Fact: Many alumni and friends make a gift to UW-Superior every year. This year 1,182 people increased the amount of their gift over that of the previous year. The generosity of all consecutive-year donors will contribute to the success of Campaign Superior.

The percentage of alumni making a gift to the university has grown steadily since 2000. These gifts help ensure UW-Superior can offer the quality education needed by graduates in the 21st century. Evelyn Bloomquist Hagfeldt, Class of 1975, has been making gifts to UW-Superior for many years. Here, she talks about her feelings for her university and why it's important to help the students following in her footsteps.

Be true to your school
Personal reflections from a UW-Superior Alumna

By Evelyn Hagfeldt, BS, CPS
The University of Wisconsin-Superior has become a long-standing tradition in my family. I graduated with a BS degree in Business Education in 1975 having completed my program with a school year in Waterloo, Wisconsin. This attracted me to the Madison area from 1975-87 where I often found time to visit UW-Superior alumni two or three times a year. One such visit, in 1985, introduced me to John Hagfeldt . . . we married two years later (thank you, Dennis). John graduated UW-Superior, then known as Wisconsin State University, with a BS in Chemistry and Math in 1960. His mother Gertrude received her teaching certificate when UW-Superior was known as Superior Normal School in 1918.

As the youngest of three children, I am very fortunate to have had family and high school teachers encourage me to go on to college. My oldest brother went into the Air Force for an electronics education when I was 10, while my other brother completed a four-year degree in music at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire at a time when I began a Business Education program at UW-Superior.

UW-Superior holds a very special place in my heart, as do so many people who have attended and work here do. At a time when this campus was buzzing with the Baby Boomer generation, when enrollments exceeded 3,300 students, I was active with the International Relations Club and Phi Beta Lambda (a collegiate fraternity of Future Business Leaders of America). I served as an officer in both associations. I treasure the caliber of education and high expectations from the faculty and especially of the business chairs, Drs. Mona and Cleo Cassidy. I gleefully remember during a shorthand lab, as a fellow student talked a little too much, being told I "sound like Mona Cassidy." I knew she meant it derogatorily, but I accepted it with high praise. Outside the classroom experience, my Crownhart roomie (another Evelyn from my hometown) and I, along with two friends down the hall (two Sharons) created the Woodroom Club. RSC Director Jim Rainaldo loved showing us off when we wore our matching Woodroom T-shirts. Those were the days when "American Pie" would come to life from the jukebox, while the floor was flooded with peanut shells. This was also a time when I knew several members of the Vets Club and smile as I remember the time I was elbow deep in beer batter at one of the annual smelt fries . . . Oh what fun! My friends and I had a great number of friends from the Arab countries, as well as Japan (Hi, Shingi) and China. Two great friends were brothers (Paul and Marco O'Brien) . . . both made me homesick for Peru. As a group of five or more, we were very adept at sharing a pot of tea with just one tea bag. This also was a time when I very much appreciated the alliances we had with our colleagues at the College of St Scholastica and the University of Minnesota, Duluth . . . Annually, we took turns hosting an International Festival, an event very much like today's award-winning Cultural Night.

My collegiate experiences very much reflect those things I love dearly today. I am glad our liberal arts college remains committed to its long-standing teacher education program. I may very well have Marco to thank for my love of digital photography today, while Paul and I were teaching associates at Cathedral Junior High School. My first class was a beginning typing class (oh, how we could fix those manual typewriters so easily back then!). I found myself reaching outside my immediate world by being an avid BBS (Bulletin Board System) user, long before the Internet gained popularity. To look at my many digital photo albums, you'll find that I have thoroughly enjoyed the many friendships I gained through our International Students. I travel regularly to Ames to visit two UW-Superior graduate students (Wenxia Wu and Peifeng Zhang) who are now in their doctoral programs. Now that I have received my first passport, I hope to visit China and Sri Lanka.

Just as Chancellor Julius Erlenbach tells our graduating students to 1) engage in respect and civility toward others; 2) give back to your communities; and 3) continue in a journey of life-long learning, I have a similar message as an integral part of my personal mission statement. That mission statement reflects on the multitude of blessings in my life. In return, I want to give back to my family, community and University. I am proud to be affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Superior campus. I also remain very proud to share that love through my work in the Graduate Studies Office and the contributions John and I are able to return to this campus.

I would like to encourage and challenge UW-Superior's alumni to remember, learn, and give back: Remember and reflect on your special memories at UW-Superior; continue to learn in order to remain on the leading edge within your field of expertise; and remember to give back to your alma mater in response to the benefit your education has provided you.

The Beach Boys probably said it best in a 1964 hit, “Be true to your school. Rah Rah Rah Rah Rah!"