At an end of year celebration, Hastings College President Travis Feezell honored several individuals with the President’s and Hastings Habits awards for the 2018-19 school year.
The President’s Award, which is given to an individual who has given outstanding service to the College, was presented to Patty Sitorius ‘81, who has served as athletic director since 2015.
Sitorius, who is retiring this year, previously worked in the Hastings College Foundation. She also served as head coach of the Bronco Volleyball team from 1986 to 1992, head coach of the Bronco Women’s Track and Field team from 1986 to 1989 and was the first head coach for Bronco Softball team in 1993. In 1989, she was inducted as a member of the inaugural Hastings College Athletic Hall of Fame class for track, basketball and volleyball.
Hastings Habits express the true spirit of a Hastings College education and are embodied in the people who give their time and talents to educate students. In turn, the College hopes these traits are grown and developed in its students and continues to guide their lives after they graduate.
There were 52 nominations for the 2018-19 awards, and this year’s recipients are Emily Dunbar, Bobbi Buchholz, Laura Arnold, Brad Davis and Beth Kohmetscher. Each received a $2,000 prize made possible by the Jackson Dinsdale Endowment Fund.
Below are details for each recipient, including quotes from their nominations.
Emily Dunbar
A Creative Spirit: We value the worth of ideas and only from scrutiny and debate can we create what comes next.
Quotes from Nominations: This individual has been invaluable to our campus community. She cares greatly about our students and follows up with them to keep them on track. She is tireless in her enthusiasm, always looking for where we can improve. She has a great talent for being able to help students take ownership of their academic progress and create opportunities for bettering themselves.
She bridges relationships between students and faculty, offering assistance with accommodation plans, by helping students learn to build their own plans to success. Her experience and patience with students is an inspiration. She is a vital member of our community and we’re lucky to have her at HC.
Laura Arnold
Care of All Things: Our abundance – of time, talents, treasure, and people – is a gift to shepherd so that we may change lives.
Quotes from nominations: This individual’s willingness to help students in any manner, academically, sponsoring a student group, or just helping them deal with life shows her dedication. She exemplifies care of all things in the manner in which she brings a contagious positive attitude to student life. She is unafraid to use her considerable intelligence and boundless energy to serve others. Her energy to help every program on this campus is inspiring.
She has headed up a Habitues Leadership trip in Atlanta this summer to get coaches trained so they can better impact there team. This is just one of many ways she has been making an impact on this campus! She has given so much of her time for the good of others because she wants this campus to be a true community. The experiences she has provided for students on this campus and selfless time that she spent helping others succeed has been truly amazing to watch, she is truly making waves and changing lives!
Brad Davis
Active Citizenship: We commit to making this place – our Hastings, our state, our world – better through our individual and collective actions and that to do this well we must listen as much as we must do.
Quotes from Nominations: This individual is one of the most important linchpins in the College’s successful move to Hastings College 2.0. It is his devotion to training faculty in the most effective ways he can find that will lead to us making this transition work.
He has always taken his duties seriously, but I have seen a doubling-down on his devotion to solving problems and getting faculty the resources and knowledge they need over the last year. He does so with infinite patience, relentless research and a communication style that is never patronizing.
Beth Kohmetscher
Radical Hospitality: We don’t just say hello but instead WELCOME you in an authentic spirit of service and support to others.
Quotes from Nominations: This individual is welcoming, friendly, helpful and full of positive attitude. She will take the time to do what she needs to assist you with your needs. Her smile is infectious and so is her charm and her bubbly spirit. When help is needed, she will always be one of the first to offer her time if she is available. She is often the first face that students and families see when they arrive on campus.
She always greets each family, student and employee with a warm welcome and makes you feel at home. Her positive approach to every interaction she has – truly embodies this Hastings Habit, and everybody associated with Hastings College is better because of it.
Bobbi Buchholz
Civil Candor: Honesty with humility, candor without intentional hurt – we communicate directly knowing that in seeking truth, we seek a shared good.
Quotes from Nominations: This individual is a pleasant contributor on campus and has great respect from all parties. Her leadership has been unwavering and clear. She was able to navigate the ways in which faculty worked together for the good of all. There were many difficult conversations during Curriculum Committee meetings and she held those discussions with great respect for everyone involved.
Hastings College is a private, four-year institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Hastings College has been named among “Great Schools, Great Prices” by U.S. News & World Report and a “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review. For more, go to hastings.edu.
