Viking Hall of Fame
黑料吃瓜 (NPU) Athletics welcomed five alumni into the Viking Hall of Fame 2023 class last December: James (Jim) Bergquist BA 鈥�90, MDiv 鈥�98; Fredrik Greiff BS 鈥�14, MBA 鈥�15; Gregory Sager BA 鈥�83; Nick Soldano BA 鈥�13; and Lauren Wiltsie BS 鈥�18.
Bergquist was a multi-sport Viking. In football, he was a two-season All-Conference lineman and earned All-American accolades. In track and field, he was a five-time All-Conference selection, holding the North Park discus record for 25 years.
A four-time All-Conference pick for men鈥檚 soccer, Greiff earned three first-team accolades, three United Soccer Coaches All-Region selections, and competed in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament all four seasons.
Serving as 鈥渢he voice of the Vikings鈥� for nine sports, Sager began commentating at Viking events in 2008. He also works behind the scenes as the NPU Athletics historian, maintaining record books and assisting in curating press releases.
鈥淲e are truly grateful for the many ways you have represented this university.”
鈥擳erence Gadsden
The most decorated pitcher in North Park baseball history, Soldano was a two-time All-CCIW and All-Region selection and was the D3baseball.com Central Region Pitcher of the Year in 2012. That same season, the American Baseball Coaches Association and D3baseball.com named Soldano an All-American.
Wiltsie is the only Viking women鈥檚 volleyball player to become a four-time All-CCIW selection and the first to receive first-team honors. During her senior season, the outside hitter guided the program to its first-ever CCIW Tournament appearance, leading the league in kills per set.
Reflecting on the awardees鈥� achievements, Campus Pastor and Athletic Chaplain Terence Gadsden said, 鈥淲e are truly grateful for the many ways you have represented this university. Our current student-athletes look at the Viking Hall of Fame and see your accomplishments as encouragement. Know that what you鈥檝e done lives on with our student-athletes today.鈥�
North Park Theological Seminary Distinguished Alumna
At the Evangelical Covenant Church鈥檚 (ECC) Midwinter conference in January, North Park Theological Seminary (NPTS) awarded Mae Elise Cannon MBA 鈥�06, MDiv 鈥�06 its Distinguished Alumni Award.
Cannon is an ordained ECC pastor and holds two doctorates, one in American history from the University of California, Davis鈥攃entering on the history of the American Protestant church in Israel and Palestine鈥攁nd the second in ministry in spiritual formation from Northern Theological Seminary.
She has authored several books, including the award-winning Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World, and edited A Land Full of God: Christian Perspectives on the Holy Land.
Cannon鈥檚 extensive education and experience guide her as the executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP). Founded in 1984, CMEP is a coalition of more than 30 Christian organizations that believe their perspectives and experience in the Middle East should directly influence U.S. foreign policy. Its goal is to affect holistic policy to achieve just and stable relationships in the Middle East.
NPTS presented Cannon with the award on campus a few weeks before Midwinter, but she addressed the conference via video due to her being in Jerusalem.
The Lord calls us to be agents of peace…to love across divides, to speak out against injustice, and to be willing to have difficult conversations.
From Dominus Flevit Church, she expressed her gratitude for the recognition and her transformational time at NPTS. She reflected on how it influenced her current ministry and said, 鈥淚n a time when the world is so incredibly broken…the Lord calls us to be agents of peace…to love across divides, to speak out against injustice, and to be willing to have difficult conversations.鈥�
Cannon also shared that one of her favorite things about the ECC is 鈥渢he willingness to walk hand-in-hand without seeing eye-to-eye,鈥� and urged all to hope and pray for peace in the Middle East and worldwide, while also seeking to do the same as a denomination.