When Mary (Connelly) Flaherty '67 heard about the inauguration of Dr. Judith Ramaley as Winona State's fourteenth president, she decided she had to attend. You can read about her trip from Iowa City, her return to the WSU campus, and her thoughts on the inauguration and her alma mater. To read “A Winona

Visit - Inauguration Weekend,” Ms. Flaherty's engaging account of her visit to Winona, go to www.winona.edu/alumninotes.

Kohler publishes stress management book

Gretchen Kohler '65 has published a book that's relevant for busy times, The Little Book of Stress Management. Kohler, who was the first female student-athlete inducted into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame, recently retired from the Health and Exercise Science Department at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter.

Kohler is passionate about the mind, body and spirit connection, as reflected in her book and in her support of the meditation garden near the Performing Arts Center at WSU.

You can find Kohler's stress management book at the WSU bookstore.

Meszaros awarded Bronze Star

Jason Meszaros '94 (St. Michael, Minn.), a U.S. Army intelligence and psychological operations officer, was awarded the Bronze Star for his meritorious service in Afghanistan. Meszaros has served in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Guantanamo Bay for the past 11 years, and has also worked at the Pentagon and CIA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

BORN TO GO TO WINONA STATE

Meet the latest member of the class of 2028! Tommy Simmonds shows off his purple pride in his WSU baby onesie. Tommy, born on May 25, is the son of Tanya (Pederson) '00 & '01 and Keevan Simmonds.

Send your favorite baby photo to the alumni office. If we publish the photo in our babies section, we'll send your son or daughter his or her very own baby onesie. We also post more baby photos at our online edition of Currents magazine.

Photos can be emailed to:  jscott@winona.edu. Or, you can send them:  Alumni Relations, WSU, P.O. Box 5838, Winona, MN  55987. Please be sure to include your child's name, birth date and parents' names with class year.

Warrior Club over 700 members; raises $60,000

It was a great year for Warrior athletics, and the Warrior Club had a pretty good year, too. After a re-energized membership drive, the Warrior Club boasts over 700 boosters. It raised over $60,000 during its annual phonathon this spring. That's a 35 percent increase in the membership base, and a 45 percent rise in dollars over the best phonathon results in the past 15 years. The Warrior Club supports student-athlete scholarships at WSU.

Don't forget about the Warrior Club auction. For the first time ever it will be held on the WSU campus, in the brand new Kryzsko Commons solarium right after the Homecoming football game on Saturday, October 7.

Team Sparky returns to Winona for MS Ride

A group of WSU alumni and friends rode through Winona as part of the MS Ride Across Minnesota bike tour on July 25. Pictured are (L-R): Brad Andreen, Bill McShea ‘77, Dan Wead ‘08, Justin McShea, Eddie Hallenberg, Tim Andreen ‘86, John McShea ‘79, Kristin McShea, Pat Wead ‘08, John Hallenberg.  Not pictured is Megan Hallenberg, she took the picture.

Alumni Relations joined alumni and mascots from other Minnesota State Colleges and Universities institutions for a Twins game in May. Posing here are Bemidji State beaver, the Minnesota Moorhead dragon, Southwest State's mustang, our own Warrior, and the Minnesota Twins mascot T.C. Bear.

Let us know about your favorite faculty member

Have a favorite professor? Someone who made a difference in your life? How about a memorable class or research experience? We want to know about it, and we'll share your memories on our web site and in future editions of Currents magazine.

Email your remembrances to alumni@winona.edu. Please put “FAVORITE STORY” in the subject line so we can route your memory to the right place.

Wieczorek Brings Soccer to Peru

Soccer was a big part of Katie Wieczorek's life while she was a student at Winona State. So it's natural that she would maintain the tie to a sport she loves while traveling in South America last summer.

Wieczorek, a 2001 Winona State graduate who is now in the physician assistant program at Des Moines University, took 25 soccer balls and air pumps on a medical mission to Peru.

Wieczorek distributed the balls in the villages and towns where she joined a group from South Dakota in providing basic medical and dental care. The balls were collected and donated by head coach Ali Omar and the WSU soccer team.

Wieczorek and the rest of her group provided primary care, such as prenatal exams and diabetes screening, to about 200 patients a day. But they found a little time for fun, too. “At the end of every day, we put the balls to use and played a little soccer with the kids.” said Wieczorek.

Faruque alums

What do the following people have in common? On first glance, perhaps not much, but they got together for a weekend in July and found one thing to talk about: they're connected with Winona State, and Bangladesh, too.

Pictured (L-R) are:  Shahrior Kayes '07, Tamzidul Islam '10, Sabit Ahmed '07, Cathy Jo Faruque '82, K.M. Rabby '01 and Saleh Ahmed '00.

Saleh Ahmed is working in management information systems in the Twin Cities and expects his first child soon. Sabit Ahmed is currently majoring in M.I.S. and business administration at WSU. K.M. Rabby is a computer scientist, also living in the Twin Cities. Shahrior Kayes is a student in nursing and computer science at WSU. All are natives of Bangladesh. Dr. Faruque is an associate professor at WSU and director of field education and frequently visits Bangladesh with her husband, Syed.

Last Modified: Monday, November 26, 2007 14:35 by Heather Alt