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Alumni Updates

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Verena Kellner

Geography, 2001
Submitted: January 28, 2012

With work being slow my fiance Mike and I are taking time off to sail our 38' sailboat from Mexico to Australia via the South Pacific Islands. You can follow our journey on our blog at www.pacificsailors.com

Kenneth Shonk, Jr.

History, 1996
Submitted: January 9, 2012

I earned my doctorate in Irish History from Marquette University in May of 2010, and upon graduation, accepted a position as Assistant Professor of History and Social Studies Education at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. In addition to courses on global and Irish history, I supervise student teachers and offer courses in the methodologies of social studies education. In 2009 I served as a Research Fellow with the University of Pittsburgh's Institute for Learning.

Gary Perless

Geography, 1984
Submitted: December 24, 2011

Two and a half decades after my first immersion in Latin America, I've maintained my Spanish fluency through travel, friendships, and teaching. I earned my M.A. in Geography Education at U of Oregon in 1993. I teach Spanish and World Geogaphy/History at West Sound Academy, a small, private, International School (grades 6-12) in Poulsbo, WA.

I live just outside Port Townsend with my wife, Jocelyn and our children William (9) and Serena (4). I'd love to hear from any fellow Geography or Oaxaca Program graduates.

Melanie Bettenhausen

Sociology, 2005
Submitted: December 21, 2011

Promoted to Outreach Director at the North Coast Co-op. Now responsible for Marketing & Membership. I use my background in Sociology (specifically what I learned at HSU) to inform my work in the community around access issues (food, bathroom, exercise, etc.)

Sofia Pereira

Communication, 2009
Submitted: December 20, 2011

I recently came back from Washington DC from a political fellowship with the Women's Campaign Fund. I'm now the Deputy Campaign Manager on a Congressional campaign in the newly formed 2nd district.

Beckie Menten

PoliticsM.S. in Environmental Systems, 2007
Submitted: December 13, 2011

Beckie Menten works at the California Energy Commission as an Energy Efficiency Specialist. She is currently working on programs to increase the energy performance of residential and commercial properties, including finding financing mechanisms for homeowners.

Matthew Daniel Mason

History, 1993
Submitted: December 2, 2011

Since graduating from HSU, I earned a Master of Arts in 1994 and a Ph.D. in 2008 from the Department of History at the University of Memphis in Tennessee, as well as Master of Arts degree with a major in Archives Administration from the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin - Madison in 2003.

Stemming from volunteer work I did in relation to my dissertation, the Wisconsin Historical Society employed me as an Archives Assistant from 1998 to 2000, and then as a Project Archivist from 2000 to 2004. In 2003-2004, I worked as a project archivist at the Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections at Montana State University - Bozeman.

In fall 2004, I began my tenure as an archivist at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, where I specialize in photographic collections, as well as manuscript collections principally based in the Trans-Mississippi West. In this work, I have processed several collections related to northern California and Humboldt County. This includes the Peter Palmquist Collection of Humboldt County, California, Male Photographers and the Peter Palmquist Collection of Women in Photography .

Since 2007, I have taught courses in United States History and the history of photography at Quinnipiac University.

In October 2011, Wisconsin Historical Society Press published People of the Big Voice: Photographs of Ho-Chunk Families by Charles Van Schaick, 1879-1942, by me, as well as my co-authors, Tom Jones, Michael Schmudlach, Amy Lonetree, and George A. Greendeer. The work provides a visual history of Ho-Chunk families in Wisconsin. More on the work is available at

My contribution to People of the Big Voice provides a biographical essay that draws from my dissertation completed in the Department of History at the University of Memphis in 2008. The essay briefly relates highlights from the professional life of Charles J. Van Schaick (1852-1946), a professional photographer in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, and outlines the stewardship of his photographic collection by the Jackson County Historical Society in Black River Falls and the Wisconsin Historical Society. It also discusses the different photographic formats used by Van Schaick to market portraits to his Ho-Chunk clients and identifies several of his contemporaries who also captured images of Native Americans in Wisconsin and throughout North America. It concludes with a discussion of the portrait photography and the meanings a viewer may derive from these images as documents of the past

The People of the Big Voice recently won the 2011 USA National Best Book Awards in the category of Photography: People

Tim Mulvehill

History, 2000
Submitted: December 1, 2011

Tim Mulvehill, 2000 History, and wife Sylvia just celebrated their son Nick's first birthday. Tim continues to live in Long Beach, and teaches World History at a large, urban high school. He earned a Master's in Education at Concordia University, Irvine, and most recently became a National Board certified teacher of History.

Melissa Waldman

EnglishEmphasis in Writing Practices, 2010
Submitted: November 8, 2011

I am currently writing and editing at a textbook company in San Francisco. We create K-12 grade English and Language Arts materials for larger publishing houses like Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. I am also a freelance food and drink correspondent for the SF Examiner Online and The Local Dish.