Our Stories

Butler trades textbooks for blueprints at The 1882
Some students spend the summer between their sophomore and junior years wondering where they’ll live next. Cooper Butler spent his ensuring the next generation of Broncos has a place to call home.

Reaching across the divide: Q&A with Rev. Greg Allen-Pickett
Rev. Greg Allen-Pickett is senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Hastings and a member of Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµâ€™s Board of Trustees and ASPIRE Faith Advisory Council. In addition to pastoral leadership experience,

Investing in Civic Life: The Doerr Center at Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµ
When Karen (Gilmore) ’75 and Roger Doerr committed $600,000 over five years to establish the Doerr Center for Civic Engagement at Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµ, they weren’t simply writing a check. They were planting

From evergreens to espresso: Kindig ’16 embraces entrepreneurship
On a chilly Friday in December, kids scamper among the evergreens at Pine Patch Tree Farm in Hastings while owner Joe Kindig ’16 prepares a seven-foot spruce for one delighted family. With

Madera ’19 bridges cultures through music
By weaving his Latin American heritage into the choral music he creates, Hugo Madera ’19 – conductor, composer and educator – builds a harmonious bridge between two cultures: his roots in Jalisco,

What happened on the way to the manger? Koepp fills gap in Nativity story
In the traditional Nativity story, angels appear to the shepherds, telling them to go pay homage to the newborn King. The next thing we see is the shepherds at the manger, but

Internship helps Castellanos grow in science and confidence
Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµ sophomore Sam Acosta Castellanos stepped into his position as a quality and lab intern at Nova-Tech Inc. to help ensure the quality and safety of animal medicine the company makes.

Christenson bringing history, stories of the Plains to life
Kylie (Luth) Christenson ’19 leads a visitor up the elegant curving staircase of the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer in Grand Island, Nebraska. On the second level, she gestures toward a

Tidyman learns the life of a zookeeper during summer internship
Surrounded by playful black bears and a roaming grizzly, Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµ wildlife biology major Chyenne Tidyman spent her summer learning the ropes of zookeeping as an intern at the Sedgwick County Zoo

Baker credits resources, hard word as she finds success
Alyssa Baker, a recent graduate of the Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµ biology program, is on her way to physical therapy school at Creighton University, her first pick. She credits the resources available at Hastings

Mathematics major turns equations into relations to help others understand numbers
Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµ student Lucy Reid highlights the power of numbers in order to gain a deeper understanding during their summer internship at the Scott Data Center in Omaha, Nebraska. “I’ve always been

Karr spending summer scouting fields — and careers
Standing in a patchwork of Nebraska farmland, Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµ senior Brock Karr is spending his summer digging deeper into the roots of agriculture — this time, not just as a farm kid

Bronco student-athletes showing off their summer skills at Duncan Field
Four Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµ student-athletes are participating on a collegiate summer baseball team, the Hastings Sodbusters, where their working to gain skills on and off the field. Seniors Markus Miller, Gunnar Pike and

Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµ student takes on disease detection — and Japanese culture — in summer abroad
Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµ student Sophia Lee never expected a chance email to lead her to Japan, but now she’s immersed in high-tech medical research — and Japanese culture — thanks to a life-changing

Uhrmacher finds his place in teacher education at Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµ
After high school, Cale Uhrmacher got his start at Central Community College, but a call from chair the Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµ Teacher Education Department steered him on a different path. Uhrmacher found a

Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµ students examine shortage of medical providers in rural communities
Medical providers in small towns and communities are not always available everyday — with some providers and specialists traveling from and working in several areas. For patients, this means week-long waits for