May 21, 2021
Written by Public Relations & Communications Strategist Jill Wilson
Lizzie Hansen has been out in the workforce for nearly a year, but on Saturday, May 22, she will have the rare opportunity to come back to her alma mater to speak to her graduating class at Kirkeby-Over Stadium, as the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the Class of 2020 from having a traditional commencement ceremony.
“It was really weird. It didn’t feel like I graduated,” said the Redfield, South Dakota, native.
While the ceremony is being held a year later, Hansen thinks it will provide closure to this chapter of her life.
“It’s been a long time coming and a lot of obstacles we never really thought we’d overcome, but we did it,” added Hansen.
Hansen came to Augustana because she “knew it would be the best bachelor’s degree” and her admission counselor made her feel like she was “more than just an application.” But, Hansen came into AU thinking she would major in business administration and government and international affairs, with aspirations of becoming a lawyer. That is, until she met a certain someone.
“And then, I met Scotty. Scotty Briggs was part of the Augie Access Program and happened to have Down Syndrome.” Hansen said, smiling, “Scotty is easily my top 10 favorite human beings on the planet — love him to death. I just found myself making sure everybody else was including him.”
Hansen said that Briggs turned her life upside down. Because of him, Hansen is now a special education teacher in Sioux Falls, splitting her time between Eugene Field A+ Elementary and Whittier Middle Schools.
“It’s definitely not easy. It does take a lot of patience, but it’s worth it at the end of the day,” said Hansen, who was heavily involved in Augustana’s Council for Exceptional Children (AU CEC) during her time as a student.
Nominated by a professor to speak at graduation, Hansen began to reflect back on her time on campus. The more she thought about it, the more Hansen realized her four years lined up with a children’s book that she loves: Because by Mo Willems. And, like any great teacher, she’ll be using the book to help serve up one final lesson to her peers.
Hansen’s speech is called “Because of Augustana.”
Hansen explained, “It’s all about just these little things that happen, but they can lead up to this huge change in somebody’s life and then that change can lead to another change in somebody else’s life. It’s just this huge idea of Ubuntu — the idea that everything’s connected in ways we don’t understand.”
Still today, Hansen takes at least 5-10 minutes each class period to just build relationships with the students she teaches — something she learned from her time spent in the education department at Augustana.
“They (students) know that they can come to me. If they feel upset, they can tell me if I’m doing something that makes them upset.” said Hansen. “Teaching is relational.”
If anything, Hansen hopes that her peers discover how important relationships are during her 10 minute lesson on Saturday.
“I hope that they realize they can change the world. It may not be the entire world, but it’s somebody’s world, and it’s okay if that world is their own,” Hansen advised. “Just be open to the idea that what you’re doing right now can impact somebody, it can impact yourself, it can come back to somebody on the other side of the world and you just don’t realize it. So, always be kind.”
Always be kind. You never know if there’s another Briggs out there who might just turn your world upside down.