Mike Thirtle, president and CEO of Bethesda Lutheran Communities (BLC), poses with students in the first graduating class of Bethesda College — a partnership of BLC and Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon. From left, the students are Mary Cate Neff of River Hills, Wis.; Claire Chalupka of Whitefish Bay, Wis.; Rachel Hoffman of Grafton, Wis.; Alex Shafer of Fox Point, Wis.; and Thomas Scandrett and Kristen Van Handel — both of Mequon. (Not pictured is Bethesda College graduate Christopher Brandt of Milwaukee.) Van Handel said the two-year program taught her “how to be independent” and helped her “prepare for a job, prepare for the real world.”
