A l u m n ie w sN o r t h w e s t e r n C l a s s i cM i n ip ro f i l eAlum brings harmony to inner-city schoolby Amy Scheer“I chose Ms. B. becauses h e ’s hard on us . . . it’sbecause she loves us.”Hearing her music stude n t ’s words, BarbBurlingame ’99 knew that allthose tears shed her first yearof teaching were wort h w h i l e .Her student was one of manynominating her for the SuaveP e rf o rmance Plus Aw a rd ,given to Chicago teacherswho achieve excellence inand beyond the classro o m .F rom more than 350 applicants,Burlingame placed inthe top five finalists for hera rea, with just 30 total finalistschosen from six re g i o n s .At a formal ceremony indowntown Chicago in May,she received a plaque and$1,000.Not bad for a third - y e a rt e a c h e r.Burlingame spent thefall semester of 1999 studentteaching in a Chicago publicschool band program. Shei m p ressed the superv i s i n gBarb Burlingame gives a perc u s s i o nlesson in Chicago’s Hirsch High School.t e a c h e r, who swiftly re c o m-mended her for a position ina fine arts program form i n gat Hirsch Metropolitan HighSchool of Communications.H i r s c h ’s principal came too b s e rve and interv i e wBurlingame, and she off e re dher the job of band dire c t o ron the spot.The next school yearfound the Cameron, Wi s . ,native living and workingamidst gang activity andp o v e rty in an inner-city highschool without instru m e n t sfor her beginning band students.The school system hadno music feeder program, sof reshmen first encountere dmusic training inB u r l i n g a m e s ’ class.Accustomed to the practiceof starting instruments inf o u rth or fifth grade,Burlingame initially foundthat teaching theory, fingeringsand musicality all atonce was quite a challenge.After six months of “alot of stomping and clapping”that first year, thei n s t ruments finally arr i v e dand the students’ pro g re s ss o a red. To keep her youngmusicians motivated,Burlingame maintains highmusical standards. For example,she re q u i res that studentspass a test before theycan play in a concert. Herfirst year, just 20 were re a d yto perf o rm in public; twoyears later, the number wasup to 52.It thrills Burlingame towatch the growth of her“ b a b y,” as she calls it, thep rogram she’s nurt u red fort h ree years. This past yearsaw the first ever HirschHigh School musical, withBurlingame as musical dire c-tor and assistant to the staged i re c t o r. She’s starting up anew percussion ensemble,too, while not at all dauntedby the numbers—104 dru m-mers and five drums.Teaching in the innercity has its challenges,Burlingame says. “At times, itfeels like you’re teachingthem life skills—how to survive.”When she needs counsel,she seeks outN o rt h w e s t e rn s ’ Dr. Ti mM c G a rvey via e-mail, thankfulfor the opportunity to askquestions of her admired formermusic pro f e s s o r. NWC isunique in its caring atmosph e re and faculty-studentconnections, she says. “I can’timagine having gone anywh e re else.”Jeanne, owns and operates a preschool.They have a child, Peyton( 2 ) .Ruth Muyskens has been a medicalre c o rds clerk for nearly 10 years.Living in Burnsville, Minn., sheenjoys her hobby of colored pencilp a i n t i n g .’ 8 9B renda (Bru x v o o rt) Latz is beginningher 11th year as a full-time schoolsocial worker for the Zion, Ill.,E l e m e n t a ry School District. Shelives in Beach Park with her husband,David, and stepson, Brian.’ 9 1D r. Billy Estes is an orthopaedic surgeonwith a practice in Sioux <strong>Fall</strong>s.He also provides services in OrangeCity and Sioux Center. His wife,Janna (Kluis ’94), is a stay-at-homem o m .Michaela (Rabenberg) Zimmerm a nhas been promoted to activity coordinatorin the Alzheimer’s unit atPrairie Lodge in Brooklyn Center,Minn. Her husband, Tom, worksfor Cargill. They have three boys:Ti m o t h y, William and Daniel.’ 9 2Leslie Rider, F i rc rest, Wash., hasbeen in full-time ministry for sevenyears. She re p o rts that her workwith high school students hasblessed her beyond words. She alsoenjoys theology (in which shee a rned a master’s degree), upgradingher home and playing softball.Tammy (Mulder) Sieck and her husband,Randy, live in Ireton, Iowa.Randy is a self-employed tru c kd r i v e r, and Tammy is a stay-athomemom.Arlin To p teaches physical educationand coaches at Manson Nort h w e s tWebster Community School. Hiswife, Lora (Bandstra ’94), teachesbusiness in the Fort DodgeCommunity School District. TheTops live in Manson.2 6 ▲ F a l l 2 0 0 3
N o r t h w e s t e r n C l a s s i cA l u m n ie w s’ 9 3Eric Pingel teaches high school computerclasses and is the district’st e c h n o l o g y / c u riculum infusionc o o rdinator at Pella CommunityHigh School. He also coaches inCentral <strong>College</strong>’s men’s and women’strack and field programs. He andhis wife, Kari, have four childre n .’ 9 4Mark Petersen is the new principalat Hart l e y - M e l v i n - S a n b o rn HighSchool. He and his wife, Ann, andtheir sons, Peyton and Reece, live inH a rt l e y, Iowa.’ 9 5Joe Fontenot is beginning his ninthyear as a teacher and coach for theMarion, Iowa, Independent SchoolDistrict. He teaches elementaryphysical education and health andcoaches football, wrestling and softball.His wife, Jayna (DeWa a rd ),recently joined the staff of ComsysI n f o rmation Technology Services asa software testing consultant. She isc u rrently consulting at MCI inCedar Rapids. The Fontenots re s i d ein Marion with their twin daughters,Elizabeth and Katelyn (6).Heidi Van De We g e is a middleschool re s o u rce teacher for the SanFrancisco Unified School District.She volunteers at Nightline, pro v i d-ing emotional support for peopleliving with HIV and AIDS.’ 9 6D a n i e land Michelle (Maassen)B r a n d slive in Harr i s b u rg, S.D.Daniel is vice president at the Gre a tPlains Zoo in Sioux <strong>Fall</strong>s. Michelleis an elementary special educationteacher in Harr i s b u rg. They have ason, Joshua (2).Ryan De Haan has started his secondyear as a pathology resident at theMayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.His wife, S h e rry (Ferre l l ), is a stayat-homemother for their twod a u g h t e r s .’ 9 7J e ff Beekhuizen graduated from DesMoines University’s <strong>College</strong> ofOsteopathic Medicine and Surg e ryin May. He is currently a familypractice resident at Via ChristiRegional Medical Center in Wi c h i t a .Marilyn (Lupkes) and Kevin Jansma’ 9 9 a re both on staff in the smallg roups ministry of Prairie RidgeC h u rch in Ankeny, Iowa.’ 9 8Brian Boote has been working atHome Federal Bank in Sioux <strong>Fall</strong>sfor two years. He lives in Lester,I o w a .Kristine (Van Zante) Cornelder t e a c h-es K-6 music and fifth grade bandat Pella Christian Grade School.Janelle (Koolhaas) Dominguez is am i s s i o n a ry for the Reform e dC h u rch in America in Ocosingo,Mexico. Her husband, Angel, is ana n t h ro p o l o g i s t .Zac Nesper has graduated fro mS t a n f o rd Business School and isworking as a financial analyst forHewlett Packard ’s imaging andprinting division in San Diego. Hiswife, Ellen (Sterup ’99), is a highschool English teacher in Lakeside,C a l i f .’ 9 9A n d rew Manz lives in Minnetonka,Minn. He works in the computingi n f o rmation center for MetrisCompanies as an analyst and documentationspecialist.Betsy (Russell) McFadden works parttime for the Fontenelle NatureAssociation (Fontenelle Forest) inBellevue, Neb.Kyle Menke teaches third grade atLake Mills, Iowa, CommunitySchools. He also is the head boys’basketball coach, head track coachand junior varsity baseball coach.His wife, Marie (Ti l d e rq u i s t ), isd i rector of the Lake MillsCommunity Preschool and Daycare .B.J. Van Kalsbeek e a rned his M.Div.d e g ree from We s t e rn TheologicalS e m i n a ry last November and waso rdained in the Reformed Churc hin America in December. He completeda nine-month chaplaincy re s-idency program at Bro n s o nMethodist Hospital in Kalamazoo,Mich., in May and now works as as t a ff chaplain at Mercy MedicalCenter in Sioux City. His wife,Manda (Nelson), is an office coord i-nator for Bethany Christian Serv i c e sin Sioux City.’ 0 0Ry a n and Jackie (Van Engen) Fre e s elive in Hart l e y, Iowa. Ryan is ana g ronomist for the Hefty SeedCompany in Sheldon. Jackie, whocompleted a bachelor’s degree inphysician assistant studies at theUniversity of South Dakota, is aphysician assistant with Iowa LakesO rthopaedics in Spirit Lake.B ryan Haverh a l s received his maste r ’s degree in structural engineeringf rom the University of Texas in May.He now works for Bro c k e t t e / D a v i s /Drake Inc. in Dallas.John Paul Sundararajan g r a d u a t e dwith an M.Div. degree from We s t e rnTheological Seminary in May. He isnow living in Bangalore, India, servingas the overseas projects dire c t o rfor Audio Scripture Ministries.’ 0 1Angie Ferg u s o n has graduated fro mBethany <strong>College</strong> of Missions inMinneapolis, receiving a two-yearc e rtificate in Bible and cro s s - c u l t u r-al missions. She now lives in KansasC i t y, Mo., where she is an interc e s-s o ry missionary at the Intern a t i o n a lHouse of Prayer, part of a 24/7prayer and worship eff o rt .Gina (Wenzel) Gre e n e, Orange City,is an athletic trainer with the Centerfor Neurosciences, Ort h o p a e d i c sand Spine.Jacqueline Nockels is in her thirdyear of medical school through DesMoines University. She is living inS a n d u s k y, Ohio, rotating with doctorsin clinics and hospitals for thenext two years. She re p o rts thats h e ’s very excited to start the workGod has for her through daily interactionwith patients.’02Chris Anderson works in the developmentoffice at The Cradle, a nonprofit adoption agency in Evanston,Ill. He lives in Chicago.’ 0 3Kristin Bre e m s is a Nort h w e s t e rnadmissions counselor.Lindsay Clay is working as anadmissions counselor for NWC.Craig Dalen is a resident director atMessiah <strong>College</strong> in Grantham, Pa.Ezra Johnson works as a re s i d e n td i rector at Indiana We s l e y a nUniversity in Marion.Matthew Nienhuis is working inc o m m e rcial lending at Nort hCascades National Bank in Chelan,Wa s h .Nick Scholten is an admissionscounselor at Nort h w e s t e rn .Kelly (Huizenga) Van Mare l works inthe financial aid department atGeneva <strong>College</strong> in Beaver <strong>Fall</strong>s, Pa.Her husband, Brandon ’02, is pursuinga master’s degree in higher educa t i o n .Meagan (Wells) Wa l l i n g ais the computersupport specialist atN o rt h w e s t e rn. Her husband, M i k e’ 0 1, teaches in Nort h w e s t e rn ’s computerscience depart m e n t .Nathan Wo l f is working as anadmissions counselor for NWC.New A r r i v a l sMark and R o b e rta (Vander Pol ’84)B r i g h t m a n, son, Malachi Erro l ,2 7 ▲ F a l l 2 0 0 3