Oct. 8, 2025
Contact Steve Bissen at 608-796-3073 or spbissen@viterbo.edu
LA CROSSE, Wis. – Viterbo University will honor five individuals with Distinguished Alumni Awards at a ceremony at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10 in the Fine Arts Center Nola Starling Recital Hall during Viterbo Days Alumni Weekend.
Nathan Hundt ’06 is this year’s recipient of the Spirit of St. Francis Award for his commitment to serving others and creating a welcome and inclusive community. He is the program operations director at Aptiv, Inc., a disability services provider in La Crosse. Hundt’s career has focused on customer service, marketing, and leadership. He is passionate about advocating for others’ rights. Hundt recently led a project to help ensure people with disabilities or challenges learn more about their options in post-secondary education. His work is shared across other statewide organizations.
The Rising Professional Award is presented to alumni who have graduated within the last 10 years. This year’s recipient is Aubrie Jacobson ’19. Jacobson earned her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and her graduate and doctoral degrees in collaborative piano through the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Jacobson is a music assistant at Madison Opera, house pianist at Suzuki Strings of Madison, and church musician for Glenwood Moravian Church. Jacobson works with professional musicians, and high school and university students as a teacher, coach, and mentor—in a wide variety of musical settings, from recitals to competitions, lessons, and more. She is the principal coach, rehearsal pianist, and orchestral pianist for Madison Opera’s world premiere production of Everlasting Faint, by Scott Gendel and Sandra Flores-Strand.
Three alumni will be honored with Professional Achievement awards.
Stacey Scott ’03, PhD, (College of Engineering, Letters, and Sciences), earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in Spanish. She continued her studies, graduating with her Master of Arts (MA) and PhD in psychology from the University of Notre Dame. She works at Stony Brook University in New York, as professor of psychology and she leads the social and health psychology PhD program. Her work on stress includes national disasters, major life events, chronic stress, and daily hassles and disruptions.
Col. Chad Koenig ’95 (College of Nursing and Health), a nutrition graduate with an illustrious, 30-year career with the U.S. Army. Col. Koenig is the only dietitian to have served commands at four different levels. His research was instrumental in the creation of a performance food bar formulated for the nutrition needs in basic training. He was commander (CEO) of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), and Col. Koenig served as the U.S. Army’s Chief Dietitian/Assistant Chief, Army Medical Specialist Corps.
Jesse Dreikosen ’02 (Conservatory for the Performing Arts), graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in theatre design and a minor in sociology. Dreikosen earned his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in scene design at Purdue University. Dreikosen recently joined Florida State University as director of the MFA Scenic Design Program in the School of Theatre and professor of scenic design. His design work has taken him around the country to festivals and theatres, and he has received numerous regional and national awards. He has worked for GAP, Inc. as a visual and marketing consultant, laying out and opening new stores. Dreikosen frequently works with Viterbo on set productions, including Footloose and The SpongeBob Musical.
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