The following Class Notes were received recently in the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Alumni Relations Office:
’67 Mary Koppelmann (EHS) retired after 34 years of teaching first grade and high school special education in Sheboygan Falls.
’68 Richard Breaker (LS), who retired as a travel, fleet and purchasing manager at J. J. Keller and Associates Inc. in 1989, has spent the past 22 years managing his Before Today Antique and Collectible shops.
’70 Mary (Wiechert) Tesensky (LS) works as a real estate agent with Remax in Phoenix, Ariz., and specializes in bank foreclosures. Tesensky has been a licensed agent for 28 years.
’74 Patrick Goebel (B) have been selected by Quarles & Brady LLP, as one of their “The Best Lawyers in America 2012” recipients.
’79 Paula (Mazzacano) Porter (LS) was presented the 2011 University of Minnesota Alumni Service Award for her service to the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
’80 Bruce Berndt (B) is the owner of Skala Berndt, The Entrepreneurs’ CPA in Madison.
’81 Dennis Raabe (MS) has been appointed as the new superintendent of the Reedsville School District. Prior to his new position, Raabe was an elementary school principal in the Stevens Point Area Public School District for 25 years.
’81 Gerald Strack (EHS), of Guatemala City, Guatemala, received a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction for educational technology at Florida Gulf Coast University in Ft. Meyers, Fla., and is a teacher at the American School of Guatemala.
’86 Korey Kopp (LS) received the Education and Outreach Coordinator of the Year Award for her volunteer efforts with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network to increase awareness of the disease that took her mother’s life in 2008.
’87 Elizabeth (Lewandowski) Jacobson (LS) has been hired by MetLife as a financial services representative. Jacobson has worked in the financial services industry for two years.
’88 Timothy Flynn (MSE), of Shawano, works as an Employee Assistance Program counselor at ThedaCare. He provides mental health and substance abuse counseling to ThedaCare employees and their families.
’90 Michael Barth (MBA), of Neenah, spoke at the Pepin County Historical Society about the Civil War. Barth, who is considered a Civil War expert, will speak about the first Wisconsin regiments sent to war, including his great-great grandfather.
’90 Robert Smith (MBA), of Christiansburg, Va., has been appointed to the Forestry Research Advisory Council to aid in decision making about forestry schools and state agricultural experiment stations. Smith is the associate dean of engagement with Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment and the director of the Center for Forest Products Business, an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Industry Studies Center.
’93 Nancy (Vandenwymelenbeg) Mathieu (EHS), of Wrightstown, has been hired by the Sheboygan Falls School District as a kindergarten teacher, after substitute teaching in the district. Mathieu also held teaching positions at St. Mary School in Sheboygan Falls and in the Appleton School District.
’94 Todd Cox (LS) published his novel, “After the Death of the Ice Cream Man,” which was released in August. Cox admits he drew upon his experiences at UWO when writing the book, which includes scenes that he personally experienced at Taylor Hall.
’94 Tara Porter (EHS), an Oshkosh native, has been hired as the ninth- and 10-grade English teacher at Chilton High School, after teaching at St. Joan Antida Catholic High School in Milwaukee.
’96 Susan (Charapata) Hudziak (EHS), of Waupaca, has been promoted to sales and customer care division account manager of Ledgeview Partners, a customer relationship firm based in Appleton. Hudziak also owns an auto repair business with her husband.
’97 Amy (Algiers) Ciepluch (LS) have been selected by Quarles & Brady LLP, as one of their “The Best Lawyers in America 2012” recipients.
’98 Eric Butters (LS) has been appointed director of the Sojourner House in downtown Eau Claire. The Sojourner House provides a temporary home for single homeless men and women.
’98 Stephanie Spoehr (MSE), of Fitchburg, has been named the new principal of Mount Horeb High School. She spent the last five years as assistant principal for the school.
’00 Dawn (Comerford) Grenzer (EHS), of Hilbert, has been hired by the Valders Area School District as a high school counselor. Grenzer previously held positions as a school counselor in the Kaukauna and Menasha school districts as well as at UW-Fox Valley.
’00 Lori (Garcia) Menning (LS) and ’08 (MSE) has been teaching in the New London School District for 10 years. She also is the ELL/bilingual coordinator for the district, teaching current and future ELL and bilingual teachers at UWO and Silver Lake College. She studied language and culture in Venezuela, Spain and Ecuador.
’00 Kari Stockinger (LS) and ’07 (MSE) has been hired by Bergstom Toyota in Oshkosh as a finance and insurance manager.
’01 Jessica (Laquee) Brogley (EHS), of Platteville, has been hired as a communications instructor at Southwest Technical College in Fennimore, Wis.
’01 Sarah (Taggart) Ellington (EHS) and ’05 (MSE) been hired by the Kimberly School District as an eighth-grade special education teacher. Previously, Ellington taught in Wautoma, Markesan and in Arizona.
’01 Margaret Soda (B) was promoted to managing director of human resources, after starting her career at Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation in 2007 as an employee relations manager. Air Wisconsin is the largest privately held regional airline in the U.S.
’03 Brian Hinn (LS) and ’10 (MSE) has been hired by the Plymouth Area School District as a cross-categorical special education teacher at Fairview Elementary School. Hinn spent the past seven years as a special education teacher at Sheboygan Falls Middle School.
’04 Maria (Schneider) Graf (EHS) has been hired by the Kimberly Area School District as a second-grade literacy teacher at Janssen Elementary School, after teaching in Clintonville for the past six years.
’05 Kimberly (Davis) Brown (N) and ’11 (MSN) has been hired by ThedaCare Physicians-New London as a family nurse practitioner.
’06 Lance Beyer (EHS) has been promoted to junior/senior high school principal and athletic director for the Campbellsport School District, after teaching there for the past five years.
’06 Eric Strelitzer (LS) wrote and directed the short film titled, “Will and Teastament,” which was shot in Milwaukee this summer. The first cuts of the film are anticipated to be done by Thanksgiving.
’07 Paul Matthies (EHS), of Grafton, has been hired by the Kiel School District as a seventh-grade science teacher. He previously taught in the Green Lake School District as an at-risk teacher for both the middle and high school.
’08 Paul Boettcher (EHS), of Bonduel, has been hired as a special education teacher at Medford Area Senior High School. He also will serve as a coach for freshman football. Boettcher spent the past three years teaching in the Wausau School District.
’08 Amanda Foege (MSE), of Watertown, has been hired by the Menomonie Area School District as district school counselor. She also will work with the gifted and talented program. Previously, Forge worked in the Ellsworth School District as a middle school counselor.
’09 Roxanne Adams (B), been hired by Menasha Corp. as a benefits administrator.
’09 Thomas Cleveland (EHS) has been hired by the New Richmond School District as a third-grade teacher at Starr Elementary.
’09 Samantha Mand (LS) and ’11 (EHS), of Fond du Lac, has been hired by the Boscobel School District as a science teacher, after working as a long-term substitute teacher in the Chilton School District.
’09 Matthew Schmidt (EHS), of Gleason, has been appointed as the new kindergarten-second grade special education teacher at Minocqua-Hazelhurst-Lake Tomahawk Elementary School in the Lakeland area.
’10 Melissa “Missy” Barlow (EHS) has been hired by the Kimberly Area School District as a seventh-grade special education language arts teacher.
’10 Kari Goldapske (EHS) has been hired by the Kimberly Area School District as a cross-categorical special education teacher at Janssen Elementary School, after teaching special education at Wichita Public Schools in Wichita, Kan., for the past year.
’11 Courtney Beaudette (MSN) has been hired as an advanced nurse practitioner at ThedaCare Physicians-Internal Medicine in Neenah.
’11 Abbey Behnke (EHS), of Chilton, has been hired by the New Holstein School District as a first-grade teacher.
’11 Kelly Hetzel (EHS), of Franklin, has been hired by the Kiel School District as a high school English teacher. She also will coach freshman volleyball.
’11 Joshua Hoff (EHS), a Boyceville native, has been hired by the School District of New Richmond as elementary special services teacher at Starr Elementary.
’11 Kelly Koch (MSE) has been hired by the Kimberly Area School District as a seventh-grade special education teacher.
’11 Candice Lane (LS) has been hired as a cross-media marketing specialist by Westphal’s Group of Brownsville.
’11 Katie Niedfeldt (EHS) has been hired by the Plymouth School District as a 4-year old kindergarten teacher at Parkview Elementary School. Niedfeldt taught kindergarten readiness at Horizon Elementary School in Plymouth this past summer.
’11 Danielle Schneider (EHS) has been hired by the Montello School District as elementary art teacher at Forest Lane Elementary.
’11 Shea Vanden Heuvel (EHS) has been hired by the Kimberly Area School District as a first-grade teacher at Westside Elementary School.
ABBREVIATION KEY
COLLEGES
• AAS — Associate of Arts and Science Degree
• B — Business
• EHS — Education and Human Services
• LS — Letters and Science
• N — Nursing
GRADUATE DEGREES
• GMBA — Global Master of Business Administration
• MA — Master of Arts
• MBA— Master of Business Administration
• MPA — Master of Public Administration
• MS — Master of Science
• MSE — Master of Science in Education
• MSN — Master of Science in Nursing
• MST — Master of Science in Teaching
• MSW — Master of Social Work
Send items for future Class Notes.