This spring Concordia celebrated the 25th and 40th anniversaries of service within The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod of five employees: Dr. Daniel Thurber, Martin Kohlwey, Grant Schmidt, Rev. Steve Sirek and Dr. Kurt von Kampen.
Dr. Daniel Thurber, Concordia's dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, has taught nearly every course in Concordia's English curriculum. His 40 years of service began as a teacher in Lutheran high schools in Michigan and he also taught at Concordia College, Edmonton, Canada. From 1971 to 1977 Thurber served at Concordia Nebraska as a teacher as well as director of communications, director of sports information, assistant director of college relations and director of admission counseling at points. Thurber would return to Seward as a professor in 1987. He was chosen as Concordia's Outstanding Teacher by the students in 1997 and, in addition to his leadership and teaching roles, he has led nearly 350 students to significant literary and historical sites in the cities of Europe and Asia. Thurber earned his bachelor's degree in education from Concordia, his master's degree in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and his doctorate from the University of Michigan. Daniel and his wife Carol have three children: Jennifer, Rebecca and Tim.
Martin Kohlwey has taught and mentored hundreds of students in the classroom, around campus and on the court during his 25 years of service. Kohlwey spent the first part of his career at Lutheran High School in Rockford, Ill., where he served as a religion teacher and spiritual life director. For 11 of those years he also was the head coach of the boy's basketball team. Kohlwey coached the team to multiple championships and for his efforts was named District Coach of the Year three times.
In 1998 Kohlwey joined the staff of Concordia as the assistant student life director and instructor in general studies and the degree completion program. He was named to his current position of director of student life in 2006. Kohlwey also assisted in coaching the men's basketball team from 1998 to 2006, years during which the Bulldogs made three national tournament appearances. Taking his love of basketball outside our borders, Kohlwey lead basketball mission trips with students to Haiti in 2002 and Panama in 2004. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Concordia. Martin and his wife Sue are parents of three: Stephanie, Kirsten and Micah.
Grant Schmidt's ministry of 25 years has focused on Christ-centered athletics for both high school and college students. After earning his bachelor's from Concordia, Schmidt taught history and physical education, coached basketball and also went on to serve as the director of athletics at Valley Lutheran High in Phoenix, Ariz. The high school teams he coached won back-to-back state championships, and Schmidt was named AIAA Coach of the Year. Schmidt returned to his alma mater in the late 1980s to teach physical education courses and coach basketball. He took over the men's basketball team after assisting for two years and is the winningest coach in school history. He has guided the program to three Nebraska-Iowa Athletic Conference titles as well as 10 NAIA national tournaments, including a runner-up finish in 2005. Schmidt started summer basketball camps at Concordia for high school boys in 1988, founding a summer sports camp program that now includes a dozen camps each year. Schmidt earned his master's in educational administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1992 and was named Concordia's athletic director in 1994. Grant and his wife Deb are have children, Preston, Brandon and Megan.
Rev. Steve Sirek's 25 years of service have included a diversity of ministries in education, coaching, overseas missions, the parish and development. Sirek began his service as a teacher at Lutheran High School South in St. Louis, Mo., in 1972. He returned to Concordia in the mid-'70s as a graduate assistant, serving part-time as a coach for track and cross country. His fulltime service at Concordia began in the late '70s in roles that included director of student life, director of volunteer ministries, coaching and admissions counselor. The 1981 championship football team he helped coach has been inducted into the Concordia Hall of Fame. During this time he also earned his master's from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 1992 Sirek's ministry took on an international flavor as he spent two years in Riga, Latvia, as a missionary and manager of the work of International Lutheran Hour Ministries and Orphan Grain Train. Returning to the states, Sirek earned an additional master's degreed and his pastoral colloquy from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., and served as pastor of Faith of Our Fathers Lutheran Church, Roca, Neb. He was also chaplain, recruiter and religion teacher at Lincoln Lutheran Middle-High School in Lincoln, Neb., while teaching as an adjunct for Concordia. Sirek returned full-time to Concordia in 2003 as associate director of development and assistant football coach. Steve and his wife Kathy are the parents of three: Christiana, Stephanie and Micah.
For 25 years Dr. Kurt von Kampen has been using music to serve. After earning his bachelor's from Concordia Nebraska, von Kampen directed music at Lutheran high schools in Michigan. His teaching at the collegiate level includes five years at Concordia University-Ann Arbor and 10 years at Concordia University, Nebraska. At Seward, von Kampen teaches choral conducting, choral literature and vocal techniques and was awarded Outstanding Teacher by Concordia's students in 2007. He is also director of the University A Cappella Choir as well as the Chamber Choir/Vocal Jazz Choir and the Concordia Singers. He maintains a rigorous touring schedule with the ensembles, including award-winning trips to Australia and Austria with the University A Cappella Choir. He earned his master's from Oakland University, Rochester, Mich., and completed his doctorate of education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Outside of the academic realm, von Kampen served as a member of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Commission on Worship from 2004 through 2007 and conducted the high school honor choirs at the 2004 and 2007 National Lutheran Youth Gatherings. Kurt and his wife Dory have four children, David, Paul, Rachel and Andrea.