Summer 2001 - Wayne State College

Norfolk andSusan enjoysbeing at home asa full-time mom.Stephanie has athree and a halfyear-oldsister,Cassandra.Sharon (Moore) Boeckenhauer,Concord, was one of six womenhonored at the Siouxland Women ofExcellence banquet held at SiouxCity, Iowa. She was recognized forher work in teaching pupils withdisabilities. She is a role model andmentor for teachers and paraprofessionals.Sharon is a specialeducation teacher at Laurel-ConcordPublic Schools.Dr. Micaela (Persinger) Hansen,South Sioux City, was one of sixwomen honored at the SiouxlandWomen of Excellence banquet heldat Sioux City, Iowa. She wasrecognized for overcoming a numberof hardships in her life includingcancer at the age of 24. Hansen, whois proud of her Cherokee heritage,serves as principal at EverettElementary School in Sioux City.1989Mark Otte, and wife Jill, Omaha,announce the birth of a son, RyanWade, born on March 7. Ryan iswelcomed home by a sister, Megan.Mark is a financial systemsadministrator for the DefenseFinance and Accounting Service atOffutt Air Base.Kristin (Windeshausen)Henkenius, Fremont, pictured withher mother Carolyn Windeshausen,was named “Woman of the Year” bythe Omaha Area PanhellenicAssociation. Kristin is a member ofAlpha Pi Chapter of Theta Phi Alphaat WSC and serves the nationalorganization as national second vicepresident.She is aguidancecounselor atFremont Jr.High School.1990Dan and Pam (Hannagan ’97)Schumacher, Austin, Tex.,announce the birth of ason, LiamHannagan, on March 2. Dan is asenior analyst at First AmericanFlood Data Services and Pam is themarketing associate at the AustinChildren’s Museum.ALUMNIMINI-FEATURE“Chef” Roy Farrens ‘82“Chef”Roy and LisaFarrens with their family.Ask students on campus to tell you who Roy Farrens is, and they may look at you quizzically.But add his title, and a smile comes to their faces. “Oh, Chef Roy--he’s really a neat guy!”Chef Roy has been part of the Wayne State community for so long, he says, that he considers itto be home. “I love this place!” he said. “I was a young kid from Decatur who came up here whenI was 18. I didn’t know what I was going to do or what I wanted to major in. I wasn’t even sure Iwas college material.”His brother, Robert, 10 years Roy’s senior and a WSC graduate, convinced him to give it a try.Roy is glad he did. “I was a little overwhelmed the first day of classes when I went to the wrongclassroom, but after that things fell in place,” he said. “I liked everything about Wayne State--Iliked living on campus; I liked living off campus. I liked everything.” He graduated in 1982 with amajor in business administration.Roy, who says he’s had a wanderlust since he was young, jumped into his car after graduationand moved to Houston for eight months. “I got my car totalled out, got robbed at gunpoint twice,got put in the hospital, and decided I’d had enough of big city life!” he said. “I bought an oldpickup, put everything I owned in it, and drove to Omaha.” A short time later, he was back atWayne State, working for Bill Behling who was in charge of the campus food service operation,PFM, now Chartwell’s.Over the next four years, his job relocated him to colleges in Wyoming, Oklahoma, Texas andMaine. In 1987, he attended the Johnson and Wales University culinary school in Rhode Island.Following the year-long program, Roy and his family moved back to Omaha where he and his firstwife became parent-teachers at Boys Town. He also worked in food production and catering atMethodist Hospital in Omaha, where he developed specialized menus. Roy was featured on theOmaha TV program, “Affair of the Heart,” where he did heart-healthy cooking segments withweatherman Tom Bevaqua.Roy and his wife, Lisa, were married on June 26, 1993. They moved back to northeastNebraska to be closer to his parents, who still live near Decatur. It’s been a great move for theirgrowing family, Roy said with a grin.“They call our family the ‘House of 21 Flavors’ because we have so many backgrounds andnationalities,” he said. In addition to Roy’s children, Steven, 17 and Caitlynn, 14; Lisa’s daughter,Jamie, also 14; an adopted daughter Fanchon, 13 and adopted son, Maurice, 10; the couple are alsoparents of son Alexander, 6 and Lily Ann-Marie, who just turned two. Roy also has a foster son,Chris, of Korean ancestry, who came to live with the family when he was at Boys Town.Since his return to Wayne State College in 1995, Roy has been the regional training chef forChartwells in Nebraska and Kansas. He works with cooks and other chefs at the company’slocations in the two states. In July, Roy’s job will take the family to Chadron State College, wherehe will be campus chef. He’s leaving Wayne with mixed feelings.“The move provides us with some great opportunities,” he said. “Lisa has her master’s inelementary education from Wayne State, and served as interim principal at Macy. She’s lookinginto several possibilities at Chadron. She’s from the Black Hills, so this move will take her a littlecloser to home.“I’m looking forward to the challenge of a new job at Chadron, but I’ll be taking Wayne withme,” he said. “You know, I’ve been to so many places--46 of the 48 contiguous states--and I’vemet people all around. There are nice people everywhere I go. Whenever I meet new people, Ialways compare them to the people I met in Wayne. I have never met so many friendly people inmy life as I have at Wayne State College. It’s my home. I’ve enjoyed my time here. And I’ll beback for Homecoming!”Wayne State Magazine 21WSC Magazine Summer 012110/2/01, 2:49 PM