Homcoming Experience

"…oh, it's a small, liberal arts school in Iowa."

We've all said it. But that phrase does not do my alma mater justice.

This past Homecoming was a chance for me to take my fiancée, Teri, to visit campus for the first time and see the people and places that have become a big part of my life. Sure, she had heard some names, listened to a few of my stories, and wondered how a kid from the Twin Cities suburbs ended up in the middle of a corn field in Iowa.

Having graduated from a large university in the heart of a big city, Teri had a completely opposite college experience from me. Needless to say, she was in for a bit of a shock.

As we got out of the car after a nearly three-hour drive, it wasn't more than a minute before people said "hi"--and we hadn't even gotten out of the parking lot yet!

Within five minutes we had talked to nearly a dozen people--each one sporting orange and black.

Teri was amazed.

As we continued throughout the day, we met up with more friends, saw a few former professors and made the rounds to the buildings I spent my time in during my four years on campus.

There were the obligatory lines about what we all were doing now, how the kids were, how the job is, etc. But something that kept creeping into the conversation was what Wartburg was doing these days. What has changed? What's coming down the road?

As we headed home, Teri said she would have never expected what she saw. She marveled in our pride for our school--the way everyone seemed to not only care about Wartburg, but care how Wartburg has evolved and how it will continue to change. How, even after a decade or more, friends could just pick up where they left off like time and distance didn't exist. She felt at home there--having never stepped foot on campus before and not knowing a soul.

Wartburg: it's much more than just a small, liberal arts school in Iowa; for many, its home.

Nate Stoltman, '01
Duluth, MN