Paul Finley is interested in developing ways in which Oles across the country can make lasting connections with each other. Paul is a Minnesota native and, since leaving the Hill, has enjoyed serving as pastor of Hope Lutheran Church in Westminster, California.

Paul knows how difficult it is to acclimate to a new city, a new state, and a new cultural environment. For the past six years Paul and his wife, Karissa Shepard Finley ’00, have been connecting with West Coast Oles from Santa Barbara to San Diego and hold an annual Ole Christmas party with plenty of Um! Yah! Yah! spirit. Paul, a music major, has warm memories of the Hill, where he sang in the St. Olaf Choir and Viking Chorus and enjoyed participating in the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, which helped him discern his call to ordained ministry.

In thinking of ways to better connect Oles with each other, Paul believes the key is social media. Social media is also redefining class reunions, he says. “[On-campus] class reunions help alums rejuvenate their shared connection with the college community, which is hard to replicate virtually. Since everyone is already caught up on their espective lives, the time spent on campus is used more efficiently and can be that much more impactful for the college’s purpose of gathering [alumni] together.”