Special Donor Issue - University of Minnesota, Crookston

The King (Homecoming, that is)Who Would Be PresidentThe year was 1972, the UMC basketballteam coached by Marv Bachmeier finishedthe season with fourteen wins andeight losses, and Pablo Ronderos would benamed most valuable player and chosen a memberof the All-State junior college team. One ofhis fellow teammates would be named Athleteof the Year. That student was Kevin Kopischke.Kevin was an honor student and letterman inboth basketball and baseball. He served as vicepresident of the studentsenate, tourguide, and 1971homecoming king toQueen Mary Copp.Kevin received aUMC Service Award,one of nine to receivethe award in 1972.Nine of his classmatesreceivedrecognition whenthey were electedto Who’s WhoAmong Students inAmerican JuniorColleges. They werechosen for theirscholarship, service,leadership, and potential based on faculty voteand approval by the national organization. Thegroup included Stephanie Arnston, EvelynBoser, Jerry Jacobson, Elton Hendrickson,Stephen Hottinger, Darrell Larson, JeromeJansen, Clare Olson, Harlan Rademacher, andKevin. He recalls, “UMC was the perfect placefor me to be, and I remember it as a very enjoyabletime of my life.”The division of Hotel, Restaurant, andInstitutional Management (HRI), chaired byRalph Nestor, was growing fast through theirinnovation and hard work. Kevin came to UMCin the fall of 1970 to major in HRI because hisfather had a café and the work interested him.The oldest of seven children growing up inMorgan, Minnesota, Kevin became one of theQueen Mary Copp and King Kevin Kopischkeat homecoming in the fall of 1971.work-study students whowould spend evenings cleaningup after the food preparationlabs. One of thethings Kevin recalls isPresident Richard Nixon’strip to China in February of1972 because the HRI divisionhosted a “Salute to theOrient” dinner that year inrecognition of the trip.Kevin remembers the great leadership in theHRI division with Nestor and Brian Harron, buthe also fondly remembers Joe Mazzitelli, JerryKnutson, Lynnette Mullins, and Dave Hoff.Provost Stan Sahlstrom stands out vividly inKevin’s memory along with his wife, Mil, whomhe refers to as a “great lady.” Kevin had anopportunity to get to know the SahlstromsKevin Kopischke in hisyearbook photo in the1972 yearbook.If you would like more information on the HRI programor any of the other programs offered at UMC, pleasevisit: http://academics.UMCrookston.eduthrough the catering the HRI program did inthe Sahlstrom home. He could not leave out hiscoaches Marv Bachmeier and Phil Englemanand, of course, Herschel Lysaker, who all influencedhis life as a student at UMC. He gives alot of credit to these role models. “By the luckof the draw, I ended up at UMC and off to a12Kevin Kopischke was athlete of the year in 1972.He played basketball and baseball.