Alumni 2000
Arranged Alphabetically
1/21/05
Kristin Johnston (formerly Kristin Peterson)
Class of 2000
I recently graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2002 with a Master's in Science of
Nursing with a specialty and certification in Midwifery. I married in May of 2003 and since then have worked as a midwife in Portsmouth, VA and Tokyo, Japan. My husband is in the Navy and we moved to Japan in August of 2004 and expect to stay for 3 years. I am working as a volunteer midwife at the Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, Japan. We are expecting our first child in August of 2005.
Lots of changes for me since I left Olaf in May of 2000. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have gone to St. Olaf and I am especially thankful for my sociology degree. It really has helped me become what I am today. I don't know too many other sociologists/midwives out there.
Email: kristinjohnstoncnm@yahoo.com
2/15/05
Diana Hawley Larsen
Class of 2000
Greetings! In the last five years I have realized my calling in education. In 2000 I began teaching music at Achieve Language Academy, a K-8 charter school on the east side of St. Paul. Most of the students at Achieve are Hmong, and I became very interested in Hmong culture and music while teaching there, and eventually traveled to Thailand with my husband, Tom, when the opportunity arose in 2002. While teaching in St. Paul, I earned a Master’s in Education at the University of St. Thomas.
Last year we made a rather significant decision to accept a position at International School Bangkok. After chaperoning high school students in Europe for most of the summer, we continued east to Southeast Asia, where we have now planted some roots, at least for a few years. At some point we plan to move to Iowa City where I will begin a PhD program in Social Foundations of Education at the University of Iowa, which is on hold for the time being. To anyone out there considering teaching overseas, I highly recommend it and am happy to answer any questions. This summer we will be back in the States for a few weeks after a month of making many intentional wrong turns on our way from Beijing to Hong Kong.
Email: dianal@isb.ac.th
3/25/05
Kelly Corcoran Hanson
Class of 2000
Wow! It's amazing how fast these five years have gone by. Immediately after St Olaf, I began working as a consultant at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). I was employed there for just over 3 years. It was an intense job, but I was able to travel and learn a lot. During that time, I married Dagan Hanson ("99) at Boe Chapel. The fall of 2003 brought many wonderful surprises. We welcomed our daughter, Isabella, to the world! And, I left Accenture to work for Thomson West (West Publishing). I currently work as a Senior Project Manager at West, and I really enjoy my job. It allows me to use my technical and creative skills, and the company is great! I am learning a lot about work/life balance and putting the material we learned in "Marriage & Family" class into practice. :) I look forward to pursuing my MBA in the near future.
Email: Kelly.Hanson@thomson.com
1/15/05
Derek Nord
Class of 2000
Since graduation, I have been working in the field of disability policy and services, particularly in the area of employment. In the spring of 2004, I received a Masters degree in social work and I am currently pursuing a PhD in education policy at the UMN. As for work, I am presently working at the university’s Institute on Community Integration, doing disability related research and writing. All in all, I am pretty busy but I enjoy it a great deal.
Email: nord0364@umn.edu
1/14/05
Matt Roegge
Class of 2000
The five years since graduation have been interesting, to say the least. At the heart of it, I’ve mostly been trying to help people. After graduating, I went straight into the trenches (figuratively and literally) at Twin Cities Tree Trust. Tree Trust is a non-profit that helps at-risk populations, and youth in particular, with job skills and resume boosts through urban conservation projects. After constructing what seems like dozens of retaining walls, removing huge swaths of buckthorn, and cleaning up several parks, I found my way into the landscaping trade. Throw in some absolutely wonderful youth and things couldn’t be better.
Alas, the non-profit sector was not always the most stable place to be. The years between September of 2001 and November 2003 found me occupying a cubicle at a company that took several cues from the movie Office Space. Thankfully, spring of 2004 brought me back to Tree Trust and firmly rooted outdoors with chainsaw in hand. If anyone wants to see a recent project of mine, check out the stairs along the Greenway in Minneapolis at 29th and Bloomington. Up until recently, that corner was one of the narcotics epicenters of the state. Thanks to recent endeavors towards urban renewal in the Phillips Neighborhood, that reputation is changing. It feels good to have contributed a small part.
Otherwise, things have been pretty copasetic. On June 4th of 2005, I will wed my fiancée, Brooke, at Mount Olive Lutheran in Minneapolis. I own a townhouse in the Seward Neighborhood of Minneapolis (the nice thing about homeownership is the license to paint the walls colors such as “tequila sunrise,” “macaw,” and whatnot – no seasonal affective disorder at my house!). I play bass in a band called Twin Ion (www.twin-ion.com). For a while I was considering a graduate program at the HHH Public Policy Center at the U of M, but opted out as I further explored my interests and goals. I am currently considering a Masters in Library Information Science. Finally, I try as hard as possible to stay in contact with my friends from the 1998/99 Term In the Middle East.
Email: matt@cookiecookie.com
2/7/05
Erin Scott
Class of 2000
After graduation I taught ESL in Shakopee and Minneapolis Public Schools for four years. After four years of teaching and dealing with budget shortages I decided it was time to look outside of Minnesota. In August of 2004 I relocated to sunny Studio City, CA., a city located within the city limits of Los Angeles. I am enjoying a winter without snow and freezing temperatures! Since moving here I have started an invitation design business, A Scrap of Time, (www.ascrapoftime.net) with fellow Ole, Jenn Scuderi, '00. Our main focus is wedding invitations, but we have recently started branching into graduation announcements, baby announcements and corporate event invitations. While our business takes off I have been subbing in private schools in the Los Angeles area and working as a private tutor in the afternoons.
I love living in Los Angeles and am continually amazed to wake up and see both a palm tree and an orange tree directly outside my window!
Email: ees7700@aol.com
