Nebraska Wesleyan University has recognized six of its graduates with alumni awards. The honors were bestowed at the university’s annual Legends and Legacies Award Dinner on October 22.
Samantha J. (Spencer) Mosser of Omaha has been honored with the Young Alumni Loyalty Award. Mosser, a 1998 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan, was recognized for her involvement and leadership with the Alumni Association and the Omaha Club Board, which she served as president from 2003-2005. In addition to her active involvement with the alumni organizations, Mosser has served as an adjunct professor, facilitating microeconomics, macroeconomics, and money and banking courses at the Wesleyan Advantage Omaha location. She is a native of Gothenburg, Neb.
Ieda B. Siqueira Wiarda of Athens, Ga., has been recognized with the Alumni Loyalty Award. After graduating from NWU in 1960 with a political science degree, she pursued masters and doctorate degrees in political science. She accepted a position as the first Luso-Brazilian specialist for the Library of Congress. Wiarda continues to devote a great deal of time and effort to Nebraska Wesleyan. She has enhanced the selection of the university’s Cochrane-Woods Library by sending materials from the Library of Congress. She has been a notable financial contributor to NWU for 32 years and is a strong advocate for the university’s Capital Hill Internship Program (CHIP).
Tracie Whiting Kipper of Blue Springs, Mo., has been honored with the Young Alumni Achievement Award. In 1994, Whiting Kipper graduated from NWU with a bachelor’s degree in global studies and minors in Japanese, history, and sociology/anthropology. While an undergraduate, she studied for a year at NWU’s Japanese sister school, Kwansei Gakuin University. Following graduation, she was selected for an elite program sponsored by the Japanese government, where she received training as a Japanese language instructor. Her experience also includes coordinator for international relations in Nagano on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET), English manager of the news agency for the Nagano Olympic Organizing Committee, and economic analyst and JET Program coordinator at the Consulate General of Japan at Kansas City. She is currently the Japanese language and culture lecturer at the Kansas City Art Institute and owns the Japanese Consultant, which assists clients with Japanese language, cross-cultural support, and online language courses. She remains involved at Nebraska Wesleyan, providing guidance and support to students who seek assistance with the JET Program. She is a native of Clay Center, Neb.
Lynn Anspaugh has received the Alumni Achievement Award. Anspaugh graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan in 1959 with a bachelor’s degree in physics. He went on to earn a master’s degree in bioradiology and received his Ph.D. in biophysics. He began working as a biophysicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and conducted research across the world. As a result of his research, Anspaugh has published over 300 scientific articles and reports. His contributions to the world of biophysics have earned him many honors, including being a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. He hails from Buffalo, Wyo., and currently resides in Henderson, Nev.
Jan (Root) Brockley of Lincoln has been awarded the Alumni Humanitarian Award. She graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan in 1956 with degrees in education and English. Her greatest humanitarian impact comes as a loyal member of Trinity United Methodist Church, having led mission trips around the world, including Chile, Russia, India and Africa. Brockley recently returned from her fifth mission trip to Kenya, where she has worked to empower women. Beginning with a focus to provide a healthy diet, Brockley’s team distributes to women such things as fruit trees, vegetable seeds, solar ovens, and goats, and assists in planting a community garden and building tilapia ponds. She and her husband, George, spend the winter in Puerto Vallarta, where they help feed local children with a rice and beans project delivered to the schools. Brockley is a native of Belden, Neb.
Lindy (Garner) Mullin of Lincoln is the Alumni Medal of Honor recipient. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1967 and masters and doctorate degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Mullin began her 33-year career as a teacher of children with special needs at Park Elementary School in Lincoln. She later served on the “Helping Teacher Cadre,” assisting classroom teachers to better work with and understand children with special needs. In 1989, Mullin became the Ruth Pyrtle Elementary School coordinator, spending a majority of time working with the special education program there. She also taught special education courses at Nebraska Wesleyan and graduate classes at the University of Nebraska. Mullin’s natural compassion also led her to various leadership roles in the Lincoln community including Mourning Hope Grief Center, Friendship Home, and the Nebraska Wesleyan University Board of Governors.