Gideon Logan
As a graduating International Rescue and Relief and Biomedical Science double major, Gideon Logan’s time at Union offered him countless adventures. When first starting college, Logan planned on becoming an ecologist. Around the time he realized a career in habitat restoration would actually keep him in an office, he started taking IRR’s EMT class. While in the class, Logan recalls being left with a lot of questions. He was learning how to treat a variety of issues, but he wasn’t learning the root causes. His curiosity drew him to rethinking his path and deciding to become a doctor.
During the IRR expedition in Malawi last year, he gained valuable first-hand experiences that confirmed his calling as a physician. “I did more than 100 hours of shadowing in clinical rotations,” Logan said. “I got to scrub in to assist with surgery. I had my first experience doing CPR on someone. I got to suture. I even delivered a couple babies … there’s a little boy in Mozambique named ‘Gideon’ after me. It was a really good experience.”
Logan’s desire to be a compassionate person is very apparent. Whether it’s to be a listening ear or someone who offers wisdom-filled advice, Gideon’s primary goal is to be authentic and build real connections with people. Savannah Fortney, Logan’s fiancé, said, “When he worked as an EMT, he was known for not just getting the patient from point A to point B, but taking the time to hear their story and to get to know them even in a short ambulance ride. One thing that is pushing him to pursue this career path is the continued opportunity to get to know people who are hurting. He wants to be able to form relationships and trust with those that he interacts with.”
Yann Birasa
From his confident walk across campus, there is no indication in Yann Birasa’s relaxed stride that he hasn’t lived in the Midwest his whole life. Having grown up in Belgium and Rwanda, Nebraska wasn’t a place Birasa had ever intended to go. This changed, however, when his cousin told him about Maxwell Adventist Academy in Kenya. By attending an Adventist high school, Birasa’s life was turned around. Through God moments, he was baptized, and with a little help from Union’s own Pastor Rich Carlson, he made the decision to seek education across the ocean at Union.
Before ever making it on campus, Birasa had been messaging his soon-to-be teammates on the men’s basketball team. Pastor Rich had connected him with men’s basketball coach Drew Mekelburg and students on the men’s team. Birasa said, “It felt like I was already on campus without even being on US territory. It was insane.” So when he showed up as a wide-eyed international student, he was able to settle in with a ready-made circle of friends. Now, everybody knows Birasa. From being a freshman on the basketball bench, to being voted SA president and even receiving a campus celebrity award at this year’s spring banquet, Yann has become an important leader on campus. He’s everywhere. Whether it’s up front giving speeches or exploring Lincoln with his friends, Birasa is always offering a hello and a smile.
Graduating with a degree in business finance with a minor in psychology, Birasa is ready to take the next step of his life to Florida where he’ll be working for AdventHealth. He’s bringing with him a newfound love of golf, a mindset of curiosity and discovery, and an eagerness to explore the restaurants of Orlando.
Birasa’s memories — the days spent with friends, the long hours on the bus with the basketball team, and the time enjoying every homemade chocolate chip cookie he could get his hands on — will stick with him for the rest of his life. While reflecting on his years spent on Nebraska soil, Birasa said, “The best part of Union is the people. The people let you come as you are. You can come from far, you can come with a different culture, you can come different, and the Union community welcomes you and understands you. Even though we are different, at the end of the day, we are all God’s children.”
Kylie Wehling
In seventh grade, Nebraska native Kylie Wehling sat with her dad at Union’s Friday night vespers. The chords of the song “Oceans” drifted across the sanctuary as the pianist’s hands glided along the piano keys. Her dad turned to whisper to her, “One day, you’re going to play like that up there.” Wehling remembers thinking how unbelievable that seemed, but at the same time praying that what her dad said would turn out to be true.
Not long before that night, Wehling had suffered a massive hand and wrist injury. Shattered glass had severed nerves, tendons and arteries in her left hand, taking away her ability to play the instruments she loved. Creating music with the piano, cello and French horn now seemed impossible, and Wehling wondered how this was a part of God’s plan.
Now a graduate from Union Adventist University, Wehling’s life has been filled with challenges, and with each one, her perspective grows. “I always go back to Scripture and have a solid, honest prayer with God,” she said. “Like, ‘hey, this kind of stinks. I failed, I hit a wall. I don’t know what You want me to do next. Lead me.’ And it kind of reframes my mindset that this is not necessarily a closed door, but an opportunity to go somewhere else until we walk into a different area that God has called us into.”
Union ties run deep in the Wehling family, as does a commitment to the ministry of health care. Both of her parents, Dr. Merlin Wehling and Chere (Ray) Wehling, graduated from Union in 1997, and her brother, Caleb Wehling, graduated in 2024. While her brother followed in their mother’s footsteps to a career in nursing, Kylie is finishing her degree in biomedical science to follow her father’s path as a physician. She has been accepted to Loma Linda University School of Medicine, and will continue her studies in California after getting married this June.
When she isn’t studying, snowboarding or playing cello, Wehling is leading her fellow students closer to Christ with a servant-hearted attitude. Whether it’s on the volleyball court, hosting Bible studies, or planning and leading out in music for campus ministries events, it’s Wehling’s prayer that in everything she does, “Jesus would be glorified and that people would see Him through me.”
Wehling’s favorite Bible verse is Isaiah 43:2. It says that through the waters and fire, God is near. She has learned that this couldn’t be more true. Along with having successfully taken the MCAT and completing half-marathons, God brought her from a near-paralyzing injury to sitting at the piano in the College View Church playing and singing with fellow Union students, right where her dad said she would be.
Sami Hoffer is a biomedical science major from Minnesota.
