14th March
2012
Here you will post a short autobiography. Share about your personal background as well as your educational background and aspirations (including…what’s your major and what are you planning to do after graduation).
19 Comments
Leave a Reply
ABOUT
This is a monthly blog updated by Haiti 2012 participants.
RECENT POSTS
25th May 2012
28th April 2012
09th April 2012
14th March 2012
14th March 2012
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « May | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
Hey,
My name is Kiley Eckenrod; I am currently a sophomore at Upper Iowa University. I am currently majoring in Sports Administration with a minor in Graphic Design. Before attending Upper Iowa University, I graduated high school from Central Lyon High School. After high school, I attended Morningside College for a semester and then North Iowa Area Community College for a semester, and now attending Upper Iowa University.
During high school I was mainly involved in sports, I played basketball, track, softball, and I was also a football manager. During college I played softball at North Iowa Area Community College. Some of my hobbies are playing sports, watching movies, and hanging out with my family and friends.
My hometown is Rock Rapids, Iowa; which is in the far northwest corner of Iowa (5 hours from Fayette). My family consists of my dad-Bruce, mom-Rachel, and I have one younger brother-Kalen. We also have one pet cat, her name is Dottie.
After graduating from Upper Iowa University, I plan on going to graduate school to earn a master’s degree in Sports Management, Sports Marketing, or Sports Administration. My dream job is to work for the Minnesota Twins or the Minnesota Viking, so after getting my master’s degree I am going to try and get and internship with either the Twins or Vikings and hopefully that will turn into a job.
I just want to say that I am excited to get to know all of you and I am very excited about the trip! It’s almost here!
Hello Everyone,
My name is Timothy Rueb for those who do not know I am a freshman here at Upper Iowa University. I play soccer for the peacocks and I am a Resident Assistant. My major is business because I love anything and everything to do with money, profit, and seeing something go from small to large. I am from Stillwater Minnesota that is a city right outside of Minneapolis and St. Paul, roughly three and a half hours north of good old Fayette Iowa. I have two sisters one younger one older, older sister Kirstie Rueb is a junior at St. Cloud State and my younger sister Abby is a sophomore in high school. My father’s name is Roy Rueb and my Mother’s name is Colleen. We have a dog named Hanna. I grew up playing soccer but for fun I like to play all sports, I played for a lacrosse team for a year and ran track most of high school. I love trucks it is almost creepy how much I love them I used to have a 1999 Silverado with a little lift kit on it but due to college tuition I had to pay for I had to sell my truck. Now I drive a little old Nissan but hey it is paid for. I enjoy snowmobiling and four wheeling on my free time, I also enjoy going out on my father’s boat on a nice hot summer day. Well this is the basic overview of me I am very friendly and look forward to meeting everyone.
Thank you
Timothy Rueb
Hi all. My name is C. Daniel Beasley, but I prefer to be called Daniel (my middle name) although you may notice Calvin or C. Daniel depending on the email address used. I’m an alumnus of UIU, graduating last year with my BS:Business Administration. I was primarily an online student, but I also utilized independent study and IEXL courses to complete my degree. That said, I am somewhat familiar with the Fayette campus, despite living in Glendale, WI. I’m currently pursuing my MBA with UIU in Financial Management, and should graduate in the fall of 2013.
I traveled to Haiti last year with the group and am returning this year because I believe in what PID is accomplishing in Haiti. In addition to Haiti, I’ve been priveleged to travel quite a bit several years back including: Mexico, Canada, Israel, Egypt, Austria, Germany, Russia, Siberia, Netherlands, Italy, and American Samoa. I love to travel and enjoy doing “missions” type work when able.
My roommate, Kevin Firth, is also going on the trip and went last year as well. I currently work for Speedway, LLC., which is the convenience store chain owned by Marathon Petroleum Corporation. I enjoy my job, but may be moving with Kevin depending upon his educational continuance.
I was born in Conway, AR and raised in Toadsuck, AR on a small cattle farm. I moved to WI to work for A&W at a location operated by Kevin’s family. I’ve lived in WI since October of 2008 and truly enjoy the cooler weather compared to AR, even with the normally cold winters.
I look forward to sharing in each of your experience as we travel to Haiti and make a difference in the lives of those affected by the earthquake and overall poverty conditions of Haiti.
Hello,
My name is Dr. Steffanie Scholze. I am an Assistant Professor of Psychology on Upper Iowa\\\’s Fayette campus. I am originally from Pardeeville, Wisconsin. I completed all of my college education in Wisconsin. I went to UW-Madison for my undergraduate degree in Rehabilitation Psychology. I completed my master\\\’s in Community Counseling and my PhD in Counseling Psychology at UW-Milwaukee. Prior to my employment at Upper Iowa, I worked as a therapist for 10 years for children and adolescents with a variety of mental health concerns. My original background was working with children who have autism. I later switched to providing in-home therapy and then transitioned into working at a hospital. My job at Wheaton involved emergency room consultations and I also worked in psychiatric inpatient treatment. This was probably my favorite therapy job due to the variety of clients that I was able to work with and I never new what was going to happen while in the ER. Finally, I worked in corrections with adolescents at a location called Ethan Allen. After finishing my doctorate, I decided that it was time to take a break from being a therapist and transition into academia.
I recently moved to Independence, IA where I bought a home with my significant other, Josh. I have a pomeranian-toy poodle mix dog named Milo, who is like my child. My current interests are revolving around my new house. We will be working to redo our bathrooms and finish the basement. I will be learning a lot renovating skills in the coming months.
Hi
My name is Scott Richardson Jr, I was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV with my older sibling Teri. Moved to Milwaukee,WI when i was in the 8th grade. I Attended two High Schools through out my 4 years of high school i first started out at Milaukee Vincent, then transfered to Brown Deer hingh in the Village of Brown Deer; that is were i recived my high school diploma graudrating class of 2011. love to stay active and play sports i ran track in high school and made it to state Jr and Sr year, i also played football;I\\\’ve played varsity sice i was a freshman in high school and started linebacker all four years. Now I am a freshman at Upper Iowa University on the main campus. I recently joined the football team, i am a Criminalogy major, want to becaome a cop with this type of degree, I love basic math but not the type of math with letters in it, and i cant wait to meet everyone in May on the Haiti trip, were we can all help out the people who needs a hand. in life.
My name is Carol Voss. I am a wife and mother of three adult children. That was kind of hard to type since my youngest just turned 18 two weeks ago. I am a registered nurse and am completing my BSN with this class. My husband, Dan, and I live in Decorah with our two youngest children. I am typing this on March 30, which is our 27the wedding anniversary. Dan is a product manager for Tritech, and is a volunteer firefighter. Dan is going on the Haiti trip, too.
Our oldest two children have double majors in math and computer science and are both software engineers for different healthcare IT companies. Our oldest, Sara, lives in Kansas City, MO and works for Cerner. Our son, Adam, works in Decorah and is living at home because we haven’t started to charge him rent yet. He’s only 20, so we are cutting him some slack, since he managed to complete a four year degree in two years. Our youngest, Erin, is a senior in high school and wants to be an environmental engineer.
In addition to my current career as a nurse, I have worked in the banking industry, the school, and Winneshiek County Public Health as support staff. I have also been a full-time mom and had my own home bakery. I grew up in a large family on a farm near McGregor, IA. I have lived in northeast Iowa all my life. We enjoy camping, biking and spending time outdoors. For the past four years, we have taken a week-long motorcycle trip with a group of friends from Decorah and also enjoy weekend motorcycle trips, too.
Hi my name is Moriah Otto. I am 19 years old and am not currently attending school. I have 3 older brothers who have kind of created me to be tough as nails. I am a long time friend of Tim Rueb’s and he invited me on this trip knowing how passionate I am for Haiti. I went to Hill-Murray High School near the twin cities of Minnesota where I participated in track and soccer all four years. I was very involved in school and did fairly well in both academics and athletics. However I decided to take the year off from attending college and went to live in Haiti for three months. It was one of the mot nerve racking thing I have ever done. Little to no communication with friends and family, going to live in a place with conditions very different then I was used to, and not knowing anyone was a little scary to me. I served as a Group trip intern for my three months down there for Mission of Hope. I led mission teams around Haiti visiting villages, orphanages, and leading in various construction projects. I had the best time of my life and Haiti taught me more about myself then I ever could have imagined. Currently I am working at lifetime fitness and coaching track but will be attending the University of Minnesota next year to study social work and cultural studies. I hope to someday work with an international adoption agency. I can\\\\\\\’t wait to be back to Haiti in a place I love and feel so comfortable!
Hi,
I am Claudia Cherney a fifty one year old senior at UIU, and working towards a degree in Human Services, with a minor in Psychology, along with a certificate in Social Work. My plans after graduating are to begin work on my master’s degree, and start my search for a new position. In the back of my mind my heart wants me to travel and help counsel those in devastating situations.
I was born and raised in Williams Bay Wisconsin, a town of 1,300 people. My father worked for an oil company, long hard hours for little pay. My Mother was an at home mom who made extra money as a seamstress for local residents. I am the youngest of four children. Our parents sacrificed many luxuries so that we had our mom at home during the day and both at home most nights and on weekends. My summers as a child were spent swimming in the lake, and playing kick the can at night with the neighborhood children. We lived a simple life, yet I always felt rich with love and happiness.
I went to the University of Wisconsin La Crosse after high school, but got lost in the system, with no guidance, direction, confidence, was lonely, and afraid. I took off after a few semesters and traveled out west with a boyfriend. These experiences helped me understand the feeling of inner peace; I endured the fears of being so far away from those I loved, but also the joy of meeting so many interesting individuals. I absolutely loved hiking the mountains. I worked with the Mormon’s in Wyoming, and also the fishermen and Native Americans in northern California.
In between these years I waitressed, was in the banking industry, received my insurance licenses and sold all types of insurance through State Farm, was married and divorced to my first son’s father, lived in the suburbs of Chicago, and then ended up back in the lakes area here in Wisconsin. Currently I am working as a patient access representative for the largest hospital system in Wisconsin, in their ER. I am also part of the Visiting Nurses Association and volunteer in their hospice program, which I have currently put on hold for a bit.
My time is spread thin right now because I am a caregiver, along with one of my brothers, for my mom who has Alzheimer’s. It has been devastating to see her, a recently retired librarian, deteriorate in her mind. Her confusion is so sad, it worries me daily, and her future is something I am trying to prepare for; but on the other hand am trying not to think about it.
My husband and I also supervise his older brother who is mentally disadvantaged, he takes many meds., has anxiety, temper and drinking issues, and just recently was burned in a house fire, requiring six weeks in the burn unit of a hospital, and now some rehab at a local nursing home.
To relieve stress I love bicycling, kayaking, and walking. (Sometimes screaming really helps!!!) lol
My primary job is the mother of three boys and a wife with a man whom I have been with for twenty two years!!!! I would not be who I am if it was not for my relationship with each one of them. I have learned confidence, strength and forgiveness from my husband. Each one of my sons has taught me acceptance, unconditional love, and the drive to push for social change in this world. They are amazing, and I truly believe that the younger generation is the change we need in this world.
I cannot wait to get to know all of you!
Hello everyone!
I am Jane Bushnell from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
I am 52 years old and been happily married for 33 years to my husband Randy who is an engineer for 3M.
We have 3 children – Amber is 28, married, and a chemical engineer for the 3M company. Chris is 26, married and graduated in finance from UW LaCrosse. Amanda is 23, and graduated in economics from UW Madison.
We are now proud grandparents to Mason who is 8 months old.
We also have two cats that we rescued; their names are Emmy and Puffball.
I have worked in the HR/management field for the past 30 years.
I am currently employed with Lori Knapp Companies as their Corporate Human Resources and Marketing Director. Lori Knapp Companies is a human services agency that provides long term care services for the elderly and people with different abilities. I thoroughly enjoy my job as it is challenging and fast-paced.
I received my Associate Degree in Human Resources 33 years ago but had always wanted to obtain my Psychology degree. Now that I have raised my children and supported them through college (all have their degrees), I decided it was my turn so I enrolled at Upper Iowa 2 years ago. I have completed 13 classes with 4 to go. It is difficult and challenging going back to school after 33 years, but it is also very rewarding.
I do not plan on changing careers as my current job position provides me with all the opportunities and challenges I need . This degree is for my own personal achievement.
In my spare time I enjoy reading, traveling, and spending quality time with family and friends.
I also spend a great deal of time volunteering for non-profit organizations. My current focus is working for the Futures scholarship program in Prairie du Chien where I serve as the President and scholarship coordinator for this organization.
I am so looking forward to our Haiti trip and getting to know everyone.
Jane
Hi
My name is Carol Langerman-Aten. I work and attend school at the Upper Iowa Univ. Fayette campus. I started working here in 2003 in the grounds department (for 5 years), then I switched to the mailroom (for 3 1/2 years), and I recently moved into a housekeeping position. I\’ve enjoyed every job that I\’ve had and every class I\’ve taken. My major is business and I plan to stay at UIU after I graduate.
I have a husband Steve (retired from John Deere), and a son Dylan. Dylan is 20 and currently a sophomore at UIU, majoring in Art and Graphic Design. I would like to graduate with him but since he is a full-time student and I am only part-time that probably won\’t happen. I also have a wonderful step-daughter Katie, son-in-law Brian and two grandchildren. Caleb will be 10 soon and Molly is 5.
Fayette is my home town. After I graduated from high school I moved to Waterloo, IA and lived there for 15 years. While there, I attended Hawkeye Institute of Technology and received a two year degree in Marketing Management and Data Entry. I also went to Carlson College of Massage Therapy in Cedar Rapids, IA and am a Licensed Massage Therapist. About 16 years ago I had the opportunity to buy a family farm three miles north of Fayette and we have lived there ever since.
I enjoy kayaking, motorcycle riding and bicycle riding. I am a proud member of UIU’s “Team Peacock.” We ride our bicycles across Iowa every July (RAGBRAI =Registers Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) to raise money for scholarships to give to UIU students so they can graduate with less debt. This year will be my seventh year with the team.
I am very excited about the Haiti trip and look forward to meeting everyone.
Hi everyone, my name is Dan Voss. I am 46 years old and I am the husband of Carol Voss. Carol and I have been married for 27 years and we have 3 children, the youngest of which will graduate from high school in May.
I’ve lived in Iowa all of my life, most of it in Northeast Iowa. I grew up in Monona. Since Carol and I got married, we have lived in St. Olaf, Farmersburg, Charles City, West Union, and now Decorah.
I’ve had a fairly diverse job history. A ‘few’ years ago, when I was graduating from high school, I wanted to work in broadcasting as a reporter and was on track to go to college with the intention of getting a degree in journalism. That plan got shelved during my senior year when I went to visit with the local radio station owner about my intended career and got offered a full time job. As I saw it, I had two choices, I could pay a college to teach me the skills I needed to get a job in broadcasting, or I could go to work in broadcasting and get paid while I learned the industry.
The decision to go straight into the workforce has worked out pretty well for me. While I was working at the radio station, I learned that I seem to have a natural talent for understanding technology. While I was working on-air at the radio station, I also began assisting with the engineering and equipment maintenance tasks. By the time that I decided I had spent enough time in the broadcast industry, I was no longer working on-air, but was in charge of the engineering/equipment maintenance for 3 FM and 2 AM stations in Northeast Iowa.
From broadcasting, I moved to the mobile communications industry working for a company that sold, installed, and serviced two-way radio systems for businesses and farmers. We also branched into providing microwave data communication networks for businesses in the Upper Midwest. I worked in a variety of roles for this company, including sales, system design, installation, troubleshooting and repair. During this time, I also earned my private pilot’s license.
My last career change was 14 years ago when I jumped from hardware technology to software. I started in the technical support department of Sweet Computer Services in West Union. Through a couple acquisitions, I now work for TriTech Software Systems as a Product Manager in charge of our billing and computer aided dispatch applications that are marketed to ambulance services nationwide.
While work and family occupy a lot of time, I am a volunteer firefighter on the Decorah Fire Department with a Firefighter I certification, am a cantor at St. Benedict’s Catholic Church and sing in the Contemporary Song Group at St. Benedict’s.
I also enjoy motorcycling and camping. Carol and I have taken the motorcycle to Niagara Falls, Rocky Mountain National Park, Memphis/Nashville, and many shorter trips in the last 5 years. Our camping trips with our travel trailer the last several years have been limited primarily to Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Hello all! My name Andrea Floyd but I go by Drea. I am in the RN-BSN program @ UIU and mainly attend classes @ the Des Moines Center. I grew up in Tama, IA & went to South Tama County HS. I have lived in Cedar Rapids, IA, Montezuma, IA & for a very short period Glen Cove, Long Island, NY. I received my ADN (RN) from Indian Hills CC in Ottumwa, IA after a longer time period than I had expected for a college degree. Right after high school I attended Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, a school known for its nursing program. Even all of my roommates were nursing majors, but in my ignorance I kept asking them “why they wanted to be a nurse?” I had only interacted with a school or the nurses at my doctor’s office, and absolutely thought that would be the most boring job ever! Then during a series of family illnesses resulting in frequent exposure to hospitals, my opinion change. Unfortunately, the change happened after I dropped out of MMC & had a few less than stellar life changes. Anyways, long story short, I have been a Registered Nurse for 2 years now, and currently work in the ED @ Grinnell Regional Medical Center.
I have two dogs, Gus & Gizmo. I have a brother, (he’s 19 years older than I am) who lives in Minneapolis with his wife & two sons. I have a sister, (she’s 17 years older than I am) who lives in Dewitt, IA with her husband & daughter. I was kind of an oops! My parents had just celebrated their 45 wedding anniversary when my dad passed away suddenly.
I will have only two classes left to complete my BSN degree after our trip to Haiti, but I still do not know what I am going to do with it. Maybe someday I’ll figure it out.
I am looking forward to our trip & getting to know all of you!
Hi, My name is Shelley Klimesh. I am from Sumner Iowa and currently a sophmore at Upper Iowa University. I am involved as a member of Beta Theta Omega and have decided to be as active as possible throughout the next 2 years at Upper Iowa University. In doing this, I try to attend as many programs or group activities as I possibly can. I am a mother of 3, my two oldest children attend Upper Iowa University as well. My daughter Alyssa will be going to Haiti as well. My son wrestles for Upper Iowa so this keeps me very busy from October through January. Although he was a red shirt freshman this year, we were traveling for tournaments every week. I am a Psychology major and am also a Human Services major. I am a nontraditional student am a little rusty at this “homework” thing. I am employed at Pavo Blue, in Fayette Iowa. Pavo Blue is a coffee house that is owned by the University. I never knew there could be so many types of coffee’s.
In my free time, I enjoy motorcycle riding, my children and family time. I also have a new puppy she is a cocker spaniel and her name is Abby. She is a very spoiled dog so I am not sure how it will go with being gone for a week. I am looking forward to meeting you all soon and working with you to make a difference in Haiti. I have been on mission trips before and it is truly the most rewarding thing I have other done.
I am Alyssa Salisbury from Sumner Iowa. I am a transfer freshman at Upper Iowa University. I am majoring in Human Services with a minor in Psychology. I am a Certified Nurse’s Aide and Med Aide at a nursing home in Tripoli Iowa. I have worked as a Certified Nurse’s assistant for about 5 years now.
I attend college full time and work full time so I don’t have much of a chance to meet other students at Upper Iowa unless they are in my class. I am about to be 22 years of age and have never traveled outside of the states. When I was a freshman in high school, I went on a mission trip through our church to Mississippi to help clean up from a disaster they had down there. I enjoy helping people and think everyone should at some point in their life do a community service project or mission. I don’t have a lot of free time but when I do, I enjoy fishing, friends and family.
My mom, Shelley Klimesh is also going on this trip and I am looking forward to participating in a service project with her. We attend Upper Iowa together and have had 2 classes together. Some people think this is different but it works out good for us. My brother also attends Upper Iowa and wrestles for the Peacocks. I also have a younger brother who is a freshman in high school. Although I am the oldest of the 3 of us, they are both 6 ft tall compare to my 5’5.
Hello Everyone,
Let me first express how thrilled I am to get to know each of you throughout the course of the next 8 weeks. I love meeting new people and communicating and expressing different ways of thinking and understanding ideas pertaining to life, opinions, and everything that falls in-between.
My name is Jennie, I\’m 22 years old and live downtown Madison, WI. I grew up about an hour north of Madison in a small town with my family of five. I grew up with my Mom, Dad, and two sisters, Kellie and Morgan, all of which I am very close to. After graduating high school, I moved to Madison where I attending school for Fashion Marketing. Shortly after graduation, I move to New York City where I was the Apparel manager at Anthropologie on 5th Ave. After twelve interesting, yet amazing months in the city, I decided my heart was in another place other than the world of fashion. I moved back to Madison last January and have been a live-out nanny for a wonderful family, which of whom I adore. I’m also working as the VSA at Anthropologie in Hilldale mall.
Currently, I am a year away from graduating with a Bachelor in Psychology, which I plan to use toward a career in Social work. I’ve taken at least ten online classes here at Upper Iowa and feel confident in my ability to navigate my classes via the virtual world. In this class, I am looking forward to learning more about society, people, and cultures throughout the world. My goal is to absorb as much information as I can in these next eight weeks and use it to benefit my knowledge and understanding, that will ultimately help me in my career as a Social worker.
I enjoy sports (volleyball, baseball, snowboarding, football) running, fashion, reading, and traveling. I would love to be able to travel the world someday and embrace myself in the many cultures this world has to offer.
Hello all,
My name is Kevin Firth, I am 29 years old, and I am not an alcoholic. I live in Milwaukee with my roommate Daniel Beasley (also in the UIU Haiti group) and with our three Jack Russell Terriers. I graduated from UIU last year and I am starting Law School this fall! I grew up in Oklahoma and graduated from Collinsville high school in 2001 and flunked out of college my first year. I went to work in Communications where I worked for Leap wireless (cricket) and AT&T in the wireless division. Eventually I went to sleep by a tree and woke up in Wisconsin where I helped my dad open up a chain of restaurants but they went a bust and we closed them last year.
I am an avid reader; some of my favorite authors are Ayn Rand, Thomas Sowell, and Gregory Maguire. Love TV and movies: South Park and Family Guy are the best shows in the history of TV. Speaking of history, I am also a history buff, love to read anything about history, Haitian, American, French, Wookie, Vulcan etc. I love to argue and discuss current events and politics…however; the smart ones always say if you want a group to remain civil then do not discuss politics or religion. I like to joke around a lot and I have a very playful personality…just so yall’ know. This will be my second year to travel to Haiti with Dr. Eller and Dr. Neely and I am very excited to meet the group.
Kevin Firth
Hello everyone, I’m Amy Doeppke. I’m a freshman at Upper Iowa University, with a double major in Criminology and Sociology. My goal after graduation is to become a k-9 unit officer and work with the border patrol in Texas. Before coming to Upper Iowa I graduated from Central Community School in Elkader Iowa. In high school I was involved in drama and speech clubs. Along with that I was a big time 4-Her and is currently a leader of two clover kid clubs. I enjoy working with the kids and helping them involved in the community. Beside school and 4-H I work two jobs. I do an after school program at Central Community School and I work at Subway in Elkader. There is one this that I love doing in my free time and that is martial arts. I’m a 3rd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I love to compete in tournaments. At Upper Iowa I joined a martial arts club, and just got my orange belt in Kenpo.
Being the youngest in the family is not the easiest. I have two older sister, Jenny who is married and has three kids and my other sister Erin who just got married in September. Yes, we did get in a lot of fights when we were younger, but now we are like best friends. My mom (Julie) and my dad (Brian) still can’t believe that we this.
I’m so happy to be going on this trip with every one of you. I know we will have a great time working together to help the people of Haiti!!
Hey,
My name is Kassell Lebert. I am currently a sophomore majoring in Education with endorsements in math, reading, coaching, and special needs. While being at Upper Iowa, I am a active member of Phi Beta Delta, and hold an officer position. Along with being a member, I work part-time at Rainbow Land Daycare. I plan to student teach in Adlen, Texas, a low-income school for my senior year through the Upper Iowa program. I am from Mount Pleasant, which is located in the Southeast corner of Iowa. During high school I was very active in all sports, in fact came to Upper Iowa for softball, but did not continue to play due to my knee. My hobbies include working out, hanging out with my sorority sisters, and helping out others. After graduating Upper Iowa, I plan to continue living in Texas teaching, and attending night classes to fulfill my master’s degree in education. While in Texas, my dream job would be to teach any range of children that live in poverty. Along with teaching, I would love to have a part-time job working the special olympics or at least volunteering when possible. I look forward to meeting everyone!
Hello all,
My name is Eric Eller, Associate Professor of International Business, and I am co-teacher for this course with my wife, Katrina Farren-Eller. We got married last August and rode our bikes to our wedding by a river.
This is the third year I have helped lead this service learning opportunity to Haiti and I am encouraged to see such a large group! I have previously co-lead service learning experiences (Alternative Spring Breaks) to Puerto Rico, to work at an orphanage, and California, to work with Habitat for Humanity. Additionally, I have co-led past student travel courses to Cuba, Russia, Germany, the Galapagos, Peru, Ecuador, Egypt, Turkey, and Greece.
I have two kids–Elizabeth is a first-year at Cornell College and Josh is an 8th grader–and two step-sons–Rio and Benj are sophomores at UIU. I grew up in Missouri, got married to my first wife when I was still in college, and never got an opportunity to travel until I was 30. Now I am a huge advocate for student travel because I have observed how life changing the experience is in most students. Go with an open mind and experience the culture and you will come back a different (better) person!
Keep things going with the course assignments. I look forward to us all meeting soon.