I Love This Place: A South Dakota Road Trip (Part II)

All right, so I’m sure I left you all riveted, hanging off the ends of your chairs after my last blog. The question has probably arisen more than once in your minds, so what happens in part II of the South Dakota Road Trip?!?!?!? Well, the answer is a lot of flat land and rurality:)(Technically, I’ll have to create this word in Wikipedia before I can use it without my computer’s spell check chewing me out! )

John Peterson, a friend and coworker flew out to Rapid City on his way back from Colorado. We finished up with a college fair around noon, and decided to take the long way back from the Black Hills to Sioux Falls. Instead of going straight interstate, we headed north into the least densely populated part of South Dakota. We figured that our on-a-whim detour would take us 150 miles out of our way. But hey, if there is one thing you learn in college, it’s that the intangible beauty of road trips cannot be sidetracked by measurable quantities.

As always, getting sidetracked was worth every extra turn of the odometer! The Northern Plains of SD are amazing in all their treeless beauty. They consist of endless stretches of prairie that literally roll into the sunset, pretty much what you would see in any old time western show. At one point, John and I ran across a sign that warned us we wouldn’t be seeing anyone for 72 miles. It is weird and yet very awe-inspiring to know that you will see near-pristine nature for 72 uninterrupted miles!

We ate dinner at a small diner in Redfield and arrived in Sioux Falls pretty late. The adventure was great, but I was glad to be back home. I’m sure as your semesters wind down; you probably feel the same way. You’ve probably felt as though you’ve had to go way more than 72 miles without a break.......and then they throw semester tests on top of that!

Just remember, high school, as much as you love or hate it, is almost over. College, what many people refer to as the best years of their lives, is just a few months away. You will experience road trips and late night study sessions with friends, frantically ordering pizza before Domino’s closes at 1 a.m. alongside frantically studying for a test at 8 the next morning. You’ll experience your room mate’s bad taste in music and all the funny stories they bring to the table. You’ll experience it all, but in order to do that, you have to start somewhere! If you haven’t already done so, apply to schools today. Scholarship deadlines are quickly approaching and you’re just losing money by sitting around. Augie’s application is free and you can get loads of scholarships just by applying! We’ll hope to hear from you soon.

I Love This Place: A South Dakota Road Trip (Part I)

I think South Dakota is one of the most beautiful places on earth! I know, I know, I’m a bit of an exaggerator. But coming from someone who has been to eight world capitols (Madrid, Lisbon, Paris, Tokyo, Managua, San Salvador, Tegucigalpa, and Guatemala City) my opinion has to have some credibility:) Every time I drive across this state to visit high schools, I’m blown away by the varied sights. South Dakota can do metro or rural, hills or plains, busy intersections or open highways!

A couple weeks ago I had to leave Sioux Falls (East side of the state) and travel to the Black Hills (West side of the state). I’ll spare you most of the details, but it was a lot of fun!! I started out on I90 and made my way through the rich farmland of Eastern SD. I love seeing the farmers combining in their fields, especially at night!

Once I hit West River, I made my way through the Badlands and over to Rapid City. It’s amazing to see how South Dakota changes from farmland to river bluffs to prairie to mountainous hills.

I spent part of a day just driving around Custer State Park. You might be surprised to know that I thought it was beautiful:) Sorry for the repetition, but my vocabulary to describe rocky, cliff lined lakes and highways that pass through roughly carved tunnels is very limited! I ended up stopping at an empty park rest area and taking a quick stroll.

An Augustana education is great because it prepares minds to truly appreciate the beauty of all of God’s creation! It forces me to gaze in wonder as I drive across my state; not just because of South Dakota’s wonderful nature, but also because this place is one part of an enormous and awe inspiring world!

Double Class Reunion

Hey everyone! Sorry it’s been so long since my last blog. I guess life got really busy. A lot has gone on since we last spoke. Of greatest note is the fact that I had my college reunion and my high school reunion within a week of each other.

Augustana had it’s homecoming in the first week of October. It was awesome!! There were activities everyday and a lot of students participated. My favorite activity was the Monday night block party. The homecoming committee cordoned off an entire part of Summit Avenue and filled the street with people. There was a climbing wall, a band, a life size game of “Human Chess”, and lots of food. The weather was beautiful and people had a blast.

On Friday, a bunch of my buddies came back into town for the weekend’s festivities. These were all guys that I became friends with during my time at Augie. There are about ten of us that became friends, lived in the same dorms, road-tripped together, traveled to the same places (Japan, Nicaragua, Spain, Europe), and rented houses together. After college, we all went our separate ways (law school, med school, grad school, starting up a company, jobs overseas, etc), and yet we’ve all managed to stay in pretty good touch. The bond we formed at Augustana has remained amazingly strong!

The weekend after homecoming, I had my high school class reunion. It was very interesting to connect with a lot of people that I had hung out with in high school. We shared a lot of stories about the old days and all that we had done. We also spoke about what we had learned in college and how it had formed us.....how it had formed our vision for our future. After sharing those stories, it really hit me how much the Justin Mootz who graduated from Augustana College had changed from the Justin Mootz who my high school friends hung out with.

Augustana College challenged me to grow and change beyond anything I had ever expected! It didn’t allow me to live the materialistic, mundane life I was so comfortable with in high school. It surrounded me with extraordinary friends, professors who pushed me to achieve my potential, and ideas that changed my life forever.

As I looked around at my high school reunion, I saw some people whose lives were also changed by their college experience, and a lot of others whose wasn’t. I couldn’t help but think, what would have happened if I had gone somewhere else? Would I still look at the world with wonder like I do right now? Would I have been pushed to study abroad in Spain, or to work in Japan for two years? Would I have had a formative faith experience that propelled me to work with the church in Nicaragua? Would I be able to be happy with my crappy car, my small wardrobe, and my life full of experiences? Would I have 10 amazing friends who would do anything for me? I guess I’ll never really know the answer to all these questions, but I can tell you one thing, I’m glad I don’t have to find out!

Kansas City, Libraries, and Football Stadiums Make for a Good Month:)

Wow again!!! Can I start consecutive blogs with the same word?? The last few weeks have been amazing for me and for Augustana College. I suppose I should start by sharing the good news from the college.

On September 13, it was confirmed that some anonymous donors had given Augustana College a gift of 6 million dollars. The gift was directed towards the renovation of the Mikkelsen Library, which I can see right outside my work window:) This was a real double whammy for me! First of all, I LOVE libraries. I’m not kidding you. Regardless of how geeky it sounds, I always want to visit the library wherever I go. My favorite library so far has to be the Central Library in Copley Square in Boston. As far as I’m concerned, it’s only rivaled by Fenway as the coolest building in town (You will find that I have a slight tendency to exaggerate at times).

The other reason the donation was so inspiring, is because it was anonymous. The donors simply asked that a plaque be placed on the library stating, “Soli Deo Gloria.”(To God Alone the Glory). What a revelation! It kind of makes you want to live your daily life in such a way that you could repeat “Soli Deo Gloria” at the end of each evening.

All right, on to other good news. After a couple weeks of enjoying the idea of a new library, Augie was blessed with another large donation. This time Bob and Kari Hall gave 6.1 million dollars for the construction of a new football stadium on campus. Rumor has it that it might be done in time for the 2008 season. Dug into a hill, sport turf, thousands of people streaming across campus on a crisp fall day to enjoy a game, tailgating, NSIC championship banners, I’m loving it!!! Hey 2008ers, you better apply now so you can enjoy the new stadium as well!

Last bit of good news, I got to travel to Kansas City last week for a college fair. I met a lot of cool people, and I got to visit my brother(Pictured above with me). He’s an Augie grad who’s currently working with severely handicapped adults and going to seminary. He’s a pretty nice kid who lives with seven other guys. You can imagine what his house looks like!

Wow!!!! Welcome to the start of the school year! The last few weeks have been a blur as everyone has transitioned from summer life/vacations into studying mode. For my part, this change was more abrupt as I returned from Nicaragua just a few days before the start of the school year.

My time in Nicaragua was amazing! I lived there from 2003 – 2005, not that long after I graduated from Augie. I decided to return this August to visit all the great friends I made from my first stint there. I spent two weeks hanging out, doing some sightseeing, and eating a lot of Nicaraguan food.

My biggest highlights included: “Jugando la plancha” with my three year old godson Diego Martin(Pictured above with me and former missionary and Augie alumni Tom Madison), watching a professional baseball game between Managua and Granada at the Denis Martinez National Stadium, salsa dancing at the top of a crater lake, and attending multiple church services with all my old friends!

Overall, I would say my trip was spiritually, emotionally, and physically rejuvenating! The most exciting part is that I returned to Augie just in time for freshman move-in. It was awesome to see 430 new faces entering into Bergsaker and Solberg Hall. They provided a lot of energy to the Augustana Campus. Hopefully all of you 2008ers have started working on your applications. Get started soon, so that you can be part of an even bigger class next year!!!

Free tips for filling out your application: (Apply to Augustana College)
1) LIST ALL OF YOUR EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES!!! That means youth group, donating blood, school choir, student council, high school basketball, community service and everything else you have done! Don’t cheat yourself on this one. Many schools use this section of your application to determine part of your scholarship award. Augustana is no exception to the rule.

2) APPLY EARLY! Try to finish with your application materials in the months of September and October. This will guarantee that you are on time for all the scholarships that a school might possibly give. It will also save you a lot of stress during the holidays.

3) DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK YOUR ADMISSION COUNSELOR! Write or call your admission representative with any questions you might have about the application process. That is what we’re here for!

Blog #1/A History of Justin Mootz

Hey everyone! My name is Justin Mootz and I'm an admission counselor here at Augustana. I'm going to start blogging about life, admissions, and everything in between. I thought that before I start, I should give you a little background information about myself.

I was more or less a Sioux Falls kid for most of my life (A little bit of Marshall, MN in me as well). I graduated from Roosevelt HS in Sioux Falls and enrolled at Augustana College way back in 1997. I was a pretty average kid in high school, but Augustana really changed me. When I came to college, I met a lot of friends and professors who challenged me. By the time I was done with my four years, I had won a conference championship in tennis, been vice-president of the student senate, spent three months in Spain, become the leader of a student bible study, and earned majors in Government and Spanish.

I graduated from Augie in 2001 (That's four years for those of you who are counting). After that, Donn Grinager, the study abroad coordinator, helped me to get a job teaching English in Japan. I spent two great years living and working two hours northwest of Tokyo. After Japan, I spent about two and a half years working in Nicaragua with the Lutheran Church. Both were amazing experiences that I'm sure I'll refer to in the future.

After returning to the United States at the beginning of 2006, I took a job with the Admission Office here at Augustana. I figured that I spent so much time bragging about Augie that I might as well get paid for it! I work with students from Western South Dakota, Western Nebraska andWyoming (as well as CA, NE, OR, WA, ID, and UT) for the admission office and I am also the women's tennis coach. I'm looking forward to another busy and exciting year of meeting great students and talking about the opportunities for them at Augustana!