Bloodlines
For some families, being a Maverick is in the DNA with multiple students and grads
By Kevin Warneke
Forgive Scott Durbin if it takes him a while to determine the number of UNO graduates in his family.
There’s himself, of course; he’s a 1985 graduate. His wife, Jodi, is a 1989 graduate. Then there’s his father Doug (1960), and mother Patricia (1988). And can’t forget his maternal grandmother Ellen Hartman (1938), who later married fellow grad Leo Peary, a Little All-American football player.
He needed help finding others.
“I asked and found we have a deeper pool of relatives who either went to or graduated from UNO,” Durbin says.
Deeper indeed. His mother-in-law earned a master’s degree from UNO and a brother-in-law an undergraduate degree. His father’s brother and his wife hold UNO degrees. Their son, too.
“There you have it,” Scott says.
At least 10 Maverick graduates in the family.
And that’s not uncommon in a city that boasts more UNO graduates (60,000-plus) than from any other university. According to alumni records maintained by the University of Nebraska Foundation, nearly 15,000 UNO graduates have at least one living or deceased family member who also has a UNO degree. Of that figure, 12,754 are living graduates.
The most degrees in one immediate family, it appears, is the 12 earned by the eight children of Peg and Bob Gehringer.
Other families also boast a prodigious number of Mavericks among their brood. Like the Durbins. So, too, the Amadors, Monicos and Abou-Nasrs. Following are their stories. Tell us your family’s Bloodlines story with an email to (unoalumni@unoalumni.org).
Landing a Degree — and a Wife
Scott Durbin admits he used UNO to keep his future wife, Jody, in Omaha.
He was a fifth-year senior at UNO; she was an incoming freshman — and headed to the University of Arizona for college — when they met during the summer before and started dating. Durbin’s suggestion to his girlfriend: UNO’s a great place to be.
“That was all part of the sales pitch — it had to be more than just me. I wanted to keep dating her. I didn’t want her in Tucson.”
His parents have a somewhat similar story. They met at UNO while both were taking summer classes. “Dad saw this pretty girl and pursued her.” Later, the story came out as to what was behind his parents’ match, Scott says. “My dad had a baby blue convertible that won my mom over. He thought she was good-looking and she liked his car.”
Scott says his grandmother, Ellen Hartman, a teacher, instilled in him the importance of education. When he started looking at colleges, his grandmother and father steered him toward UNO. Her roots there were deep, including service as editor of the Gateway student newspaper. In the end, Scott’s ties to the university and his community were too strong to say no to being a Maverick.
Last time he visited the fieldhouse, he noticed that an award — named for his grandfather Leo Peary and given to the most improved football player during spring practice — remained.
“That meant a lot to me when I was younger and it still does.”
So did service. Scott (2016-17), his father (1994) and grandmother (1971-72) each chaired the UNO Alumni Association Board of Directors. No other chairmen in the organization’s 107-year history are related to each other.
Determination Trumps Distance
Determination runs strong in the Abou-Nasr family.
Omar and Samiera Abou-Nasr, both Palestinian refugees, were willing to live apart for a decade — he in Saudi Arabia, she in Nebraska — so their seven children could live an educated life. Reema Abou-Nasr, their youngest child, explained that Palestinians living in Saudi Arabia had no say in where or if they attended college. “They picked where you go; whatever is available.”
Omar and Samiera envisioned a different outcome for their children: Send them to Omaha, where they would be under their uncle’s care — and where they could attend the city’s university.
The Abou-Nasrs sent their eldest son, Bassam, to Nebraska in the late 1970s, followed by Issam, then by two other brothers, Hussam and Nassar. Their sisters, Ibtissam, Karimah and Reema, came later, as did their mother.
When Omar finally arrived in Nebraska, five Abou-Nasr children were attending UNO. All would either attend or graduate from the university.
Reema says her father, who left school at the fourth grade, had three wishes for his children: that they attend college, that they marry, and that at least one of his children become a medical doctor. He remained in Saudi Arabia to run the family construction business and support his family in America.
Reema practices family medicine in Omaha. Her father knew she had an interest in science as a youngster and encouraged her to pursue her interest. “‘My dream is to see you be a doctor one day.’ I remember the big smile he had the day I graduated from medical school. It was the best reward.”
For her part, Reema says, college taught her independence. She was a Palestinian Muslim woman, who was naïve about the ways of the world, living in a Midwestern community. Her involvement in UNO’s International Club, she says, helped her battle stereotypes about her heritage, her religion and her gender.
“Some people thought I wasn’t allowed to be educated, to be a doctor,” she says. “My fondest memory of college was through my involvement in the International Club. I was able to help people understand the beauty of our culture.”
Commence the Tears
Florentin Amador cried last year when his daughter, Gaby, received her undergraduate degree.
“I have always perceived my father as tough, little to no emotions shown,” Gaby says. “But that day, he cried when he hugged me after the ceremony. This is also something I saw with my sisters since I attended their ceremonies as well.”
Isabel Amador graduated first — in 2017 with a degree in public health. Gaby enrolled next, but graduated last – in May 2019 with a degree in education. In between came Diana, who graduated in December 2019 in gerontology. The three were the first in their family to graduate college.
Isabel told a similar story about her father on her graduation day. “It was the first time I saw him get emotional. It was a big deal for him. A very proud, happy moment.” So did Diana: “I heard him say ‘Twenty years ago, if you had told me I would have three daughters graduate from UNO, I never would have believed it.’”
Gaby says her mother, Marta, had the same influence on the Amador siblings to pursue education. “My mom always supports us and wants us to do what makes us happy.”
Isabel says she considered other universities, but found UNO was just the right distance away from the family home in South Sioux City, Nebraska. She visited campus and appreciated UNO’s housing. “When I visited, I felt like I belonged.”
So did her sisters. Gaby says knowing that Isabel already was at UNO made her decision easier. “It was comforting knowing I had someone close to me who was attending.” Diana initially wasn’t sure she wanted to attend college. Money was a concern. She discovered, during a campus visit, that she liked the smaller class sizes and the friendly students she met.
All three were Thompson Scholars at UNO, meaning they received scholarships from the Susan T. Buffett Foundation. Isabel and Diana continued their education in nursing, and Gaby earned a Fulbright Scholarship and continues her studies in Spain.
Now, the Amador sisters have their sights on encouraging their brother, Juan, a high school senior, to attend UNO. “He liked the class sizes and it’s not too crowded for him” Diana says. “That’s one of the things he liked. He told me it felt like home.”
Year after Year, a Monico Appears
Chuck and Kathy Monico’s children had a serious run at UNO.
From 1989, when their son, also named Chuck, began classes until 2007, when their youngest daughter, Christine, earned her business degree, at least one Monico was enrolled at UNO. That string of graduates features a business owner, two former teachers, a law enforcement officer, a business executive and a certified public accountant.
That’s six UNO grads.
“Three of the Monico children were gifted intellectually more than the others,” Chuck (the son) says. “I’m in the other group.” He’s not telling which siblings are in what group.
Chuck says he chose UNO, after considering other schools, partly because he had a lawn care business in Omaha to run (now CM’s Outdoor Solutions Group). Earning a Pacesetter Scholarship clinched the deal. His siblings followed — although two temporarily “wore a different shade of red,” he says with a smile. “They got distracted. They were misled. Misinformed.”
Chuck says his parents, who attended Creighton University, don’t hold their children’s college choices against them. “We still get together for Thanksgiving.”
Now, Chuck’s family has started a run of its own. Carmella, a sophomore, is studying English and criminal justice at UNO and plans to attend law school. Michael, a freshman business major, is on the UNO soccer team.
Next up is Charles, a high school junior. “He’s interested in UNO,” his father says, “but he’s not yet showing his cards.”
The Family that Works Together …
If B.J. and Christine Reed sound like proud parents, they are.
B.J. and Christine, both emeritus faculty in public administration, say they enjoyed working at UNO for a time when their son, Charley Steed, worked in public relations. (The family includes Brenda Reed, who has two UNO degrees.)
B.J., who served as UNO’s senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, says he never worried about having his son work where he did. “I can tell you it wasn’t an issue at all for me. I knew he was someone who was competent at doing the job. He’s a great son and he’s really skilled at what he does.”
Christine says she recalled a meeting she attended with Charley that turned contentious. She watched her son in action. “He sat and listened. When everyone was through arguing, he just says ‘Well, have you thought about this?’ People looked at him — ‘Duh, why didn’t we think of that?’
“I was able to watch how he worked. I was impressed.”
Charley, associate director of communications, says first attending UNO, then working there, seemed natural. After earning his master’s degree at UNO, he first taught and joined the University Relations department. The director asked him to apply. “He knew who I was and who my parents were.”
In professional situations, he says, he would call his parents by their first names, trying to avoid more familiar references. At times, he says, colleagues would announce: “‘Oh, you mean your dad or your mom.’ I would just politely nod.”
His responsibilities grew and Charley found himself advising UNO’s leadership — including the senior vice chancellor – on media relations.
“We’ve always had a good back-and-forth relationship,” Charley says. “I felt confident in my guidance. Here’s my suggestion. You don’t have to follow it, but he generally would.”
Having his parents on campus, he says, was a blessing. He’d drop by his father’s office for a visit or meet his mother for lunch. “I see less of them now as when they were both working at UNO.