The Cedar Cultural Center will host a free concert by Taleex Band on October 31 as part of the Midnimo series, a two-year partnership with Augsburg College to build cross-cultural awareness, knowledge, and understanding of Somali culture through music. The Star Tribune recently promoted the show and Midnimo programming in the article, “Twin Cities band Taleex raises voices for Somali pride.” As noted in the article, the Taleex performance also will include sets by non-Somali groups. Bob’s Band, a brass jazz group led by long-time Augsburg College Music Department faculty member Bob Stacke ’71 and comprised of several Augsburg alumni and current students, will augment Taleex Band’s sets.
Kuoth Wiel ’13 gains wealth of media coverage
Augsburg College alumna Kuoth Wiel ’13, a star in the feature film “The Good Lie,” has garnered a plethora of media coverage. The film, which was released in Minnesota Oct. 17, has been well received and is generating Oscar buzz. Augsburg has received several media mentions thanks to Wiel since she was a student at the College when she auditioned for the role.
The film brings to life a fictional yet strikingly accurate story of the ‘Lost Boys’ of Sudan. Born in a refugee camp in Ethiopia to Sudanese parents herself, it’s no surprise Wiel found it important to help tell this story. Being a part of the film “…validated all the struggles we had went through,” Wiel said in an MPR news interview.
Wiel has been traveling around the U.S. promoting the film since its September debut at the Toronto Film Festival. The film, along with Wiel and her cast mates, have been featured and covered by media outlets ranging from Minneapolis’ Star Tribune to Rolling Stone magazine.
Below is a list of some of the local and national media coverage on Wiel:
- Bring Me the News – “Augsburg grad’s tragic past informs role in Hollywood movie”
- Entertainment Weekly – “Behind the Scenes with the Sudanese stars of ‘The Good Lie'”
- Huffington Post – “It’s been a long road to the big screen for the Sudanese stars of “‘The Good Lie'”
- Kare 11 – “Augsburg grad lands role with Reese Witherspoon”
- MPR – “‘The Good Lie’ treads close to Sudanese refugee life, Minnesota actress says”
- People – “Meet the real-life ‘Lost Boys’ of Sudan in ‘The Good Lie'”
- Pioneer Press – “’The Good Lie’ wisely leaves story to the refugees”
- Rolling Stone – “This Reese Witherspoon drama about the lost boys (and girls) of Sudan is earnest to a fault, but you won’t leave unmoved”
- Star Tribune – “Sudanese refugees weather culture shock in ‘Good Lie'”
- Variety – “Toronto film review: ‘The Good Lie'”
Augsburg named to list of top colleges for older students
The college planning website BestColleges.com has named Augsburg to its list of the top colleges for older students. Augsburg is ranked No. 9, making it the highest listed Minnesota institution.
In order to create the rankings, BestColleges.com examined all schools with a nontraditional student body of 25 percent or more and then narrowed its list to only those schools that provide a high quality education. The site examined each school’s academics, student engagement, percentage of students above age 25, and programs geared toward nontraditional students. The site trimmed its list to 50 schools by examining institutions’ range of degree programs at the baccalaureate level or higher.
Scott Cooper ’13 reflects on his Augsburg experience
Former Augsburg College football player Scott Cooper ’13 wrote a follow-up article for Outsports.com one year after he spoke in Daily Chapel for National Coming Out Day. Cooper previously penned an article for the site that garnered the attention of the Star Tribune and described his acceptance on and off the field as a gay student athlete. Visit the Outsports.com to read the article.
Augsburg College community celebrates alumna’s film debut
Kuoth Wiel ’13 visits Twin Cities for advance screening of ‘The Good Lie’
Augsburg alumna Kuoth Wiel ’13 finished the final semester of her undergraduate education from afar, trading the College’s Minneapolis campus for film sets in Georgia and South Africa. Wiel is featured in a supporting role in “The Good Lie,” a drama about refugees from Sudan learning to navigate life in the United States with the help of a character played by Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon.
Wiel, a psychology major with Sudanese heritage, has been touring to promote “The Good Lie” since the film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in early September. She will introduce the Twin Cities’ first screening of “The Good Lie” on October 14, and the Augsburg College community has been invited to take part in the event. Auggies also can acquire free tickets to an advance screening on October 16.
Ticket information is posted in the October 10 edition of Augsburg’s Daily A-mail.
To learn more about the film, visit thegoodliemovie.com/.
Augsburg named to list of top colleges for Native Americans
The American Indian Science and Engineering Society’s Winds of Change magazine has selected Augsburg as one of the Top 200 Colleges for Native American and Alaska Native students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math.
The list features colleges and universities “where American Indians are going to school in significant numbers and where the community, Native programs, and support are strong enough for these students to enjoy college and stay on to graduation,” according to Winds of Change. Likewise, this year the list includes data measuring undergraduate degrees in science, engineering, technology and mathematics-related disciplines for all students and for American Indians.
Augsburg College was one of only five Minnesota institutions to make the Top 200 list, which was published in an annual special college issue designed to inform and inspire college-bound students and their parents, teachers, and counselors.
Devean George ’99 redevelopment project featured in Star Tribune
A redevelopment project by Augsburg College alumnus Devean George ’99, a former professional basketball player, was mentioned in a Star Tribune business article by Neal St. Anthony. The story explores two projects on the North Side of Minneapolis that recently broke ground. George heads Building Blocks, a group working to revitalize urban areas by building affordable housing with accompanying retail spaces. Read “St. Anthony: Two north Minneapolis projects launch” on the Star Tribune website.
Pioneer Press features Kuoth Wiel ’13 and ‘The Good Lie’
Augsburg College alumna Kuoth Wiel ’13, an actress in the film “The Good Lie” starring Reese Witherspoon, was featured by the Pioneer Press just before the film was set for release in Los Angeles and New York. Wiel balanced her studies and the filming of “The Good Lie” as a fourth-year student at Augsburg. Read, “‘The Good Lie’ is a survival story – and Minnesota woman’s story,” on the Pioneer Press website.
Atlese Robinson ’15 awarded Hawkinson Foundation Scholarship
The Vincent L. Hawkinson Foundation for Peace & Justice has awarded Augsburg student Atlese Robinson ’15 the 2014 Hawkinson Foundation Scholarship. This scholarship was created by the Foundation to encourage students who have already demonstrated a commitment to peace and justice to strive for those values in their educational pursuits and in their personal and professional lives.
Robinson is majoring in theater at Augsburg. Her artistic background includes the Penumbra Theatre’s Summer Institute and the St. Paul Central High School’s Central Touring Theatre. When she was attending Central, Robinson wrote a poem highlighting racial inequalities within the school system. She then went on to perform the poem, with others, for groups of teachers and administration in the St. Paul Public Schools.
Robinson has served as editor of The Echo newspaper, a student publication at Augsburg College. She also has performed her original spoken word as part of the College’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation celebration.