March 1999

Adviser can help make transition to college easy

GREEN BAY - For anyone considering college who has concerns about making the transition, Bernadine Vigue has a word of advice.

"Call," says Vigue, who is adviser for American Indian students in the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay American Intercultural Center. Vigue's job is to help American Indian students through the steps of getting started at the University, and then to serve as a resource for them throughout their years on campus.

Vigue's years of experience at the University - she'll celebrate her ninth anniversary on the American Intercultural Center staff in fall - and her experiences in the American Indian community in Northeast Wisconsin are to students' advantage. Vigue, whose father was half Menominee and half Stockbridge-Munsee, was born and raised on the Menominee Reservation and attended school in Shawano. Her mother was Oneida, and Vigue is an enrolled member of that tribe. Vigue's husband, Bernard, is on the faculty of the College of the Menominee Nation.

Vigue says if a prospective student calls, she'll ask some questions - such as "When do you want to start? Will you need financial aid?" - so that she can start figuring out how to best help. "I'll invite them to come to campus to meet with me and get a tour," says Vigue.

Why would Vigue recommend that American Indian students consider UW-Green Bay? "The American Intercultural Center," she replies, explaining that the Center on the plaza level of the Cofrin Library provides a good transition to University life. Says Vigue, "It's a warm and friendly atmosphere. Once students get comfortable there, they can spread their wings to other parts of the campus." She notes that 110 American Indian students attend classes on campus this semester.

The Center not only houses Vigue's office, but has large tables and lounge furniture where students can get together to study or just "hang out." "The students give each other support," says Vigue, "There's a lot of caring and sharing." It's an atmosphere to which Vigue contributes by often going beyond her job description - ask anyone who has tasted the chocolate cakes she frequently bakes for birthdays.

Vigue serves as adviser for Intertribal Student Council, which sponsors Native American Awareness Month and other activities. The annual pow-wow in 1998 drew over 1,500 people to campus.

Vigue understands well what it's like to be a student, because she's a student too.

Vigue started college studies years ago at Marquette University and then "stopped out" to raise her children. Son Brian, a St. Norbert College graduate, is now a legislative aide for Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D., R.I.) in Washington, D.C. Daughter Kim will graduate from UW-Green Bay in December. A few years ago, Vigue began taking classes part time to complete her degree at UW-Green Bay while working full time at her job. "I can share with students because of my experiences," she says.

The number to reach Vigue at the American Intercultural Center is 920-465-2720.

GREEN BAY - "Baby Signs: How to Talk With Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk," an infant/toddler preconference and one day institute, will be held Thursday and Friday, June 10 and 11 at the University Union on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus.

The program which highlights infant/toddler development and care is designed for but not limited to teachers and other professionals serving infants, toddlers and their families. It is the fifth annual infant/toddler institute sponsored by the UW-Green Bay Office of Outreach and Extension and UW-Extension.

Featured speakers are nationally recognized researchers Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn, who have co-authored the book Baby Signs: How to Talk With Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk.

The preconference will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. June 10, and will include an introduction and overview of specific infant communication strategy known as "Baby Signs." The preconference presentation is geared for both parents and professionals.

The institute will be held from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, June 11, with discussions and workshops that focus on infant development programs, the new brain research in infants and toddlers, infant gender differences and a research update of the Midwestern Child Care Project.

UW-Green Bay human development Professor Illene Noppe, UW-Madison Professor Roger Williams and Associate Director for the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families Nan Brien, are the other featured presenters.

The registration fee is $20 for Thursday, June 10, $75 for Friday, June 11, or $90 for the entire two-day session. To register or for more information contact the UW-Green Bay Office of Outreach and Extension at 920-465-2102 or 1-800-892-2118.

The event is co-sponsored by Brown County UW-Extension, Division of Continuing Education Extension and Wisconsin Early Childhood Association.

GREEN BAY -- There have been sharp increases in students applying for admission and seeking general information from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay via electronic means.

Online applications, as opposed to those submitted by mail, have skyrocketed in this the program's second full year. For the one-year period ending in August 1998, a total of 289 applications were processed via the Web. Already this academic year, in only six months, more than 475 applications have been processed.

UW-Green Bay has also seen its general e-mail inquiries nearly double, to 3,920 in 1998, from 2,128 the year previous. There were only 248 online inquiries in 1996 when the University began tracking e-mail requests.

"Systemwide, this is the third year of the online service, the first being a pilot year involving selected schools only," says UW-Green Bay Associate Director of Admissions Pam Harvey-Jacobs. "E-mail requests for information have skyrocketed. Questions run the gamut from general inquiries to specific programs. We respond to the majority by e-mail and mailing follow-up material that pertains to their requests."

At UW-Green Bay, electronic submissions now account for one-in-five applications. The increasing preference for online application is being measured across the UW System. State universities processed a total of 7,332 undergraduate applications electronically last year, and already, in a six-month period this academic year, have processed 11,847.

UW-Green Bay utilizes the University of Wisconsin System's online application system at apply.wisconsin.edu. This system allows applicants to apply for admission at any UW System institution from the same Website. Applicants can also access the information through UW-Green Bay's homepage at www.uwgb.edu.

Applicants fill out personal, residency and employment information, high school courses in progress, activities, and an applicant statement. To complete the process students must print, from the Webpage, a copy of the Application Completion Instruction Sheet which includes detailed instructions and requires a signature of a guidance counselor; then attach an official transcript, and send a $35 application fee. Wisconsin residents applying as new freshmen are required to submit their ACT results.

"Our system is somewhat of a hybrid," said Harvey-Jacobs. "We don't currently process from credit cards, but the UW System is looking into that process."

Planners expect the process to be nearly paperless, although full conversion could take up to 10 years. Standardized applications would make it easy for a computer to decide if most students qualify for admission, Harvey-Jacobs says, but decisions on close calls would remain a matter for admissions personnel.

Despite the growing number of students applying and seeking information electronically, the profile of the student applying for admission at UW-Green Bay hasn't appeared to change drastically the past few years.

"I don't think that the student profile is radically different," Harvey-Jacobs says. "Our student profile, based on quality indicators such as gpa, rank in class, ACT scores, have us traditionally in the top three or four among the 26 UW baccalaureate campuses and UW college campuses.

"However, the questions that applicants are asking are different. There is more concern about technical services, our computer center and direct hook-up to rooms in the residence halls, which we will have for the first time in fall."

GREEN BAY - With its fall enrollment goal already in sight, UW-Green Bay announced today that Friday (April 2) is the cutoff date for applications from most new freshmen. It is the earliest admissions cutoff in six years at UW-Green Bay.

The closing applies only to new freshmen. Applications will continue to be accepted from transfer students, master's degree students, part-time "specials," and individuals interested in the Extended Degree program of off-campus instruction.

UW-Green Bay has already received more than 2,280 applications and is projecting that number to be more than enough to enroll a target of 920 new freshmen for next fall. The University is looking to hold the line on new freshmen because two consecutive years of slightly larger freshman classes, coupled with solid retention among continuing students, has the institution nearing its overall targets of about 5,400 students and an FTE (full-time equivalent) count of 4,334.

UW-Green Bay joins the UW System campuses in Madison, La Crosse and Eau Claire as the first to limit applications for fall 1999 admission.

Myron Van de Ven, assistant vice chancellor for enrollment services, says UW-Green Bay will continue to accept and consider, on a case-by-case basis, new-freshman applications from those with special circumstances, including international students and students from under-represented groups or those with special talents or academic abilities.

Questions about the application process may be directed to the Office of Admissions and Orientation at (920) 465-2111.

GREEN BAY - The Brain: A Work in Progress, a continuing series of one-day workshops exploring the new brain research and its implications for practice, will offer its final spring session from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 5, at the University Union on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus.

Registration remains open for the workshop titled "The New Brain Research: Changing the Way You Deliver Healthcare," offered by UW-Green Bay's Office of Outreach and Extension. The workshop is directed at but not limited to health care and social service professionals.

The workshop leader is Dr. David C. Osmon, director of clinical psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He will lead an exploration of the brain function theory (thinking, feeling, acting, growing), followed by small group breakdowns in which participants will learn to recognize the technology of the new brain research, understand in lay terms the main cognitive and emotional functions of the brain, appreciate how the brain changes through adulthood, explore applications of the workshop in caring for people, and appreciate brain functions, especially as they relate to health and lifestyle issues.

Dr. Osmon is a clinical neuropsychologist. The central focus of his teaching and research is the structure of cognition.

The program is the fourth out of five workshops organized around the theme, The Brain: A Work in Progress. Nearly 300 registrants have participated in other sessions. Each program is a stand-alone session with no prerequisites; it is not necessary to have attended previous workshops to enroll in the May 5 program. Continuing education credit is available. The final workshop is scheduled for fall 1999.

The $85 workshop fee includes handouts, refreshment breaks, lunch and parking. Registrants can save $5 by registering before April 21. For registration information, call Outreach and Extension at 920-465-2164 or 1-800-892-2118.

GREEN BAY - Phyllis R. Silverman, an internationally known researcher and writer on topics of grief and mourning, is the keynote speaker for "Families Living With Loss," a workshop set for 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, April 23, at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

The inaugural event for UW-Green Bay's new Institute on Dying, Death, and Bereavement will be in the University Union on the campus at 2420 Nicolet Drive.

"Never Too Young to Know: Death in Children's Lives," is the topic of Silverman's presentation and also the title of her newest book. The presentation focuses on children whose parent, sibling, or friend has died, and looks at the relationships, interactions and shifting roles in the bereaved family. "Children negotiate the meaning of the loss for the rest of their lives," says Silverman.

Silverman is professor emerita at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Institute of Health Professions. She also is an associate in Social Welfare in the MGH Department of Psychiatry and Harvard Medical School where she was project director of the Child Bereavement Study. Silverman developed the concept of widow-to-widow and directed the research project that showed its effectiveness. She has been a consultant to various task forces convened by the National Institute of Mental Health and has consulted with hospices, hospitals, and social agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

Silverman was a Senior Research Fulbright Fellow during 1993-94 at Haifa University in Israel. Her awards in the last five years include the first award for achievement in research given by the Association for Death Education and Counseling; a scholar-in-residency at Mandelbaum House at the University of Sydney, Australia; and an award for contributions to the field given by the AARP on the 25th anniversary of the AARP Widowed Persons Service. Silverman's many publications include books on mutual-help groups, and on both women and men coping with loss of a mate. She is co-editor of Continuing Bonds: New Understanding of the Resolution of Grief.

Music therapist and author Deanna Edwards will lead the afternoon session, "Grieving: The Pain and the Promise," which is the title of one of her books. She also is author of Music Brings My Heart Back Home, and contributed to Nursing Care for Children and Families: A Holistic Approach. Edwards is an adjunct faculty lecturer in music therapy at Utah State University and was named "Utah Hero of the Year" in 1996. She presents workshops throughout the U. S. and Canada and recently was featured on South African national television. Edwards sings in 16 languages, has written more than 300 songs, and has recorded a dozen albums. She and her husband are founders of Rock Canyon Music Publishers.

The workshop is for funeral directors, human services professionals, educators, nursing home and pastoral care professionals, doctors, nurses, social workers, students, and others. It carries noncredit Department of Public Instruction clock hours. Continuing education units have been applied for through the Funeral Directors Examining Board and the Association for Death Education and Counseling.

The $80 workshop fee includes handouts, parking, refreshments and lunch. A $5 early discount applies to registrations received on or before April 9. To receive registration materials and to apply for reduced registration for students, the contact is Barbara McClure-Lukens, program coordinator, in the UW-Green Bay Outreach and Extension Office at (920) 465-2222.

For information about the new UW-Green Bay Institute, McClure-Lukens also is the contact. Illene C. Noppe, associate professor of Human Development, who studies, teaches, and writes about death and grieving issues, is the faculty liaison. Noppe will teach a three-credit course, Dying, Death, and Loss, during the May 24-June 18 intersession at UW-Green Bay.

Institute sponsors include the Wisconsin/Upper Peninsula Chapter of the Association for Death Education and Counseling, Unity Hospice, and the Human Development and Nursing Departments and Office of Outreach and Extension at UW-Green Bay.

Advisory Board members are Ken Blaney, Blaney Funeral Home; Carol Jean DeGroot, St. Vincent Hospital; Jeanne M. Harper, death educator and grief counselor; Jeff Matzke, Unity Hospice; Liz Pierce, De Pere Middle School; John Shier, Bellin Hospital; Rabbi Sidney Vineburg, Cnesses Israel Congregation; and, from UW-Green Bay, Jane Bock, assistant professor of Human Development, and V. Jane Muhl, chairperson of Nursing.

GREEN BAY - Student actors will portray sexual assault victims in a theatrical performance to be staged twice during April in connection with Sexual Assault Awareness Week.

Drawing the Shades will be performed at 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 14, in the Christie Theater on the lower level of the University Union at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. UW-Green Bay students will dramatize the stories of male and female sexual assault survivors. The presentation also incorporates a discussion period and a video slide show which offers statistics and an overview of sexual-assault issues. The program will be repeated at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 21, in the Fort Howard Theater of the Bemis International Center on the St. Norbert College campus. There is no admission charge for either performance.

UW-Green Bay activities during Sexual Assault Awareness Week also will include information tables across campus to spread the word about causes, frequency and prevention of abuse. The week's events are capped by the community's annual Take Back the Night rally and march on Friday, April 23, in downtown Green Bay. A 6:30 p.m. program on the courthouse grounds will feature therapist and domestic abuse survivor Marcia Gordon speaking on the theme "Peace Begins at Home, Peace Begins With You, Peace Begins With Me."

GREEN BAY - Robert K. Peet, professor of biology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and editor of the journals, Ecology and Ecological Monographs, will speak at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 25 in Rose Hall room 250 at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The event is free and open to the public.

Peet's research into plant communities and populations spans a broad range of topics. One major focus of his current work is secondary forest succession. Peet is engaged in studies aimed at describing, classifying, and interpreting the vegetation of the Carolinas. Peet serves on the governing board of the International Association for Vegetation Science and is active in The Ecological Society of America.

Peet's appearance at UW-Green Bay is part of an Ecology Lecture Series supported by an annual heirloom vegetable plant sale.

GREEN BAY - "American Populism, Past and Present," is the topic to be addressed by Michael Kazin, professor of history at American University, at 10 a.m., Wednesday, April 7 in the Christie Theater at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Kazin, a Woodrow Wilson Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution, is author of The Populist Persuasion and The Barons of Labor.

The event is part of the Historical Perspectives Lecture Series sponsored by UW-Green Bay's Center for History and Social Change.

GREEN BAY - Plans for an $8.5 million renovation of the Laboratory Sciences Building on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus were endorsed Wednesday, March 17, by the full state Building Commission.

The project is part of a larger, $162 million capital spending plan for the entire UW System for the 1999-2001 biennium. The list of projects was approved earlier this week by the commission's Higher Education Subcommittee.

UW-Green Bay is scheduled to begin construction this year on another project, a $17 million academic classroom building scheduled to open in 2001. The Laboratory Sciences Building remodeling would be the second phase of a plan to address space problems, instructional technology issues and lab safety on the campus.

The proposal endorsed today provides planning money in the 1999-2001 budget for the Laboratory Sciences Building project; actual construction funds would be part of the 2001-2003 budget with renovations to begin in 2001.

Today's endorsement of the UW System's list of capital projects by the Building Commission - which is chaired by Gov. Thompson - moves the package along for consideration by the state Legislature.

GREEN BAY - A High School Honors Jazz Band joins the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Jazz Ensemble I and Vocal Jazz Ensemble in concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 26, in the Weidner Center on the campus at 2420 Nicolet Drive.

The 21 high school students representing Appleton North, Ashwaubenon, East De Pere, Green Bay West, Pulaski, and Stevens Point high schools, were selected from among the best performers participating in UW-Green Bay's January Jazz Fest.

UW-Green Bay's Vocal Jazz Ensemble, directed by Chris Salerno, will include in its program two numbers - "My Foolish Heart" and "Do You Wanna Know What I Want" - that the group performed at the Western Michigan University Gold Company Invitational Vocal Jazz Festival March 19 and 20. The UW-Green Bay ensemble was among 30 groups invited to the Festival.

Chris Salerno arranged "My Foolish Heart," featuring soprano Jennifer Scovell. Tenor saxophonist Steve Johnson joins the group for "Do You Wanna Know What I Want," with soloists Scovell and Kelly Shoemaker. Vocal Jazz also will perform Charlie Parker's "Now's the Time," arranged by the group, and featuring soprano Kristin Sponcia. Their program concludes with "Baroque Samba."

Jazz Ensemble I will perform two numbers arranged by Director John Salerno: "Get Me to the Church on Time," with Steve Johnson on vocals, and "Where or When."

Johnson will switch to saxophone for solos on "Slightly Off the Ground" (also featuring Steve Cooper on sax and Andrew Martin on drums), "Just Below the Surface" (also with Kristin Sponcia on piano and Tim Sheldon, bass), and "It's Alright With Me" (also featuring Kevin Backer on drums). Sheldon has another bass solo slot on "Paper Mache," along with Sara Salentine on piano, Doug Rifleman on guitar, and Steve Cooper, saxophone.

Thomas Pfotenhauer will direct the high school honors group in a program reflecting a variety of influences. "Mambo de Memo," Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood," "Weird Blues," and "Caravan" will include solos by several of the students.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students. The number for tickets is 920-465-2217 or 800-328-TKTS.

High school students in the UW-Green Bay Honors Jazz Band are:

Appleton North: Eric Fritz.
Ashwaubenon: Tristan Eggener, Joe Kempen.
De Pere East: Mark Denis, Evan Halloin, Peter Halloin, Ryan Hopson, Alex Noppe, Kasey Steinbrinck, Jon Tepe.
Green Bay West: Sarah Schmidt.
Pulaski: Kristin Duchateau, Ben Heykes, Jake Heyer, Josh Heyer, Dave Kobielak, Rachel Lueck, Zak Protzman.
Stevens Point: Peder Johanson, Aaron Kruziki, Matt McVeigh.

GREEN BAY -- High school students interested in attending the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay can learn more about academic programs and facilities when UW-Green Bay hosts Campus Preview Day programs in April.

Visitors can choose from two dates: Friday, April 9; and Friday, April 30.

The one-day sessions are designed for high school juniors and seniors, and their parents. Following registration from 8:30 to 9 a.m., the programs run until 2:30 p.m. Included are campus tours and faculty and staff presentations on academics, financial aid and other student services.

To register for Campus Preview Day, call the Office of Admissions at UW-Green Bay, 920-465-2111.

GREEN BAY - Educators in seven local school districts are about to get an introduction to a new professional development opportunity available through the Institute for Learning Partnership headquartered at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

The new program for working teachers is the Accomplished Educator Professional Development Certificate (PDC).

The PDC was introduced March 11 during a training session for presenters who will carry information about the program and its potential back to fellow educators in their home districts. Nearly 4,000 teachers will be invited to presentations in the next few weeks in the districts which make up the charter group: the De Pere, Green Bay, Howard-Suamico, Manitowoc, Pulaski, Sheboygan Falls and Two Rivers school districts. It is expected that the seven charter districts will be joined by others as agreements are reached among teachers unions, school boards and school administration as to how the PDC might be honored in additional districts.

Catherine Coles, director of the PDC, describes it as the only program of its kind in the state.

"What this does is provide teachers a new vehicle for preparing their own professional development plan," Coles says. "It's a new approach to professional development for teachers."

Planners say the PDC provides another option, in addition to graduate studies, for teachers seeking individual improvement and professional development. They say the learning experiences will be more meaningful and focused than the "smorgasbord" approach of workshops and individual courses. The PDC program can be completed in approximately 18 to 24 months.

The PDC is designed around the rigorous criteria of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). In this way, it parallels the design of UW-Green Bay's new graduate program in education - the Master of Science Degree in Applied Leadership for Teaching and Learning. Both programs also share a focus on improvement of student learning, and the opportunity for educators to individualize their continuing education efforts by integrating them with their everyday classroom work.

The PDC and the master's degree are initiatives of the Institute for Learning Partnership, which is made up of CESA 7 school districts, superintendents and boards of those districts, teachers, unions, UW-Green Bay, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, and business and community interests.

Charter district educators interested in the summer 1999 PDC program are being asked to apply no later than May 10. There are no advanced degree prerequisites. Dates of the initial PDC seminars are June 15, 16, 22 and 23.

Educators from school districts beyond the charter seven can apply for the January or June 2000 PDC program. Application forms and additional information are available by calling the Institute for Learning Partnership office at 920-465-5075.

GREEN BAY - When Chari Nordgaard decided to attend the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay as a member of the Phoenix women's basketball program in 1995, she knew she would have to play in the shadow of her big brother Jeff.

At the time, Jeff was a rising star and had led his team to an NCAA tournament berth. He would continue on to All-America status, leading the Phoenix to three post-season berths, etching himself into the UW-Green Bay record book and being drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association.

To Chari, Jeff's shadow loomed large, but like their childhood after-dusk games of kick-the-can, the shadows would offer excitement and a challenge, and maybe, even at times, a hiding place.

In her first few weeks as a college freshman in fall of 1995, Chari's dreams didn't take hold as she hoped. No longer the big fish in a small pond, she found her confidence waning with every lonely walk across campus and every difficult wind sprint in practice. The rumor was she was going to quit school.

"I wanted to leave," said Chari. "I was homesick, and the demands were more difficult than I had anticipated. But I had to give it a chance. I told my parents I would stick it out for a year, but mostly, I did it for myself, because I didn't want to be left saying 'what if.'"

Thank goodness. For Chari and for UW-Green Bay.

Nordgaard will complete her senior year of eligibility this spring as the top scorer in Phoenix women's basketball history. She was recently named first-team Academic All-American -- one of only five Division I players in the country to earn the prestigious award. Like Jeff, she was also named Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America AND she outscored her brother, surpassing his 1,911 career points in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Tournament.

"Just a friendly family rivalry," says Chari of the scoring battle. "He told me he'd give me a hundred bucks if I beat him. He wanted me to get it too, because he knew the record would depend on me playing well, and the team winning and advancing in post-season play."

On the court she is smart, steady, physical, aggressive and unemotional. Off the court she is bright, articulate, mature, polite and outspoken on subjects that matter to her. She carries a 3.87 grade point average in a reputably difficult major, public administration. Those who know her best say she is extremely sensitive, a perfectionist and an introvert. She is both respected and envied by opponents, and admired by teammates. Her family is just plain proud.

"I've been told that my grandmother, who isn't well enough to make it to the games anymore, has sat and watched college women's games on TV focusing on a tall, blonde player and pretending it is me," said Chari.

Chari's father John and mother Eleanor have made the eight-hour drive from Dawson, Minnesota, a small town near the Dakota border, to Green Bay maybe a dozen times a year for the past seven years. Chari's sister and best friend Kami, who plays volleyball at the University of South Carolina, and sister Julie, a UW-Green Bay alumnae, keep in contact weekly via phone and e-mail.

Jeff, who played professionally in Italy, tells of how he would sit at his laptop computer until 5 a.m., surfing U.S. sports sites until he was able to locate the latest Phoenix score. "I couldn't sleep until I knew," he said. "It's been exciting for me. I feel the anguish with every bad game and am totally excited when the team does well. My parents and grandparents feel the same way."

The expectations and the comparisons come fast and furious for Chari and Jeff. But the younger Nordgaard has taken it in stride.

"Jeff has been my role model," said Chari. "Even in high school he accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. I wanted his number (33) in high school, and I took it in college. He opened up possibilities for me. Score 1,000 points. Play Division I basketball. Go to the NCAA Tournament. I wanted to do it too. He's been a major influence."

Jeff agreed that the pressure has been difficult, but it may have helped Chari garner the success that she has.

"Over the years it put some pressure on her to live up to the things I accomplished, but it made her become a better player. She has always wanted to be a winner. But she is a very sensitive person, and off-the court, having to live up to those standards was kind of tough."

Chari credits her family, a strong supporting cast of teammates and her boyfriend, former Phoenix men's basketball player, Wayne Walker whom she's been dating since her sophomore year, for additional support.

"This is the tightest team I have ever been a part of," said Nordgaard. "We are so cohesive and we have so much fun together. There isn't a single person that doesn't get along with someone else on the team."

Chari's roommate, senior point guard Becky Knutson, gets credit for being Chari's best friend on the team, but Walker has been Nordgaard's rock.

"Wayne, he's my best friend," Nordgaard said. "We spend every minute together. One thing is that we are both so similar. We're both so competitive and he understands what I am going through. "We've been dating since February of my sophomore year. He graduated in December but said he wanted to be around for my senior year, and that's really special. He knows how important this is for me. He's been to every game when maybe my friends or family couldn't. I always knew I had someone special waiting for me after games."

With or without her supporting cast, Nordgaard has paved her own way, and her future is about as bright as her recent past. The first thing she'll do is watch the Women's National Basketball Association draft show on April 27th, hoping for the admittedly long-shot that her name will be called to play in the United States' only professional league this summer.

If she doesn't get drafted, she'll still have an opportunity to try out for a final roster spot -- maybe with the league's new expansion team, the Minnesota Lynx. If not, she'll try her luck in Europe, where women's professional teams enjoy tremendous support and a much longer history than the WNBA.

"Jeff's agent told Jeff that he's the second best Nordgaard and he wants to sign the best," said Chari. "He's expressed that to Jeff, not to me. I'm not sure I'm good enough but I've got to give it a try."

If a professional basketball career falls through, there's the possibility of playing one year for the Phoenix volleyball team and finishing her degree in fall in preparation for graduate work and a possible law degree.

"Whatever happens, I feel like I'm prepared for it," Chari said. "It is hard to imagine life without basketball. I have always been able to explain myself through the game. It has been my identity. But basketball has modeled what I want to do in my life, which is to have the confidence to succeed in whatever I set out to do.

"I used to think I wanted to be a high school athletic director, because it would suit my strengths, but now I want to go on to graduate school. It seems like I have so many different options now. Regardless, I think I'm prepared. Basketball has given me so much. There might be opportunities in the WNBA or overseas, but whenever that is over, I think basketball has prepared me for the challenges in the workforce. Going though trying times, getting along with people, and the transition from being unsuccessful to successful, like earlier this season, I think those things teach you what is necessary wherever you end up."

"When I came here, I didn't want to be a small fish in a big sea, I wanted to be extraordinary. Once basketball is over, I want an opportunity to give back.

"I can remember almost to the minute when I knew this was the place for me. I was driving back to Green Bay from Dawson. It was January of my freshman year, and I was thinking, 'I really love this place now. What would have happened if I had left?'"

There are many in Green Bay who are glad they never had to consider the possibility.