Spring semester classes begin Monday. After a successful fall semester and an extended winter break, we’re getting the hang of this!

What’s It Like on Campus? Your Magazine Online Reports

Students return to campus late next week, ready to begin their spring semester classes on Feb. 1. After a successful fall semester and a bit of an extended winter break, we’re getting the hang of doing college during a pandemic.

To minimize the spread of COVID-19 to campus after extended travels away, the college this year eliminated breaks like Long Weekend and Spring Break, allowing the fall semester to end earlier and the spring semester to start later than most years … and giving students an eight-week break to reconnect with their families, relax and rejuvenate before returning next week.

In hopes of repeating the success seen during the fall semester, the college plans to continue operating under Phase 2 of the Return-to-Campus Plan, which calls community members to limit exposure through physical distancing and other restrictions.

In the latest magazine issue, out earlier this month, a gallery shows how the college adapted to new health guidelines while still being the SNC you know and love. And our cover feature takes a comprehensive look at SNC in the time of COVID. Read More

Jim Sutton Change of plans in your life? At a time when many of us are feeling that our lives have been derailed, we touch base with four alumni who have already experienced life events that stopped them in their tracks. Read More

This pandemic is not the first pestilence encountered by the Norbertine order. Plagues, political upheavals and perilous times are nothing new to a worldwide community of abbeys that has been rolling with the punches for 900 years. Read More

If you need a distraction, we also bring you stories about …

Where the Heart Is: Alumni say the St. Norbert College campus was integral to their happily-ever-afters.
A Commitment to a Job Well Done: Ten retiring educators yield a combined 325 years of service to St. Norbert College.
A Chance From Chicago: Five new students on campus this semester represent the first cohort of Willibrord Scholars – stand-out students from needful neighborhoods in Chicago’s South Side.

Jan. 28, 2021

Also in Print: A Flamingo in a Flock of Pigeons

An inside joke has grown into a lifestyle for Nicole Micolichek ’11, who proves flamingos aren’t just ornaments for your lawn.

Mingle with flamingos Birds generally freak me out, but not flamingos. They’re unique and vibrant. I once mingled with real flamingos at the Indianapolis Zoo and saw them do their signature stance up close.

A nest egg My love for flamingos stemmed from a project in high school on the post-WWII housing boom and making cookie-cutter houses stand out. It was this inside joke, but my mom got the ball rolling when she bought me a lawn flamingo. It became a perpetual thing: People started bringing me more stuff. Now that my niece is into them, we have competitions to see who can wear the most flamingo things. I usually let her win.

In full feather Most of what I have are gifts. The first was a candle holder from a friend. My best friend painted a flamingo art piece that hangs in my house. The lawn flamingo from my mom came with me to SNC and hung in my room in Sensenbrenner Hall; it even has a name: Rinaldo!

Birds of a feather flock together Flamingos help me make connections. My love for these birds may seem a little out there, but when people see all of the flamingo things – pens, earrings, shirts, water bottles – it gives us a chance to talk and open up to each other.