Rachel (Kunz) Donovan practices tiger-scorpion pose in preparation for international competition.

To earn her spot in the championships, Donovan, a yoga instructor in Fort Collins, Colo., earned fourth place out of 100 contestants in the National Yoga Championships at the Hudson Theater in New York in March.

At competitions, every competitor does a three-minute routine consisting of seven different postures. The first five postures are all mandatory and the last two are optional, demonstrating the practitioner’s strength and flexibility.

Donovan has been practicing Bikram Yoga — also known as hot yoga — for more than six years. She says the hardest pose she will have to do at the international competition is tiger scorpion — a four-arm stand where she brings her feet to her head.

She says competitions have been exciting and have helped her set new goals.

“When a lot of people think of yoga, they don’t associate it with competition because most yoga is focused on not judging or being critical of yourself,” she says. “But, for those of us who have a competitive spirit, it’s nice to have a goal to work toward and then be able to showcase what we’ve learned.”

Donovan thinks it would be fantastic if the National Yoga Federation succeeded in getting yoga admitted as an Olympic sport.

“Yoga has done so much for me personally that I think the more we can spread the word about yoga, the better,” she says. “It has given me so many things — confidence, determination, patience with myself and it has definitely pushed me to do many things physically that I didn’t think were possible.”

When Donovan is not winning yoga competitions, the art major is creating art. Check out her website at www.rachelsartgallery.com Learn more about yoga competitions and postures at www.usayoga.org

Donovan at the National Asana Yoga Championship in New York City:

Alumni from California and Minnesota have already committed to participating in the UW-L Alumni & Friends Golf outing Aug. 8, and the brochure has been translated into four different languages — Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese.

“Our goal is to recruit regional, national and international teams this year,” says Janie Spencer, executive director of the UW-L Alumni Association. “We encourage you to send photos of your group, and tweet throughout the day about your experiences on the course.”

All you need to do is recruit your friends and colleagues and make tee times at the golf course of your choice. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or a scratch golfer — everyone is welcome!

Support your alma mater and participate in Golf Goes Global.

For more information and to register online, visit uwlalumni.org, or contact the Alumni Association at 877.895.2586

Add Twitter symbol & UWLGoesGlobal

Thomas Harris

An assistant director in the Multicultural Student Services Office will join two other graduates as the school’s top alumni for 2012.

Thomas Harris, a 2001 graduate who has worked in the office since 2003, will receive the Rada Distinguished Alumnus Award, which recognizes alumni from the last 20 years with professional distinction and humanitarian activities.

Slippery Rock University Professor Robert Arnhold, a nationally known advocate for persons with disabilities who graduated in 1980, will receive the Maurice O. Graff Distinguished Alumnus Award. The award recognizes alumni who have brought honor and distinction to the university.

And Gregory Banks, a 1981 graduate who worked in public administration throughout his career, will receive the Parker Multicultural Alumni Award. That honor recognizes multicultural alumni for outstanding contributions to their profession and society. Banks died in September 2011 and will be given the award posthumously.

Also, two prominent La Crosse area businessmen will be recognized for their continued support of the university. Dave Skogen, chairman of the board for Festival Foods, and Donald J. Weber, founder and chief executive office of Logistics Health, will receive honorary degrees during commencement Sunday, May 13.

The five, along with the university’s top graduating seniors and retiring employees, will be honored during an Alumni Awards & Reception Friday, May 11, at the UW-L Cleary Alumni & Friends Center. A heavy hors d’oeuvres reception begins at 5:30 p.m. with awards at 6:30.

Reservations are $25 per person and must be made through the Alumni Association at 608.785.8489 or online by Friday, April 27.

Graduating senior awards and their recipients include:

• Murphy Award for Academic Excellence and Jake and Janet Hoeschler Award for Excellence – Hoang Vo
• Murphy Award for Academic Excellence – Sean Harrington
• Strzelczyk Award in Science and Allied Health – Crystal Stundahl
• John E. Magerus Award for the Outstanding Graduating Senior from the College of Liberal Studies – Vanessa Schwartz
• UW-La Crosse Graduate Thesis Award – Leslie Svacina

Sue (Manderfeld) Kaeppeler, left, poses with her daughter, Laura Kaeppeler, a.k.a. Miss America.

UW-La Crosse alumna Sue (Manderfeld) Kaeppeler is not Miss America, but sometimes the attention she draws makes it seem that way.

“For awhile I couldn’t go into a grocery store without getting mobbed by people,” she jokes. “I would go to buy toilet paper and come out of the store two hours later.”

So what’s all the fuss? Sue is the mother of Miss America, Laura Kaeppeler, who was crowned in January 2012.

“Still to this day, it seems so surreal,” says Sue, ’80, of Kenosha, Wis. “You see your daughter on TV and read about her in the paper. It has been a fabulous opportunity for her considering the people she has met and the people she has been able to reach out to.”

Laura was Miss Kenosha, Miss Southern Wisconsin and Miss Wisconsin before becoming Miss America. As Miss Wisconsin, Laura consulted with her parents about using a more personal platform that would drudge up some painful family memories. Laura wanted to pursue the platform “supporting and mentoring children of incarcerated parents” because her father had served 12 months in federal prison for mail fraud during her sophomore year in college. She wanted children with parents in jail to see they were not alone.

“We had to be supportive and OK with it because it was going to be very public,” says Sue. “It brought up a lot of pain, but also helped her to work through it.”

Today Laura is traveling the country supporting causes above and beyond serving as a mentor for youth with parents in jail. She wants her time as Miss America to focus on providing service to others and looking to the future just as she has.

“She has come so far. This experience has given her so much opportunity to open doors and do great things,” says Sue. “I hope she has been a positive role model to kids. The way you impact someone’s life — you may not know until years later.”

Sue knows about mentoring as she teaches 4th graders at St. Joseph Catholic Academy in Kenosha. She says her students always ask about Miss America and, together, they have had fun watching Laura’s journey.

“I will never worry about her interviewing for a job,” explains Sue. “The poise and confidence she has developed is a life lesson that she will use forever.”

After Sue finishes out the school year, she plans to visit her daughter at various events this summer. And Laura will be making some return trips to Wisconsin — even serving as the grand marshal in the Kenosha parade in July.

“It has been the most memorable year that we could imagine. I think what I’ve learned is that the pageant is not about the external beauty the girls have or the crown,” says Sue. “Laura would rather not focus on what is on her head, but the words that are coming from her heart. That is far more important.”

UW-L friends may contact Sue at skaeppeler@yahoo.com

Southwest entrance to the new student center

Students were making an investment in their alma mater when they overwhelmingly voted in favor of a new student center in April, says UW-L Senior Sam Gavic.

“I think it’s fantastic that it passed with flying colors,” he says. “It goes to show how proud UW-L students are. We are willing to help pay for something students we have never met will enjoy.”

More than 2,000 students voted in the referendum April 10 with 88 percent voting in favor of building a new student center at $55 million. The alternate choice was repairing Cartwright Center for $32 million. Some parts of Cartwright Center are 50 years old and the building needs major maintenance and upgrades to remain functional.

“And — we’re smart,” says Gavic. “It makes more sense to build than to remodel a facility that is going to end up having to be rebuilt in the future anyway.”

It is expected that the project would be completed by fall 2016, but it may be completed earlier depending on approval processes. A green light is still needed from the UW System Board of Regents and the State Building Commission. It is anticipated it would take two years to build and would be constructed on the space that is currently occupied by the Wimberly parking lot (Commuter Lot 6).

No tax dollars would be used to pay for the facility. Instead, it would be paid for by student fees and program revenue — potentially from services inside the future facility, says Larry Ringgenberg, director of University Centers. A gradual increase in student fees would be implemented over the course of the next three to four years, until the building is completed and then the full fee — anticipated to be about $155 per semester, would go into effect.

The design of the new student center is inspired by the bluffs.

When students vote in favor of projects like this they are signaling they don’t just go to school at UW-L — they are involved on campus and passionate about their life here, says Ringgenberg.

Tricia Langmeier, a UW-L junior, says she voted in favor of the project thinking about the future of her campus.

“I want to say that I went to UW-L and I want people to say, ‘Oh, that’s a great school,’” she explains. “I have younger siblings who may come to UW-L and I also would like my children to eventually come here.”

Read more facts about the building and its design, which emulates the nearby bluffs.

Men's baseball player Jay Fanta.

The softball team is 19-10 overall and 4-6 in the WIAC as of April 25. The Eagles have six regular-season games remaining on their 2012 schedule. The WIAC Tournament is May 4-5. Read more about Eagles Softball.

The women’s tennis squad is 19-3 as of April 25, heading into the WIAC National Qualifying Tournament April 28 at UW-Whitewater. Winners of the qualifying tournament earn a bid to the NCAA Division III championships. The Eagles are aiming for a second straight 20-win season after setting a single-season school record with 21 victories a year ago. Read more about women’s tennis.

Men’s tennis wrapped up its season with a 12-13 overall record. Nick Piotrowski finished 19-6 on the season in singles play while Travis Murphy was 16-4 and Nick Skanavis was 16-6. Piotrowski ends his career with a 71-26 singles mark. Read more about men’s tennis.

The women’s outdoor track & field team heads to the WIAC championships May 4-5 at UW-Whitewater. Nationals are May 24-26 in Claremont, California. Read more about women’s outdoor track & field.

The men’s outdoor track & field team heads to the WIAC championships May 4-5 at UW-Whitewater. The Eagles host a pair of meets before the NCAA Division III championships May 24-26 in Claremont, Calif. Read more about men’s outdoor track & field.

Mark your calendar now as UW-L hosts the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships May 23-25, 2013 at Roger Harring Stadium at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex.

Zach IIer, a photography minor, uses the Omega 5500 Dichroic Enlarger donated by alumnus Nels Johnson

Student photography projects are coming into clearer focus thanks to a gracious alum

By the time Nels Johnson graduated in spring 2010, the art major’s interest had transformed to metal sculpture. He didn’t want his photography equipment to go unused so he donated it to the university’s Department of Art.

Among the equipment: various formats of cameras and lenses; tripods; flash units; film and print development supplies; print washer; darkroom trays; beakers; timers; an Omega enlarger; a UV Exposure Unit; various alternative process tools; photography books; and camera bags.

“There is a much greater need for equipment in the photography department than what my gift would ever begin to fulfill,” admits Johnson.

But, he knew his equipment would replace worn pieces and add to the department’s inventory. And he hoped it would allow students to explore additional forms of photography equipment while creating their artwork.

That’s what has happened. Art Photography Professor Linda Levinson says some of the medium format cameras were new to the students. And, the UV light box provided students with equipment they would not have experienced had it not been for Johnson’s donation.

“The UV Exposure Unit has been an invaluable tool in teaching “Experimental Photography” this fall,” notes Levinson. “Students used it to make Cyanotype prints, Van Dyke Brown prints and even Chlorophyll prints that are developed under UV light.”

Alumnus Nels Johnson

Levinson says the generous donation hasn’t gone unnoticed by the students.

“They were so impressed with the donated UV Exposure Unit and the alternative process tools that they want to rename what is currently the Special Projects Room to the Nels Johnson Special Projects Room.”

Levinson says students will submit their work with prints created by some of the donated equipment for their minor. “Ultimately, this experience may contribute to their viability in the photographic profession,” she notes.

Essentially, all the photography courses utilize the equipment Johnson donated – just as he had hoped.

During his classes, Johnson met many other students who were just as excited and devoted to their learning of the world of art as he was. “Their passion and courage in exploring themselves and expressing what they found in their art was often an inspiration to me, and helped me in turn explore myself,” he says. “Great art is after all, in my view, an expression of the self.”

With that excitement, Johnson also saw the impact of a shrinking university budget from the state. That’s why he donated his photography equipment and encourages others to think about how they could help too.

“There is without a doubt a great need for resources the university is unable to provide,” he explains. “Any help would be greatly appreciated and is needed by the students and instructors.”

Johnson commends Art faculty for providing students a quality experience to help them discover themselves and their talents. “The faculty and staff in the Department of Art are a very dedicated bunch,” he notes.

Who is Nels Johnson?

When Nels Johnson began attending UW-L it was only to take a few photography classes. He developed an interest in photography while stationed in Japan as a U.S. Navy enlistee. He had planned to attend photography classes after being discharged, but a waiting job with the CB&Q Railroad took him down that track.

As Johnson’s career with the railroad began to end and retirement approached, he decided it was time to rekindle his interest in photography. He began taking photo classes at UW-L and quickly rediscovered his enjoyment with photography. He realized photography could be an art form rather than just capturing scenes.

His love in photography is with film. But, digital photography was becoming popular. “I could see that film photography was soon to be relegated to the archives containing the previous types of photography some of which film replaced,” Johnson says.

Upset that film, his love, was being replaced, he began exploring other art mediums to fulfill his art degree requirements.

“Photography is part of the two-dimensional forms of art,” he notes. “I stayed in the 2-D world for awhile through the medium of printmaking which quickly became my next love.”
Talking with other students, he discovered the world of 3-D art. “But that was unfamiliar and I labeled it ‘the dark side,’” he explains.

That was until he took a foundations course in 3-D. “Wow, what an epiphany,” he recalls. “There was a whole new dimension that could be explored and played with.”
He plunged into ceramics, metalsmithing, and sculpture and found a new medium to love.

That’s what led him to generously donate his photography equipment following graduation in 2010 and eventual move to 3-D.

Ranger graduation at Victory Pond, Fort Benning, Ga. From left, Church’s father, Colonel David Church, Second Lt. Jason Church and Church’s mother, Barb Church. Jason Church says he grew up with a strong role model — his father — who serves in the military and inspired him to do the same.

UW-L Alum Jason Church will be deployed to Afghanistan in April. It’s his first military deployment, but the 22-year-old officer is already considered an elite member of the U.S. Army.

Church, 22, is an Army Ranger. It’s a title he earned after graduating in December from Army Ranger School, the most physically and mentally demanding leadership school the U.S. Army offers. Only one percent of all soldiers go through ranger school and pass.

“It’s designed to stress you on every level imaginable — physically, mentally and spiritually — to teach leadership,” says Lt. Colonel Mark Johnson, who heads UW-La Crosse’s ROTC program.

It’s so stressful that only about 50 percent of those who attempt ranger school finish. Some have even died trying.

The challenge of Ranger School didn’t deter Church. He started in September 2011 after graduating from UW-L in May with a political science major and being commissioned an Army officer from UW-L’s Army ROTC program. Church drew from his background working hard physically as a fullback on UW-L’s football team and studying late into the night as a dedicated student.

In ranger school, based in Fort Benning, Ga., he spent 80 days working through simulated casualties and combat zones. With an 80-pound pack strapped on his back, he moved nearly 20 hours a day whether climbing Georgia mountain ranges or sloshing through Florida swamps. Despite the physical demands, he was only allowed 2,000 calories a day and 2-3 hours of sleep each night.

The best part of Ranger school was finishing, he says.

“There really weren’t that many great times,” he says. “Great times were getting fed and getting to sleep — to be honest with you.”

Church says the challenge of ranger school is not just being physically exhausted and deprived of sleep and food. It’s being in that stressful situation and having to lead others. He recalls leading a platoon of 40 men during mountain phase in northern Georgia. In the scenario, they were ambushed in the middle of the night and had to carry the injured person on a stretcher up hill. Besides lifting 230 pounds of dead weight, the group was walking through thick brush in the rain. Church describes it as miserable, but he said it didn’t cross his mind to quit. He was focused on how he could inspire the platoon to keep going.

Lt. Colonel Mark Johnson, who heads UW-La Crosse’s ROTC program.

He says over his 25-year-career in the Army, he has never encountered the level of physical challenge he did in ranger school. But it prepared him for the heavy level of stress — physical and mental — in combat.

Church graduated Ranger school in December. He’ll wear a Ranger Tab on the left shoulder of his uniform when he leaves for Afghanistan. The Tab earns him a certain level of respect, says Johnson. People who wear it are “expected to be a very demanding and exacting leader,” he notes.

The experience helped Church see more clearly who he is and what he is capable of, physically and mentally. And it pushes him to be even more.

“It serves to remind me of the standard I have to uphold,” says Church.

UW-L’s ROTC program

The Reserve Officer Training Corps program at UW-L offers students the opportunity to develop leadership traits for success in both the military and civilian sectors. Students learn firsthand what it means to lead and manage; gain keen analytical skills; use short-and long range planning techniques; and learn interpersonal management skills.

Students from a wide variety of academic majors participate in ROTC, from information management, business, and finance to biology, exercise science, and education.

Learn more about the Army ROTC.

The history behind Wisconsin’s governors is rich and Ralph L. Whiting, ’69, is sharing it with the entire state.

In 2008, Whiting, of La Crosse, received a $2,000 grant from Wisconsin Educational Media Association Permanent Endowment Trust to create and publish 5,000 posters featuring Wisconsin’s 51 governors through 2010. He collaborated with Jason Herman of JKHerman Design, LLC., in La Crosse.

Over the last several years, Whiting distributed the posters to every public school in Wisconsin, as well as many public libraries and historical societies. He says one of the most rewarding parts of the project was personally delivering posters to six of the living, former governors, including Governor Patrick Lucey who is now 94. “He just beamed,” says Whiting. The poster he gave to Gov. Jim Doyle hung in the entrance of the governor’s residence and another was placed in the state capitol.

Whiting earned a master’s from UW-L in audio visual administration and also worked was an adjunct staff member on a special projects through CESA from 1968-78. After a career in teaching and administration, he retired and continued to teach summer school for teachers at Viterbo University. But while teaching Wisconsin history, Whiting realized there was no single source with information on all of Wisconsin’s governors. It inspired him to apply for the grant.

Ralph L. Whiting earned a master's degree from UW-L in 1969.

Whiting said he has always felt the need to provide resources to educators. When “microcomputers” were becoming popular in schools, he won a national award for a technology academy he started for teachers, which was replicated in several other states. He later worked with Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to offer the first computer training session for library media specialists in 1979.

Today, as Whiting looks over the black and white pictures of governors, he says he hopes the poster will be a resource for teachers and will help spread his fascination with Wisconsin history. Studying the governors helps people understand history by looking through the lens of people who played a significant role in it, he says.

“It’s important for Wisconsin citizens and others to relate in some way with our past because we learn from our past and we need to appreciate our past because it comes up so often,” he says

2011 Live Steve Miller Band concert action shot by Kim Miller.

The 2012 Freedom Fest celebration has attracted some big music talent, including Steve Miller Band and Foreigner.

The annual event to honor veterans will be Saturday, June 16, at UW-L’s Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex. As the event has grown over the years, organizers have been able to attract bigger entertainers, says Tina Kuhle, director of annual giving for the UW-L Foundation. The event has grown from 1,200 attendees in 2008 to 6,000 last year.

“The enthusiasm of veterans, fans and our generous sponsors are building Freedom Fest into a premiere event for the region — Steve Miller Band and Foreigner take us to a new level,” says Al Trapp, president of the UW-L Foundation.

All Freedom Fest proceeds benefit veterans causes, including the Veterans Hall of Honor, a tribute memorial inside UW-L’s Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex and a scholarship fund for veterans who wish to further their education at any UW System school.

To date Freedom Fest has raised about $296,000 for veterans causes and has distributed $60,000 in scholarships to veterans.

Other performances during Freedom Fest include a favorite regional band, The Remainders, and the 451st Army Band, part of the 88th Regional Readiness Command, stationed at Fort McCoy.

Musical performances are preceded by the morning’s Freedom Fest Motorcycle Ride, a commemorative motorcycle trek that spans roughly 100 miles through the Coulee Region. Last year’s event set a record with more than 200 bikers participating in the three-hour ride. The day concludes with a fireworks show at 10:15 p.m.

If you go —

What: Freedom Fest
When: Saturday, June 16
Where: UW-L Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex
Tickets: On sale April 13 – June 15. Visit the Freedom Fest website or, to save on processing and handling fees, purchase tickets at area Kwik Trip stores. General admission tickets may be available the day of the event depending on the amount of advance ticket sales.
Suites: Suites may be available for rent. For more information contact Tina Kuhle at 608.785.8765

Schedule

Saturday, June 16 at UW-L

10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Motorcycle Rally gathers at UW-L stadium parking lot – 451st Army Band Plays

11:30 a.m.
Motorcycle Ride departs at UW-L stadium parking lot

3 – 4 p.m.
Motorcycle Ride returns to Cleary Center parking lot

3 p.m.
Gates & Hall of Honor Open

3 – 10:15 p.m.
VIP hosted bar

3 – 4 p.m.
451ST Army Band

4 p.m.
Opening Ceremony
Marine Color Guard – Presentation of flag

4:30 – 6 p.m.
The Remainders

6:30 – 8 p.m.
Foreigner

8 – 8:45 p.m.
Don Weber presents “Fallen Heroes”

8:45 – 10:15 p.m.
The Steve Miller Band

10:15 – 10:30 p.m.
Fireworks