Category: Stories

Josie Summerville, C’22, Communication Studies, Women’s Basketball 

“My favorite memory from playing on the basketball team, is a game we played against Illinois Wesleyan during my sophomore year. We wanted to win. Badly. They are a good team, but we knew we could beat them. So did a lot of fans. That game showed me how much support we have, as students, family, friends, and even professors turned out to support us. The campus community truly came alive in the arena, cheering and clapping until the final buzzer sounded as we won the game. 

“I’m in my senior year now, and my teammates and I know how each other plays. We know what we’re capable of. We know how to build each other up. Games have challenged that, but we have overcome adversity, trusting each other and having each other’s backs. 

“I moved here from Georgia, and at first, I was shy and of course, didn’t know a lot of people. But as I became a part of different groups on campus, the connections I made have been truly inspiring and special to me. After my freshman year, I decided to help other students with the transition to campus life as a registration assistant and orientation leader. I love to meet new people and helping my peers gives me a feeling of happiness and connectedness.”

We’re celebrating 130 years of North Park community. You’re invited to share your own story at www.northpark.edu/share130

#130stories

Michael Gagne, C’12, Music

“As a student it occurred to me that many of my peers may not have been exposed to church music in its grandeur. I wanted an opportunity for people to hear the magnificent pipe organ in Anderson Chapel and to sing some of the great hymns of our faith. With support from Dr. Helen Hudgens and former Professor of Music, Dr. Rollo Dilworth, I planned North Park’s first annual Hymn Festival Series.

“It was designed as a free public event where anyone might attend and hear the word of God, whether through scripture reading or a familiar hymn. Of course, this meant we had no idea how many people would attend. I will never forget that first hymn festival—after concluding the organ prelude, I turned around to see the chapel filled with people from top to bottom. It was both awe-inspiring and humbling. I learned an important lesson—that it never hurts to dream and to ask. You may be surprised and blessed by the response.

“During my Senior Year, in collaboration with Dr. Julia Davids, I directed the student led Handbell Choir that premiered in the 2012 Hymn Festival. I had about a month and a half to prepare an eight-member student ensemble, which was both exhilarating and terrifying. Our first public rehearsal was on the day of the hymn festival, and I can very much remember Dr. Davids complimenting how well the handbell choir played in such a short amount of time. It was a blessing to have received her tremendous support.

“In preparation for the hymn festivals, I also collaborated with my dear friend and mentor, long time University Organist, Mr. Leon Nelson. Lee provided a lot of insight into hymn selection, special organ settings, choral accompaniment, and organ improvisation. Many of these tools are beneficial to me today as principal organist and music associate at Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Hawthorn Woods. 

We’re celebrating 130 years of North Park community. You’re invited to share your own story at www.northpark.edu/share130

#130stories

Marisa Lugo, C’17, Organization and Management BA

“As I embarked on my journey with The School of Professional Studies in the fall of 2015, I questioned if I was making the right decision. I felt defeated and overwhelmed with life, school, work, and other responsibilities. My advisor Patti McCanna was always available to talk and meet with me. When entering her office, I knew I was in a safe space and could discuss anything with her. Patti was straightforward and honest, and reassured me that pursuing my degree was possible. She helped me make a plan to continue my studies and inspired me to want to make a difference with others as she had done for me.

“As graduation was upon me in 2017, I was so excited to attend my honors ceremony. I was awarded magna cum laude honors, inducted into Alpha Sigma Lambda, and was able to take pictures with Patti and my family. In December, as I graduated, I had tears of joy. I was and am proud to say I am a graduate of North Park University. Patti was right. I did it!

“Patti’s leadership, honesty, and advising sessions inspired me to do the same work. After graduating, I became a part-time academic advisor at a nearby community college in Chicago. Now when I meet with students that are interested in attending NPU, I get so excited. North Park provided me with social mobility and the opportunity to learn and grow.”

We’re celebrating 130 years of North Park community. You’re invited to share your own story at www.northpark.edu/share130

#130stories

Alyssa Anderson, Assistant Professor of Athletic Training and Clinical Education Coordinator, C’11 

“My first year as faculty, John Hjelm asked me if I would help chaperone his cross-country ski trip course at Covenant Point. Another faculty member had to have surgery and couldn’t go, but I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. I would not have called myself a cross-country skier. However, seeing John on that trip, how much energy he got from teaching in that environment, really made an impression. John’s love for students and Covenant Point really shone through. He was so joyful to get to share this place that was important to him with students who became so important to him.   

“Over the years, the trip evolved as John passed the torch to Kesia Shirkey, who later passed it to me. What remained throughout were the connections formed between people and with Covenant Point. The year I led the trip, another alum, Dustin Johnson, who had participated as a student his first year, now a decade later was on staff at Covenant Point and in charge of ski instruction. It was fun to hear how the trip had evolved through his eyes.   

“In the last few years, many of our students were from Chicago and didn’t have a lot of experience in rural environments, so it was an opportunity for them to enjoy nature in the wintertime, step out of their comfort zones, learn new skills, and meet people they otherwise wouldn’t. For commuter students, it was an opportunity to experience community. You could tell that people who would otherwise never meet each other were going to become study buddies, get coffee on campus, or just have someone else they would recognize outside of their major.  

“The trip hasn’t happened for a couple of years. When John passed the torch, he was very clear that it did not have to continue just because he started it. I think that speaks to the fact that North Park has had some innovative programs in its history, some of which are here for a time and gone, some of which span the decades, but they all are core to who we are in terms of educating students in immersive environments and exposing them to things they might not otherwise see or learn from.”   

We’re celebrating 130 years of North Park community. You’re invited to share your own story at www.northpark.edu/share130

#130stories

Greg Sager, Play-by-Play Commentator, Viking Athletics

We’re celebrating 130 years of North Park community. You’re invited to share your own story at www.northpark.edu/share130

#130stories

Geraldine Debeuf, C’10, ISEP Program, France 

“As a French student studying abroad for a year, I learned so much at North Park, about people and about myself. My favorite memories at North Park were Halloween on Campus (we don’t celebrate it much in France), dances at Navy Pier, Spanish classes with Cherie Meacham, and basketball games . . . So many great memories! 

“North Park is special to me because the staff, the teachers, and the students are all the nicest people! And Chicago is a wonderful city that will be in my heart forever. My husband and I had our first baby last November, and I really hope she can have an experience abroad like I did at North Park because I know she won’t regret it!” 

We’re celebrating 130 years of North Park community. You’re invited to share your own story at www.northpark.edu/share130

#130stories

Sandy Nelson, C’85, Art

“The Sweden Exchange Program with SVF in Jönköping, Sweden—August, 1983 to March, 1984—was the most influential time of my years at North Park. In addition to making lifelong friends, the experience of living in Sweden really opened my eyes and mind to the ways other cultures live, and ways that might be better than the systems we have in the USA. Other travels to Greece, the Soviet Union, and around Europe while I was on the exchange program, as well as a mission trip to Haiti during one spring break, were also extremely valuable and enlightening.

“Along with those incredible experiences and the opportunities from living in the wonderful city of Chicago, it was special to be on a small campus where you really get to know people of all ages, including professors. I loved it when I realized that so many of my friends were the children of people that my folks knew or went to North Park with—the generational connections were unbelievable! Now many of my North Park friends have kids attending North Park. I hope it’s still that way when my daughter is college-age.”

We’re celebrating 130 years of North Park community. You’re invited to share your own story at www.northpark.edu/share130

#130stories

Nicholas Jordon Canete, C’18, Politics and Government

“When I met Dr. John Laukaitis, he had been researching and writing about North Park and other Christian colleges during World War II. He shared with me a 70-year-old bronze plaque discovered in the University Archives. It was inscribed with the names of students and alumni of North Park who were killed during service in World War II. I thought it was important that the plaque be restored and re-installed to honor those fallen students and alumni. As a student veteran and an heir of the GI Bill, I saw the project as a way to give back to a generation that came before me.   

“Interim President Carl Balsam made the process of restoring the plaque very easy. He generously took care of the refurbishment of the plaque and had it re-installed in a quiet space on campus near the river. Once it was re-installed, we had a small gathering of prayer, and we read General MacArthur’s Tokyo Bay speech. 

“Both of these gentlemen love North Park very deeply. The three of us are also lifelong students of history. It was great collaborating with them to recognize the Fallen 45. The most memorable part of the project was the re-dedication ceremony we hosted on September 17, 2017. More than 50 individuals attended to pay tribute. This permanently etched the Fallen 45 into our shared history. “

We’re celebrating 130 years of North Park community. You’re invited to share your own story at www.northpark.edu/share130

#130stories