When Karla Przybylski ’07 was at a crossroads in life, ready for a new beginning, her Viterbo soccer teammate Katie (Kubistal) Thormodsgaard ’04 was there to help her find her direction. And soon thereafter when Thormodsgaard was looking for a new start, Przybylski returned the favor.

Today, they work together, traveling the same road to success, successfully building a therapy clinic together from scratch.

“To get to work with your best friend is not very common, but to get to share a dream and build it from the ground up with your best friend, the most amazing person I have ever met, is one of the coolest things I have ever done,” Przybylski said.

Their paths first crossed on the soccer field when Przybylski, a graduate of Wausau East High School, came to Viterbo in 2003. Thormodsgaard, an Onalaska High School graduate, was a senior social work major and soccer team captain.

After Thormodsgaard graduated, she stuck around for a year to help coach the soccer team, but then their paths separated for a stretch. While Przybylski was working on her degree in business management at Viterbo, Thormodsgaard moved to the Twin Cities, where she earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of St. Thomas and began a career as a behavioral and mental health therapist.

Meanwhile, Przybylski moved to San Francisco after graduation, where she dove into the business world. She returned to the Midwest, moving to Minneapolis about seven years ago. She had worked in a variety of business settings, but she felt like something was missing.

“I was not happy. I am great in sales and the business world, but nothing I was selling or working toward gave me any satisfaction. Money was not motivating anymore,” Przybylski said.

A lay-off gave Przybylski an opening to think about where she was headed, a summer of reassessment. At that point, Thormodsgaard came to her with what would be a game-changing proposal, asking Przybylski if she’d nanny for a boy with autism that Thormodsgaard was working with in her therapy practice.

“I knew that Karla would be a good fit for this family, and that she had the patience and kindness to work with a child who has special needs,” said Thormodsgaard, whose husband, Ezra, is a 2003 Viterbo graduate who works for a Twin Cities marketing agency as an editor and motion graphics artist.

With guidance from Thormodsgaard, Przybylski had great success that summer working with the boy and his behavior plan, connecting with him in a way that surprised even his parents. “Working for this family really changed my perspective on what I wanted to do,” Przybylski said. “It was a life-changing experience that impacted my next career move. I decided I wanted to go into the nonprofit world.”

Przybylski got her foot in the door as a front desk manager at the Academy of Whole Learning, a unique private school for students with autism spectrum disorder and individual learning needs. They soon recognized her broad skill set and gave her the task of starting a human resources department.

When the school’s CEO asked Przybylski to find someone to advise the school on what to look for in hiring a behavioral therapist, Przybylski knew just whom to ask. After bringing her old friend in as a consultant, the CEO recognized Thormodsgaard as the ideal therapist for the school.

Four years ago, the school’s CEO recognized that Przybylski and Thormodsgaard were the ideal team to launch a therapy clinic associated with the school but open to nonstudents, too. Thormodsgaard had the experience and insight of a seasoned therapist while Przybylski had the business acumen.

“I have been in startups and small businesses my whole life,” Przybylski said. “I love being a part of building things, especially from the ground up.”

“We are a good team because we don’t think alike,” Thormodsgaard said. “I am more therapeutic minded and she is more business minded and having both perspectives has created a successful environment for us and the clinic.”

When they started AOWL Therapy Services, Thormodsgaard was the only therapist. Now the clinic has a staff of 21 and a multimillion-dollar budget.

“The clinic has flourished, even through the pandemic. We actually doubled our staff during that time,” said Przybylski, who added she’s been amazed at how Thormodsgaard has taken to the job of directing the clinic. “The way she connects with people and the difference she makes in her clients’ lives is beyond inspiring. She creates a following of amazing people who are on her team and leads them to greatness.”

With Thormodsgaard at the reins of the clinic, Przybylski recently took on the role of HR director for the Academy of Whole Learning, though she and Thormodsgaard still work together closely on some things.

Thinking about how she got to this point, Przybylski will be forever thankful for Thormodsgaard for seeing the nanny job as just the thing she needed. And she’s grateful for the strong friendship they kindled at Viterbo that gave her the trust to take that leap of faith.

“She helped me unlock a passion I didn’t know I had and find a way to make an impact,” Przybylski said.