Information About Alumni

You can jump to different sections of the list by clicking one of the date ranges below:
2008-2001 1996-2000 | 1995-1991 | 1990-1986 | 1985-1981 | 1980-1976 | 1975 and earlier

Class of 2008:

Jennifer Ahlm is working for Ameritrade in Bellevue as a client representative and registered securities representative.

Brianne (Ehmen) Kelly is teaching seventh-grade English at Bales Elementary in Buckeye, Arizona. She is also the Coordinator of the Gifted Student program.

Vanessa Martinez is working in Lincoln and gearing up to apply for graduate school in Comparative Literature and English/Spanish Literary Translation.

Katie Segrist will be teaching English in Germany as the winner of a Fulbright Scholarship. That's two English Department Fulbrights in two years!

Cody Waite has joined the United States Marine Corps.

Nick Wischmeier begins his medical studies at UNMC in Fall 2008.

Class of 2007:

Quiller Caudill is in Lincoln working at Uppercase in web development.

Jessica Clem works as a Conference Coordinator at Kutak Rock in Omaha

Emily Cottingham is ...?

Chris Gleim working as a Customer Service Representative at Perot Systems. In Fall 2008 he will begin Ph.D. studies at
Arizona State University in their split Rhetoric/Composition and Linguistics program. He is interested in working on Language Reclamation.

Nicole Green has won a Fulbright Fellowship to teach English in Germany.

Melissa Hepburn is living in Omaha, working as a Case Manager for people with mental illnesses.

Mark Larson is teaching at Lincoln High School.

Tessa Main (English/Psychology) is pursuing a Ph.D. in Psychology at Forest Institute of Psychology in Springfield, MO.

Megan Mejstrik is working on finishing up up a secondary education endorsement for English and ELL at UNL. She is also pursuing a masters in Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education at UNL.

Brooke Pecoraro is teaching at Millard West High School in Omaha. She was named the 2007-2008 "Rookie of the Year" by the Millard Education Association.

Kurt Petska has moved back to his hometown of Ord and is training to become a seed sales rep for Pioneer Hybrids International.

Ben Scheyer is trying to sell a screenplay and a novel, and is working temp jobs. He is planning a move to Seattle, WA.

Maryl Schock is working as the Youth, Teen and Family Director for the YMCA in Lincoln.

Sam Segrist teaches English at Millard North High School.

Dan Witte is a Match Specialist at Heartland Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

Class of 2006:

Kari Fisk is in Law School at Creighton University. She was recently married to Patrick Lee.

Mike Flowers is a graphic artist at ScreenCo in Lincoln. He recently completed a photo collage in the Story Student Center as the Class of 2006 class gift to the campus. He is also showing his art around Lincoln.

Nicole Frank worked for a year as a State Scheduler for Senator Ben Nelson in Washington, D.C. She is now working on her family's ranch in Bassett, NE.

Katy Givens is in Omaha, working as an administrative assistant for AXA Advisors.

Will Holmes was recently married to Lacey Jay. He is writing for a railroad magazine.

Kaj Jorgensen is working at the Apple Store in Omaha, where he is doing sales, repair and training.

Jessica Lacy is ...?

Stephen Lambert is working in Omaha.

Bob Ludwig is an Assistant Coach for the NWU Men's Basketball team.

Justin Runge is an MFA student in creative writing (poetry) at the University of Alabama.

Phil Pelster is a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan, where he works for a library system and an environmental organization.

Jeff Salem is ...?

 

Class of 2005:

Katie Caudill, is now a med student at Des Moines University. She plans to specialize in Osteopathic Medicine.

Jeff Gilbreath is working with Hawaiian Community Assets, writing a culturally-relevant financial education curriculum for Hawaii youth, K-12. He says "Aloha no, friends -- hope life in Nebraska is going easy."

Allison Hunzeker worked for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer, and is now teaching English in Rifle, CO.

Knox Jones went to Law School at Creighton Law.

Michelle Pohl (English/Psych) is studying for an MA in Psychology at NYU.

Mitch Raftery is living in New York as an actor and singer.

Jessica Rivera completed her MA in English (with a concentration in the Teaching of English) at UNL. She now teaches at Lincoln Northeast High School.

Amanda Rucker is at Boston University, getting her Master's degree in Public Relations.

Jeff Salem is a government/city reporter for Sun Tribune Newspapers in Kansas City, Mo.

Carl Schneider has moved back to Buffalo, NY; after several years of working at the Violin Shop in Lincoln, he is hoping to open up his own violin shop in Buffalo.

Antonia Welsch is living and writing in Minneapolis. She works at the Guthrie Theatre.

 

Sarie Whitson is working as an editor at iUniverse in Lincoln.

Class of 2004:

Leslie (Brittenham) Brestel is working at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church as the editor of all church publications (print and online). She also volunteers at the Cat House, a no-kill animal shelter in Lincoln.

Erika Bruening has returned to Nebraska after teaching in Ennis, Ireland. She now teaches English at Seward High School.

Jillian Craig is living in Omaha and working as a Staffing Specialist/Recruiter at Celebrity Staffing.

Amanda Frederick got married in November 2004. She is the Truancy Specialist at Cedars Youth Services.

Jennifer Myers (Poli Sci major, Journalism minor) has completed a Master's Degree in Communication at George Washington University, and now works as a research assistant at Public Opinion Strategies in Washington, D.C.

Danielle Nielsen completed a Masters degree in English at Case Western Reserve University in 2006, and is continuing her graduate studies at CWRU as she works toward a PhD.

Lindsey (Pinkerman) Buchheit received her J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 2007 .

Katie Schwenke has a Master's degree in Library and Information Science from Wayne State University, and she works as a children's librarian in the Los Angeles area..

Chris St. Pierre is using his CS minor as well as his English major as NWU's system administrator.

Jamie Tallman has received an M.A. in U.S. History at UNL. He is working to expand his M.A. thesis into a book about Dr. Charles Flippin, an African-American physician in central Nebraska who was involved in some abortion trials in the early twentieth century..

Adam Vander Tuig completed a Master's Degree in English at Cambridge University in 2006. He is back in Nebraska, teaching high school at Omaha Westside, but he plans to pursue either a PhD in English or a J.D.

Natalie Wolf is considering graduate study in Philosophy.

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Class of 2003:

Alaina Bartunek is teaching English at Southeast Community College as well as doing on-line writing tutoring through SMARTHINKING. She is also teaching ballet in Lincoln.

Katie (Dangler) Brenneman works for Ameritas Life Insurance. She and her husband have a daughter, Alaina, born in May 2006..

Laura M. S. Fortney is working as an Administrative Assistant at TAG/TMI, a Lincoln company providing technical services to insurance companies.

Libby Fangmeier was married in September, 2003. She works for the Farm Bureau in Hebron, NE.

Scott Gealy is a Freelance Production Assistant in New York City.

Ben Gottschall has completed his MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Idaho in Moscow. He is currently working on a farm and teaching.

Jeff Hardy is using his communication skills in a job at Schaefer's selling electronics and appliances.

Lindy Hart was married in August, 2003.

Leslie Ianno is working on a graduate degree in English at UNL.

Ryan Kathman worked for a few years as the News Editor at the Oakdale-Lake Elmo Review in Minnesota and performed as an actor in the Twin Cities. He has since returned to Nebraska to pursue a graduate degree in Theatre at UNL.

Luke Klinker is working as an attorney at Fraser Stryker in Omaha, after completing a JD at Creighton Law School.

Eric Mittan is living in Carbondale, IL and working in video editing.

Heather (Petska) Zaruba is teaching secondary English at Nemaha Valley High School in Cook, NE. She had a daughter in March 2006.

Laura M. (Salmon) Fortney is working as an Administrative Assistant at TAG/TMI, a Lincoln company providing technical services to insurance companies. She and her husband have a son, Jack, born in 2007.

Brynley Thomas is an Account Coordinator at Wildberry Productions multimedia production company in Lincoln.

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Class of 2002:

Scott Farmen (English/Psychology) was accepted to UNL Law School.

Beth Haley (English/Secondary Ed) was named Future Teacher of the Year in 2002 by the Nebraska English Language Arts Council of NCTE. She teaches at Buffet Magnet Middle School in Omaha.

Beth McQueen is working for A. G. Edwards in Lincoln.

Ryan Phillips is the chief editor in the newsroom of Data Transmission Network.

Sarah Seib (English/History) is the Agency Resource Center and Training Coordinator for Northwestern Mutual Financial Network of Nebraska. She is responsible for the training and development of new representatives as well as the coordination of all Resource Center operations.

Tess Sparks (English/Spanish) is a Peace Corps volunteer.

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Class of 2001:

Ken McQueen (English/Music) is married to former NWU student Leslie Pieper; he went on for a Master of Music in Keyboard Performance at the University of Miami.

Sam Renken has been writing (poetry) and riding (horses). He is in graduate school in Creative Writing at Clemson University.

Becky Schlake lives in Kansas City, where she works at Americo Financial Life in Kansas City, MO as a Senior Marketing Communications Specialist.

Roya Smith lives in Lincoln and is finishing graduate school at UNL in secondary education in Spanish, English and ELL.

Tom Teachout is living in Lincoln and working at the INS.

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Class of 2000:

Dan Bruning received a Master's Degree in Digital Media at University of Denver.

Ryan Dee (Art/English) works at the USDA Agroforestry Service on UNL's East Campus as a Technology Transfer Assistant doing graphic design, illustration, writing and editing for newsletters and brochures, as well as film editing and production. Watch for his band Marianas at shows around Lincoln.

Denette Jervey got married in 2000.

Jenn Roche is working on a Master's Degree in English at Cal State Fullerton. She is glad that her experiences in Ways of Reading prepared her for graduate level study.

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Class of 1999:

Faith (Beyer) Hansen taught high school Colorado before returning to Lincoln to get a Masters degree at UNL. She is currently living in Boise, ID and teaching at Boise State. She also works as the National Program Specialist for Boys Hope Girls Hope.

Scott Guenthner recently completed a term as a Peace Corps volunteer and is applying to graduate schools.

Gannon Gillespie lives in Washington, DC, where he works as Coordinator of US Operations for Tostan, a non-profit organization based in Senegal and currently operating in 5 countries in Africa.

 

Jill (Hudson) Shaver has completed a Master's Degree in English at UNL and has been accepted into the PhD program at George Mason University. She presented a paper based on her Master's Thesis at the 2002 International African Literature Association Conference in San Diego. She is currently teaching English at Southeast Community College.

Mark Kalvoda is teaching English at Conestoga High School.

Molly (Kidwell) Davenport is working in Lincoln at Kidwell Electric. She and her husband had a son, Charlie, in 2007.

Kelli Kurtenbach is working as a Public Affairs Technician at Tabitha Health Care Services.

Spencer Neill is stationed at Ft. Carson, CO with the U.S. Army. He also just got married.

Jennifer E. Schleuter is a Copy Editor with Sand Hills Publishing.

Sandra Schmieder received her Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado School of Law and is a judicial clerk in Cheyenne, WY for Judge Wade Brorby of the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. She will be returning to the Denver area in 2004.

Laura Schnase was recently married.

Kristy Sorenson (WS/English) is working on a Master's in Library Science at the University of Texas, Austin.

Criss Taylor is using her intercultural communications skills and her French minor along with her English major as she lives and works in Switzerland.

Marcos Uzueta has worked in publishing and other areas in both Arizona and Nebraska.

Eric Wendt (Art/English) has received his MFA in creative writing from the University of Minnesota. He is currently the editor of Archways, NWU's alumni magazine.

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Class of 1998:

Darren Carlson (Communication Studies/Journalism) works in the Princeton, NJ office of the Gallup Organization. He writes for and manages the company's website, and produces live television segments for CNN at the Gallup offices. Darren is grateful that his journalism classes taught him the skills of using statistics in newswriting.

Mike Catron taught English in Japan through the JET program. He is now teaching English at Millard West High School.

Cameron Dodworth (History/English) has completed a Master's Degree in English at UNL and a second Master's Degree in Victorian Studies from the University of Leicester in England. He is working on a Ph.D. in English at UNL and teaching courses both at UNL and NWU.

Lindsey Salem is completing a clinical internship at Counseling and Psychological Services (the counseling center) at UNL. She will graduate with a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Notre Dame in August 2004.

Carolyn Nolte received her M.A. in English from U.N.L in 2002. Her area of specialization was Canadian Great Plains literature. She is currently studying at UNL to earn Secondary Education certification in English and adjuncting at NWU. Welcome back, Carolyn!

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Class of 1997:

Anthony W. Clark-Kaczmarek (Language Arts) is still active in theatre; he played Pseudolus in a Bellevue production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

Tammy Hronik finished her work teaching English in Japan through the JET Program, and is back in Nebraska, teaching at Blair High School.

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Class of 1996:

Jennifer Gleason is a Computer Software Instructor with Executrain of Nebraska. She was recently married.

Jennifer Kubik, who got married in 2000, teaches at Waverly High School.

Jennifer Ropte is an Administrative Assistant with the Martin Luther Home Society, Inc.

Janelle Osborne Wallinger is happy to announce her new baby.

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Class of 1995:

Erik Campbell has published Arguments for Stillness, a poetry collection named one of BookSense.com's ten poetry picks for 2007. He also has a featured essay ("Sigma Tau Delta Made Me Live in the Jungle") as well as two poems ("Familiarity" and "Strongbox") in the spring 2007 Sigma Tau Delta newsletter

T. J. Hudson is an International Marketing Consultant with ACTION Direct.

Shawn Mummert is currently working for a software company.

Jane Pease is a Branch Manager for First Federal Bank.

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Class of 1994:

Amy Attenberger received her MBA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 2004 and has been working for Kimberly-Clark Corporation in Northeast WI since graduation. She is currently a Brand Manager for the POISE Brand.

Steve Burks is a Sports Copy Editor of the Phoenix Tribune.

Ted Genoways is the editor of Virginia Quarterly Review, which has received six nominations for the National Magazine Awards (more nominations than the New Yorker or Harper's!). Ted won the 2001 Samuel French Morse Poetry Prize for his first book of poems, Bullroarer, which was published by Northeastern University Press in Fall 2001.

Shelly Kidwell Theil recently had a new daughter, her third child.

Jill Lind got married in 2000. Jill works in the Community Health Development Office of Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.

Kerri Plummer is a Physician Recruiter with Methodist Health Systems in Omaha.

Alyssa Pumphrey is working on a Master's Degree in Digital Media Studies at Denver University, focusing on the technical as well as aesthetic elements of online design.

Shawna Thorp completed her Ph.D. in English at Auburn University in 2004. She is currently an Assistant Professor of English at East Tennessee State University.

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Class of 1993:

Sandra Cieko Carlson had a daughter in 2000.

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Class of 1992:

Christopher Gotschall is an independent filmmaker in Chicago. His film Caught has been shown at gay and lesbian film festivals around the country, and was a hit at its Spring 2002 showing here at NWU. For more info on Caught, check out the Starbelly Films website.

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Class of 1991:

Tim Brox had a son, his second child, in 2000. Tim owns and manages Gloria Deo, a Catholic bookstore in Lincoln.

Amie Carpenter Martinez had a daughter in 2000. Amie is a lawyer with Anderson, Creager, and Wittstruck in Lincoln.

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Class of 1990:

Timalyn O'Neil has a daughter, Greta.

Diane Wetzel, Reporter for the North Platte Telegraph was recently awarded four first place prizes in different categories of journalistic writing by the Nebraska Press Women's Association. Way to go, Diane! You can order a collection of Diane's columns at www.dianewetzel.com

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Class of 1989:

Tom Heeren works as a Document Scanner for Intrust Bank in Wichita, KS. He has been taking creative writing classes at Wichita State and doing volunteer work at Via Christi Regional Center-St. Francis campus.

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Class of 1974:

Kevin Boatright (English/History) is Associate Executive Vice Chancellor for University Relations for the University of Kansas. He works primarily in government relations and media relations. He is in his final year as chair of the ELCA Division for Ministry board and continues to support the Flintlock awards.

Class of 1957:

William W. (Bill) McDermet III (English minor) earned his MDiv from Texas Christian University,and DMin from Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis; Bill served as a pastor for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for 43 years. Throughout that time, his articles, meditations, prayers and poems appeared in numerous newspapers and religious publications. He credits former English professor Harold Hall for providing inspiration, and making literature "come alive." He and his wife (Sheral Yates, class of '59) live in Chautauqua County, New York, and later this year will move to Pleasant Hill, TN, a UCC retirement village.

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