ParentsPAGE
 

February 2014  

In This Issue
College Mom Shares Secrets

Month by Month: March

Graduation Reminders

Daylight USA Opportunities

Here Come the Dudes

Is My Student Going
to Change?

Financial Aid Deadlines

Picture Gallery

Facing Facebook

Mark the Date

Parent to Parent: College Mom Shares Her Secrets
Deb Rothe eating out
MLC mom Debra Rothe is close enough to MLC that she can visit her kids occasionally. Here she is out to eat with
 her daughter (right) and niece (left), 
both MLC students.

 

Deb Rothe is the mother of four MLC students/graduates. She writes: 

 

High school was so much fun - for me actually! My social life revolved around attending the kids' games and concerts, chaperoning dances, baking team snacks, and having the attic filled with friends sleeping over. 

 

And then it all ended when college came into our lives. College brought new experiences, new friends, new routines - and a new emptiness for me. As each child left the nest, I wondered, What was my role now? This is just what I had prepared them for, but had I prepared myself? 

 

I wanted to be sure my relationships with my kids would not only survive, but grow. I think I found the secret - for me anyway - and it has worked for all four of my kids who've gone through MLC. The secret has two simple steps

 

First-year Parents!
First Year, Month by Month: March
Habermann EFE 2013
Paul Habermann enjoyed teaching at last year's Early Field Experience.

 

Spring Break: As you've probably noticed, "break" isn't really the right word, as our students are quite busy over their spring break! Most education majors will spend several days doing Early Field Experience, either on campus (first-years) or off campus (sophomores and juniors). In addition, the College Choir will go on tour, and about 60 students will spend a week canvassing and witnessing at outlying congregations through Daylight USA.

 

Sports: Basketball is slowing down. Soon tennis, track, softball, and baseball will be in full swing (no pun intended).

 

Children's Theater: Rumpelstiltskin will be in rehearsal. 

Seniors: Are You Ready for Graduation?

 

Requirements for Graduation

John Schwartz and Debbie Cook,
2013 graduates.
  • Application - You should have already filled out an application to graduate.
  • Credits - You will get a notice from the Records Office if you do not have enough credits to graduate.
  • Payment - All tuition and other fees must be paid in full before graduation.
Other Information
  • Caps and Gowns - These are ordered when you apply for graduation.
  • Graduation Address Text - You will receive an email from your class president requesting ideas for the text for your graduation. Please reply promptly to this request so the preacher can begin working on his sermon for the service.
  • Seating - For May graduation, there are no reserved seats except for graduates, faculty members, and individuals with handicaps. (If you require handicapped seating, please have the graduate contact Graduation Marshal Michelle Gartner, and a seat will be reserved for you.) The gym doors will open at 8:30 am. Feel free to send one person from your party to reserve seats when the doors open.
  • Pictures - Your MLC Portal picture will serve as your graduation picture in the graduation service booklet as well as in Forward in Christ unless you make arrangements with Public Relations Director Bill Pekrul to get a new picture. Deadline for new pictures is April 1.
Important Dates
  • May 15, 8:30 pm - LSC Gymnasium - Rehearsal
  • May 17, 10:00 am - LSC Gymnasium - Graduation  

Daylight USA Opportunities 

Daylight 2013 Crass
Johanna Crass served in Redding CA for 
Daylight USA last year.

 

Is your student one of the 60 who are heading out to a spring break Daylight ministry opportunity? 

They are serving congregations from coast to coast.

 

Daylight is a win-win proposition, as congregations get valuable assistance and students get valuable experience: learning about the public ministry in another part of the country, meeting new people, and identifying and developing their own gifts for ministry. 

 

Many summer Daylight opportunities are also available. Encourage your students to check the Daylight bulletin board and the in-house e-newsletter called Daylight Update to learn about where they might assist congregational and synod ministries.

 

Here Come the Dudes

Mr. Concord Boeder 2014
First-year Carl Boeder's trombone-playing foot helped him win the Mr. Concord crown.

 

Every college has its own traditions - some noble and elegant, some quirky and fun! 

 

Two MLC traditions in the latter category are the Mr. Concord competition for first-year guys and the UMOC competition for three upperclassmen. 

 

Junior Nathanael Jensen explains: 

 

Mr. Concord: Named after the frosh guys' dorm, Mr. Concord is a hilarious mock beauty pageant consisting of competitions in dance, swim suit modeling, random interview questions, and the most bizarre talent around. This year, first-years Garrett Buch, Billy Chojnacki, Christopher Aveni, and Yaffet Gabayehu wowed everyone with their stunning personalities and performances, but they were no match for Carl Boeder (pictured), who won the coveted Mr. Concord title and all its fame and fortune. Carl brought the crowd to their feet by playing the popular Miley Cyrus song "Wrecking Ball" on the trombone - with his foot!  

 

Ugliest Man on Campus: MLC has also embraced an old college tradition where one sophomore, junior, and senior guy compete all week to win campus hearts through their creative and hilarious antics. The winner is voted the UMOC, the Ugliest Man on Campus. (Don't worry, parents: "ugliest" means "coolest"!) Candidates this year were Tim Waldschmidt, Carl Heling, and Christian Kuether, with Tim Waldschmidt taking the UMOC honors.

 

For Winter Carnival pictures, click here.

 

First-year Parents!  

Is My Student Going to Change? 

students ice skating
MLC students enjoy the ice rink 
at the bottom of the hill.

 

Let's hope so! You don't want to be giving them an allowance or ironing their shirts when they're 25 years old.

 

But the question goes deeper than that, doesn't it? More likely you may be worrying, "Is my college student going to turn into someone new - someone with new ideas, new passions, new ways to look at life?"

 

Again, let's hope so. Read more.

Financial Aid Deadlines  

 

April 15, 2014, is the deadline if you wish your student to be considered for an MLC grant for next fall. Please be sure that you do the following by April 15: 

  • Complete the MLC Financial Aid Application and submit it to the MLC Financial Aid Office.
  • Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Submit your FAFSA electronically on the web. Helpful hint: Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, and your tax return information will automatically be imported.

If you do not meet the April 15 deadline, you may still be eligible for federal and state financial aid, but you will not be eligible for MLC grants.

 

Please note: If your taxes cannot be completed by April 15, please estimate the FAFSA tax questions. Then, when you do complete your taxes, you can update the FAFSA, or simply send your tax information to the MLC Financial Aid Office, and we will update it for you.

 

Did you know? More than 90% of MLC students receive financial aid in the form of grants, scholarships, or loans. Many students, approximately 65% of those who apply, receive MLC need-based grants even though they may not be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant. For more information, go to our website.

 

Picture Gallery 

 
Check out these photos on our gallery!
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
Facing Facebook
Facebook 

Social media is in the news again this week, as a Twitter account episode has left one student at Rogers (Minnesota) High School suspended for eight weeks and another in danger of arrest for public defamation. The students thought their actions were just a joke, of course. 

Social media is powerful, and its power can certainly be harnessed for good. MLC, for instance, has a Facebook page with 4,500 likes. We enjoy sharing campus happenings, from court to classroom, and getting your immediate feedback on them. 

Chances are, your students use Facebook too. Facebook says that monthly users hit the one billion mark in late 2012. Yep, billion with a b. 

As with any technological tool, Facebook can be used wisely - or not. Safety and privacy are the paramount issues.

Perhaps the most important thing your students need to understand is this: 

  • People may gain their first (and maybe only) impression of someone by what they see on that person's Facebook page. This is key. Viewers of your student's Facebook page may include people new to the Christian church, people unfamiliar with MLC, people back home in their youth group or high school who look up to them, and people at the congregations to which they are one day assigned or called. 
Here are some more items to discuss with your students regarding social media. 

 

Mark the Date

 

March 17: Classes resume

 

March 19: Orientation to scheduling for first-years and transfer students

 

March 23: College Choir Home Concert  3:00 pm

           Financial Seminar: Planning for Retirement

 

April 2: Preseminary and Education Convocation

              Lent Vespers Service 7:30 pm 

 

April 4: College Choir Concert - Stillwater MN 7:00 pm

 

April 5: College Choir Concert - Marshfield WI 2:30 pm

 

April 6: College Choir Concert - Duluth MN 9:00 am

 

April 12: Wind Symphony Concert 7:30 pm

 

April 13: Lori Line Concert info here

 

April 16: Easter break begins after classes 

 

April 22: Classes resume 

 

Parents UKnighted

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