Distinguished Family 2010 - MLC

As most of you know, Joe and I both attended Midland Lutheran College. It's a small, private, NAIA school in Fremont, NE. Due the fact that several other immediate family members also attended MLC and I suppose since we all put our Midland degrees to fairly good use, the college has awarded "The Harnisch Family" with an exciting honor.

We are THE DISTINGUISHED FAMILY of 2010.

pretty cool huh?!? :)

Not sure what that means exactly, we'll find out more at a special Alumni banquet tomorrow :-)

here's a link to a little more info about tomorrow's event Alumni Achievement Awards

All of us graduated from Midland, with the exception of Bethany (Concordia) & Tod (UNL)... This photo was taken about 3&1/2 yrs ago...McKenzie was cooking in my tummy when this shot was taken...but shhhh, don't tell, it was still a secret to the family. We spilled the beans to everyone later that afternoon!!! What a great day that was!!

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A little more Midland chat: Joe wooed me at a lovely Kappa Phi fraternity (St. Paddy's) mixer with my sorority, Pi Epsilon. I was a Sophomore. It was, I guess you could say "love at first sight" and we've been living the "dream" ever since :-) hehe

We were both very active and participated in several academic as well as social clubs. I was a Journalism major with emphasis' in Broadcasting, Advertising and PR.

While attending Midland, I recall the many late nights (several over-nighters) spent up in, my second home, the J-Lab while finishing stories for the paper or editing and producing videos/news stories for MLC on the AIR. FUN TIMES!!! I am proud to have been a part of Midland's (once great) Journalism department. I respected and very much appreciated the guidance of my Journalism professors, Doug McAllister, Dr. Joyce Winfield and Barry Anderson. All of them were instrumental in helping me find my way through college and figure out what I wanted to do upon graduation. They all truly cared!

It was also an honor being a member of the Midland Lady Warrior Basketball team for some of my college days. I learned a lot in the time that I played, both on the court and off the court. Coach Bracker is a great coach and a wonderful role model. Most of all, and the part that sticks with me the most - I treasure the lifelong friendships I formed with my many college girl friends. We have all moved away and have started families of our own, but we still keep in touch, we have a bond that will never be broken. We have so many great sorority & basketball memories! I also have several wonderful memories of living off campus in the "Duece House" with my 5 closest Pi Ep sisters :-)

Oh MAN those were the GOOD 'OLE Days!!!!
a little side note: I am soooo glad that social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, etc did not exist when we were in school, I/we certainly do NOT need any old photos and crazy stories coming back to haunt us...it was all good, we were responsible college kids and all, but, we all sure have grown up A LOT since then :-)

I would not change a SINGLE thing about my college experience...sure, along with the fun times there were many challenges and struggles, but overcoming those obstacles has made me a stronger person and has helped define who I am today.