Horizons Spring 2001 - Bemidji State University

Horizons Page 4
Going Global
Going Global
Gains Popularity with BSU Students
E“ very time we’ve stepped forward with another BSU
program for international studies, our students have
responded. All of our programs are at capacity.”
Dr. Jon Quistgaard
Barb Lundberg arrived on the
Bemidji State campus to earn a
degree in social studies and secondary
education. Along the way,
her studies have taken her to Italy,
France, Czechoslovakia, Thailand
and Malaysia.
The experience is priceless, according
to Lundberg, who believes
that her travels will be an
asset to her teaching career and
allow her to share special insights
with her students.
“I’ve gained a wealth of knowledge
from my travels, things that
books can’t teach you and that
teachers just can’t teach you,”
Lundberg said. “It broadens your
horizons and opens your mind, like
in Malaysia where we saw so much
poverty, but so much happiness.”
Lundberg is part of a growing
number of BSU students who seek
international experiences to expand
their understanding of the
world and enrich their education.
The University encourages students
to study abroad by offering
organized study tours at affordable
prices and building exchange
programs with other universities
abroad. As a result, BSU has a
record number of students participating
in international programs.
In addition, the University has
incorporated global perspectives
into all areas of its curriculum so
that all BSU students, whether or
not they travel abroad, are exposed
to global issues and the opportunities
that exist for collaboration
across borders.
Part of the liberal education at
BSU also includes a study area
called “Focus on the World” from
which students choose courses
that specifically address global
issues and perspectives.
“Our society used to be much
more inward looking in orientation,
but we’re entering an era of
growing global interdependence,”
said Dr. Jon Quistgaard, BSU vice
president for academic and student
affairs. “Today’s challenges
and opportunities require students
to gain a global perspective.”
That interdependence is evident
in all areas of study whether it’s
philosophical issues, environmental
concerns, world peace or scientific
research. And BSU students
recognize that, regardless of
where they settle down, their lives
and work will be carried out as
part of a global community.
“Every time we’ve stepped forward
with another BSU program
for international studies, our students
have responded,” Quistgaard
added. “All of our programs are
at capacity.”
Over the last few years, BSU has
added new programs and opportu-
Where We Are ... What We’re Doing
(Continued from page 3)
teaching religious
education. She has two
grown children, a son
and a daughter ... Joe
Rezac (’65) of Baxter
will retire at the end of
this school year after 36
years of teaching and
coaching, with 33 of
those spent in Brainerd
... Michael DeWitt
(’66) and his brothers,
Joe Rezac Terry and Martin,
recently exhibited their art works at Lizzard’s Gallery in
Duluth. DeWitt teaches at BSU and creates small realist
panel paintings and assemblage.
1970s
Richard Belpedio (’72) of Coon Rapids retired in June
from 34 years of teaching, mostly in the Anoka
Hennepin school district. He and his wife Nancy, also a
teacher, have two daughters, Erin, 11, and Emilie, 9 ...
Bruce Phelps (’78) is director of vocal music and
department chairman at Anoka High School. He’s also
the choir director at Anoka Methodist Church, teaches a
choral music methods class at St. Olaf College, and is the
author of a sight singing series ... Jerry Engelbrecht
(’72) recently retired from a 28-year career with the
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. He’d been
a conservation officer/pilot since 1972 and was
promoted to chief pilot in 1987. During his career, he
was a conservation officer in Crookston, a regional
supervisor in Brainerd and DNR chief pilot at Camp
Ripley. He and his wife, Verla, live in Brainerd and have
two children, Kate and Judd, who both live in New York
City ... Teri Brooks (’76) was selected from more than
2,000 applicants to tour Japan as a participant in the
Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program. The
program allows distinguished primary and secondary
school teachers in the U.S. to travel to Japan for three
weeks in an effort to promote greater intercultural
understanding between the two nations. Brooks is
currently teaching elementary physical education in
Sauk Centre. She’s previously lived in Bemidji and
Laporte ... Rick McBride (’78) teaches high school math
and coaches cross-county running and track in Warroad
where he’s lived since 1985. Last fall his boys crosscountry
team captured the Section 8A Meet and went on
to place fifth at the State Class A Meet. He’s been married
to his wife, Therese, for 20 years and they have two
children, Allen, 12, and Kallie, 9 ... Mike Newman (’74)
has been named manager of corporate contributions and
vice president of The St. Paul Companies, Inc.
Foundation. He manages the company’s grants program,
which will award more than $12 million in grants
throughout the world this year. Newman joined The St.
Paul in February 1997 to lead the company’s community
affairs work in field offices. Prior to that he worked with
the Minnesota Department of Human Services for 14
years ... Glenn Chiodo (’75) assumed the position of
superintendent of Renville County West Schools last fall.
He’d been working at Thief River Falls since1975 where
he was hired as an elementary instructor and coach of
nities for students to study abroad.
Today, more than 100 students each
year participate in one of three
major BSU study aboard programs:
• Eurospring, a five-week program
of study in Oxford, England,
and a three-week tour of
Europe;
• Sinosummer, two weeks of
study at Liaoning University in
Shenyang, People’s Republic of
China, along with a study tour;
and
• J-term in Malaysia, BSU’s newest
study abroad program, which
includes study at the Higher Education
Learning Program (HELP)
Institute in Kuala Lumpur.
More BSU sponsored J-term
trips — travel aboard experiences
BSU J-Term students in Malaysia
football, hockey and track and field. His administrative
experience at Thief River Falls includes five years as an
assistant principal, the principal at the middle school,
and coordinator of educational services. He and his wife,
Patty, have three children ... Cheryl Larson (’78) was
hired this fall to teach eighth grade math at Annandale
middle school. Her husband, Lowell, is also a teacher in
the Annandale District and they have three children.
She’s taught math and science to seventh- and eighthgrade
students at Elk River, St. Cloud Christian School
and at Maple Lake. She was also a substitute teacher at
St. Cloud Area Learning Center ... Scott Thurlow (‘ 77)
was hired this fall as a teacher at Eagle Valley schools.
He’d previously worked for seven years at the Bug-O-
Nay-Ge-Shig School at Leech Lake Reservation, one
year for the Bering Strait School District in Alaska and
also at several other Minnesota schools ... Rebecca
Tischer (’78) moved from a part-time to a full-time
teaching position at Itasca Community College this fall
and is teaching business and technology courses ...Kurt
Marben (’74) has been named to the Ninth Judicial
District trial court bench. He’d been an attorney with the
law firm of Charlson, Marben and Jorgenson in Thief
River Falls since 1977 and had become a partner in that
firm. Marben lives in Thief River Falls with his wife,
Brenda, and their three children, John, Ann and Beth ...
Fran Roux (’70) took a position this fall teaching
elementary music at Winsted Elementary School and at
Holy Trinity Elementary, plus English as a second
language at Howard Lake. She and her husband,
Charles, live in Buffalo and have three sons and a fivemonth-old
granddaughter. Roux had taught second
grade at Warren for 18 years as well as choreographing
held over the January or June break
— are planned including a program
in Iceland this June, a trip to
the legendary Mount Kilimanjaro
in South Africa, and another to
Machu Picchu in Peru to explore
the ruins of the Inca civilization.
In addition, approximately 60
BSU choir members travel to Europe
on a spring tour every three
years and others participate in faculty-led
small study groups that in
the last year have included trips
to Spain, Italy and France.
The BSU Sinosummer trip to
China last summer was a lifechanging
experience for Lori
Otto, a BSU senior sociology
major. She now corresponds regularly
with three friends from
high school musicals and working with the cheerleading
team. . . Rev. Glen Proechel (’77) and his wife, Maryse,
of Red Lake Falls are currently in Hangzhou, People’s
Republic of China, where he’s teaching English as a
foreign language and is active with the Si-Cheng Chinese
Protestant Church. They expect to return to the U.S. in
July. Proechel has been admitted to the doctoral program
at Theological Seminary in St. Paul and began his studies
prior to leaving for China. The educational program in
China is being sponsored through the Minnesota
Department of Children, Family and Learning ... John
Schauble (’73) of Lake Zurich, IL, is in his 11 th year of
teaching and coaching at Stevenson High School in
Lincolnshire, IL. He coaches distance runners and has
been nominated for a Golden Apple Award for teaching ...
Thomas Leustek (’71) of Willow River has been a
teacher at Willow River School for 29 years and has
developed the schools biology program with a strong
emphasis on environmental issues and an appreciation of
the outdoors. His students have been competing in the
Eviro-Thon program since 1995 and qualified for
nationals by winning the Minnesota state competition in
1997. He and his wife,
Jean, have a son and two
daughters ... Steven
Savageau (’74) has been
appointed manager of
administrative services
for the St. Louis County
Historical Society where
he will be responsible for
Steven Savageau
membership, volunteer
coordination, public
Shenyang and hopes to participate
in the program again as part of her
senior thesis project.
“When you come back, you
look at everything differently,”
said Otto, who now has more interest
than ever in her international
studies minor. “Students in China
move into a dorm room with five
to nine other people.”
One of Otto’s favorite experiences
in China was the chance to
visit with Chinese students. “Students
will crowd around Americans
when they see you on the
streets,” she said. “They’ll sit and
listen for hours. They’ll talk about
movies, music, school, families,
anything. It can be really intimate
if you want it to be.”
Bemidji State also has agreements
with more than 25 universities
around that world that allows
students to start their studies
overseas and then finish at
BSU as well as BSU students to
study at universities abroad.
Whether students travel abroad
or interact with international students
at BSU, the experiences are
invaluable, according to Dr. Bob
Ley, an economics professor who
sits on the BSU international studies
council.
“In the discussions that we
have, one of the things that we talk
about is how to make these experiences
more accessible to students,”
he said. “BSU can be
proud that for years, they’ve taken
the lead in setting up these opportunities.”
relations, and administrative support while also serving
as assistant to the director of the society. He is a retired Air
Force weather officer and lives in Duluth with his
children, Robert and Emily ... Ron Schoonover (’79) has
been hired as an assistant director of communications for
the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University. He
took the position after concluding a lengthy newspaper
career in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa and changing
careers in 1990. Since then he’s worked as a graphic
designer on several nationally known magazines and
publications. He lives with his wife, Joan, and their
children, Anna and Ryan, in St. Cloud ... Randy Fulton
(’79) of White Bear Lake recently opened a new store in
White Bear Lake called Vacation Sports. The business
rents recreational equipment and sells outdoor gear ...
Sharon Botelle-Sherman (’74) of Woodbury, CT, works
as a marketing communications coordinator with
Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Connecticut ...
Nancy Ainsworth Flynn (’76) of Brookings, SD, is
married and has four children. She works part-time with
the Thief River Falls American Red Cross as a chapter
manager ... Rick Nelson (’79) of Thief River Falls is
taking a sabbatical from Northland and is working with
the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission and serving
as a lobbyist for MCLFA during this year’s legislative
session ... Timothy Fairchild (’72) of East Grand Forks
is president of American Federal Bank. He and his wife,
Marva, have three children, ages 15,14 and 9 ... Jim
Balfour (’78) has been named manager of creative
services with JPG Communications Inc., an advertising,
marketing and public relations firm based in Virginia. He
is responsible for management and oversight of the
creative department that includes strategic planning,