Morningside Connect

Morningside College is home to many students with diverse hobbies and interests. The college has students that have passion for ceramics, writing novels, sports, farming, and medical care. They all come together here – sharing experiences and passions while learning.

Student Garrett Wall shares his passion with Morningside College. He gets up and travels to various towns in the Midwest for rodeos. And he doesn’t just watch them; he rides in them.

Wall rides bulls, ropes calves, and gets on bucking horses.

“When you ride bulls, they say it’s 85-90 percent mental and the other is physical. You’ve got to be 100 percent,” said Wall. “It’s a goal that never ends; you can always do better. There is no such thing as a perfect ride on a bull. You could have always done a little bit better and you can always work on something, and you can always strive to be better.”

Last year he was the Iowa Rodeo Cowboys Association (IRCA) Reserve Champion, and he won the IRCA Finals.

“I have been going to rodeos for as long as I can remember,” said Wall. “When I was really little, I would go to pro rodeos with my mom and dad.”

Wall’s dad ropes calves, and in his younger years, he rode bulls and bareback horses. He rode professionally for around 20 years.

“I was pretty good at riding horses by the time I was seven or eight years old,” said Wall. “I could rope pretty decent by the time I was twelve. I probably got on my first bull when I was about ten years old.”

Rodeo season goes from mid-May into parts of August, making Wall’s summer packed with rodeos. He’s at around three different shows a weekend.

“It’s a lifestyle,” said Wall. “The people are great. Everyone is the kind of person that would give their shirt off their back for you.”

He even gets on a few bulls during the winter. However, his school schedule limits his time dedicated to riding bulls. Besides riding in rodeos, Wall also is a middle distance runner on the Morningside College track team. He is working towards a degree in agriculture with a minor in biology. He doesn’t know for sure what he wants to do after college. He might go work for a co-op but his dream would be to ride bulls professionally. His goal for this year is to win the IRCA Finals and try to make the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Finals.

Morningside College had a number of literary societies that often sponsored debates and created an intellectual and social life on campus. The one in the photo was known as the Hawkeye Literary Society. This particular event was chaperoned by Miss Dimmitt and Miss Fischer on February 28, 1916, at the West Hotel. These groups were once wildly popular on campus, but their membership started to decline when sports and other group involvement became more popular.

Marty Knepper Class of 1972

One could say that going to college is a circle of life in itself. You venture out to find an education, spend four years constructing bonds with professors and friends, and after the time is up, you venture out into the world with a degree in hand to start again. Hopefully, you never quite lose those bonds that were created during your time at Morningside College.

Marty Knepper is a Morningside College 1972 graduate. She was heavily involved with campus life. Knepper was in multiple honors organizations and play performances, and she was a resident assistant and an orientation director, plus more.

After graduating from Morningside College, she headed out with her degree in hand to continue her education and get her M.A. and Ph.D. in English. After receiving them, she started out into the world of teaching. Knepper started teaching at Southeastern Community College in Keokuk and then moved on to teach at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. When Morningside College had an opening, Knepper took it.

“Having a job here was a big incentive!” said Knepper. “But, even before I returned as a faculty member, I kept up with friends, former faculty members, and the college.”

Knepper not only teaches English but also chairs the English and Modern Languages Department. She is the faculty advisor for Alpha Lambda Delta, a freshman honor society.

“I always enjoy advising and mentoring students and seeing all the wonderful things they do with their lives after leaving Morningside,” said Knepper. “I also enjoy programming events on campus and working to create strong academic programs.”

She fondly remembers her time her as a student along with her newer memories as a teacher.

“I remember wonderful theatre friends and experiences,” said Knepper. “I remember meeting my husband, John, early in my sophomore year during a moratorium march protesting the Vietnam War.”

Her newer memories are filled with Friday is Writing Day, trips to Spring Green for classical plays in the woods, and her Composition and Communication class on Harry Potter.

“What pleases me most is that, while any small private college faces threats to its existence on various fronts, Morningside has had strong leadership in fiscal management, admissions, academics, and institutional advancement to keep us strong and growing,” said Knepper. “The campus is more beautiful than ever before in my memory.”

Knepper has enjoyed serving on national, state, and community boards along with writing about popular culture topics. She recently co-authored a book with John Lawerence called The Book of Iowa Films.

The Chicago Alumni Chapter and the Kansas City Alumni Chapter recently held chapter events. Here are some of the pictures from their events.

Kansas City Chapter event to a Kansas City Royals baseball game.

Chicago Chapter event.

Kansas City Chapter event.

Chicago Chapter event.

Kansas City Chapter event.

Hope Philbrick recently completed her first year at Morningside College. She traveled up to Sioux City from her hometown of Council Bluffs to start her education in the nursing field.

Some freshmen take a longer time to get involved on campus, but Philbrick jumped right in. She performed on the color guard with the marching band, attended pep band and other band concerts where she played the clarinet, and took a campus ministry trip to Salt Lake City, Utah, to help others.

“When I was in high school, I never thought I would be this involved in college,” said Philbrick. “The one thing that I just appreciate the most is the people and the encouragement here. They tell you you can do anything and that’s really true.”

Adding to her campus involvements next year, Philbrick will be joining the residence life staff as a resident assistant in the Plex dorm.

“I’m definitely looking forward to being an RA. It’s something I have always thought would be awesome to do but I never thought I’d be able to do it, so I’m really excited for that.”

The smallness of Morningside College compared to the giant universities was what drew Philbrick in.

“I knew I wouldn’t just be a number,” said Philbrick. “I would be a face, a name, and a story.”

Philbrick plans on finishing the Morningside College nursing program to become a registered nurse. After that, she is unsure if she wants to continue on to become a nurse practitioner, but she still has time to decide. Her college story is just beginning.

One of the privileges of being your alumni director is my continuing interaction with so many of you. This past May, 16 alumni and friends and I traveled with the Morningside College choir to Spain. Also, in early June, we held an alumni event in Kansas City. Let me share some thoughts about both events.

The choir tour took us from Barcelona to Madrid, with stops in Catalonia, Logrono, Bilbao, and Toledo. The choir performed at five different locations, including the Guggenheim Museum, the Prado Museum, and some of the best-known cathedrals in Spain. What struck me was an encounter at a rest stop along the highway to Madrid. We encounter a group of Catholic nuns from the order of Sisters of Mary Morning Star. There were a hundred or more from all over the world on their way to the Vatican. A pilgrimage following a conclave in Barcelona.

Click this picture to view a video clip of the choir singing.

What was extraordinary was the coming together in the parking lot of the rest-stop/gas station. One thing leads to another and the choir is singing for the nuns and then the nuns singing for the students. As one student told me, “it was one of the most moving experiences I have ever had. Truly one of the top highlights of the trip.”

On June 2, we held an event at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, home of the Kansas City Royals. Some 90 Morningside College people packed the George Brett Skybox. A great time was experienced by all who came….sharing experiences they had while on campus however long ago and happy to see one another once again. Simply a tremendous event.

Paul Splittorff, class of ’69, is the winningest pitcher in Kansas City Royals History. He passed away in May of 2011 after a battle with cancer. (See obituary http://www.legacy.com/ns/paul-splittorff-obituary/151297495) Paul’s widow, Lynne, class of ’70, attended the game. This Morningside legend spent his entire baseball career with the Royals. On top of this, the Splittorff family was very involved in their community, having hosted a number of charitable events over the years – something that continues to this day under the Paul Splittorff banner. In fact, the day before the Royals game, Lynne and her family hosted a golf tournament full of friends and celebrities to raise funds for a project at a local hospital.

Another thing that struck me about our time in Kansas City, beyond the Splittorff ’s great fundraiser and the sharing taking place between all of the Morningsiders at the game, was the tremendous care given by the staff at the stadium. Dr. Paul Berger II was in attendance with his wife and son, Dr. Paul Berger III. The elder Berger has certain health issues that make it difficult for him to eat solid food. Without hesitation….on three separate occasions…the catering hostess personally saw to it that Dr. Berger II had soft ice cream. Alumni who were aware of this person’s generosity personally thanked her and relayed the same message to her immediate boss. It’s those little extra things that people do that make all the difference in the world!

Until next time!

Gene Ambroson

One requirement to graduate from Morningside College is to explore a unique topic by taking a May Term course. Many students fulfilled this requirement this May by either taking a class on campus or traveling with professors around the world.

On campus students enjoyed immersing themselves in classes covering Batik tie-dying, digital music recording, forensics, cooking, how to be a clown, and robotics.

The May Term class ‘Send in the Magical Clowns’ spent their May Term learning about the art of clowning and magic. They did multiple performances for children.

Students that decided to adventure off campus for May Term traveled to various countries. One class went biking, hiking, and kayaking in Vietnam and Cambodia. Another group went to Paris, London, Rome, and Florence to experience the culture, art, language, and architecture.

Students from the Cambodia and Vietnam May Term. (Photo by Madeline Trott)

Photo from the Vietnam and Cambodia May Term. (Photo by Madeline Trott)

Students from the Vietnam and Cambodia May Term. (Photo by Madeline Trott)

Along with these trips, the Morningside College choir toured Spain, performing in various cities as well as experiencing the culture.

Morningside College hosted the NAIA Softball World Series May 22 to May 28. Teams from all over the United States traveled to our facility to play ball.
The NAIA Softball World Series is a ten-team double elimination tournament.

Over the summer Morningside College is completing multiple construction projects to update facilities. Besides the Dimmitt Hall renovation, Morningside College is also remodeling the tennis courts and putting down new turf on the football field.

One of the floors in Dimmitt Hall.

The Informal Lounge in Dimmitt Hall.

The tennis courts are currently closed until August for resurfacing.

The old turf from the football field.

The football field awaiting its new turf.