Sarah (Volz) Claussen ’04

Sarah Volz Claussen ’04 writes, “as we prepared for our wedding last May, we began the usual search for an officiant. My husband, Sam Claussen works as a history professor at California Lutheran University and one option we considered was Dr. Lisa Dahill ’85, a religion professor and a Lutheran minister. I had met Lisa long before we began planning our wedding and came to know her as a friend. She agreed to officiate our wedding and as we met over tacos to chat about life, marriage, and the wedding, we discovered that both Lisa and I were Gustavus alumnae! This wonderful surprise enriched our friendship and brought extra joy to the fact that she would officiate. Lisa flew to Alaska and performed the most wonderful ceremony that we could have asked for! Additionally, we had another Gustie in the wedding. One of my best friends since we met at Gustavus, Jessica Bendel Phillips ’04, did me the great honor of being a bridesmaid in my wedding. I was so happy that she could make the trip and help me celebrate. Love the life long connections that Gustavus has brought us!”