Becky Bjella Nodland 鈥79 was once a young person yearning to put her passion for music into practice but lacking the means to do so. Being able to face and overcome that challenge changed her life, just as she hopes the endowed music scholarship that she and her husband, Jeffrey Nodland 鈥77, are donating will change other young lives.
Growing up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Becky was one of the 鈥渕iddle kids鈥 in a family of eight. All were musicians, but college funds were lacking. Without a 鈥済reat scholarship鈥攁ll four years鈥 and robust work-study program, Becky, who played string bass and organ and sang in the Augsburg Concert Choir, could not have attended Augsburg at all. She chose the school because it was then one of only two in the country that offered a music therapy program, which intrigued her.
鈥淎ugsburg was so innovative that way,鈥 she recalls. 鈥淏ut the program was so new that it scared me. I talked to the seniors, and they were not finding jobs. I really needed a job when I graduated, so I switched to music education.鈥 Today, of course, music therapy is a vibrant field. 鈥淭here is a real need for it in the world,鈥 Becky adds, although she has no regrets. Music education proved a flexible and rewarding choice; she taught for 10 years before her son was born. She is a choral arranger, organist, and accompanist as well as a music educator, has directed adult and youth church choirs, and currently serves on Augsburg鈥檚 Music Advisory Council. She has also instilled a love for music in her son and daughter, Emily Nodland 鈥18, an elementary education major.
Her years on campus were a 鈥渧ery positive experience. I made lifelong friends. The professors were incredible and very strong mentors for me,鈥 says Becky, citing choir with Leland Sateren, organ with Stephen 鈥淕abe鈥 Gabrielsen, and orchestra with Robert Karl茅n, all now deceased but renowned for their decades of service to Augsburg鈥檚 music department. She was also involved in Lutheran Youth Encounter, and, as a freshman, met transfer student Jeffrey Nodland, a junior business major immersed in campus leadership activities. After graduating, Jeff attended night classes to earn his MBA at the University of St. Thomas. He and Becky married in 1980.
Jeff spent the first 17 years of his career in various management positions with the Valspar Corporation, which transferred the young family out of Minnesota in 1982. He recently retired as the president and CEO of KIK Custom Products (CIP), one of North America鈥檚 largest manufacturers of national-brand consumer products, such as Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, and L鈥橭real. Although the Nodlands have lived in The Woodlands, Texas, since 2001, Jeff joined the Augsburg Board of Regents in 2010 and is happy to once again be involved with their alma mater.
鈥淚 have been extraordinarily impressed with President Paul Pribbenow鈥檚 leadership and how they have leveraged themselves in the marketplace,鈥 Jeff says. Such innovative programs as CLASS (Center for Learning and Accessible Student Services) and StepUP are 鈥渧ery inspiring. It鈥檚 so great to see the commitment. Paul has done an amazing job.鈥
When the couple began talking about endowing a scholarship, music made perfect sense. 鈥淏ecky got her music degree at Augsburg, and music is a part of my life, too,鈥 says Jeff. Adds Becky: 鈥淚 am so happy to be able to do it. Hopefully it will help someone else the way someone helped me.鈥
While Jay Brizel 鈥87 sat at the defense table in a Florida courtroom in 2019, helping to keep defendant Jimmy Rodgers off death row, he was wearing an Augsburg lapel pin. Years earlier, while serving with the U.S. Army in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, he wore an Augsburg t-shirt under his chemical suit. His college days may be long gone, but his relationship with his alma mater is here to stay.
The Agre legacy at 含羞草传媒 is well-established. The late Courtland L. Agre accepted the position of chairperson in the chemistry department in 1959 and became a beloved professor, inspiring hundreds of admiring students to stake out careers in science. His lessons were not lost on his three sons, all of whom majored in chemistry: Nobel prize winner Peter Agre 鈥70, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute; Jim Agre 鈥72, professor of rehabilitation medicine at the University of Minnesota; and Mark Agre 鈥81, a rehabilitation medicine specialist in St. Paul. (Their sister, Annetta Agre 鈥69, majored in elementary education and taught in the Minneapolis school system.)
Jim plans to retire this spring but has no plans to slow down. He takes Swedish classes and returns often to Sweden and Norway to visit family and participate in cross-country ski competitions; he and his wife are both avid skiers. At home, he takes part in Loppet Nordic Racing at Theodore Wirth Park.
A serial entrepreneur who relishes new challenges and opportunities to share his leadership expertise, John Fahlberg 鈥68 has not forgotten what it is like to work hard, play hard, and struggle to afford a college education. He and his wife have designated $375,000 as a planned gift to establish the John A. and Martha C. Fahlberg Scholarship, which will support students who have financial need and enjoy participating in extracurricular activities.
With his planned gift to 含羞草传媒鈥檚 music department, Duane Esterly 鈥75 has come full circle in his musical life, helping to ensure that future students who share his passion can pursue similar dreams.