Spanish, English graduate Reisenauer is Outstanding Student, class speaker

The December 2013 recipient of the Outstanding Student Award as selected by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Alumni Association is Andrea M. Reisenauer. She will also serve as the graduating class speaker during UW-Green Bay commencement ceremonies at the Weidner Center at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 14.

Reisenauer, of Sheboygan, is receiving her bachelor’s degree with summa cum laude, or highest, honors, and distinction in the major. She completed double majors in English and Spanish, a minor in Humanistic Studies, and an emphasis in linguistics and Teaching English as a Second Language.

She was nominated and selected for each of the two honors — Outstanding Student and class speaker — from among about 435 graduating seniors in the December class.

Reisenauer will accept the Outstanding Student Award at a student awards ceremony Friday night, Dec. 13. The UW-Green Bay Alumni Association has been soliciting nominations and designating a single Outstanding Student Award recipient for each graduating class since 1976.

Reisenauer compiled a near-perfect gradepoint average over her college career and was a recipient of the University’s Gallagher, Gage, Crandall and Trampe scholarships, as well as a Founders Association Merit Scholarship and the Alumni Association Scholarship. She received the Award for Academic Excellence in Spanish from the UW-Green Bay Modern Languages program.

Reisenauer worked on campus as a tutor for the Writing Center, where she assisted students with English grammar, language and writing on a daily basis, and for the academic program in Spanish. As an instructor for the Adult Literacy Center of Green Bay, she taught basic English language skills to a class of new Somali immigrants.

A president of the student Spanish Club who studied abroad in Spain, she was also active in supporting the student International Club at UW-Green Bay and the exchange network AIESEC International.

Reisenauer’s poetry has been accepted for publication in the literary journals Cicada, Black Heart Magazine, Rock River Review and UW-Green Bay’s Sheepshead Review. Last spring, her essay “The Power of the Educated People” was one of two selected to represent UW-Green Bay in the annual Liberal Arts Essay Scholarship Competition sponsored by a UW System advisory group promoting the value of the liberal arts.

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Five Phoenix named Future 15

Of the 15 young professionals who will be recognized by the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, Thursday, Feb. 20, five have roots and an undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

The “Future 15 Young Professional Awards” recognizes 15 young professionals who have made an impact in both their relatively short professional careers, and also in the Brown County community.

The Future 15 recipients were featured in a special publication in the Green Bay Press-Gazette and will be honored at a recognition ceremony from 5 to 8:30 p.m., Feb. 20 at the Hyatt on Main/KI Convention Center.

Chad Bianchi ’12, an Economics and Public Administration major, works at Associated Banc-Corp as a senior financial analyst in the corporate treasury department. His contributions to the community include serving on the board of directors for Mosaic Arts Inc. and the UWGB Alumni Association. He serves as a  guest lecturer to current UW-Green Bay students. He is pursuing a master’s in business administration from UW- Oshkosh.

Shelly Karnz ’98, Humanistic Studies, began with Literacy Green Bay as a volunteer in 1999, and was hired by the agency in 2007. The current program manager of adult tutoring worked as a family literacy assistant and a workplace instructor. In 2012, she received the Evie Jensen Spirit Award by the Literacy Green Bay board of directors. Through her work, she has helped more than 40 families with literacy challenges, while supporting more than 400 volunteers and adult learners. Outside of work she volunteers at her children’s school and is a troop leader with Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes.

Kelly Ruh ’01, Accounting and Business Administration, is a controller for PDQ Manufacturing. Ruh volunteers for the annual Junior Achievement Business Marathon by coaching area students and serves on a sub-committee focused on marketing and community awareness for the Brown County Trust for Historic Preservation. She spent eight years on the UWGB alumni executive committee, serving as treasurer, vice president and president. She is pursuing a master’s degree in international business.

Darin Schumacher ’96, Communication Processes, was hired in 2011 as Dental Associates’ first  marketing manager. He helped create a public relations strategy to bring awareness to the importance of oral health in children, addressing the extended school-time lost annually because of dental-related conditions. Schumacher is a spokesperson and advocate for the National Kidney Foundation of Wisconsin (NKFWi) and is encouraged that in the past five years the number of registered organ donors in Brown county has increased from 52 to 58 percent. This personal passion was spurred when he personally became the recipient of a kidney transplant in 2000. He is a former Leadership Green Bay participant and serves on the organization’s marketing committee.

Hope Voigt ’04, Accounting and Business Administration, is an operations manager at Tweet/Garot Mechanical Inc. She and the eight-person team she supervises is responsible for growth opportunities. She also serves as a member of the Twee/Garot Mechanical executive team. Voigt
also worked to establish an internship program with the company. Outside of work, Voigt often works with local schools and serves on the board of directors for the House of Hope.

Success by design: A big year at the Addys for UW-Green Bay

A UW-Green Bay student is advancing to the national American Advertising Federation Addy Awards competition, having qualified at the district level earlier this year.

Senior Matt Vanden Boomen is one of two UW-Green Bay graphic design students — along with fellow senior Sarah Schrader — who were honored during the district awards ceremony, held in February at Lawrence University in Appleton. Two faculty members — Toni Damkoehler and Addie Sorbo — also took home Addy Awards during the event, which recognizes outstanding student and faculty work in advertising.

Vanden Boomen (pictured above) is a senior Design Arts major who received two Student Silver awards and one Student Gold award at the district competition. The Student Gold designation automatically qualifies his piece to be judged at the national level, with awards presented June 8 during the AAF’s national conference in Phoenix.

Receiving three trophies during the district-level Addy gala is notable because even professional designers rarely receive even two, organizers say. Vanden Boomen remains humble despite the success, he looks toward the future and how the designation may turn the heads of potential employers.

“The company I was interning for offered me a paid position soon after they found out about my work winning awards at the Addys,” Vanden Boomen said. “This accomplishment will definitely set me a part from others designers in the future, too.”

Vanden Boomen received Student Silver medals for his Design Studio III coffee shop “404” campaign and for his Design Studio III “Mustache Milk” men’s cologne package design. The Student Gold medal was awarded for his part in the graphic design of last fall’s issue of UW-Green Bay’s student produced magazine, the Sheepshead Review.

Designing the Sheepshead Review is a collaboration among many students and a faculty adviser, Vanden Boomen said. He was the creative editor on the project, while fellow student Jake Jenkins participated in the effort as the journal’s chief layout editor. The student editor-in-chief, Kelsey Duquaine, gave input into the final product, and faculty advisor Chuck Rybak, English and Humanistic Studies, was also key during the design process, Vanden Boomen said.

Schrader (pictured left), a senior Design Arts major, was recognized for her work in advertising design. No stranger to the Addys, Schrader received a district Student Silver Award for the second consecutive year. She noted that her time at UW-Green Bay has been filled with opportunities to pursue goals outside of academics, and she insists every student should do more than just class work. Earning recognition during the Addys was that something extra for Schrader.

“This is a recognizable award, it’s not just a local event, it’s possible to receive national attention,” Schrader said. “Everyone is striving for it.”

Schrader received Student Silver for her “Open MIC Night” poster for the University Union, where she is a graphic designer.

The image of the brooding artist doesn’t accurately describe Vanden Boomen or Schrader. Their creative process allows for constant change and adaptation, both say. Each year the Addys come around and the two students set out to find their best work from the previous year.

“I don’t design anything with the intention of entering it,” Schrader said. “I prefer to review my previous year’s work, and then decide which has been my strongest piece.”

UW-Green Bay students weren’t the only ones hauling in the hardware during the annual gala. Associate Prof. Toni Damkoehler received three awards during the Feb. 28 ceremony. Damkoehler, a UW-Green Bay alumna and current faculty member in the Design Arts department, earned a Gold Addy and two Silver Addys for designing a promotional poster for the UW-Green Bay Theatre program. Her creation of a poster illustration for the UW-Green Bay Theatre and Music production of Gone Missing was awarded with a Gold Addy. The same poster received a Silver Addy in the “advertising for the arts” category. Finally, Damkoehler’s work on UW-Green Bay Theatre’s bobrauchenbergamerica poster was awarded a Silver Addy.

Another UW-Green Bay alumna, lecturer Addie Sorbo, received a Silver Addy award for her design of the poster used during the advertising campaign for the 2012 production of UW-Green Bay Theatre and Music’s Cabaret.

Dietetics students shine at statewide nutrition conference

UW-Green Bay Dietetics programs (undergraduate and internship) were well
represented at the recent Wisconsin Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics annual
conference in Stevens Point. Jessica Davidson, a current dietetic intern and
UW-Green Bay Human Biology graduate, was recognized as Dietetic Intern of the
Year. Caitlin Baker, a Human Biology major with a Nutrition Science emphasis,
was recognized as Student of the Year; and Denise Halbach, a Human Biology major
with a Nutrition Science emphasis, was awarded the Bernice Mateika Scholarship.
What’s more, the UW-Green Bay student and internship delegation (more than two
dozen in all) came up with an idea on the spot for a feed-the-needy exercise as
part of the conference.

 

Student creates app for better, faster calculations

UW-Green Bay senior Shawn Snyder has created an application for a precision-based calculator. It’s faster and more precise than a regular device, and part of a “complex physics modeling program that could be used for cutting-edge research in science” that Snyder is developing, says Associate Prof. Peter Breznay. Snyder’s app can be purchased through the Windows 8 program. You can read the full story here.

Student’s column on embracing differences published in Green Bay Press-Gazette

UW-Green Bay student Aisha Umar urges dialogue, awareness and embracing cultural differences in a column that ran in the Green Bay Press-Gazette. The piece, which ran with the headline “Bridge misunderstanding to create a peaceful society,” was the latest in the paper’s series of “Today’s Take” columns, which are written by newspaper staffers and community members and featured daily on page A3. Umar’s column talks about her personal experience as a Muslim student on campus and emphasizes the importance of interfaith dialogues and mutual respect. “The question I always ask is, ‘Can we all get along and love one another?’” Umar writes. “The answer I hope to hear is, ‘Yes, we can all get along, and yes, we can all truly love one another.’ So, dear readers, I extend a challenge to you and request that you walk to someone who is different from you and try to understand them.” The full post can be read here.