Many of you know Professor Paulsen as a science teacher—Our Physical World is a required class that he teaches, along with several science electives. However, he is retiring at the end of this school year. As a tribute to the many things he has done for DMLC, MLC, St. John’s Lutheran Church, and the community of New Ulm, Knight’s Page Editor Sarah Fritzler sits down with Professor Paulsen to ask a few questions, so you, the students of MLC, can get to know the man behind the teacher.

Knight’s Page: Where were you born?
Professor Paulsen: Fulda, Minnesota.

KP: How many siblings do you have?
PP: I had one brother. He died in 1976 of stomach cancer.

KP: How long have you been married?
PP: 41 years. Well, it will be 41 years in June.

KP: How did you meet your wife?
PP: You don’t want to know.

KP: Why not?
PP: I met her in a bar in St. Cloud.

KP: A bar? Really? Would you like to elaborate on that a little more?
PP: Well, I went to college at St. Cloud State, and I was in charge of the Homecoming Parade. I was up at 3 a.m., running around, getting things organized. By evening I was tired, and I went to a bar with some friends to relax. There were some ladies there. Isn’t that how it works in the WELS?

KP: Well, I am sure that if you don’t meet someone at MLC, you could meet someone in a bar. How many children do you have?
PP: Five.

KP: Any grandchildren?
PP: Eleven.

KP: How tall are you?
PP: Well, according to official U. S. Army measurements, I am 781⁄2 inches, which is 6’ 6 1⁄2”. Now I am probably more like 6’ 6”, or 6’ 5 1⁄2”.

KP: Did you ever play basketball?
PP: No, I wrestled in high school and in college. I also coached junior high wrestling at Willmar, Minnesota, and also here at DMLC. Willmar is actually where we encountered our first WELS church in 1966. It was a new mission congregation. Before that, we had never heard of the WELS.

KP: What are your hobbies?
PP: They are too numerous to list. Some of them are wood working and metal working, gardening, zip lining, astronomy, geology, and video.

KP: What is your favorite movie?
PP: Well, we have NetFlix, so we have seen about 50 movies in the last year. I can’t really think of a favorite. Although, I really do like “Wallace and Gromit.” I have it cued on my list to get the next one when it comes.

KP: What is your favorite book?
PP: Well, I haven’t really had time to read books, so my astronomy book. I hope to do much reading in retirement.

KP: What is your favorite Bible passage?
PP: John 3:16.

KP: What is your favorite hymn?
PP: Oh, um, Finlandia. KP: (Blank look)
PP: “Be Still, My Soul.” I just about cry when I sing that one.

KP: Where did you go to college?
PP: St. Cloud State and Penn State.

KP: How did you end up here on the hill?
PP: Well, I had a beer with the chairman of the board. I didn’t really know him, he didn’t really know me, we just talked a little. I was here [at DMLC] for the Minnesota District Convention, and in those days, they scheduled the convention to go on at the same time as Polka Days.

KP: Which only makes sense, of course.
PP: Of course. Which meant that all the hotels were full, so everyone had to stay in the dorms. One day, my pastor asked if I wanted to go downtown for a beer. After spending all day in the hot gym, I thought a beer would be nice. He said that this Otto Engel, another pastor, was coming with us. I thought, no big deal. We talked a little bit, drank our beer. A few weeks later, we received a call. We didn’t know what it was, but it was signed by Otto Engel.

KP: That must have been strange.
PP: Well, the registered letter came, the mailman rang the doorbell, and my wife had to sign for it. She opened it up, and it said “Call from God.” She had no idea what it meant, so she ran next door and got a baby-sitter, and then came over to the public school in Willmar, where I was teaching. She pulled me out of class, and we just stood there, looking at this letter that said “Call from God.” It also said Doctor Martin Luther College, where I had just been, so I knew where it was.

KP: How long have you been teaching here?
PP: 35 years. KP: What do you teach?
PP: How much paper do you have?

KP: Well, what did you teach this year?
PP: Electricity and Magnetism, Geology, Astronomy, Our Physical World, and I am the Director of Special Services.

KP: What are your duties in the Special Services Office?
PP: Well, we run summer school, do in-service workshops for teachers all over the country, and administer the online courses. We actually send teachers all over the country to do the inservice workshops for teachers; even out of the country—we have sent teachers to Antigua. Of course, I don’t get to go. Working in the MLC Special Services office has been an exciting and challenging thing to do. It is very worthwhile and rewarding, along with teaching, of course, which is always rewarding.

KP: What are some significant changes to the college that you have seen in your time here?
PP: The advent of online courses has changed and will change the college. More and more students will be taking online courses. It gives them more freedom with their schedules— they can do the class work in the morning, or at night. Then they can work at 3 a.m. if they need to, or hold a shift at Kraft. Another positive change that I have seen is being able to teach pastor track students.

KP: What is your favorite thing about MLC?
PP: The students.

KP: What is your least favorite thing about MLC?
PP: The facu…no, no. Obviously, the financial situation that we are in right now.

KP: What are you going to miss the most about MLC?
PP: Again, the students. It keeps you young, working with young people, and it is a lot of fun. The students are fun.

KP: How have you been involved with the community of New Ulm?
PP: I am involved a lot with the church—St. John’s. I am on the church council, and I am a deacon. I am the Red Cross Disaster chairman. Just last Tuesday, I was in Sleepy Eye, helping four families that were affected by a fire there. I trained forty people for Hurricane Katrina relief. They got to go down South, but I had to stay here and work. I am also on the Emergency Management Committee for the city of New Ulm.

KP: What are your retirement plans?
PP: Well, that is up in the air right now. I think we are staying around home for the most part and visiting grandkids, of course. We have some renovation and remodeling to do around the house—some painting and carpet. We had wanted to go to China, but all the positions there were full-time, and it didn’t really seem like a retirement call—it seemed like a lot more work than that.

KP: Do you have any words of wisdom that you would like to say to the students of MLC?
PP: Be faithful and make wise decisions. Love your students. I can look at every one of the students in my classes and truly say that I love each and every one.

The Knight’s Page would like to take this opportunity to thank Professor and Mrs. Paulsen for all of the years that they have served at DMLC and MLC. God’s Blessings in your retirement years!!!

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