In the 143 years of Northwestern history, the college has seen many faces come and go. Like any other college, the most everchanging thing about NW is the student body as new faces come in each year and old faces walk across the stage as graduates who have left their mark on this school’s history. With hundreds of young, promising students graduating each year, the college, alumni and current students alike are reminded of one two word motto that has shaped the culture of NW’s campus: Stand Out. As students leave their senior year dorm rooms for the last time, many remember this phrase as a challenge that built their college experience and will help them direct their next steps in the next community in which they are called to.
With this school year’s homecoming quickly approaching, many alumni who have completed their education at NW will be returning to relive the days of their youth and celebrate what it means to be a Raider who stands out. Three of these alumni who plan on returning to campus for a day are currently teaching at North Iowa Christian School, a small private Christian school in Mason City, IA, have a strong love for NW and are truly proud to have attended the school. Christy Bram, formerly known as Christy Hoffman, graduated with her fellow Red Raider grad and now husband Louie Bram in 1996. In their time on campus, Christy and Louie were a part of the first Praise and Worship sessions on campus and got to partake in the beginnings of one of the now most well known weekly traditions on campus. They also were quite involved with the international program and made many friendships with students who came to NW through the international program. Today, they work together at the same private Christian school as the Dean of Students and high school English teacher and actively encourage their students to seek out colleges like NW where they can thrive and grow.
One of the students that the Brams have influenced the most is their daughter, Anna Bram, who now works at the same school as the head librarian and high school science teacher. Miss Bram graduated from NW in 2024 and was heavily involved in the theatre department on campus. In her two years in the theatre department, Bram took the roles of stage management for two different shows. The first show that she was involved with on campus was Life is a Dream in the fall of 2022. This show was one of the few productions that went to the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in January of 2023, and is a huge accomplishment for the cast, crew, and theatre department as a whole. After playing a key role in the success of Life is a Dream, Bram went on to be the stage manager for NW’s production of Hamlet in the spring of 2024. Many students who worked on this production remember Bram fondly and look forward to her reappearances on campus.
Also closely affiliated with the NW Theatre Department is 2009 grad Tony Wilder. In his time at NW, Wilder was an actor in many productions including the Shakespearian tragedy “Othello” as well as a dancer and choreographer for various productions including the previously annual “Rush” performance. Wilder has made several appearances on campus with “Rush: Finale” last spring and this semester has come back to teach the NW dance team a new hip hop dance routine which the dance team will be performing for Homecoming this weekend. When asked how Wilder’s return to campus influenced her, NW dancer Ava Schmitz said that “It was super fun to have him come back and teach us a style of dance that we weren’t super comfortable with.” Wilder’s reappearances on campus have left a positive impression on students and staff alike as they appreciate that he and other stand out alumni like him still care about the place where they earned their degrees and learned more about what it looks like to be a Christ centered, standout community.
