Concordia University, Nebraska

The Concordia University, Nebraska forensics team competed in several national championship events in March and April 2022, making a strong showing for a small school team. The first nationals event the team participated in was the Asynchronous Speech Championship, which took place virtually March 24-27. Gwen Gaunt, a sophomore from Hastings, Nebraska, and Alia Hurst, a senior from Fairmont, Nebraska, advanced to the quarter finals in Dramatic Interpretation, while Sabrina Reed, a junior from Crete, Nebraska, advanced to the semi-finals in Poetry and Dramatic Interpretation. The team overall placed No. 2 in the River Division Team Sweepstakes, a division for teams of 15 entries of less) and No. 9 overall in the Ocean Division, which includes all 33 schools at the tournament, regardless of entry size. At the National Christian College Forensics Invitational at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, March 18-20, Thomas Welch, a sophomore from Jefferson City, Missouri, received a speaker award in Parliamentary Debate. "Because of the distance to the National Christian College Forensics Invitational, which was held in-person this year, we were only able to bring a few students," said Joe Davis, director of forensics at Concordia Nebraska, "but with our newly-founded debate presence, we look forward to making a larger competitive splash at Christian Nationals in the future." The Concordia Forensics Team was one of only two Midwest schools to qualify more than 10 competitors to the prestigious American Forensics Association National Speech Tournament held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska, April 1-4, 2022. Fourteen different competitors earned the team sweepstakes points in preliminary rounds, which includes members of all classes, senior to freshman. Concordia ranked No. 22 in the nation, regardless of division, maintaining their placement from the 2021 tournament. "So much of our competitive success is derived from an intentionally team-centered effort," said Davis. "Our speech participation is some of the largest in the country, and I look forward to growing the debate program in a manner that not only is reminiscent of our university's impressive forensics history but works towards accomplishing our goal of becoming the best Christian collegiate forensics program in the country."

Concordia music students performed in the annual Spring Honor Recital on April 13

On Saturday, February 26, six Concordia University Nebraska students competed against schools across the Midwest region in the International Collegiate Programming Competition.

Concordia music students recently performed during the Spring 2022 Chamber Recital on April 1, at St. John Lutheran Church in Seward, presenting music by Antonio Vivaldi, Franz Schubertm James Erb, William Horsely, Euday L. Bowman, and Kendra Johnson.

Concordia University, Nebraska's department of Art recently announced this year's awards and scholarship rceipients during the Annual Art Show on April 4. These awards and scholarships are given based on a student's artwork in the annual Student Art Show that was on display in the Marxhausen Gallery of Art from March 27 to April 12.

Concordia University Nebraska held its Spring Composers Recital on Tuesday, March 29 at St. John Lutheran Church in Seward, Nebraska. Included in the program were premiere performances of pieces written by ten Concordia student composers, comprised of a variety of music written for vocals, piano, winds and strings.

The Concordia theatre department performed four student directed performances each night from March 31 to April 2 in the Thom Auditorium for the annual One-Act Play Festival. This festival is the practical component of the Communication Theatre Arts Play Production class. The class takes the students through the process of analyzing their play from multiple perspectives, including design, technical and acting choices, so they are prepared to work with their peers to produce a complete performance.

Elayne Poppe, a junior from Lincoln, Nebraska, was recently inducted into Alpha Phi Sigma, the only national criminal justice honor society. In order to be inducted, students must complete the equivalent of three full-time semesters of course work, complete four criminal justice courses, major or minor in criminal justice or a related field, carry a 3.2 cumulative GPA and a 3.2 or higher within the criminal justice major or minor and be recommended by a faculty advisor. Dr. Kathy Miller, professor of sociology, and Dr. Ed Hoffman, associate professor of criminal justice and director of the online criminal justice program, serve as faculty advisors of the Concordia chapter. "Elayne is an excellent student and kind person. She is always prepared and always treats others with respect. She is very deserving of this honor," Hoffman said of Poppe.

Concordia University, Nebraska recently named 251 undergraduate students to its honors list for the Fall 2021 semester. Students who earn a 3.90 GPA or higher while completing at least 12 undergraduate credit hours qualify for the honors list.

Concordia University, Nebraska named 239 students to its honors list for the Spring 2021 semester.

Undergraduate and graduate degrees were conferred to more than 715 students who completed their studies at Concordia University, Nebraska in Seward.

Concordia University, Nebraska honored graduating seniors who achieved outstanding academic accomplishments during their college career at its Commencement Honors Dinner on May 7.

Concordia music students performed in the annual Spring Honor Recital on March 30 that was livestreamed on the music department's Facebook page. The semiannual honor recital at Concordia showcases the vocal and instrumental talents of student musicians. Musicians are chosen to perform based on auditions judged by music department faculty. The recital is held twice a year, once each semester.

Undergraduate and graduate degrees were conferred to 142 students in December 2020 and January 2021 who completed their studies at Concordia University, Nebraska in Seward. Undergraduates earning a degree from Concordia were eligible for distinction or high distinction honors. The top 10 percent of graduates with the highest GPA in their respective colleges were designated as graduating with high distinction. An additional 15 percent were designated as graduating with distinction.

Undergraduate and graduate degrees were conferred to 626 students following the Fall 2020 semester at Concordia University, Nebraska.

Concordia University, Nebraska named 244 students to its honors list for the Fall 2020 semester.

Concordia University, Nebraska music students performed in the semiannual honor recital Oct. 27 in front of a limited audience in attendance, while the performances were streamed on the music department's Facebook page.

The Concordia theatre department has been developing and performing radio plays as a way for actors and crew to continue honing their crafts despite being limited by public health safety measures.

Concordia University, Nebraska on May 9 awarded undergraduate and graduate degrees to 260 graduates. The Class of 2020 was honored with an online celebration, consisting of video clips of graduates celebrating their achievements. "All of us at Concordia thank God for the opportunities the Class of 2020 gave us to prepare them to serve and excel, even in these new and different times," said Rev. Russ Sommerfeld, Concordia's interim president. "We trust God to bless their achievements to influence the church and world in their various vocations. Their confidence in Jesus Christ for daily and eternal life is inspirational." Concordia's traditional, in-person commencement ceremony has been postponed to Aug. 1 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. More information on that event will be published once it becomes available.

This year's Spring Honor Recital looks a bit different for Concordia University, Nebraska music students. Typically, students would perform their pieces in front of a live audience in the Music Building's recital hall. For this spring's Honor Recital, each student recorded a video of themselves performing that was then compiled into a video and shared online.

Concordia University, Nebraska honored graduating seniors who achieved outstanding academic accomplishments during their college career at its annual Academic Honors Reception Aug. 1.

Concordia University, Nebraska's department of art recently announced this year's scholarship recipients. These scholarships are typically awarded based on a student's artwork in the annual Student Art Show that takes place in April and judged by Concordia's full-time art faculty. This year's exhibition was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and instead, students applied for each scholarship and endowment.

For the second year in a row, the Concordia speech team qualified 10 students for the American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament (AFA-NIET), which was set to take place April 4-6 in Santa Ana, California.

Concordia University, Nebraska's speech team recently competed in the Nebraska Intercollegiate Forensics Association (NIFA) State Championship at the University of Nebraska, Omaha Feb. 15. The tournament field included all college and university speech programs in Nebraska. In order to place in the NIFA Team Championship, the team's preliminary and final round scores were assigned a point value and rated against other schools. As a result of their collective team effort, Concordia is now ranked No. 4 among all teams in Nebraska, improving upon last year's placement of No. 7.in the medium school (Division II) category. The team not only moved up in rank, but also switched to the open division for larger teams.

The University A Cappella Choir from Concordia University, Nebraska, will perform in Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Nevada during its annual spring tour March 6 through March 16. The choir will conclude the tour with two local-area concerts on Sunday, March 22 at 3 p.m., at Christ Lincoln Church in Lincoln and at 7 p.m., at St. John Lutheran Church in Seward.

Undergraduate and graduate degrees were awarded to 110 students in December 2019, following the fall semester at Concordia University, Nebraska.

Concordia University, Nebraska named 263 students to its honors list for the fall 2019 semester.

Christmas at Concordia weekend included three events as part of Concordia University, Nebraska's annual Christmas celebration: a community open house and Christmas tree lighting, four Christmas at Concordia concerts and the Scholarship Parade of Homes.

Concordia University theatre will perform its fall musical: A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, based on a novel by Roy Horniman, Nov. 1-3 and 9-10 in Weller Auditorium on Concordia's campus. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7 p.m., and Sunday shows begin at 2 p.m.

Concordia University, Nebraska, will hold its Fall Honor Recital Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m., in the Recital Hall of the Music Center on campus.