Our Alumni
This section is dedicated to assisting Cornell alumni/friends network with one another.
If you would like to share your activities with Cornell alumni and friends, email Diane with the pertinent information. Or if you have a homepage, send the URL to Diane and she'll link your homepage to the Alumni homepage. The members of the department look forward to hearing from you!
What Cornell Graduates are Doing
Emily Barbuto, '00, emilygraceb@yahoo.com. I am currently teaching 2nd grade (my favorite grade) at Seoul International School in Korea. I'm ESL certified now, but I prefer being a regular classroom teacher. Also, I just became a published novelist. The title is Instigating Profligacy: Aviva and Aisha's Adventures in the World and my pen name is E.G. Barbuto. It's fiction but loosely based on my adventures and misadventures teaching, living, and touring overseas. Mostly, it's about culture shock. It's a comedy, and I'm told it shouldn't be read on a full bladder. At the moment it's only available at Barnes and Noble and the publisher's website, but it will be available at Amazon and other places soon. Here's my website with the link to the book. http://www.geocities.com/egbarbuto/instigating_profligacy.html (10/05)
Whitney Bennett Turner, '04. This is my third year teaching kindergarten and first grade students with Autism. I still work in downtown Los Angeles. My school is 98% Latino and almost completely Spanish speaking so it is a great cultural experience for me. A lot different than growing up in Mount Vernon, IA. I have ESL certification (called CLAD in California). I will have my preliminary license in moderate/severe special education this summer. I have 9 more classes for my Masters and now my advisor has put a bug in my ear about getting my doctorate. (May 08)
Patrick Block, '05, I am teaching at Midland High School in Wyoming, IA. I am teaching 5 different classes and coaching basketball and softball. (Oct. 05)
Liz (Blondi) Breuning Ruttencutter, '02 Lizz@Ruttencutter.com Scott (01) and I still live with our 2 labs in Windsor, WI. We have been busy with our web development company, IQ Foundry, www.iqfoundry.com Scott runs the company and I help out with billing and expense reports when I can. In April, we moved to a brand new office in Madison, so that was exciting! I am enjoying my 2nd year as a nanny to a 2 1/2 year old little girl. The mom works as a TA in a school district so my schedule is great. I don't work when there isn't school, and b/c of the times, I was able to coach high school boys' swimming for my 4th season in a row this past winter. I completed my 4th year of teaching 3rd grade remedial reading again this past summer. The most exciting news, however, is that our son was born on September 20th! His name is Alex Scott Ruttencutter and he is such a good baby! We have been enjoying every single second with him. Once I return to my nanny job, I will be able to bring him with too. Life is pretty exciting right now! (Oct 08)
Chad Brown, '97, cbrown1975@mchsi.com. I am still a teacher for the visually impaired and I now work for the Iowa Braille School and am housed in Bettendorf, IA. I got married in June of this year and just bought a house this fall. (Nov. 04)
Jan Cedarholm Moore, '92. I am currently a K-4 interventionist at Washington Elemetnary School in Mount Vernon, IA. I thoroughly enjoy working with students 1:1 to provide them intensive support in reading, writing and math. It is my hope as an educator to positively impact the lives of all students each year in as many ways as possible. My husband Sean and I have been fortunate to live in Mount Vernon since the fall of 1994. We keep busy with our son Sam and our daughter Anna. In addition to spending time together as a family, I enjoy working on our old brick house, photography scrapbooking, writing and knitting. (Aug 07)
Jane Ellen Christy, '00, janechristy@hotmail.com Since leaving my wild and crazy college life at Cornell, I have been busy creating a new life as an art teacher on a small island in the South Pacific. I now live on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, which is roughly 10-12,000 miles away from Iowa. Kwajalein is an Army base, so I teach not only Marshallese students, but also students who come from all over the world. I teach art to students in grades 1-12 and am truly having a blast! I love to snorkel, scuba dive, sun bathe, and sail. I've heard the statement many times that most marine biologists come from Iowa...I agree. I am fascinated with the water and the culture here. I feel very fortunate to be experiencing this, as well as having a such a strong support from Cornell's Edu. Dept. I couldn't have made it here without their help. (Aug. 07)
Maegan Coffin, '05, m-coffin@cox.net, I am teaching second grade at Jay Shideler Elementary in Topeka, Kansas. (Sept. 05)
Sherri Condon, '84, conburn@mchsi.com. I graduated with a Degree in Education and French. I have an MA in French and an MA in Spanish from the University of Northern Iowa each with an emphasis in Education. I currently teach at Linn-Mar High School. I have completed my National Board Certification. I have also taught at Kirkwood Community College for several years and coached at Mount Mercy College, which were both extremely positive and fulfilling experiences. The field of Education continues to be demanding but very worthwhile. (Aug 07)
Shane Ehresman, '93 - Selected as the 2005 Iowa Assistant Principal of the Year by the School Administrators of Iowa. Currently the principal at Washington High School in Washington, Iowa.
Married Tashia Andes '95 on November 26, 1994, in Marion, Iowa. We have three boys (Sage, Drake and Kale) and two girls (Kasiah and Kaleah). (Aug 07)
ToniAnn Gallagher Siegle, '07. I will still be teaching at Byrns Darden Elementary Schools in Carlksville, TN next year. However, I will be moving to third grade. (Mar 08)
Heather Gardner, '07. Teaching 6th grade at Sundance Elementary in Buckeye, AZ. (Mar 08)
Britta Gregor, '02, iliailin@gmail.com
After taking a semester off to substitute teach and contemplate my future, I enrolled in the Library Science and Information Science programs at Indiana University Bloomington. I earned my MLS and MIS in December 2004. I've recently started a job as a youth services librarian for Broward County in Pembroke Pines, Florida. I do all programming for infants and toddlers, as well as my other librarianly duties. It's a fantastic job and I'm loving South Florida. (Aug. 05)
Mitch Jensen, '99, I have taught in Dallas, TX, for 3 years and am starting my 4th. Last December I finished my master's degree in Education Administration and hope to become a principal in the near future. Currenlty, I am our middle school's athletic director and head of the boys' physical education department. I am the head football and track coach. My 19 month old son, Caden, and wife, Lyndsey, have been very supportive and I enjoy spending time with them. I also enjoy hunting and fishing. I am truly thankful to Cornell's education department for preparing me for today's educational world. (Aug. 05)
Kanesha Lee, '94, Director of Field Experiences, School of Education, University of Colorado at Boulder (Feb. 08)
Michelle Link-Valenstein, '06, michele.valenstein@gmail.com. I am currently teaching second grade at United Community Elementary School in Boone, Iowa. Every year since leaving Cornell I have taught a different grade! Last year I taught third grade, also at United Community, and the year before that, I taught kindergarten in Minnesota. My Minnesota experience was a great year of personal learning, as I taught at a charter school based on the Latino culture and had very few students who spoke English as their first language. Those students struck a cord with me, and I am planning on returning to school this spring to obtain my ELL endorsement. (Jun 08)
Morgan Marthaler, '07, morganmarthaler@gmail.com I am teacing 5th and 6th grade French at Wilson Intermediate School in Houston, TX. I have been lucky enough to get the opportunity to run the French Club this year! (Apr 08)
Krystal McKinney Manka, ’04- kayzyx@hotmail.com I am currently teaching at Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids. I teach language arts in the BD (behavior disabilities) department. I am working on my MAT (Instructional Strategist II: BD/LD) from Morningside College and should be completed in May ’09. My husband, Ryan, and I will be celebrating our 3rd anniversary on 9/18/08. Outside of school, I am a member of an adult cheerleading squad (http://www.iowaelitecheer.com ) and a member of the Cedar Rapids Rollergirls Roller Derby team (http://www.myspace.com/crrollergirls). (Jun 08)
Andrea Molkenbur Dibble, '94, 4th grade teacher at Solon, IA. (Aug 07)
Brian Nawotka, '07. I am teaching first grade at Steven R. Jasinski Elementary School in Buckeye, AZ. I am also the 8th grade boys basketball coach at Jasinski. (Mar. 08)
JuliAnne Pardon '93, japardon@occ.cc.mi.us. After working a few years in adult education (teaching English, English as a Second Language [ESL], and computers), I have settled into a life working for the community college -- running the support services for the ESL program at one of our five campuses and am even teaching a class or two! The international population is extremely interesting, and work and "life" become a bit blended, with many of my friends having been students. In 2000 I bought my first house -- in the historic district of Pontiac, a resurging city in the southeastern Michigan area. Homeownership keeps me busy -- removing layers of other people's ideas of decorating and establishing my own ideas about it! To maintain another interest developed at Cornell, I have dabbled in theatre here as well. Most notably, I served on the Royal Court as lady-in-waiting to the Queen at the Michigan Renaissance Festival. My embroidery obsession has allowed me to embellish many a garment, and I honed my skills as a bridesmaid as well!
Anne Peters, '07. I am currently living in iowa City and substitute teaching for both the Iowa City and Solon School Districts. At first the job was difficult, being almost completely about discipline and rarely about content; but now I've actually grown to love it and I enjoy the spontaneity of never knowing where I'm heading the next day! (Feb 08)
Kaila Schaefer, '05, k-schaefer@hotmail.com. I am happily spending my 4th year teaching in Beloit, WI in 2nd grade. Our district is very diverse, with a quickly growing population; though we are a SAGE school (which means our class sizes are capped at 16 children), I have had 25 students for the last 2 years. My numbers of ESL children are increasing rapidly, and I have taken a few refresher-Spanish courses to aid the parent/teacher conference process. I am currently working on my Master's Degree through the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse (Curriculum and Instruction); our group is piloting a new format to the learning community program. So far, my Iowa experiences in multi-age classrooms have provided me a great foundation for some of my current research. The Cornell Education Dept. prepares its students well, and I have found that to be exceedingly beneficial during this graduate process. (Jan. 09)
Jeff Schwiebert, '81, Superintendent at Mount Vernon HS, Mount Vernon, IA. (Aug 07)
Aaron (AJ) Varner, '05, aaronjvarner@hotmail.com. I am currently teaching PE at a K-8 Charter School in Westminster, Colorado (near Denver). Also teaching Health, Elementary Technology, and 6th/7th grade Math. Here's some advice: Go to Cornell Alumni events! I went to a CYA Happy Hour and met my school's counselor (Class of 1994) the same day the position opened up. I got an interview the very next day and here I am. Thanks, Cornell!!! (Oct. 05)
Bekka Younquist Simmering, '03, Rebekka.Simmering@cscs.lions.org. Teaching 5th grade at Colorado Springs Christian School and coaching high school girls' soccer for the same school. I am loving it and enjoying life! (Jan. 06)
