Jeff Cook ’76 writes to share that when Hurricane Helene hit Asheville, N.C., in September 2024, he found himself rolling up his sleeves to help the community alongside fellow Oles Kevin Seal ’11 and Elizabeth Simmons Seal ’02. 5 All three had just started new professional roles in the state —Cook as the head of operations for Trinity Episcopal Church, where Kevin Seal had been hired to serve as the organist and director of music, and Elizabeth Seal as a choir teacher at Charles D. Owen High School in Black Mountain.

They all spent their first month reveling in the fortuitous fact that three Oles had found themselves working together so far from Minnesota, reminiscing about the choir conductors and professors they had all worked

with on the Hill. Then Hurricane Helene tore through Asheville, causing significant damage to the community and church. “But when the going gets rough, Oles get going,” Cook says. Together they worked on clean-up and repair efforts. Cook says they’re “in it for the long haul and exemplify St. Olaf students’ commitment to helping others wherever and whenever assistance is needed.”

-Fall 2024 St. Olaf Magazine