Planning events like the St. Paul Winter Carnival is what Rosanne Newville Bump 鈥�92 does for a living as President and CEO of the Saint Paul Festival & Heritage Foundation鈥攚ith support from the community, of course鈥攁nd from plenty of volunteers, who work tirelessly behind the scenes. Honored to be part of the festival鈥檚 history, Bump loves brainstorming regularly about what 鈥渇un factors鈥� to add to the next year鈥檚 event. For example, this year鈥檚 event included three parades, a half marathon, an ice- and snow-carving competition, the country鈥檚 largest jigsaw puzzle competition, and an outdoors Birthday Bash in Rice Park to celebrate the festival鈥檚 130^th birthday. As part of the fun, Bump partnered with Kemps Ice Cream to provide Birthday Cake Ice Cream samples for all attending. In addition, this year鈥檚 festival included a performance, also in Rice Park, by roots-rock band GB Leighton. Standing outdoors on a lovely winter evening with 1000+ others, singing along with the performers, near the ice castle and sparkling trees (all lit), was 鈥渕agical,鈥� says Bump.

Bump has learned that, each year, about 20% of the carnival plans are unlikely to go as planned, primarily because of unpredictable weather, so she and her colleagues need to figure it out as they go, making for 鈥渟ome adrenaline-filled days.鈥� Unusually warm weather leading up to this year鈥檚 event meant that, in order to build the ice palace (this year, a mini version), ice had to be purchased, instead of harvested from local Lake Phalen. Even so, the palace still included the king鈥檚 chair, a light show, and TV monitors.

In addition to the Winter Carnival, Bump also plans the Cinco de Mayo event on St. Paul鈥檚 West Side, which has a 35-year history. The festival鈥攚hich celebrates the Mexican army鈥檚 unlikely victory over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862鈥攊ncludes a Mexican marketplace that features artists from the neighborhood, a parade, and multiple entertainment stages, with different kinds of music and beer鈥攁nd margaritas, of course. This year鈥檚 event is scheduled for Saturday, May 7, near Robert and Cesar Chavez Streets, right in the heart of the Latin@ business district.

Bump earned her degree from Augsburg in Management Information Systems, and early in her career she spent 10 years as a computer programmer. Grateful that her liberal arts education exposed her to ideas/topics that she wouldn鈥檛 have otherwise thought about, she says Augsburg College was a great choice for her, and she went on to earn her MBA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in 2010. She has stayed in touch with many of her Auggie classmates over the years, and is particularly pleased that both the St. Paul Winter Carnival and the Cinco de Mayo organizations benefit from the help of Augsburg interns as they plan their events.

Bump lives with her husband of 28 years, Jeff Bump 鈥�85, and their three daughters (Madelyn, Ella, and Julia) in River Falls, Wisc., where she served for nine years as CEO of the River Falls Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau. In that position, she organized events like the River Falls Roots & Bluegrass Festival, River Falls Days, and various other community events. She sits on multiple nonprofit boards and is currently president of the River Falls Rotary Club.

鈥攂y Cheryl Crockett 鈥�89

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For Jay Matchett 鈥�08, 鈥�13 MAL in his current job, all the pieces have come together. His long-held interests in politics, sociology, and human rights have coalesced into a vocation that couldn鈥檛 feel more right. Since he took on the directorship of , a multipronged social service agency in his hometown of River Falls, Wisconsin, he feels he can convincingly say: 鈥淭his is where I鈥檓 supposed to be.鈥�

Our Neighbors鈥� Place is an organization Matchett watched grow from its infancy to serve a great need in for people who found themselves homeless or in need of transitional housing.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been exciting, exhilarating,鈥� he says, of his four months as director, serving his community and engaging the complex issues surrounding poverty and homelessness.

Drawn to Justice

His attraction to social justice was born early and instinctively. A lifelong passion to do something about the cause of poverty began as a child. On a trip to Tucson, he saw an older person pushing a shopping cart alone on the sidewalk. He couldn鈥檛 understand why that would ever happen. He never forgot it.

His mother was a teacher, and he would volunteer in her classroom. There, he saw that not all kids were equipped for school鈥攖hey were hungry or didn鈥檛 have boots in the winter.

As a young person he knew intuitively, 鈥淭his is not right.鈥�

Then, in middle school, as part of his preparation for Confirmation, he spent a night and served a meal at a homeless shelter. Even in that short time at the shelter, he saw that they had more in common than differences. 鈥淭hey like the Packers; they鈥檙e just like us,鈥� he remembers thinking. 鈥淭hat just changed my world.鈥�

And the idea started to germinate: How can I make things better for folks? In college, he was drawn to sociology and political science because he wanted to change things.

Experiential Education Lays a Foundation

When he was a senior in high school in River Falls, Matchett didn鈥檛 know Augsburg existed. He applied to 鈥渁ll the usual suspects鈥� in Twin Cities colleges, and found himself waitlisted at Macalester before a social studies teacher recommended he look into Augsburg.

鈥淚 Googled it,鈥� he says, and he was intrigued. Before too long, others started recommending Augsburg to Matchett.

With a learning disability in math and ADHD, he was looking for a school that would have support and infrastructure to support his education. He was encouraged by the Center for Learning and Accessible Student Services (CLASS) office here, and knew he might be eligible for a scholarship.

Overall, he was drawn to 鈥渁 really cool mission that was giving people an opportunity.鈥�

In his first year at Augsburg, Brian Krohn was his roommate. He had friends in StepUP庐, in CLASS, and from so many backgrounds, he felt at home and enriched.

The diversity in experience adds so much to the classroom, he says.

He volunteered with Campus Kitchen and a program at Franklin Library for local Cedar-Riverside residents trying to get their citizenship. 鈥淚t helped make the curriculum real,鈥� he says.

鈥淚 got a fantastic education,鈥� Matchett says, and he shared his enthusiasm at home. His brother Will is a 2013 Augsburg graduate who is currently a PhD candidate in Rochester at the Mayo.

As a sociology and political science major, he also benefited from a longstanding mentorship with Sociology Professor Tim Pippert. They worked together on an Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO)-funded summer data analysis on visual representations of race in college admissions materials, which was later published in the Journal of Marketing for Higher Education.

Seeing the article published was an amazing process, he says. 鈥淚 got a better understanding of the research than I could have gotten from a textbook,鈥� he says.

He explored his interest in politics as co-chair of the College Democrats and volunteering on several campaigns, he learned a lot about policy and legislation. Ultimately, he decided he wanted to focus on the issues and stay involved 鈥渙n the ground.鈥�

鈥淚 think poverty and homelessness is bipartisan,鈥� he says. I think both parties are recognizing the importance of dealing with it.鈥�

After graduating in 2008, he moved to Washington, D.C., to join the American Sociology Association. But 2008 was a tough year to enter the workforce. He was laid off the following spring.

鈥淢y life plan was sort of kicked in the teeth and I didn鈥檛 know what I was going to do,鈥� he says. Without a job or a place to live, he came back home to River Falls. His mother encouraged him to volunteer at Our Neighbors鈥� Place, a facility serving the homeless that was just getting off the ground. He volunteered there for a year before beginning the Master of Arts in Leadership program in 2010.

The service-learning component to his education as both an undergraduate and a graduate student made a big impression. He found that by getting out of his comfort zone he discovered the similarities all people share. After graduating with his MAL degree in 2013, he worked in St. Paul for a year at Hamline Methodist Church as director of operations and communication. He later moved back to River Falls and continued to be involved with Our Neighbors鈥� Place (ONP).

At Home with Neighbors

When the recession hit, River Falls lost two car dealerships, a factory, and jobs across all fields, including construction, real estate, and support services. 鈥淸Poverty] is here and it is real,鈥� says Matchett.

River Falls had no facility to care for locals who found themselves homeless. A small group of individuals and churches across all denominations pooled their resources to contribute to a day center in town, where people can do laundry, and have access to a kitchen, food storage, intake services, and a computer.

鈥淭he churches in the community are steadfast,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey support us and keep the lights on,鈥� Matchett says. And in the years since Our Neighbors鈥� Place began, it has grown to meet demand. The Salvation Army is now housed in the day center, and a community closet is self-supporting.

It co-sponsors a program to distribute 70 backpacks a week to elementary and middle school children that contains enough meals to cover them on the weekend and vouchers for the community closet.

The center also operates an emergency family shelter that houses four families for up to 90 days under case management from an employee that helps find them more permanent housing.

The growth of the center has been organic, community supported, and a fully interfaith effort. Part of Matchett鈥檚 work from the beginning has been to raise awareness about poverty and homelessness. At first, locals didn鈥檛 want to believe that the community had poverty and homelessness.

鈥淚 feel really happy that I have the opportunity to do what I love but also be in my hometown,鈥� he says.

He is also working to establish a partnership with Augsburg鈥檚 social work program, so that ONP could serve as an internship site for current Auggies.

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