As her May 2013 graduation from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh approaches, Sonia Singh is counting on her experience with three psychology studies to help her land either a research position or a spot in one of 12 doctoral programs she has applied to across the country.

“My goal is to become a cognitive science researcher,” she said. “UW Oshkosh is a modest but very friendly place to start.”

Singh has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in psychology and personnel management, both from the University of Pune, India.

One of eight psychology graduate students at UWO, Singh’s master’s thesis work is supervised by UWO associate professor James Koch. For her thesis, she is conducting a cognitive neuroscience study that looks at the effects of training on attention.

As a graduate research assistant, Singh also is helping Koch with his study of the effects of social networking on emotions. This work involves collecting and analyzing data with an electroencephalogram. She also assisted with the literature review and content analysis for the study.

Last summer, Singh had an internship at Duke University in North Carolina, where she also had the opportunity to visit her extended family.

“I worked on an ongoing project examining the effects of fear on time perception,” she explained. “As part of the project, we used a shock stimulus to simulate threat and collected galvanic skin response or sweat gland activity along with heart rate variability. It was super exciting.”

Vanessa King has felt a calling to help others since a young age.

The passion has followed her to the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, where she was recently accepted into the College of Nursing.

Whether it’s been teaching English in Japan, leading an alternative spring break trip to Guatemala or volunteering at countless events, King has proven that she is serious about serving others.

Her calling is even what led her to choose nursing over her previous passion for playing basketball. She is now a pharmacy technician at Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh and said one day she would like to provide healthcare to children abroad.

“Everybody needs somebody in their lives to care for them and to show them love and compassion,” King said. “So I decided that nursing was a field where I could get trained in something that I could take to any country – no matter what the language barrier is.”

During summer 2012, King headed to North Myrtle Beach, S.C. with other students from Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU) to reach out to the community and share her story with other people.

“A lot of people have the misconception that they can’t have a relationship with God because they’ve done so many things wrong,” King said. “So I’ll share my story about how I lost my parents and I don’t really have any other family, but I still have something else to hang on to, and it keeps me going every day.”

Read more Beyond the Classroom stories.

Without Kevin Kropp, many home-bound senior citizens in the area would not get the food assistance they rely on each month.

Kropp, a University of Wisconsin Oshkosh senior, is part of the team that volunteers for the Oshkosh Area Community Pantry’s home delivery program. Each month, Kropp shows up to sort and deliver food to designated assisted-living facilities in Winnebago County.

“It’s important because it’s a reoccurring activity and it allows us to see how much of a contribution we can make over a longer period of time,” said Kropp, who has been involved with the program for two years.

Mike Lueder, program adviser for volunteerism at UW Oshkosh, feels a certain sense of pride over the time and energy Kropp spends focusing on helping others—both at the food pantry and through his involvement in other initiatives on campus.

“Kevin is an outstanding young man,” said Lueder, who nominated Kropp as 2012 Volunteer of the Year.

Kropp earned the honor in April at the Student Leadership Involvement Awards, but that isn’t where his story of doing good for others and his community starts or ends.

“He not only serves as a student leader, but also as a volunteer who makes a major impact locally and globally,” Lueder said.

Kropp became interested in volunteerism early in his college career at UW Oshkosh through Greek life. He went on to become co-chair of the UW Oshkosh Titan Volunteers program, a student leader for a Washington D.C. alternative spring break trip and a planning team member for Hands on Oshkosh.

“I find the idea of self-improvement to be very important,” Kropp said. “I try really hard to do good work and take the opportunities that are presented to me.”

Read more Beyond the Classroom stories.

When the 2010 earthquake hit just west of Haiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince, Lindstrom wanted to serve. But despite her six years of experience as a full-time humanitarian, she was denied access to Haiti because only doctors and nurses were allowed.

That’s when Lindstrom decided to return to UW Oshkosh and earn a degree in nursing.

“I chose to come back to UW Oshkosh because it has a such a good nursing program. In all the places I had worked, I saw this huge need for medically trained personnel,” Lindstrom said. “There weren’t enough doctors, nurses, anybody to help, so I said, ‘I can do something about that.’”

Lindstrom first graduated from UW Oshkosh in 1993 with degrees in Spanish and business administration. This time around, she said, she’s got an unwavering determination founded on her need to help others.

“It’s really different to be 40 and going to college. Now I know what I want to do, as opposed to when I was 17 and wasn’t sure,” Lindstrom said. “I love my classes, and I love learning. My teachers have become supporters.”

At 17, Lindstrom said she did not have the confidence to approach her professors for help, but now she realizes her professors are such assets.

“My professors are people I turn to and say, ‘How do I do this? Where do I get this information? What do I do next?” Lindstrom said.

While she is waiting to be accepted into the Accelerated Nursing Program, Lindstrom is taking classes on campus, though her heart is with the children she left in India when she returned to Oshkosh in 2010.

“There are people dying every day in the places that I am going to work,” Lindstrom said. “As much as I love learning, I also know the need hasn’t changed out in the world.”

While Lindstrom values her education, she said her real focus is on other people.

“They’re waiting. They’re dying waiting for me,” Lindstrom said. “Everyone should travel to a Third World country and experience what it’s like, because our lives are so sheltered and we don’t understand what it’s like.”

Lindstrom continues to help others here in Oshkosh. She works with foreign exchange students who live on the UW Oshkosh campus and attend local schools.

“I tutor 10-18-year-olds from Korea,” Lindstrom said. “I’m like a parent to them—it’s more than tutoring. It’s sitting down and doing homework with them to answering questions about life.”

Lindstrom’s passion for humanitarian work also shines in her classes.

“In my Introduction to Nursing class we had to give presentations on what field of nursing we want to get into, so I was able to share with the class what kind of work in Third World countries I am already doing,” Lindstrom said. “From that presentation, students saw things they hadn’t seen before or thought about, and some even said it was something they would be interested in doing.”

Because Lindstrom is coming back to UW Oshkosh after already completing two majors, she said she has some idea of what to expect. But what really gives her the confidence to finish her nursing degree is her experience in Third World countries.

“I always wanted to work in the medical field, but I never dreamed I was smart enough,” Lindstrom said. “This time around, I know I can do anything.”

Contributed by Kayde Kempen

After overcoming many obstacles early on in life, he said he has found a way to achieve more success than he ever thought was possible.

Vu was born in Saigon, Vietnam in 1969, and he came to America as a refugee in 1975 with his family after the Vietnam War. He said he remembers a lot about living in the war-torn country, but as a child it was just part of his everyday life.

“You go to school, you come home, you be with your family,” Vu said. “But intertwined into all that you knew that there was a war going on. As a young child I would hear people talking about the war, and I would hear artillery in the city and surroundings, but it was just part of life.”

After spending time in various refugee camps throughout the Pacific and in Arkansas, Vu and his family were able to relocate to Minnesota after being sponsored by a church in St. Paul. His family started their new life in Golden Valley, a suburb of Minneapolis, where Vu attended middle and high school.

“I didn’t know English at all, so it was tough trying to communicate,” Vu said. “Just like any other young kid, you get teased if you’re different. This was no exception. It was tough, but I was determined to try to fit in and learn the language and customs and work hard.”

Vu graduated from high school in 1987 and then began studying at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. He went on to finish both an undergraduate and graduate degree in microbiology from the University.

It wasn’t until he was nearly completed with his graduate program that Vu’s interest in dentistry developed. With the encouragement of a friend in the microbiology graduate program, Vu enrolled in the dentistry program at Marquette University.

“I didn’t know much about dentistry, but I liked science and working with my hands,” he said. “My friend encouraged me to look into dentistry because it was what I was describing that I wanted to do. So I applied and decided to give it a year to see if I liked it or not, and it turned out to be a really fortunate thing for me.”

When he took this next step in his education, Vu was already married and had his first child. The four years of dental school proved to be challenging, as he would spend his weekends with his family in Oshkosh and his weekdays studying in his studio apartment in Milwaukee.

However, his hard work and the endless support from his wife paid off, and he found work at a dental office in Neenah shortly after graduation. Two years later, Vu opened his own office in Oshkosh, where he is currently practicing dentistry.

“I worked very hard, and nothing was just given to me,” Vu said. “But it all paid off, and it really worked out well. I have a lot to be thankful for.”

Vu and his wife now have three children, and he said all of his spare time goes toward spending time with them.

“It’s all about the kids now,” Vu said. “I’ve accomplished the things I wanted to accomplish and more so than I ever imagined. So now I want to support them and give them the opportunities and experiences so they can become successful in whatever they want to do.”

Contributed by Danielle Beyer ’12

It was one split-second moment, however, that would truly define who she would become as an adult, awakening within her a gift she had buried in childhood.

It is a story of courage that landed Voight, who has a bachelor’s degree in radio-TV-film from UW Oshkosh, where she is today … as an accomplished author of two international books, a popular guest on radio and television shows around the country and host of her own radio program.

But in one brief moment, it almost all went wrong. And it took everything she had to survive.

In 1987, Voight was on her way to Florida when her van was hit by a semi-trailer. Two of her dogs were killed in the crash. She jumped through the flames and was dragged away from the burning wreck. She found herself paralyzed, severely burned and fighting for her life at the age of 22. She was given a 3-percent chance to live. Even if she did survive, doctors told her she would be 98-percent disabled.

She struggled for every breath day in and day out, when finally, everything, including her heart, stopped. A near-death experience led her to a beautiful, peaceful place where she encountered her spirit guides. She suddenly realized she had more left to give, and they urged her to break open the barriers that were blocking her from the intuitive abilities she had as a child. With their help, she returned to her body to face the healing struggle ahead.

“I remember concentrating on each and every breath. In and out. In and out,” Voight said. “I would also visualize what it was like jumping rope when I was a child—how I had to find the perfect rhythmic opening within the rope’s swing in order to sync up with it. Lying in that hospital room, I learned to find the openings, the gaps between breaths, between words, and in that space, I decided that I would walk again.”

Defying all medical odds, she did. She walked out of the hospital three short weeks later.

Today, Voight is one of the world’s leading experts in animal communication and intuitive life coaching. During her 15-year professional career, she has worked with more than 60,000 animals and people worldwide. She has been connecting people with their animal companions and motivating them with her personal story of courage and triumph, while showing them how to awaken their own telepathic skills. She teaches a popular animal communication course and continues to offer in-person and at-a distance life readings and business strategy sessions with clients from all over the world.

Voight communicates with animals and spirit guides by receiving their thoughts, ideas, feelings and images directly, from their mind telepathically. Able to communicate with animals since childhood, Voight had “turned off” that ability as she got older.

“Without the deep connection I was used to feeling to animals and the universe as a whole, I began to really lose my sense of direction and purpose in life,” Voight said. “I believe this is how a lot of my clients feel when they come to me for assistance now. It’s why I can help them experience greater understanding and connection. Animal communication and intuitive life coaching are not only about healing people and animals, but also about healing the world.”

Voight’s amazing story will soon be featured in a new reality movie: Face2Face, directed by Katherine Brooks, (The Osbournes, Paris Hilton’s Simple Life). For this film, 50 Facebook friends were picked to share their stories of healing and transformation.

Voight also chronicles her courageous story in two recent books in which she has written chapters: Pearls of Wisdom: 30 Inspirational Ideas to Live your Best Life Now and Extraordinary You: The Art of Living a Lusciously Spirited, Vibrant Life.

For more about Voight, visit AsiaVoight.com or Asia Voight /Facebook.

Contributed by Amy Pikalek

One life, many tales of courage

Buddhists believe in reincarnation, the ebb and flow of life and death. For many, it takes more than a lifetime to truly exhibit one of the most commendable characteristics of all—courage. University of Wisconsin Oshkosh alumna Saran Batchuluun ’10, already has lived many lives of courage in her 40-something years.

Batchuluun was born to a nomadic family in Mongolia, where she learned to ride a horse at age 4 and herd cattle, sheep and goats. As a little girl, she dreamed of wearing a uniform to school.

In 1996, Batchuluun graduated from the Health Sciences University of Mongolia. She spent the next two years working as a family physician, but her salary couldn’t even pay for a good pair of winter boots.

In 2002, she and her husband at the time decided that she should move alone to the U.S., where she could make a better living and send money back to her family, including three daughters.

After working as a caretaker for the elderly, Batchuluun walked into Sue Clark’s office in 2007. Because it was the last day for admissions, Clark, the adviser for the Accelerated Online Bachelor’s to BSN Program, immediately helped Batchuluun get the process underway.

“I was truly grateful to her from all my heart and spirit,” Batchuluun said. “I walked out of her office with big hope.”

Batchuluun worked hard to earn her nursing assistant certificate and her nursing degree and get a job at St. Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan.

“When nursing students graduate, they need to study for a national board exam, a very language-intensive exam,” Clark said. “She got that exam done. She got a job before many of her peers.”

But three weeks later, Batchuluun was involved in a horrific car accident that required extensive treatment.

To support her, UWO’s College of Nursing faculty collected a small amount of money to include in a greeting card. Brent MacWilliams ’95 and MSN ’03, Batchuluun’s first clinical instructor, even brought her a bike to encourage her recovery.

After six months of painful physical and emotional recovery, Batchuluun remarkably improved and returned to work. The day after Christmas 2010, Batchuluun joyously greeted two of her daughters at the airport.

“Nine years of my mission accomplished,” she said. “My kids are with me, and I can see a nice future for them, like a good ending to a movie.”

Read more of Batchuluun’s story in her own words.

“I was born in a nomadic family in Mongolia as the youngest child. I learned to ride a horse at 4 years old and used to bring cattle back in the evening. We used to take care of hundreds of sheep and goats. I wanted to go to school when I saw my brothers and sisters going to school. There was a broken Buddhist monastery where we lived. I believed there was a pretty suitcase in the broken monastery. There must be my school uniform, books and pencils in that suitcase. I should take it and go to school … I was a girl who liked to dream.

“When I was 5 years old, my father died of liver cancer. I remember my father got a big bump on his abdomen, and I touched it and felt a hard node. He was gone to rest in two months. Soon we all moved to the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. We moved to Ulaanbaatar by Russian truck, and we all were sitting on a back of the truck. It took three days and three nights to get to Ulaanbaatar. My mother got a job there, and she made heroic efforts to raise us and give us a decent and happy life.

“I graduated high school, then Health Science University of Mongolia. Until the third year of the University, my future was clear as a glass; working as a doctor and having good life. My future was promising. The next few years were a transitioning period for Mongolians from communism to democracy. They were very difficult years for regular people who used to live in one pattern of life. The government gave a food card to every family, and there was not enough to eat on our plates. Many talented students dropped out of school, and many professionals quit their jobs and became merchants and struggled to make a living.

“At times, I considered quitting my school and becoming a merchant seller to feed my family. I couldn’t quit, I couldn’t imagine ending my dream to become a doctor. I spent many years studying medicine. I was one of those hard-working students. I graduated from Health Science University in 1996. After graduation, the economy was still shaky. I earned a small salary working as a family physician for two years. I couldn’t even afford a good pair of winter boots.

“I saw no way to afford my residency training. Even if I worked as a specialist, I couldn’t make a better living. There was not much motivation left for me to pursue my career. My ex-husband is an artist; people didn’t have money to buy arts. We had three young kids to feed and wanted our kids to have a good life. We tried hard to make a living.

“We bought cheap clothes from people who brought them from a small border city in China and sold them outside the market. We cooked hot meals and sold them in the street, too. I helped my ex-husband craft souvenirs and sell them to tourists. We opened a small grocery store. That way, I made better money than working as a doctor. My lovely mother supported me wholeheartedly, and she took care of my children. She gave me a chance to study English in an evening class at a small private college for three years and learn computer.

“Democracy opened the gate to foreign countries for Mongolians, and many people went abroad to work to earn a better income. Thousands of mothers, fathers, daughters and sons were leaving their families behind and believing that someday they would come back with enough money to support their families.

“In talking to my ex-husband, we decided that I should go to the United States to make decent money to buy an apartment and make big money to help us start a new business. We never wanted to face financial difficulty again, and we wanted our kids to have a better life than we were going through. I thought, ‘I can do healthcare work in the U.S., if I learn English.’ I borrowed $3,000 from my nephew who worked in South Korea and came to the U.S. in spring of 2002. I realized that things are not that easy in America.

“During the first three years, I worked as a housekeeper in a hotel and in stores. I worked every day with no weekends off for three years. Then, I took care of elderly people. I worked hard to earn money to feed my family.

“I never lost hope to find some way to get a degree and work in healthcare in the states. I looked for a chance to practice as a physician. I found that I had to give up sending money to my family. I spent every penny I made to study medicine all over again in the U.S. It took a long time, and I wasn’t sure where I would end up. I wanted to have a stable and good-paying job to be able to provide for my children.

“I decided to be a nurse. It took a shorter time. I made many phone calls, emails and meetings to find the nursing program that I needed. Many nursing colleges denied my MD from Mongolia and wanted me to start with a Certified Nursing Assistant class. I took the CNA class and got certified as a nursing assistant.

“In 2007, I went to UW Oshkosh to find out if there was any chance to study in the nursing program. I met Sue Clark, Accelerated Online Baccalaureate to BSN Program adviser, a tall woman with blue eyes. I told her I was a doctor in Mongolia and had come to the U.S. five years ago to find a better life for me and my family. I wanted to become a nurse. She took her time to explain the program and said it was the last day of admission and I might be late.

“Then, she walked with me to the Admissions Office and got me admitted! I was truly grateful to her from all my heart and spirit. That day she gave me hope to pursue my dream to become a registered nurse in the U.S. She advised me to take two more classes, take the TOEFL and gain experience working in the hospital environment. I walked out of her office with big hope.

“I applied for a job at every hospital I saw. Finally, I got a job in St. Vincent Hospital. Big step! I was excited to be around patients, doctors and nurses for the first time in 10 years. I was back in a place I was supposed to be and wanted to be. I would be a professional nurse soon!

“I took public speaking and development psychology classes at a local college. I failed my first attempt at the TOEFL. I tried again and made it.

“UW Oshkosh called me for a phone interview. I failed it. Then I worked on my interview skills as much as I could and applied again. I was thinking, ‘I will apply over and over until I get myself in the program since I’m that close.’ The second time, I made it. One bigger step!

“The day I received good news from UW Oshkosh, my brother called and said my mother was diagnosed with liver cancer and did not have much time to live. I rushed back to Mongolia to see my mother and my kids after six years. I spent two weeks with my mother and my kids and then went back to the states. The day I left, my mother she said, “Be strong my daughter. I wanted to see you before I die. I saw you and know you are doing well. I have no attachment to this life now, since you are OK. Go and finish your school, come back and take your kids as soon as you can.” It was one of the hardest times in my life. My mother went to rest in peace a month later.

“After 12 months of intensive studying, I graduated from the online BSN program. I took my time to prepare for NCLEX. I read the Kaplan NCLEX textbook three times until I thought I was ready and did many practice tests. I got 75 questions on NCLEX and passed it. Officially, I’m an RN BSN.

“I got a job at St. Nicholas Hospital in the Medical/Surgical Unit on Feb. 1, 2010. I was very relieved after graduating from an intensive nursing program and finding a job. I was ready to bring my children to the U.S.

“After three weeks of my orientation, I had a terrible car accident that put me in extensive treatment and recovery. I had a physically and emotionally painful, long recovery.  I remember how desperately I was praying after the accident. “Please God, let me see my kids!”  I was begging death to leave me alone, too. I was praying hard.

“I hadn’t seen my oldest daughter for eight years. I had met my two other daughters two years earlier for only two weeks. I was so close to bringing my kids to the U.S. I had a job at a nice hospital, and I became able to feed my kids when they arrive. Just three weeks after I started my job, all my plans fell apart.

“During my recovery, UW Oshkosh College of Nursing faculty members helped me a lot. I have a special bond with them and my heart fills with love when I hear anything about my school. When I was in ICU, I heard Sue Clark’s deeply concerned voice. I was delighted to see her. She was the person who helped me pursue my dream.

“The CON faculty sent me a brand new bike. One of my professors, Brent McWilliam, brought me the bike. He spent an entire afternoon with us and assembled the bike for me. Now I can bike! Since that day, I started pedaling my bike every day. Dr. Brent occupies a big place in my heart — he is one of the people who enlightened my life.

“He was my first clinical instructor. During my first clinical, I said, “My English is bad; I don’t understand what some patients say and I don’t feel comfortable around people.”

“Dr. Brent was very understanding. He said, “You have to believe in yourself; you know what you are doing. Don’t think about your weakness first.”

“If a patient asked about the Green Bay Packers, I had no answer and felt so self-conscious. I’m not used to being around American football. If they talked about a show or some famous people, I had no answer. I don’t know them. I have never seen those shows.

“It was also hard to learn to speak in hospital talk, because I did online studying and still needed to learn about the hospital environment. During shift report, I sat there blank at the beginning of my clinical. I didn’t understand what the nurses were saying like d5, 45, Kei Ci El, 20, 100. It just didn’t stick in my ears. I know if I see it on paper.

“One nurse said, “I’m pooped.” I thought she was talking about the patient’s BM. It was embarrassing sometimes.

“Dr. Brent’s words pulled my spirit up that day. Dr. Brent, I needed those words that day. You said it in the right time. I have stopped being too hard on myself since then.

“After five months of recovery, I started feeling really depressed. My whole world seemed meaningless. All my hard work to give my kids a good life was ending. I got my degree, I got a nice job and I was ready to buy a house. I was dreaming to prepare my home for my kids. I was close to hugging my kids.

“Now, I didn’t know when I would get back to my normal life. I didn’t even know how to pay my medical bills or how to make a living. I’m foolish. I spent eight valuable years for nothing but to suffer. I even stopped praying and had no dream, no plan … I was disappearing.

“I decided to stop my pain medication and start dealing with my pain with warm baths and trying to keep myself busy. Five months after my accident, I was walking with a cane and able to live without pain medication.

“I did all my best to recover completely and walk normally again. After six months, I was able to walk without crutches or a cane. In August, I went back to work after six months of remarkable recovery. The day after Christmas 2010, I was hugging my kids at the airport.

“My daughters became beautiful girls, tall and pretty. They grew into very independent, mature and responsible girls. The first thing my two younger daughters wanted to do was to go to McDonalds. They were screaming and hopping around when they saw their new bedroom, bathroom and mirrors. I couldn’t get enough of watching my kids, studying each one of them.

“My oldest daughter, Enkuush, 21, went back to Japan to study two weeks later. She studies aeronautical engineering at the Japan Aviation College. She got a full scholarship. She will graduate in 2013. Enkima, 16, studies at South High School in Sheboygan. She studies hard and became a cheerleader. She has decided to be a doctor. Uka, 12, studies at Farnsworth Middle School in Sheboygan. She is a good student and very artistic. She likes to read and handcraft little things. They both volunteer at many different events in the community and are models.

“I’m working part time at St. Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan and loving my job. I also take care of an elderly client in the home.

“Nine years of mission accomplished! My kids are with me, and I can see a nice future for them. I like good endings of movies, stories and books.

“I know there are people who care for others. I would like to thank the person who saw me hit by a car and called 911, the paramedic and helicopter team that rushed to save my life, all my doctors, nurses, RT, OT, PT, case managers, social workers of Theda Clark Memorial Hospital in Manitowoc, St. Vincent, St. Nicholas Hospital, UW Oshkosh nursing faculty, Accelerated Online RN BSN – October 2007 cohort, my family and friends.”

Read a profile about Saran.

Shawn Monroe ’08, feels he has always had a connection to the armed forces; his family ties to the military go all the way back to the Civil War.

And because Monroe, a member of the Wisconsin National Guard pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, didn’t ever want to miss the opportunity to serve his country, he courageously volunteered to head to Iraq in 2004.

“Every military person wants to serve their country. I never want to do it again, but I wouldn’t change anything,” Monroe said.

Upon returning from Iraq in 2005, Monroe knew his situation: He hadn’t yet finished college, and he was struggling with the after effects of fighting a war.

Being military-minded, Monroe thought about the challenges and obstacles in his life as missions. For him, completing his undergraduate degree was just one of them.

“You take on the mindset that your next mission in life will be school; I wanted to learn,” he said.

In 2008, Monroe finished the year of college he had left and earned degrees in geography and international studies with an emphasis on global and national security.

Now, he wants to help others learn and have successful college experiences, too.

Last fall, Monroe started a new position at UW Oshkosh as the Veterans Resource Center coordinator, where his job is to help fellow veterans find their way in what can be a complex educational journey.

“If someone chooses this path as their mission, I want to be here to help them,” Monroe said.

He assists students by helping them connect to services and navigate finances. He also helps coordinate veteran benefit counseling and puts students in touch with other much-needed resources on and off campus.

“Without knowing every resource available, it makes it harder to navigate school. And it shouldn’t be,” Monroe said. “I think our vets have earned the right to have someone help them through the process, and I’m here to ease the transition from duty to campus life.”

Jean C. (Goodwin) Nelson ’49, former UW Oshkosh alumni director, passed away on April 19, at Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh.

Jean led the UW Oshkosh Alumni Relations Office from 1968 until 1991, overseeing the move to Pollock Alumni House in 1971. She worked alongside Alumni Association board members to personally paint, wallpaper and refurbish the house for campus and alumni use.

During her tenure, Jean expanded alumni services and added programs, including a University Day for Women. She was known for being well-read and having a quick mind, knowing the names and graduation years of alumni by heart.

Jean’s contributions to the University and community were immeasurable.

In addition, I personally had the privilege to learn and grow in my own service as UW Oshkosh alumni director through my friendship with Jean. She was genuinely interested in people and their lives and was masterful at creating and sustaining relationships. I’ve strived to learn from her example.

I feel so fortunate that I had the opportunity to sit down with Jean, prior to her passing, to interview her about her own life and her vast knowledge of UW Oshkosh history.

In her own words, Jean explained her UW Oshkosh connections: “Because I was a townie … my mother went to the Normal School, I went to a lot of things up on the campus as a youngster. And then I went to school here, and I was on many committees. Then, I became the alumni director in 1968, probably because I had been so involved.”

From Jean, I learned the importance of honoring our institutional history as well as our own personal histories.

She said, “We really appreciate the past, and we realize that we are standing on the shoulders of those who went before us. I hope the present generation doesn’t forget that.”

I, for one, will never forget Jean’s message.

Check out excerpts from Chris Gantner’s interview with Jean Nelson.

Jean Nelson: Our Start as a Normal School

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Jean Nelson: Famous Alumni

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Jean Nelson: Top Teachers

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Jean Nelson: Nurturing Students

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