{"id":31236,"date":"2018-02-16T09:16:29","date_gmt":"2018-02-16T15:16:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/?p=31236"},"modified":"2018-07-05T13:52:05","modified_gmt":"2018-07-05T18:52:05","slug":"class-notes-fall-winter-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bemidjistate.edu\/news\/2018\/02\/16\/class-notes-fall-winter-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Class Notes\u2014Fall\/Winter 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

Towns are in Minnesota unless noted. Alumni names appear in bold. Send Class Notes information and photos to alumni@bemidjistate.edu<\/a> or call toll free: 1-877-BSU-ALUM.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Class of 2017<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Joe Otto<\/b> is a farm bill technician for the Big Stone Soil and Water Conservation District in Ortonville. He works on programs such as the voluntary Conservation Reserve Program, which converts cropland to privately owned native habitat. Otto lives in Lesterville.<\/div>\n
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Class of 2016<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Autumn Aeling<\/b> teaches first grade at Ashby Public School, where she also is head softball coach. She previously taught first grade for a year in the Brainerd schools. Aeling lives in Hewitt.<\/div>\n
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Keylee Schoon<\/b> is in her first year as a fourth-grade teacher at Menahga Public School after previously substitute teaching in the Menahga, Park Rapids and Sebeka districts. She lives in Menahga.<\/div>\n
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Ryan Olson<\/b> is an associate web engineer for Sundog, an industry leader in marketing and technology that specializes in manufacturing. He previously worked as a freelance web designer and developer. Olson lives in Fargo.<\/div>\n
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Class of 2015<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Nicole Dupay<\/b> has joined CW Technology as human resources and marketing coordinator. She previously was an admissions representative and recruiter for 91心頭利. Dupay lives in Duluth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Lindsey Nelson<\/b> directs the new Just for Kix dance program in McGregor and is also teaching math at McGregor High School. She lives in McGrath.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Class of 2014<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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John Rusch<\/b> is an exercise physiologist for Sanford Medical Center in Bagley, focusing on cardiac rehabilitation and pulmonary rehabilitation. He lives in Bemidji.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cory Johnson<\/b> is a graphic designer for the RedHouseMedia, an advertising agency based in Brainerd, where he lives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Dana Skjod <\/b>is an assistant project manager for Knutson Construction in their Minneapolis office. She has worked closely on the recent Mercy Hospital expansion project. She lives in Rogers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Class of 2013<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Dr. Trevor Andrews<\/b> has joined the Scotland Bakke Dental practice in Bemidji after receiving his degree from the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. He lives in Bemidji.<\/div>\n
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Class of 2011<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Darci McGillivray<\/b> was hired as an administrative\/accounting assistant by the city of Motley after she finished an internship there in September 2016. She expects to graduate this spring with a degree in accounting from Central Lakes College in Brainerd. McGillivray lives in Staples.<\/div>\n
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Rachel (Battles) Pearce <\/b>joined the family medicine team at Altru Clinic in Warroad as a nurse practitioner. She has a doctorate of nursing practice, family nurse practitioner degree from the University of Iowa. Pearce lives in Warroad with her husband, Josh. They have three children.<\/div>\n
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Ashley Palmer<\/b> works for Grand Itasca Clinic & Hospital, where she is a full-time athletic trainer at Grand Rapids High School. She previously worked for Essentia-St. Joseph’s and was was head athletic trainer at Brainerd High School. Palmer lives in Grand Rapids.<\/div>\n
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Class of 2010<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Nicholas Wentworth <\/b>graduated from the University of New England College of Dental Medicine with a degree in dentistry. He and his wife, Kendra, live in Windham, Maine, with their two children, but plan to relocate to North Carolina, where he will join a private dental practice.<\/div>\n
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Class of 2009<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Josh Tharaldson ’09<\/strong> was elected president of the Minnesota Science Teachers Association for a four-year term. He is in his eighth year teaching science at Marshall County Central High School. This past summer, Tharaldson traveled to Costa Rica to study lowland rain forests and investigate the biotic, physical and cultural forces that affect tropical biodiversity there. He lives in Goodridge.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Class of 2008<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Kyle McMartin<\/b> is the new assistant principal of Bemidji Middle School, where he has worked as a teacher and a coach at the middle school for seven years. He and his wife, Ashley, live in Bemidji with their three children.<\/div>\n
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Jessica (Olson) Horn<\/b> is director of the Bagley Day Activity Center. She is responsible for day-to-day operations and the center’s thrift shop, as well as the Pine Ridge Residence for seniors, home to several of the center’s. Horn lives in Gonvick with her husband, Troy. They have one child.<\/div>\n
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Melanie Wilson<\/b> is dean of Liberal Arts and Public Services for Hawaii Community College in Hilo, Hawaii. She previously was director of assessment and institutional research at Leech Lake Tribal College. Wilson lives in Hilo with her husband, Paul, and their two children.<\/div>\n
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Class of 2007<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Andrea Whiting <\/b>is finance manager for United Way of Northeastern Minnesota in Chisholm. She previously had been a volunteer and served on the board before joining her new position. Whiting lives in Virginia.<\/div>\n
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Tim Dirkes<\/b> is a patrol and field training officer for the Grand Rapids Police Department, where he has worked since 2011. He previously worked for the Winnebago Police Department. Dirkes lives in Grand Rapids.<\/div>\n
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Class of 2004<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Rachel (Moen) Columbus<\/b> was awarded the James Trudeau Award by the Lakes Center for Youth and Families. She has worked for the Wyoming Police Department since 2006, developing the Police Educating Area Kids program in 2013. Columbus and her husband, John, live in Andover and have three young children.<\/div>\n
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Nikki (Baird) Brink <\/b>was promoted to chief operations officer at First National Bank Bemidji. She joined the bank as human resources manager in 2011. She graduated from the Graduate School of Banking in Madison, Wis., in August. She and her husband, Robert, live in Bemidji. They have three children.<\/div>\n
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Kayla Bell ’04<\/strong> (far right) is the latest of three generations from the same family to graduate from Bemidji State and enter careers in education. She is student support coordinator at Burnside Elementary School in Red Wing, where she lives. Her mother, Wanda (Rohl) Bell ’79<\/strong>, was principal of Pillager Elementary School before retiring in 1998. She and her husband, Steve, have three adult children. Kayla’s grandmother, Betty (Swanson) Rohl ’74<\/strong> began the chain by teaching country school in Pillager for 29 years. She has remained active in retirement, gaining recognition as Pillager’s Citizen of the Year in 2015 and as a new member of the school district’s Hall of Fame in 2016.<\/div>\n
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Class of 2003<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Rosymar Hjermstad<\/b> is executive director of Kinship of the Park Rapids Area, a mentoring and reading program for children. She previously was working for Mahube-Otwa as the Housing Case Manager. She lives in Park Rapids with her two children.<\/div>\n
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Alice (Linda) Blessing<\/b> presented an exhibit of her paintings at the Cultural Center gallery in New York Mills. The exhibit, “Through a Child’s Eyes,” featured her work along with that of a colleague. She lives in Bemidji with her husband, Mitch ’04<\/b>. The couple has one child.<\/div>\n
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Class of 2000<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Dan Johnson<\/strong> was 2017 Teacher of the Year in the Brandon-Evansville School District, where he has taught since 2002. In addition to teaching high school social studies, he is an assistant football coach and Knowledge Bowl advisor. Johnson and his wife, Amanda (Lee) ’02<\/strong>, live in Brandon with their two children.<\/div>\n
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Adam Smith<\/b> graduated from Air Force basic training in San Antonio, Texas, as a U.S. Air Force Air National Guard Airman 1st Class. He lives in Montgomery with his wife, Krista.<\/div>\n
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Class of 1998<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Melissa (Hensley) Vacek<\/b> was promoted to business loan associate at Security Bank USA in Bemidji, where she has worked since 2013. She also serves on the Sanford Health Foundation Board and is chair of the Sanford Health Business Relations Committee. Vasek lives in Bemidji with her husband, Chris, who is sales manager at RP Broadcasting.<\/div>\n
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Nate Knutson<\/b> was promoted to warden of the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Willow River\/Moose Lake. He has spent his entire corrections career there, most recently as associate warden of operations. Knutson lives in Cloquet.<\/div>\n
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Class of 1997<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Andrew Dahlen<\/b> is an electronics instructor and VEX Robotics coordinator at Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls. This past summer, he coordinated a robotics camp for fifth- through eighth-graders at Clearbrook-Gonvick School. Dahlen and his wife, Jennifer (Koenen) ’98<\/b>, live in Fischer.<\/div>\n
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Dawn (Woelfel) McCabe<\/b> is principal at St. Timothy Catholic School in Maple Lake. She previously was a media specialist for the Owatonna and Rockford public schools before earning her administrative licensure from Minnesota State University in Mankato. McCabe lives in Buffalo with her husband, Bill. They have two children.<\/div>\n
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Brent Glass<\/b> is associate vice chancellor for student affairs for the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities. He previously was system director and operations manager for the system’s Division of Academic and Student Affairs. Glass and his wife, Jennifer, live in Prescott, Wis.<\/div>\n
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Craig McKechney<\/b> is the behavioral dean of students at Litchfield Middle School. He previously taught physical education\/health at Litchfield along with coaching boys’ hockey. McKechney and his wife, Cindy, live in Litchfield. They have two grown children.<\/div>\n
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Class of 1996<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Richard Aldrich<\/b> was the 2017 commencement speaker at Chisholm High School, where he has been principal since 2013. He has worked in the Chisholm School District since 1997. Aldrich lives in Hibbing with his wife, Lisa. They have four children.<\/div>\n
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Todd Kreibich<\/b> is head coach and general manager for the Minnesota Iron Rangers, a Superior International Junior Hockey team based in Hoyt Lakes. He lives in Gilbert.<\/div>\n
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Jennifer Kovall<\/b> joined the sales team of Edina Realty in Crosslake. She previously had been working at Thunder Lake Realty. She lives in Remer.<\/div>\n
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