It is hard to believe that I have been a member of this club for over five years already, joining on June 16th, 2017. I was able to jump at the chance of joining when the timing and opportunity arose. 

I have had a relationship with Rotary my whole life, my father who was a small business owner and an active member in the 1980 often took us to events include my favorite which was the annual pancake supper. My stepfather was a district governor at one point as well. 

I was born and raised in Midland, MI, graduating from Midland High (The Chemics) in 1994. A highlight from high school was playing on the state runner up football team in the fall of 1993. I then attended and graduated from Concordia with a B.A. in History in 1998, a MS in Higher Education Administration in 2001 and a Doctorate in Higher Education from Concordia University Portland in 2019.

Since graduating with my bachelor’s degree, I have served at Concordia in many different capacities including Residence Hall Director, Director of Residence Life, Director of Financial Aid, and since July of 2015 the Vice President of Student Life. 

My wife Sonia and I live in West Bend with our 3 children, Nick (18) who is a freshman at Concordia this fall, Hannah (16), and Josh (14). They are involved in many activities like sports that range from football and basketball to ice skating and horseback riding and some in between. They also participate in bands, choirs, clubs, and drama. People say we will miss all the running someday; we will see about that!

My hobbies and interests include traveling with my family and being outdoors. Some of our favorite trips include Canada, Disney, Yellowstone, and the UP. One of my favorite outdoor activities is fishing, which I am able to do often in local lakes and in Northern Wisconsin.

The recent detection of the vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 case in New York, USA, and isolates in several environmental samples collected in London are stark reminders that as long as polio exists anywhere, it is a threat everywhere. It also highlights the importance of vaccination as the only form of protection against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases and the work that needs to be done in our communities to encourage the uptake of vaccines. Also, as the world gets closer to zero wild poliovirus cases, it is increasingly important to track all forms of the virus wherever they may appear, including in polio-free regions.

The U.S. is still considered low risk for paralytic outbreaks of polio due to the high level of vaccine coverage across the population. If a child has received the entire course of vaccines, the risk of becoming paralyzed by polio is negligible. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 92.6% of children aged 24 months are fully vaccinated against polio, slightly below the 95% World Health Organization target.

The Guatemala Literacy Project is working to reverse the country’s low literacy rates and keep children in school

By Diana Schoberg Photography by James Rodríguez

When Rotary International President Jennifer Jones visited a primary school in a farming village in Guatemala’s highlands and asked who wants to become the country’s president, the students’ hands shot into the air. Before a Rotary-supported reading program began in the village of Chajalajyá, students would often drop out after a couple years of school. “Reading will change our society,” Principal Vilma Nizeth Moreira told Jones during an April visit to the school. “These are powerful tools we are giving children to eradicate ignorance.” Schools often teach in Spanish, but about 25 languages are spoken in the country, and there are few written materials in local languages.

The Guatemala Literacy Project has worked for 25 years to improve reading rates. In 1997, Joe and Jeff Berninger, brothers from Ohio, were volunteering as English teachers at a Guatemalan school that had no books. The two launched a project to solve that. The day the books arrived, there was a huge celebration, and a Rotarian dentist volunteering nearby heard the noise and asked what was going on. “He said this would be a perfect project for Rotary,” says Joe Berninger, now a member of the Rotary Club of Pathways, Ohio, which coordinates the project.