduating from �㽶��Ƶ, he coordinated conferences and seminars for the Arbor Day Foundation, a global nonprofit dedicated to planting trees.

During a 15-year tenure at �㽶��Ƶ as director of alumni development, chief of staff and eventually associate vice president for external relations, Fong continued to find ways to connect with nature. He served on the Arboretum Committee, which oversees tree planting on the 120-acre campus and, with Emeritus Professor Will Locke ’61, started a Legacy Tree program that allows supporters to sponsor a tree in memory or in honor of a person or group.

In November, Fong will complete his second four-year term on the City Council. A longtime board member for The Lark, a local nonprofit and performance space, he helped found the Hastings Young Professionals and received Leadership Hastings’ 2022 Outstanding Alumni Award.

“Kaleena (Reeves Fong ’05) and I want to give back to the community, and Hastings is a place we love very much,” he said. “We enjoy being part of things that make the community better.”

A life journey rooted in nature

At Crane Trust, Fong has found the perfect environment to grow and nurture his lifelong passion for nature.

His workplace is a stunning visitor center amid 10,000 acres of wildlife habitat and prairie ecosystem. Working in jeans most days (a perk of the job), he takes visitors and supporters down a pathway flanked by a pollinator garden and a small research herd of American Bison, leading to a 35-foot observation tower, two picturesque footbridges crossing the Platte River and 10 miles of hiking trails. And, for one month each year, he welcomes more than a million majestic cranes to the shallow waterways and shifting sandbars just a few hundred feet from his office.

“The arc of your life is so interesting,” he said. “I vividly remember sitting at my grandmother’s table, looking at her bird book and trying to identify what species were at the bird feeder. I’ve always had a passion for birds, and I’ve always cared about the outdoors and the environment. All those pieces of my life have come together. I feel like this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.”

By Judee Konen ’85

Some of her works are portraits, while others are animations, each designed to enhance the stories they accompany. In one animation, a weary dog walking trudging everyday scenes, brought to life an article titled “We Take Our Dogs Everywhere. Maybe We Shouldn’t,” demonstrating Kondrich’s uncanny ability to distill complex arguments into compelling visuals.

Kondrich’s interest in illustration began through listening to a podcast about the industry. Kondrich, who graduated in 2004 with a degree in art, believed it was a feasible thing to do, which is when she started her freelance journey.

“I am a lover of variety,” Kondrich said. “I love illustration so much because I get to draw anything and everything.”

Kondrich began doing freelance illustrations in 2009 under Michelle Kondrich Illustrations. Since then, her illustrations have been in many publications, such as the New York Times, The Chronicle for Higher Education and Politico Europe. She has also created several illustrations for �㽶��Ƶ, including a print of Taylor Hall. In 2023, she started working at the Washington Post as an illustrator and art director.

As an illustrator at the Post, Kondrich is immersed in a creative environment where she’s tasked with curating ideas, crafting drawings and creating animations for stories selected by the Washington Post editors.

A key aspect of Kondrich’s role involves interpreting articles she is sketching for. Before she begins, she is given the article that needs illustration. Then, after analyzing the article and generating ideas, she sends at least 3-5 illustrations to the art director.

While at the Washington Post, she has done many illustrations that are quite eye-catching. Last year on February 12, 2024, Kondrich illustrated the trip a “rose” makes on Valentine’s Day.

While using the entire screen, she can showcase not only her illustration abilities but also her creativity.

Kondrich would not be where she is without the help of the art department at �㽶��Ƶ. “I made connections with people, my friends and my instructors,” Kondrich said. “I was able to explore things that I was interested in and it gave me a wonderful foundation.”

By Victoria Harris, a sophomore English and communication studies double major from Houston, Texas

Maybe you’ve seen him in a Rug Doctor television commercial, sporting a lab coat and bow tie as the company’s “director of clean.” Or standing under a waterfall in an Olympus camera print advertisement. Or portraying an Air Force pilot in “Mouse,” a suspense film available on Amazon Prime.

Or, most recently, playing a suspect on “Time Will Tell,” an episode of the iconic NBC series “Law & Order,” which aired November 7. Hergott was cast as Glenn Donovan, the temperamental father of a prep school student. In a classic “Law & Order” walk-and-talk scene, his character hurries through a factory, flanked by two detectives who ask him pointed questions about the murder of the school’s dean.

Is Donovan guilty? Hergott isn’t telling, but if you haven’t already seen the episode, you can watch it on Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service. A clip is also available at .

“As a New York actor, it’s a little feather in your cap to get on ‘Law & Order’ at least once. It’s particularly competitive,” said Hergott, who lives in New York City’s Financial District.

Hergott was selected after submitting an audition tape. His role was confirmed on a Wednesday, and he received the script on Friday.

“I had all weekend to work on it before my 6:30 a.m. call time on Monday. As I was going to bed Sunday night, I got a message from the assistant director saying to check my email for a rewrite. The edits made for an even earlier morning, but it’s part of the game,” Hergott said. “Everybody on set was really lovely. The director, Milena Govich, was gracious and kind.”

When the show aired, several HC graduates in Hergott’s family were watching, including his mother, Cathy Hergott ’82, in Omaha. A gathering of family in Hastings included his father, Ron Hergott ’82, recently retired from coaching the College’s successful bowling team; his stepmother, Lori Hergott ‘91, a former residence director at Taylor Hall; and stepsisters Nikki Adams ’12 and Maggie Esch ’16.

“It was nice knowing they made a little night of it. I was feeling the love,” he said with a laugh.

Honing his skills at ResponseNews

Hergott enrolled at �㽶��Ƶ as a media production major with an emphasis in television broadcasting. In between classes and sports practices, he worked for ResponseNews as a news anchor and reporter.

“I loved the storytelling aspect of it,” he said. “My senior year, I covered President George Bush’s visit to Omaha. I was the only college reporter alongside the network television stations.” His feature story placed first in a Nebraska Collegiate Media Association competition.

“Even though I didn’t go into broadcast journalism, the skills transferred to my career in entertainment since I was familiar with editing, sound, lighting, and being in front of a camera,” he said.

After graduation, Hergott eventually landed in Las Vegas where he was approached in a casino by a modeling agent who signed him to her agency. He also began auditioning for acting roles and made his professional stage debut in the show “Birdy’s Bachelorette Party,” an audience participation comedy at the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino.

When a coworker nominated him for a “Cosmopolitan” magazine contest looking for the country’s most eligible bachelors, Hergott was selected to represent Nevada. The magazine invited him to New York City for a press conference and photo shoot, and he booked a flight.

“Coincidentally, at the same time, I was sending my modeling portfolio to a bunch of agencies in New York trying to get signed,” Hergott said. “The week before my flight, an agency called and wanted me to come in for a meeting.”

That initial visit to NYC ended with contract offers from four different agencies.

“I booked a job with Giorgio Armani in New York during my first week in the city. I’ve been blessed to have a career now spanning over 15 years,” he said.

Crafting a career in entertainment

Since moving east, Hergott has been featured in nearly every form of entertainment.

As a model, he’s walked the runway at fashion shows and appeared in print ads for brands like Untuckit and Tiffany & Co. As an actor, he’s done improv with the Upright Citizen’s Brigade and appeared off-Broadway and in theater festivals. His television work includes appearances on six different shows, including the miniseries “Dead Ringers” and “Lisey’s Story.”

He has appeared in numerous television commercials for national brands like American Express, Samsung, Stella Artois and Michelob Ultra. He made his feature film debut in “Episode 50” and has had both leading and supporting roles in several other independent films.

Hergott’s proudest achievement is the creation of his company, August Ace Productions, which released the award-winning short film “Issues” about angsty superhero Calvin Elliot. He played the lead role, co-wrote the script, and directed and produced the film, currently available on the YouTube channel, “Issues – With Supers.”

“Artistically, being able to create something that elicits an emotion from the audience is cool, especially when you do it right,” he said.

By Judee Konen ‘85

On field trips to the farm-based center west of Hastings, preschoolers scamper down tree-lined trails, collect seeds and make pies in the outdoor mud kitchen. First-through-sixth graders explore topics like food webs and ecosystems, plants and pollinators. �㽶��Ƶ theater students perform one-act plays in the old horse barn. Local residents take quiet strolls through moonlit prairie grass or learn how to plant a garden or make sourdough bread. Families gather between the barns to enjoy bluegrass and folk bands at the Flatwater Music Festival.

More than 8,000 visitors each year participate in Prairie Loft’s classes, field trips and summer camps, as well as private events like wedding receptions and company retreats.

“Our goal is to get as many people as possible outside, enjoying nature and connecting to the agricultural heritage that’s so important in our area,” said Arrington-Williams, who grew up camping and hiking in her native Colorado. “We teach people where their food and fuel and fibers come from, and we help them enjoy the recreational and wellness benefits of nature.”

Before joining Prairie Loft in May 2023, Arrington-Williams used her skills in writing, marketing, fundraising and event planning at several local organizations. For two years, she was an admissions counselor at �㽶��Ƶ. She started a business magazine and directed operations and marketing at a craft brewing company. In her off time, she attended Prairie Loft events and volunteered on the Flatwater Music Festival planning committee.

“Prairie Loft was one of those places that really touched my heart when I graduated from �㽶��Ƶ and was deciding whether to go home to Colorado or put down roots in Hastings,” she said. “When I heard the executive director position was open, I had an intuitive hit saying ‘that’s my job.’ Being able to come back as the organizational leader is pretty fantastic.”

From working farm to educational center

Prairie Loft’s roots go deep into the history of Adams County, Arrington-Williams said. Its four renovated barns and farm buildings stand on 8.3 acres that were originally part of Ingleside, a working farm managed by the former Hastings Regional Center psychiatric facility. Patients and staff grew vegetables and crops and tended the dairy herd, chickens, turkeys and pigs. Produce was used to feed those housed at the hospital.

In 2019, Prairie Loft secured additional land through a management agreement with the State of Nebraska, including 15 acres of farm ground planted and harvested by volunteers and 50 acres of diverse ecosystem for nature trails and outdoor learning.

“We have grassland and trees and forest cover. We have a variety of wildlife,” Arrington-Williams said. “A lot of biodiversity is within walking distance. That’s what makes it really special.”

While a full-time program manager teaches and coordinates youth classes and camps, Arrington-Williams focuses on adult education and the tasks that keep a nonprofit running smoothly — community engagement, board relations, event planning, marketing and communications, and financial oversight and fundraising.

The fundraising piece is especially critical as Prairie Loft prepares to launch the final phase of a $1.5 million capital campaign to renovate the Workshop Barn that once housed farm equipment. Donors have already provided funds to build out the Pershing Prairie boardroom and Big R’s commercial kitchen. Additional donations will be used to finish a meeting and classroom space.

Future plans include renovating a red horse barn donated by the late Dr. John “Doc” Yost, an orthopedic surgeon who was volunteer physician for �㽶��Ƶ athletic teams for more than 25 years.

“We’d like to use the barn as an ag-focused classroom space where children can have hands-on, tactile experiences,” Arrington-Wlliams said.

Connecting neighbors with nature

The mother of two young sons, Arrington-Williams is always busy, whether she’s coordinating the Harvestfest at Prairie Loft or teaching a yoga class. Her penchant for multi-tasking began early when she majored in media production at �㽶��Ƶ while pursuing minors in Spanish and philosophy, writing for the “Collegian” student newspaper, leading tours for the Public Relations Council and ending her senior year with Who’s Who honors.

“I feel like �㽶��Ƶ prepared me to think critically and not be afraid to take risks and learn something new,” she said.

At Prairie Loft, her creative passion is fueled by connecting the community with this region’s rich agricultural legacy and prairie landscapes.

“Being able to pay homage to a space that has such historical significance and is such an important resource for our community is a huge honor. It drives me forward every day,” she said.

By Judee Konen ’85

Jaffe continues to pay it forward by hosting �㽶��Ƶ interns and maintaining strong ties with the College’s faculty. Her personalized major exemplifies how tailored education can empower individuals to pursue impactful careers in their passion areas.

But it was her work behind the scenes that resonates most with her current role as senior vice provost of curriculum, learning and academic affairs at The New School in New York City, a private university enrolling more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

“I got a lot of practice at �㽶��Ƶ. It was a soup to nuts experience where you had to think about how to build an audience, raise funds, produce something and actually make it all work, in addition to the great artistic experiences I had,” Koozer said. “Hastings afforded me those opportunities all in one place. At a lot of colleges, you focus only on performance and miss out on other types of skills.”

Those hands-on experiences at a small liberal arts college helped inform Koozer’s curriculum creation for The New School’s master’s degree in arts management and entrepreneurship, a program for artists who want to create new businesses or nonprofits.

Koozer described two recent graduates, a dancer and a multimedia artist, who had an idea to make waiting in line (a common annoyance in NYC) more interesting. They pre-recorded dance performances in the spaces where lines form and made them available through 3D goggles and a phone app for people actually waiting in those spaces. They eventually turned the capstone project into a nonprofit.

“We are proud to be innovative and challenging the status quo in all of the programs The New School offers. That’s why I work here,” Koozer said.

A different way forward

Founded in 1919, The New School is known for being “a little bit unorthodox and against the grain,” Koozer said. During the rise of the Third Reich in the 1930s, the School hosted a University in Exile as an academic haven for Jewish scholars facing persecution in Europe.

“Looking for a different way forward for the world has been a really important part of our history and continues to be central to who we are,” she said.

After joining the provost’s office in 2021, Koozer faced a unique challenge in a city that had been largely shut down by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“My first job was figuring out how we would return to campus after being fully online for a year and a half,” she said. The New School is in Greenwich Village, with an academic quad extending from 11th to 16th Streets along Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The university also has a satellite campus in Europe called Parsons Paris.

As senior provost for the central university, Koozer oversees all credentialed academic programs for The New School’s six colleges in the areas of design, performing arts, liberal arts, social research and public engagement, as well as Parsons Paris. She teaches one course each semester in music, entrepreneurship or pedagogy.

Koozer earned a master’s degree in music education from the University of Connecticut and a doctorate in executive leadership at Fordham University. She was school programs manager at The Metropolitan Opera Guild before joining the former Mannes School of Music at The New School in 2012.

Through this broad range of educational experiences, Koozer has developed an even greater appreciation for the faculty who taught and mentored her at �㽶��Ƶ.

“I hope folks realize how great it is to have faculty in a place like Hastings who are so expert in what they do,” she said. “In addition to being experts in their fields, they’re really good teachers. In my work, I focus a lot on what it means to be a great educator. I had so many examples of that at Hastings.”

A newlywed (Koozer married Hastings native Mac Rundle this past summer), she is the daughter of Ann and Dr. Robin Koozer ‘76, emeritus chair of the Department of Music and recently retired development officer for the �㽶��Ƶ Foundation.

“I’m a higher education administrator at this point,” she said. “At �㽶��Ƶ, I got to see a lot of great examples in people like Phil Dudley, who showed how you lead a campus in doing really cool and innovative things. My dad played a big role in that too.”

By Judee Konen ’85

Johnson, who works at Windsor High School, developed a passion for leading as he graduated from �㽶��Ƶ with a science and biology education degree. He wanted to mentor and coach in some way and was offered a position to teach and coach at Buena Vista High School in Buena Vista Colorado, where he spent two years mentoring students and athletes.

“I believe every good coach is a teacher, so it was important and exciting to be able to provide that mentorship and leadership to them, both in and out of the classroom; on and off the field,” Johnson said.

Johnson then spent seven years at Windsor Middle School before he transitioned to high school.

His goals for Windsor High School all center around a main theme: creating an involved and supportive school culture. The idea came to him while in administration at the middle school, and the concept of mentorship had stemmed before he began teaching. Playing baseball for the Broncos, he saw the coaching and dedication that was part of the team’s leadership. It made such an impression that it stuck with him all these years later.

“The goal was to help the middle school students reignite their excitement to learn again. In today’s era, there isn’t a fire to learn and create, there’s a lack of support for the kids to be curious about their education. So I wanted to continue re-sparking that same feeling for the high school students,” he said.

By focusing on the care and concern protocol enforced by the school’s acronym STAR (Strength, Trust, Accountability, and Respect), Johnson and other staff can gauge whether students’ engagement and response to faulty learning styles are adequate.

On the athletics side, Johnson has been preparing both coaches and athletes as they began this year in a new, bigger class division, meaning they’ll compete against larger schools of a higher caliber.

Johnson said he’s been working with coaches to strengthen team culture and community involvement by starting the Captains Club.

“Captains Club has regular meetings with team captains to get a sense of what’s going on with each team dynamic and if there’s conflict and how to overcome that together as a student athletic body,” he said.

Different schools, same vision

Lanter, who works at Severance High School, graduated from Hastings with a bachelor’s degree in studio art and art education. She found her first opportunity in her hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming, where she taught for eight years, then spent a brief year teaching in Texas before moving closer to home.

After returning home, Lanter found a position with Windsor High School. This best suited her needs being the location and her desire to teach art and coach softball and track. She worked at Windsor High School for the next eight years as an art teacher and coach and was heavily encouraged by supportive Windsor colleagues to pursue her master’s in administration.

Later, she applied for and was offered the assistant principal and athletic director position at Severance. This is Lanter’s second year working in administration at Severance.

Although no longer at Windsor, Lanter still has strong connections to Windsor High School. She partners with Eric Johnson or as she calls him, “EJ,” in helping her balance the life of athletic director and assistant principal. She refers to Johnson as her “district counterpart” who keeps her from losing her head amidst the chaos the job throws at her.

Attending most student events is Lanter’s’ key to a collective and supportive student body.

“Senior nights, homecoming games, late night basketball games or cross country meets, I do my best to attend every event, but I also have a supportive administrative team that steps up when I need support to be with my family. We want to show not only the students, but the families, that the administration and the staff are always rooting for them,” Lanter said.

Lanter herself was an athlete during her time at �㽶��Ƶ, primarily as a softball and volleyball player, so she knew what it meant to athletes that have a supportive community rooting and cheering you on. After she tore her ACL her freshman year while playing softball, and undergoing a second minor surgery with copious amounts of physical therapy her direction changed — sacrificing volleyball to play softball and focusing more on her degree in art education.

Severance High School is still relatively new — it opened in 2019.  Lanter said she’s made it a goal to put the school on the community’s radar.

“Since the school is so new it has endured many turnovers in leadership and staff, it’s up to us to model expectations we have for Severance and hold parents, students and staff accountable for their own involvement with the school. We also want to assure the community that we are here to stay and we are here for the success of everyone here at Severance High School,” Lanter said.

By promoting more athletic recognition amongst students, launching new mural projects to liven up the halls of the school, and continually strengthening the brand identity of the school, Lanter said she plans to continue getting the school’s name out into the community.

The time spent by both Johnson and Lanter at �㽶��Ƶ, both academically and as student-athletes played a crucial role in shaping their understanding of the significance of community and what it means to foster a positive culture. These experiences now guide them in their roles as leaders and mentors, contributing to creating more cohesive and interconnected communities within their respective schools.

By Cecilia Velarde, a junior marketing and communication studies double major from Loveland, Colorado

And she wouldn’t want it any other way.

“I was definitely one of those individuals that fell into this line of work, and I’ve loved it ever since,” said Jamieson.

Currently, she serves as program officer for Supportive Housing for Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) San Antonio, Texas. In this role, she works with a team to provide affordable, stable housing options as well as key services to households with at least one person with a disability. Many people in supportive housing have experienced homelessness because they have struggled to secure and sustain housing in their communities.

Jamieson’s position requires: being an independent starter since the working conditions are hybrid, connecting with varied audiences, and continually studying and presenting the best practices for permanent supportive housing – all skills she honed as an active student at �㽶��Ƶ.

“Being involved kept me busy and helped with my organization skills as well as being able to meet people where they are,” she said.

Formally, Jamieson served as president of the Multicultural Student Union, co-president of Alpha Delta Alpha, and a member of the Public Relations (PR) Council, among other endeavors. Personally, she took it upon herself “to mentor and support many minority students.”

“The connections, friendships, responsibility for others, and being the face for someone making the choice to attend HC all helped me grow in my communication skills,” she said.

Finding Success in Nonprofit Management

Jamieson provides this advice to others seeking to succeed in the nonprofit field:

• Truly have a passion for the work.
• Understand that you won’t save the world, but you can have a huge impact on someone’s life, to help them reach whatever level of independence looks like for them.
• Seek a mentor to help you in areas that aren’t your strengths.
• Being genuine, empathetic, trustworthy, humble, and keeping your word are very important in nonprofit management.
• Develop skills that will grow your team, the organization, and yourself.

After managing various marketing campaigns, receiving his Master of Business Administration, and becoming a team leader at Tropicana, Sexson’s passion has become clear. He loves to lead people — and was recently named to the Brand Innovators 40 Under 40 in the Midwest.

As a former captain of the men’s soccer team, the passion for leading and motivating teams has always been there for Sexson. Over time he saw how that same passion could be translated from athletics into the business world, a realization that changed everything for him.

“I enjoy building people up, getting them motivated, finding what makes them tick and growing their careers,” he said. “Leading teams is something I have always enjoyed and I feel really blessed to have the opportunity to do just that.”

When Sexson realized that his dream was to eventually move into an executive role, he went back to school and received his MBA from Northwestern University.

After building his resume working for Tropicana and various other companies, Sexson landed the role of Vice President & General Manager of Emerging Brands and Breakthrough Innovation. Sexson currently has full leadership of several brands within Tropicana, including IZZE, a sparkling juice, and KeVita, a line of functional beverages.

Sexson has been successful working in this role, and was recently named to Brand Innovators 40 Under 40 list in the Midwest, an honor he claims is due to the great people he has the privilege of leading. Honorees were nominated by the Brand Innovators community, which includes more than 25,000 brand side marketers across the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. Winners were selected by the Brand Innovators editorial team based on their professional accomplishments, expertise in leveraging digital media and emerging advertising technology platforms and a drive to continually keep their respective brands on the cutting edge of innovation.

“One of the things that has enabled me to be more successful in my career is leveraging and leaning on the people on my team,” he said. “I wouldn’t have been able to get that award if I didn’t have a strong team under me. They are brilliant leaders, which makes my job that much easier.”

Sexson values the people around him, and makes it his goal to learn from all his interactions with those surrounding him. This started for Sexson as a student at �㽶��Ƶ.

“�㽶��Ƶ allowed me to be a member of the soccer team as well as being involved in Lambda Pi Eta, the communications team. I learned so much from getting to know people involved in different activities and sports, with vastly different backgrounds,” he said.

Sexson, who studied marketing at �㽶��Ƶ, also learned immensely from his professors and is thankful for their dedication to helping students find their voice.

“There is an art to speaking in front of people, and at �㽶��Ƶ my professors really helped me find my voice, my unique voice. Because of professors like Dr. (Jessica) Henry, I became confident in my ability to speak in front of people. The ability to stand up in a meeting with purpose and command the attention of the room with a cohesive and logical story has done wonders for my career,” said Sexson.

Sexson has ultimately found his voice through the teams he leads and the products he manages; the two driving forces behind his passion for his job.

“I am married with two kids, and I want to work on products that I am proud to take home to my family,” he said. “Right now that means lots of health and wellness products. And second, I want to grow the careers of the people on my team. I am very fortunate to be in a position right now that has given me the opportunity to do both.”

By Landry Hinkson, a junior communication major from Bazaar, Kansas.

While at �㽶��Ƶ, RuAnn (Ulmer) Root ‘86 was skeptical about her classes in writing, public speaking and nonprofit accounting — requirements for her Human Service Administration degree.

“To be honest, I thought I would never use the information from those classes. However, have they ever come in handy,” said executive director of (CASA) in Hastings, a position she’s held for 22 years.

She’s used those skills to expand the agency’s programs into six counties, offer transitional living for youth aged 16-22 and mentor young professionals.

Root is one of many alumni for whom a �㽶��Ƶ education, rooted in the liberal arts and practical experiences, provides a foundation for serving others. They carry flames lit at �㽶��Ƶ into their current communities as nonprofit executives, employees, and board members.

A Life in Community

When Tim Moore ‘07 was earning his religion and media degree at �㽶��Ƶ, then-director of the Vocation and Values program and religion professor Dr. Trace Haythorn frequently assigned writings by Father Henri Nowen. Through Nowen, Moore learned about L’Arche, an organization of intentional communities throughout the world pairing people with and without intellectual disabilities.

Upon graduation, Moore took a position with L’Arche New Zealand and remains with the organization today as executive director of L’Arche Atlanta.

“The relationships have kept me in L’Arche,” said Moore. “Whether it was Victor in New Zealand, Mo in Washington DC or John in Atlanta, I have been given the gift of friendship with incredible people who have shaped me and made my life all the richer.”

On a daily basis, the core members — those with intellectual disabilities — go about work with the support they need from their assistants.

“Picture a big family doing daily life where each person has a different job, school, or set of activities/hobbies to engage,” said Moore. “Some of the members just happen to need a bit of extra support in very specific ways.”

Driven by ‘Lived Experience’

Eboni Nash’s work in the nonprofit sector is motivated by her father’s incarceration more than anything she learned in the classroom.

“His absence had a huge impact on my childhood development,” said Nash, a 2019 graduate. “I believe society could have created a safer place for me to live and learn than what was given to me initially.”

Equipped with the skills she honed as director of �㽶��Ƶ’s Food4Thought nonprofit and her master’s in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, Nash has returned to her native Colorado to build a better world.

Now, as vice president of development and communications for , Nash reports to Robert Andrews ‘07, the organization’s president and CEO, who is also an HC Trustee. Additionally,  she serves as Diversity Equity and Inclusion Program recruitment manager for Metropolitan State University of Denver.

“At CommunityWorks, I help strategize and facilitate connection with the current workforce for a diverse population of job seekers,” she said. “At MSU Denver, I help advocate to Colorado employers on how they can create an equitable and accessible workplace for the incoming talent pipeline.”

Thanks to flexible work environments and complementary missions, she is well-positioned to facilitate collaboration within the Denver community. Additionally, these positions allow her to apply her “lived experience” as the child of an incarcerated parent, a first generation college graduate, and a person who has experienced food insecurity.

“Many times, the people making decisions have no context nor experience with the scenario in question,” said Nash.  “If we were able to advocate for lived experience and how it might impact historically excluded voices, then we would be able to create a holistic and equitable system for all.”

Changing Lives in West Africa

Grant Nagaki ‘13 might just be 2022’s real-life version of Superman. During the day, he’s seeking to improve mental healthcare delivery systems. In his free time, he’s managing the nonprofit he co-founded in Ghana.

Traveling to Central America during �㽶��Ƶ’s former J-Term awoke Nagaki to a larger world in which he could help others.

“My experience at Hastings helped me experiment with volunteer work and with organizing such work. I was able to host a few fundraisers and start pitching ideas,” said Nagaki.

A port stop in Ghana as part of Semester at Sea inspired Nagaki and a fellow student to found the Senase Project and put his fundraising and organizational skills to use for a greater good. This poverty elimination organization has morphed into , a nonprofit with the mission to “empower children through the expansion of equitable access to quality education.”

Equipping students in villages with tuition, uniforms, books, supplies, and food hasn’t been easy as of late.

“We were unable to travel to Ghana during the pandemic, but the work still remained active through our field officer in Ghana,” he said.

Nagaki, who currently lives in New York City, specializes in all things financial, legal and operational for Aya. He credits �㽶��Ƶ experiences with preparing this vocation.

“I believe the close-knit community at Hastings gave me the comfort and opportunity to [lead a nonprofit organization],” he said. “It is intimidating work, but when you have a community who supports you, it allows you to be so much more confident and not fear failure.

Lives (Mostly) Balanced

Burnout in the nonprofit sector can run high. To maintain their drive to serve, Moore and Root prioritize the demands on their time.

“Two things that I’ve found that are important for me: I need to invest in friendships that are friend-first relationships,” said Moore.

The second for Moore is therapy.

“Leading a service provision organization through a pandemic was brutal and I’ve found that my leadership is more grounded when I’m living from a place of wellness and integration,” said Moore.  “Therapy has played an important role in helping me live from that place more often.”

Root prioritizes presence based on where she is at the given moment.

“When I leave work — I LEAVE WORK — I do not check emails, talk about what I did at work with friends or family to nurture what I value and refill ‘my bucket,’” Root said. “I have a passion for the work I do, and consider it a privilege every day to work in this field. I hopefully make just a small difference in the lives of families.”