Staying Connected

The Bethany Lutheran College Alumni Office is your connection to Bethany! We organize special alumni events, keep you informed about what's going on at Bethany, and help you to connect with your former classmates and friends.

Summer golf events

You are invited to join us for any or all of our three golf events this summer: The Joel Laube Memorial Golf Tournament  is Friday, June 20, the Madison Golf Classic  is Monday, July 14, and the Bethany Sports Classic  is Monday, August 4.

Browse the Directory

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News

Don't miss Bethany's three summer golf events
Friday, May 09, 2008

You are invited to join us for any or all of our three golf events this summer: The Joel Laube Memorial Golf Tournament is Friday, June 20, the Madison Golf Classic is Monday, July 14, and the Bethany Sports Classic is Monday, August 4.

Spotlight on John Schroeder (’07)
Monday, February 25, 2008

By Sarah Harstad, Director of Alumni Relations

Graduation is often a time of uncertainty for many students. However, when John Schroeder graduated from Bethany in 2007, he knew what the next year of his life was going to be like. John, a theater major and amateur clown, decided that a professional career as a clown with the most respected name in the business, the Ringling Brothers Circus, was his amibition. John tells about his path to Bethany, his journeys with the circus, and his goals for the future.

Why did you choose to attend Bethany?

My sister, Betsy, applied to Bethany and toured the campus. She liked it but decided Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin, was a better fit for her. Two years later, when I was on the college search, she strongly recommended Bethany to me after seeing the campus and knowing what sort of things I was into. I toured the campus, and immediately knew that Bethany was where I wanted to go - I didn't even visit any other schools. The draw for me was a combination of the small, conservative Christian campus and the strong support of the arts and all I was interested in- theatre, art, choir, speech, and filmography. I am from northern Minnesota, so the distance was nice too. It was far enough to be "away" yet close enough to be convenient.

When did you become interested in clowning?

I started studying clowning on my own in high school and began doing some parades and events just for fun. In the summer of 2003 I went to a week of Mooseburger clown camp, which is taught partially by some former Ringling clowns. That summer was when the notion first entered my brain. At that point, I was thinking "That would be cool, but it probably isn't going to happen." The next summer I had an agent and began clowning as a summer job. I went back to Moosecamp in 2004 and 2005 while continuing clowning as a job for the rest of the summer. In 2004 I was very interested in spending some time with Ringling, and in 2005 I had my heart set on it. All the while, Ringling has always been something in my mind as an experience I would start and finish without making a career out of it. This remains as my current plan, as I have a one year contract and intend to leave the show at the end of this coming November.

How did you get involved with the Ringling Brothers Circus?

I got into Ringling almost entirely through networking. A couple of the instructors at Mooseburger, including Karen Bell and Pricilla Mooseburger (the clown name of the woman who owns and runs the camp), sent letters of recommendation for me and put in phone calls to Tim Holst, the VP of Entertainment and Production. I also had a couple on "the inside." Two clowns I went to Moosecamp with one summer were on the show at the time, as well as a clown that went to the same camp a few years before I did. They all put in a good word for me, and after sending in a resume, letters of recommendation, and persistent letters acknowledging my interest, I got the long-awaited phone call.

Tell me about your duties with the show.

Being a "first-of-May," a new clown with the show, I am honored to be given the role as Pre-show Host. I host the entire pre-show an hour before the show starts, and I have a few lines at the beginning of the actual show as well. This has been an awesome experience as I work with people from all over the country and all over the world. Every day I learn something knew, or learn to appreciate something I always took for granted before.

What is the most interesting lesson you have gotten “on the rails?”

To appreciate what I have been given in the past, now that I am without them-stationary life, Christian family and friends, a regular church life, and other things like freedom in daily schedule. Here at the circus, I do not have a set "bank hours" schedule. Every day is different and within a certain set of time, I am owned by the show. It is teaching me to utilize my free time much more efficiently.

It's also a great lesson in interacting with people from different cultures. There is a large language barrier between me and most of the performers, but I enjoy every second of overcoming it.

How did your time at Bethany affect your life now?

Bethany prepared me spiritually because I am now without a church life. Attending church is nearly impossible. Because I can’t get to a parish, I spend more time than ever in private Bible study and worship in my train car room. I periodically go through Vespers or the Office of the Prime on my own, and I have found losing things I take for granted has been a good experience. But I desperately miss Lutheran worship services with hymns and liturgy.

What are your future plans?

A year on the rails with Ringling touring the country with the Greatest Show on Earth® awaits me. I hope to draw a diverse set of educational experiences from this year, and hopefully it will come to strengthen me later in life. After the circus, it is a blank canvas. I've got some ideas and some goals, but God will open the right doors for me to walk through.

Thanks to John for sharing his experience and God’s blessings to him in the future. If you would like to see John perform go to www.ringling.com and click on Schedules and Tickets.