Excerpts from Mackenzie Benson's Scholarship Day Speech

College. A word that I’m sure many have heard more times than you can count from your parents, relatives, teachers, counselors, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, and random people who learn it’s your senior year of high school. When I think back to my senior year of high school I remember weighing every statistic, required classes, and study abroad opportunities available between at least 12 colleges in trying to find the one that fit my dream definition of all that I had built up “college” to be. Admittedly, Wartburg College wasn’t a place I had researched. In fact, I didn’t visit Wartburg until March of my senior year. But when I did visit, there was something electric about being here. And I promise that it wasn’t just all the orange.

First of all, it is the possibility to make about 2,000 new acquaintances. It could be one of our one hundred international students who can clue you in to the increasing global world in which we live or teach you how to say “Be orange” in another language. In addition, it could be one of the approximately 200 faculty and staff whose passion and aptitude for their department is outstanding. They inspire me daily to stretch and apply my knowledge. And you will likely befriend a fellow student, potentially one who will explain to you their location on the map by using their hand for either Wisconsin or Illinois. Some people meet their perfect video game, wrestling, or Ultimate Frisbee match and other pair with a soprano that can match their pitch perfectly or another violinist that is in love with Brahms as much as they are. There is even the chance to meet someone like my roommate who grew up 10 miles away from me for most of our lives but it took a an entire semester at Wartburg for us to meet.

Things happen here at Wartburg that are so rare many other places. The dining services staff asks about your soccer game, paper, or day. Your professors will stop you in the hall to ask you how your test from another class went or even an opinion on how you felt they wrote their own test. They may even ask you to babysit their kids or walk their dog. Alumni come in large groups to celebrate homecoming and sports victories with us. The Board of Regents members tell stories about their Outfly experiences and how they use to sneak food in from the diner to the girl’s dorm when curfews were in effect. People from Wartburg have a story.

Most of all, coming to Wartburg or attending any institution is a way for your definition of “college” and what is most important to you to be culminated into a single campus. It’s a place you call home and are proud to wake up enlightened and happy at and guaranteed to go to sleep satisfied and ready for another day of proudly being a Wartburg Knight. Wartburg, or any college for that matter, is a lot more than an academic choice or a financial choice; it’s a life choice – a choice that will affect you for the rest of your life. The easy part of the equation at Wartburg is that at least you known what color to wear to wear to your reunion.

Mackenzie Benson '12

Beat Luther Week

Greetings from the Student Alumni Council. I'm Courtney Ihnen, president of STALC and I'm happy to inform you that...It is Beat Luther Week!! The Student Alumni Council kicked off the week by painting the snow orange! Today students, faculty, and staff are showing their Wartburg pride by wearing Orange or their Beat Luther t-shirts. Alumni can purchase t-shirts by clicking here. All proceeds go the Student Alumni Council. Show your support for this age-old friendly rivalry this week! Wear Orange. Go Knights! Beat Luther!

The Student Alumni Council