New Innocents Society, Mortar Board members inducted

Students, faculty and alumni were honored by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln at its annual Ivy Day ceremonies on April 4.

The event, co-sponsored by Mortar Board and the Innocents Society, recognized the outstanding contribution of students selected to serve in the two organizations, as well as the achievements of current members and notable underclassmen and seniors.

Ceremonies took place at the Nebraska Champions Club and concluded with the traditional planting of the ivy by the 2015-16 presidents of the societies, Grant Rathje of Seward for Mortar Board and Christopher Davidson of Omaha for the Innocents Society.

Nebraska State Sen. Adam Morfeld, who represents the 46th District, gave the keynote address. A graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Nebraska College of Law, Morfeld is a recent Innocents alumnus. While at the university, he founded Nebraskans for Civic Reform, a nonprofit with goals to protect voting rights, create more accessible elections and strengthen K-12 civic education.

Honorary memberships in the Innocents Society were presented to Linda Major, assistant to the vice chancellor for student affairs and director of UNL's Center for Civic Engagement; Jeff Rech, with UNL Student Involvement and Student Organization Financial Services; and Hunter Flodman, assistant professor of practice in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

Honorary Mortar Board memberships were presented to Morfeld; Reginald Burton, chairman of the Department of Surgery for Bryan Health in Lincoln; and Ann Seacrest, a registered nurse, board certified lactation consultant and the executive director of MilkWorks, a nonprofit community breastfeeding center in Lincoln.

The Innocents Society inducts 13 new members each spring, with selection based on leadership, scholarship and service to the university and greater community. The Innocents Society was founded in 1903 to promote the spirit of the university and is the chancellor's senior honorary. It is not affiliated with any national organization.

New members of Mortar Board are tapped into the Black Masque Chapter each spring by Mortar Boarders wearing black masks and robes. The 28 new members were selected on the basis of outstanding scholarship, leadership and service to the university and community.

The following is a list by hometown of the 2015 inductees into the Innocents Society and the Black Masque chapter of Mortar Board. Information includes the student's academic major(s) and parent names.

NEBRASKA

AURORA: Maggie Schneider, Mortar Board, accounting, daughter of Jason and Sheila Schneider.

BENNINGTON: Hayden Byrd, Mortar Board, accounting and finance, son of Tom and Mary Byrd.

BERTRAND: Tanner Nelson, Mortar Board, agricultural economics, son of Mark and Jodi Nelson.

CLARKS: Tanner Hannappel, Mortar Board, biological sciences, son of Don and Shannon Hannappel.

ELKHORN: Lauren Greufe, Mortar Board, biology, daughter of Jim and Nancy Greufe; Madelyn Petersen, Mortar Board, international business, daughter of Matt and Laurinda Petersen; Brock Thompson, Mortar Board, economics, son of Scot and Leeann Thompson.

FARWELL: Laura Gorecki, Mortar Board, animal science and business, daughter of Don and Kathy Gorecki.

GOTHENBURG: Brennan Costello, Mortar Board, agribusiness, son of Steve and Becky Costello.

GRAND ISLAND: Alex Wirth, Innocents Society, actuarial science and finance, son of Donald and Denise Wirth.

'LA VISTA: Chase Gorham, Mortar Board, accounting and agribusiness, son of Dennis and Kathy Gorham.

LINCOLN: Ryan Geisert, Innocents Society, chemistry, son of Jeff and Jennifer Geisert; Kelli Green, Mortar Board, advertising and public relations, daughter of Ronnie and Jane Green; Brendon Henning, Innocents Society, marketing, son of Kent and Lisa Henning; Celeste Labedz, Mortar Board, physics and geology, daughter of Cynthia Ritter and Thomas Labedz; Jose Lemus, Innocents Society, economics, global studies and mathematics, son of Jose Miguel Lemus and Isabel Velazquez; Matt Lutomski, Mortar Board, mechanical engineering, son of Paul and Kelly Lutomski; Sami Nelson, Mortar Board, biological systems engineering, daughter of Mark and Julie Nelson; Jeremy Payne, Innocents Society, biochemistry, son of Jodie Stein and Jeffrey Payne.

NEBRASKA CITY: Jacob Vasa, Innocents Society, Spanish and pre-medicine, son of Brad and Jo Vasa.

OMAHA: Jonathan Berger, Innocents Society, mechanical engineering, son of Greg and Kim Berger; Rachel Bormann, Mortar Board, elementary education and special education, daughter of Timothy and Marilou Bormann; Thien Chau, Mortar Board, political science and environmental studies, son of Tuan Chau and Bich Ha Nguyen; Ryan Coughlin, Mortar Board, mechanical engineering, son of Curt and Tammy Coughlin; Christopher Davidson, Innocents Society, biological systems engineering, son of Steven and Sandra Davidson; Ryan Drvol, Mortar Board, mechanical engineering, son of Scott and Robin Drvol; Justine McCarty, Innocents Society, interior design, daughter of Michael and Lisa McCarty; Alia Noetzel, Innocents Society, psychology, daughter of Sameena and Juergen Noetzel; Aleah Peters, Mortar Board, communications studies, daughter of Jerry and Kay Peters; Jared Thomsen, Mortar Board, biological systems engineering, son of John and Jean Thomsen.

PAPILLION: Kevin Real, Innocents Society, biological systems engineering and chemistry, son of Chris and Patty Real.

PRINCETON: Maci Lienemann, Mortar Board, animal science, daughter of Trevor and Torri Lienemann.

SEWARD: Grant Rathje, Mortar Board, agribusiness, son of Tom and Kristi Rathje; Alyssa Sleight, Mortar Board, Spanish, daughter of William and Michele Sleight.

UEHLING: Elizabeth Uehling, Innocents Society, agricultural and environmental sciences communications, daughter of Jay and Sheryl Uehling.

WAUNETA: Larissa Wach, Mortar Board, agribusiness, daughter of Loran and Nancy Wach.

ELSEWHERE

FAIRPORT, NEW YORK: Tanner Gosda, Mortar Board, chemical engineering, son of Curt and Dee Ann Gosda.

ABERDEEN, SOUTH DAKOTA: Hannah Brenden, Mortar Board, psychology, daughter of Tom and Dianne Brenden.

WATERTOWN, SOUTH DAKOTA: Alex Kindopp, Innocents Society, actuarial science and finance, son of Bryan and Kay Kindopp.

YANKTON, SOUTH DAKOTA: Rob Schmidt, Mortar Board, English, political science and Spanish, son of Keith and Deb Schmidt; Logan Smith, Mortar Board, agronomy and agricultural economics, son of John and Jacki Smith.