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As a symbolic link to ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ University, an LU class ring has the power to evoke meaningful memories of friends, campus life, and the achievement of graduation. For many, it is a symbol of their pride for ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ University. For others, it is a reminder of the payoff that years of hard work, dedication, and perseverance can have. For one of our alumni, it’s a memento that made for quite the story.

It was the spring of 1998 when Beaumont resident Brian Kordie, Class of ‘89, one day noticed that his ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ University class ring had gone missing. He was in the midst of looking at boats to purchase and, one day prior to noticing the absence of his ring, visited the Neches River, where he met with a Lumberton man to inspect and test-drive a boat. Ultimately, Mr. Kordie decided against purchasing the boat, but he unknowingly left for home even more empty-handed than he had thought…without his ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ University class ring.

Nearly 20 years later, he received an unbelievable call from ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ University’s office of Alumni Affairs. A Nederland woman had discovered an LU class ring with Kordie’s name engraved on the inside of it. Astonished after spending nearly two decades without it, he immediately asked where the ring had been found. The alumni office informed him that the Nederland woman had been in the process of cleaning a newly purchased boat, purchased from a Lumberton resident, when she noticed the ring and turned it in.

Kordie was shocked.

"I could not believe what good shape it was in after being in the bottom of a boat for the past 20 years.  It was amazing that the boat was even still around after so long, but even more that my ring was still in there."

Kordie says the ring, which he wore every day until it's loss, represents his "achievements and pride for a great school."