Briar Cliff University Media Announcement

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – What did Briar Cliff University students Marena Fritzler and Jodi Gosch do with the Monsignor Tom Nash and Sister Grace Nash Endowed Fellowship money they were awarded? They applied it toward a university sponsored mission trip to Honduras last month.

The 2007 recipients of Monsignor Tom Nash and Sister Grace Nash Endowed Fellowship awards, Marena Fritzler, a Graphic Design major from Mesa, Colo., and Jodi Gosch, a Graphic Design major from Mapleton, Iowa, each received $250. While in Honduras, the students along with 20 other Briar Cliff students and staff members, helped bring a much needed water pipeline system to the residents of a rural village near Esquias, Honduras.

“It was amazing to see the pride these people had in their homes, which were no bigger than one room with no windows,” explained Fritzler. “Seeing how they live truly made me appreciate everything I have.”

For both Fritzler and Gosch, receiving the Nash Fellowship to assist with their mission trip made a world of difference.

“I wouldn’t have been able to be a part of this life-changing mission,” said Gosch. “These people waited more than 20 years for a water pipeline like this to come to their village. It was a dream come true for them.”

First awarded in 2006, the Nash Fellowship was established in the name of Monsignor Tom Nash and Sister Grace Nash for students seeking advancement in the field of international development, social justice or environmental issues.

Msgr. Nash, who died in 1999, was a priest in the Diocese of Sioux City for 45 years serving in the Iowa communities of Boone, Algona, Pocahontas, Estherville, Breda and Schaller. Sister Grace, who passed away in 1995, was a member of the Dubuque Franciscan Sisters for 42 years. Her service work included pastoral ministry in parishes in Minnesota and Mississippi. She also taught in elementary and high schools in Iowa.

For eligibility requirements or to make a donation to the Nash Endowed Fellowship, please contact Lexa Hawkins, Gifts Records Coordinator at Briar Cliff University, at (712) 279-5201 or Lexa.Hawkins@briarcliff.edu.

Briar Cliff University is a Catholic institution with an enrollment of more than 1,100 students from 26 states, Canada, Bosnia and Ecuador. Students are educated in the Franciscan tradition of excellence in the liberal arts and prepared for professional success in an environment of care and compassion for the community.