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Edward Gelhaus’ LinkedIn profile describes him as “A nice guy.”

The 2006 alumnus and successful Hollywood actor wants to remind people of his true persona, because his latest roles portray him as just the opposite.

“I seem to be only playing mean villains,” Gelhaus said. “After you shave your head and get a few muscles, you become the mean guy. My mom hopes I get a role where she can say, ‘Yay, there’s NICE Eddie.’ I have promised Mom that I will find a nice role.”

Edward Gelhaus ’06 on American Horror Story “Freakshow”

Gelhaus’ “mean streak” began with FX’s American Horror Story “Freakshow” in 2014 in which he portrayed the younger version of Dell Toledo, the strongman of the carnival (played by Michael Chiklis).

Gelhaus described Toledo as “sadistic,” “evil,” and “everything wrong with society.”

Next came a stint on CBS’s Under the Dome in which Gelhaus played a white supremacist prison gang leader who stabs one of the main characters, played by Eddie Cahill. Sadly, because the show was cancelled, Gelhaus’ recurring role also ended.

On AMC’s TURN: Washington’s Spies, Gelhaus portrayed David Williams, one of the key people who captures a spy (JJ Field who portrays Major John André) in the Queen’s guard and turned around the entire war. “It sounds like I would be a good guy but rumors are these three guys (the notorious “Skinner Gang,”) were just bandits and were robbing a bunch of people, and when they found out who they were capturing, they turn him in.”

Gelhaus said he was grateful for the opportunity to work with Emmy Award-nominated director Jeremy Webb (of Downton Abbey), among others. “It was amazing being able to act alongside some major talents,” he said.

For his next character on Rizzoli and Isles on TNT, Gelhaus played Leo, an unsavory character who funneled weapons to the Albanians and met with an untimely demise. Angie Harmon directed the episode, the show’s 100th, which required Gelhaus to spend 4½ hours in a makeup chair getting full-arm tattoos.

“Angie Harmon was one of the most amazing people,” he said. “I got so much positive reinforcement. As an actress, she knows how to get best footage from her actors.”

Gelhaus also filmed a small part for AMC’s Better Call Saul but discovered his part was cut, even after he made the previews. “As an actor you learn to never get excited about an audition, never get excited about a callback, never get excited when you get the part, and never get excited when you see the previews, because your scene could still be cut,” he said. Still, Gelhaus is grateful for the experience.

This past year, he also did some short indie films, a Fitbit commercial, and portrayed the main warrior for a commercial for the popular videogame Far Cry Primal.

In real life, Gelhaus is engaged to a Tessa Marie, a professional Latin ballroom dancer.

And the excitement continues to build. Gelhaus just finished filming a show that he isn’t able to talk about—a show he considers his biggest role yet. “I got to work with some amazing actors on a very big network show that anybody and everybody will be able to watch,” he said.

Gelhaus on TURN: Washington’s Spies

This character isn’t going to win any points with his mother. Gelhaus describes this role as “really, really bad.”

So how does the smiley actor from Owen, Wis., transform into his bad guy persona? Gelhaus credits his theatre training at Saint Mary’s University.

“The hardest thing for me is to embody these characters and make it feel believable,” he said. “Saint Mary’s helps you find out who you are. If I didn’t realize who I was, especially because I’ve been playing killers and murderers and drug dealers … I need to be able to turn the on and off switch.”

Gelhaus also said that acting in London as part of the university’s Stefannié Valéncia Kierlin London Theatre Program, and subsequently studying at Dublin’s renowned Gaiety School of Acting, helped build an impressive résumé.

“Those are things that capture someone’s attention,” he said.

And, in his business, standing out is key.

That’s why Gelhaus has acquired skills ranging from ballet to ballroom dancing to bartending and from miming to motorcycling. He can ride a horse, wield a sword, or use a pogo stick.

He also advises student actors to learn how to use a camera, how to edit film, and how to use Photoshop. “If you know how to take your own headshots, it will set yourself apart,” he said. “I can film my own auditions in my house. You will want to act and be in shows as well, but you also need to get these skills. Out here it’s truly about marketing yourself.”

It’s also about who you know. Again, Gelhaus is thankful for his experiences at Saint Mary’s.

“I talk to Gary (Diomandes from the Theatre Department) once or twice every month. I think the thing about Saint Mary’s is that this is even a possibility. Gary is one of the first people who I talk to when I get a role. That doesn’t happen normally. These connections that I have with Gary and Judy (Myers, also of the Theatre Department) are so valuable. Out here you get 5 million doors slammed in your face. You can’t take that personally, and you can’t get discouraged. Having that support system is something no one should ever take for granted. Gary hooked me up with my acting coach out here, Howard Fine, who also coaches Will Smith and Chris Pine.”

Ironically, Gelhaus said his college roommate, Andy Greene ’06, is also doing well as an actor in Hollywood and lives just two blocks away. The two support each other and network whenever possible.

“At the end of the day, you can take acting classes anywhere, but to have people who are genuine and build that kind of a support system is unbelievable,” he said.

You can follow his career through www.imdb.me/edwardgelhaus.

Professional photos taken and edited by Edward Gelhaus.

Danielle E. Miller ’11 didn’t set out to be an artist. Instead, art found her at a time in her life when she needed it most.

And now her art is inspiring others. Miller, joined by 22 international artists, is currently exhibiting at The Chelsea International Fine Art Competition in New York City. The show, which runs through Aug. 23, is on display in Agora Gallery, located in the heart of the famous Chelsea Art District.

“It’s always been one of my dreams to show in New York,” Miller said. “It’s a big stepping stone in my career.” At the opening reception, Miller was told that thousands of artists applied to be in the show.

Miller is showing a series of mixed-media sculptures—called the “Cat Eye Marble Series”—made from chicken wire, soft organic paper from books, and organza fabric.

According to the gallery website, Miller’s “mixed-media sculptures are works of exquisite balance. Miller creates small-scale pieces that are compact yet airy and graceful in composition. She manipulates her materials to create new and thought-provoking textures. All the while her editor’s eye allows for beautifully clear lines.”

The Inver Grove Heights native has shown her sculptures at a number of galleries since graduating from Saint Mary’s with an art studio major. She was part of a Saint Mary’s alumni show in 2013 in Winona and has exhibited in St. Paul, California, and North Dakota.

Her dream is to one day give up her day job and become a full-time artist.

“People may say you are crazy for being an artist,” she said. “It may not pay the bills but it’s worthwhile and if it makes you happy, that’s what you should be doing.”

Once considering a career as a veterinarian, Miller changed her major course of study after taking a drawing class her sophomore year—as well as receiving ongoing support from the faculty in the Department of Art and Design. She’d always been interested in art, but when she took a sculpture class her junior year, she especially found her niche.

“All artists love being creative and finding new avenues to work with, and I like texture and color and shapes and that’s what brought me to sculpture,” she said. “This book art I’ve been doing actually started at Saint Mary’s. My professor handed me a book, said to just carve into it; it was an open assignment.

“I like reusing different materials,” she added. “That’s why I kept up with using book pages. I like the texture, and each book I’ve found has a different color and tint to the pages. The fabric idea I got from my mom who taught me how to sew.”

Faculty and staff at Saint Mary’s who taught and worked with Miller call her a Lasallian success story.

Miller is quiet when she hears the label. She admittedly shies away from praise, but it’s a title she has proudly earned. “I had a hard time my freshman and sophomore year in college,” she explains.

A Cardinal track and field athlete, Miller found herself going through some difficult family changes, all the while working hard to excel, despite a learning disability.

Diagnosed with ADHD (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorders), Miller says she learns a little bit slower than other people. Though articulate, she pauses, choosing her words carefully.

“It was a dark time,” she said. “But then I found art. That lifted me up out of the darkness, and my professors helped me out. My favorite year at Saint Mary’s was my senior year; I got more into my Art Studio Major classes and was spending more and more time in the art building—more than most, I confess. I skipped out on a lot of sleep and skipped a lot of meals to work on art. I thought at that time it was all for my senior show, but now I think it was because I loved working on new art pieces and discovering new ideas.”

Miller said professors like Rob McColl and Preston Lawing had an open-door policy, and she frequently went to them to ask questions. And they always found time to answer them all.

Additionally, the Student Success Center, she said, helped her overcome learning obstacles, and she is grateful to them and to all her cheerleaders at home and at Saint Mary’s.

McColl has followed Miller’s career with interest. “Since graduating, Danielle has kept all of us in the art department updated on her art work, so, as exciting as it was, it was no real surprise when the postcard for her New York show arrived in the mail this summer. The art faculty is so pleased that Danielle’s creative work is getting such notable recognition.”

Miller is eager now to focus on creating new art. “I have hundreds of ideas of taking this series to a different level,” she said. She lists her next goals as: work on more art, show more art, get her own studio, show in a different country, show at the Walker Art Center, have a solo show, have an art piece in a major art collection and an art museum, and give back to the Saint Mary’s Department of Art and Design.

She tells other young artists to follow their dreams. “Do not listen to anyone who may detour you from reaching them,” she said. “Life is tough sometimes; you just have to remember who you are and remember your dreams.”

Karen Hemker, director of Saint Mary’s Disability Services, said that Miller serves as an inspiration to others who face challenges in life. “Danielle was not afraid to seek support, and therefore, was able to find her passion,” she said. “Pursuing her dream, which has led to a career, is a testament to her strength and resilience.”

To see more of Miller’s art currently on display, visit the Agora Gallery website or visit YouTube to see a video about the show.

Ben Preusser, a double major in physics and math, is—no surprise—interested in numbers, and he has always been a fervent fan of facts.

“(All students) should all major in physics and math; there are no other majors,” he says with a laugh.

Saint Mary’s student Ben Preusser is located toward the middle in back (wearing the Saint Mary’s shirt). He and other students pose in front of the NASA DC-8. Photo courtesy of Jane Peterson, NSERC ARC-CREST.

It could be this positive attitude, coupled with his love for learning that helped Preusser acquire a spot in the NASA Student Airborne Research Program, an eight-week summer immersion program in California.

The Saint Mary’s University senior from Belle Plaine, Minn., heard about the internship through Dr. Paul Nienaber, SJ, the Physics Department chair, who regularly sends out internship information and encourages students to apply.

Preusser said only one in eight students who applied were chosen for the unique experience.

The Student Airborne Research Program provides students with hands-on research experience in all aspects of a major scientific campaign, from detailed planning on how to achieve mission objectives to formal presentation of results and conclusions to peers and even NASA officials.

“They expose students to the whole range of collecting data, analyzing data, and presenting data,” Preusser said, explaining that the 32 students are broken down into smaller multi-disciplinary teams that study surface, atmospheric, and oceanographic processes. Preusser’s group is looking at land imagery.

The students traveled to Palmdale, Calif., and during the first two weeks, they took measurements at field sites and flew onboard the NASA DC-8, a flying laboratory, from which they sampled, collected, and measured gases at different altitudes.

Preusser said his group was fortunate to have more instrumentation on the plane than in previous years; he and other participants were exposed to as many as 20 different instruments.

Preusser’s group went up in the DC-8 during a day when smoke from a California wildfire affected their results. As a result, studying atmosphere corrections for smoke became his research project. “They have algorithms for correcting on clear air, but on one of our days, a wildfire spewed a lot of smoke on flight path. I’m looking at where in the light spectrum smoke is affecting our data and running different atmospheric corrections software to see if I find a setting that makes it look the best. It just so happened that because of our time constraint, we were presented with a unique data set to analyze how smoke is affecting our results and if it’s possible to correct that.”

For the next six weeks, teams are working at the University of California, Irvine where they are analyzing the data. Each student will then complete an individual research project from the data collected. The experience concludes with individual presentations.

Although Preusser said it’s unlikely any highly major discoveries will result from this summer’s research, the experience is invaluable.

“The program has broadened my horizons and exposed me to things I didn’t have access to,” he said. “It’s an eye opener. We have an opportunity to listen to a few NASA officials and scientists. I feel I know more about how NASA works now.”

Preusser said he felt his classes at Saint Mary’s prepared him well for the experience. “All the physics makes sense,” he said. “And the math is pretty complex but when I put in the time, it make sense. It’s hard to be completely prepared for the work that we’re doing, but I’ve learned a lot, and I don’t think the learning is done yet.”

Associate Professor of Physics Dr. Robyn Wangberg, Preusser’s academic adviser, wrote to recommend him for this position, and noted that she looks forward to Preusser’s presentation on his project fall semester at Saint Mary’s.

After completing his studies at Saint Mary’s next year, Preusser admits he isn’t sure which direction he is headed, but he is definitely interested in getting his Ph.D. He’s excited to have the internationally known and respected name of NASA on his résumé.

And, if NASA unexpectedly offered him a job, Preusser said he definitely wouldn’t decline it.

Photo caption: Senior Ben Preusser, left, takes measurement at the Sedgwick Reserve during the NASA Student Airborne Research Program. Photo courtesy of Dr. Dar Roberts, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Priscilla Nava and Sarah Witt fervently cheered for each other as they crossed the Saint Mary’s University commencement stage Saturday—one obtaining her bachelor’s degree and the other earning her master’s degree.

Witt, formerly Nava’s teacher at San Miguel Middle School in Chicago, once counseled Nava and her other students about the importance of going to college. And, Nava says, it was Witt who inspired her to love learning.

“She was amazing,” Nava said. “She was always helpful and willing to help us with anything. She was my literature and my math teacher, and I just loved my literature class. She encouraged us to discuss and care about the subject. I also know she valued me a person, not just as a student.”

Priscilla Nava and Sarah Witt

When Nava chose to attend Saint Mary’s, Witt’s alma mater, they found another shared bond.

Witt had earned her elementary education degree from the university in 2003.

Fulfilling her lifelong dream to teach, she began working at San Miguel through the Lasallian Volunteers program, and then continued as a salaried teacher.

The five years she spent at San Miguel in Chicago were “eye opening” for a young teacher from the quiet middle-class city of Northfield, Minn. Suddenly it wasn’t “just” about helping her students with their academics, it also included counseling them about life outside the walls of school—a neighborhood that included gangs, drugs, and violence.

Students needed to know, she said, that they could depend on her. “It was an amazing experience and I loved every minute of it,” she said. “I keep in touch with quite a few of my students. It touched my life and changed me as much as it changed them.”

Nava is one of the students with whom she has stayed connected. Visiting Nava meant coming home to Saint Mary’s. And for Nava, a visit from Witt was a reminder of home.

“Throughout my four years, she took the time out of her schedule to come and visit me at least once every year,” Nava said. “It was something I would look forward to. Being away from Chicago and home, I was homesick, but she reminded me of back home.”

Witt, now a teacher at Dodge Middle School in Farmington, said she had always planned to return to Saint Mary’s to obtain her Master of Education degree, and she hasn’t regretted her decision.

“I loved it,” she said. “I really liked the whole program. I didn’t know how much I was going to grow as a teacher and how it would all circle back to the things I learned in the undergraduate program and through the Lasallian Volunteers program—how all those virtues are present in teaching even if you’re not teaching in a Catholic setting.

“I look back at how much I had already grown and then how much more I learned about myself as a teacher and as a person. I like that the program was focused on me as a whole person.”

Witt will take these skills back with her to the classroom, where she works with math intervention students in grades seven and eight. She assists students whose math scores are 40 percent or lower.

“Teaching is rewarding in itself,” she said. “But working with kids who struggle, you have to come up with so many more activities or ways to approach the lessons. You have to think about what is going to help them succeed. It is extremely challenging, and there are days I am wiped out. But to hear a student say, ‘I got it’ or when I watch one of my students explain it to someone else who is struggling … when they can help each other, that means I have done my job. That is so rewarding.

“At the end of the day I feel like I’m making a difference, which is why I wanted to get into teaching in the first place. And the master’s was a big goal of mine, so I can check that off.”

On Saturday she and Nava shared many of the same feelings of accomplishment.

Nava, a First Generation Scholar, majored in Spanish and minored in biology. With a strong desire to help others, she plans to get a master’s degree and eventually become an ER nurse.

“I am so excited to share this milestone with (Nava) because I know how hard she has worked in high school and at Saint Mary’s,” Witt said. “It’s such a rewarding experience to be here for that, to see her family and her older sister (Cindy Nava ’13, also a former student of Witt’s). It all comes full circle. You always hope they go to college and get degrees, but life gets in the way for so many of those kids. Saint Mary’s Countdown to College and First Generation Initiative programs really help get those students in college and helps support them the whole time they’re there.”

In addition to Nava and Witt, 275 graduate students and 244 undergraduate were eligible to commence Saturday. Go to smumn.edu/photos for more photos from the day, and check out the video highlight below.

Preston Black ’15 always dreamed he would one day work in the professional sports field. He could never have predicted he’d land a job with the Los Angeles Rams just two months after graduating from Saint Mary’s University.

When the former Cardinal men’s basketball player first chose his areas of study, he knew he wanted to double major—in Sport Management and Spanish. Then, when Saint Mary’s began offering a Business Intelligence and Analytics major his junior year, Black decided to take on a third major. “I thought it was a big opportunity, and after I took a class in it, I liked it right away,” he said. “I knew it would make me more marketable.”

Black said that several of his business analysis projects were based on sports analysis. In fact, for his senior project, he created a prediction model that evaluated Major League Baseball players’ statistics in order to determine a free agent’s contract value.

“My range of error was within a half million to a million dollars. I wasn’t 100 percent accurate, but fairly accurate,” he said.

The exercise came in handy when the Aurora, Ill., native applied for the job with the Rams as a data analyst and business intelligence coordinator, a title he’s held since July 2015.

“That was one of my bigger selling points of being able to tell a story through data,” he said.

Black says that in his current position he works in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and deals with all aspects of business for the Los Angeles Rams, from concessions to ticket sales to sponsorships, linking all aspects of the business, from finance to customer service, so each area is in communication. Every day is different for the two-person department.

“There are always different tasks, whether we’re cleaning up data or we’re looking at different data sets,” he said. “We make sure the right people are seeing the right type of information at the right time.”

By looking at the data in different ways, Black also creates dashboards and reports that assist with making business decisions. For example, he creates different lead lists for ticket sales, based on what previous fans had purchased, in an effort to find additional ways to reach new fans.

“Michael Ratajczyk (Business Department) always talked about how a lot of business intelligence is data cleanup, and that knowing what you’re looking at makes it a lot easier to break (the data) down and do something productive with it. That’s what a lot of my job has been, looking at the information and organizing it. Professor Ratajczyk would tell us that the numbers can tell you a story, and you need to know how to look at them just right.”

Black is in the process of moving to California as the Rams make a triumphant return to their former home state, beginning with the 2016 season. “It’s a whole new opportunity to experience the team’s move,” he said. “L.A. hasn’t had a team since 1994, which is exciting and almost overwhelming. Just to be in this opportunity to work for the Los Angeles Rams at 23 years old is incredible … I’m really lucky.”

Black also says he’s proud to be part of the first official class to graduate with the Business Intelligence and Analytics degree. “Professor Ratajczyk was always very helpful, always there to answer questions,” he said. “He helped me get an internship at Saint Mary’s working in the Student Success Center, which was a big résumé boost for me. He was a great teacher. I’d like to see the program grow.”

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota’s second Signum Fidei Award was presented to Pope Francis April 15 in Rome. Conferring the award was Brother William Mann, president of Saint Mary’s University, along with Mary Burrichter and Sandra Simon, both members of the university’s board of trustees.

The Signum Fidei Award is bestowed by the university on an individual, group, or organization in recognition of extraordinary service to the vulnerable and marginalized members of society. It also recognizes and honors work that promotes human solidarity. Its name, signum fidei or sign of faith, is taken from the great seal of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools.

Presented to Pope Francis was a bronze bust of Brother James Miller, an alumnus of Saint Mary’s University who was killed in 1982 in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, while serving as a missionary. Brother James was murdered for his work in defense of the young people he served. He is remembered for his heroic contributions to humanity as a Christian educator, apostle of the poor and underprivileged, and advocate for justice and solidarity.

Fittingly, Pope Francis is known for his humility, compassion, and devotion to the underserved and underprivileged. In his inaugural Mass as Pope, he pledged to “embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important.”

“We are honored to present Pope Francis with this award, which is given to those individuals who reach out to populations too often forgotten in society,” said Brother William. “Pope Francis has repeatedly urged all Christians to serve those marginalized by society, and he continues to model this behavior in his daily actions.”

PHOTO CAPTION: Brother William Mann, president of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, along with Mary Burrichter, center, and Sandra Simon, right, Saint Mary’s University trustees, presented the Signum Fidei Award to Pope Francis April 15 in Rome. Photo from L’Osservatore Romano