CAS Alumni News

Alums: Please use this form to send us news and photos. The latest departmental news is posted on the CAS news site and you may visit student news for the latest about current students. Subscribing to the CAS alumni email list will put you in touch with former classmates, possible jobs, shared housing arrangements, moving advice and the like. To subscribe, send the following message to majordomo@calvin.edu: subscribe casalum "your email address".

 NOTE: We do not publish alums' precise email addresses. When you click on a name, the email address that pops up will have a "2" instead of an "@" in the address. Please make the change and then send.

Kirsten Kelly (Communication A & S '95) created the Chicago Public Schools Program at Chicago Shakespeare. The program was featured on NBC Nightly News. [11/09/09]

Davis Watson ('04) is shooting the documentary film, The Greatest Instrument in the World, in Ireland. [011/09/09]

Chaz Amidon (Mass Media '09) recently began working as the Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations at University of Texas at Dallas. [011/09/09]

Nathan Bierma (Communication A & S Telecommunications '02) recently published The Eclectic Encyclopedia of English.
[10/20/09]

Kirsten Kelly (Communication A & S '95) recently started a Chicago Public Schools Program at Chicago Shakespeare. An article was published in the Chicago Tribune about one of her former students. [09/30/09]

Jon Speyers (Interdisciplinary Media Studies '08) recently joined the Travelscope team.
[09/20/09]

Megan Thomassen (Film Studies '08) recently moved to Des Moines, IA to do a year of Americorp service at the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She was on the crew of the film "Secretary's Day" for the 48 Hour Film project and we won Best of City!
[08/14/09]

Mike Rohlfing (Mass Media '08) and sophomores Alex Docekal and Josh Schroyer, won “Audience Choice” and “Best Sound Editing” in St. Louis. [06/30/09]

Kelly Vandham (Communication Disorders '94) was a featured speaker at The American Speech-Language-Hearing Associations 6th Annual National Healthcare Conference which was held in Washington, D.C., . Speakers are selected by invitation only, at the recommendation of a consortium of experts. VanDahms lecture, "Early Feeding Therapy: Transition from Acute Care," drew nearly three times the expected number of attendees, packing the lecture hall with standing room only. [06/22/09]

Evan Koons (Film Studies '02) was recently honored by being the only U.S. film invited to compete in the “Three-Minute Quickie” program at the 25th Internationales Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany. Bishmalachooga will be screening several times during the renowned annual festival, June 2-8, 2009. [06/04/09]

Emmanuel Okaalet (Mass Media '08) received notice that The Georgetown University Communication, Culture & Technology (CCT) Program's admissions committee has recommended his admission to the Dean of the Graduate School. [05/06/09]

Sara Vander Haagen (Communication A & S/ Philosophy '02) published an article on George Bush's visit to Calvin. [03/17/09]

Bethany Keeley (Rhetoric/English '05) recently published an article in The Banner and has been guest blogging for Think Christian. [03/17/09]

Kiff Vanden Heuvel (Communication A & S '92) will be performing in Rebecca Gilman's "The Crowd You're in With" at Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. Opens June 1st. [02/14/09]

Pete Meendering (Mathematics '83) has many fond memories of his years in Calvin Thespians ('80 - '83). He was cast as Egeus in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1982) and, during dress rehearsal, mangaged to walk right off a raised platform on stage, disappearing down a hole between the platform and stage scenery. Now you see him, now you don't. For "The Guardsman" (1980), he was one of many stage crew dressed head-to-toe in black and relegated to the shadows during scene changes and huddled backstage during performances. His favorite memories were the lab theatre productions. He loved having the audience so close, and they got a chance to do some great material. Pete credits his experience in Calvin Theatre with helping him gain confidence and stage presence, which has been useful in his career when making presentations or teaching technical material. He is currently a manager at EDS, recently purchased by HP and now an HP company. [02/04/09]

Terence G. Schoone-Jongen (Theatre '01) has published two books over the past month. The first is Shakespeare's Companies: William Shakespeare's Early Career and the Acting Companies, 1577-1594 (Ashgate, 2008).
The second book is The Dutch American Identity: Staging Memory and Ethnicity in Community Celebrations (Cambria, 2008). Terence is currently attending law school and is assistant director for the George Washington University Law Revue Show, which is their spring comedy revue. [01/06/09]

Deborah Lew (English/Theatre '00) is returning to Broadway, joining the cast of South Pacific. The production is the first Broadway revival and won seven
2008 Tony Awards. She will start rehearsing next week and be on stage after the Thanksgiving weekend. [11/05/08]

Brian Farish (Theatre '04) will be a guest actor in The Government Inspector. February 12-14 and 18-19, 21, 2009. [11/03/08]

Nicholas Dekker (English/Theatre '01) will be the featured speaker for the Calvin Theatre Company Mini Conference - New Approaches to the Classics on February 21, 2009. Nick is a playwright, actor and director. He has written a full-length play, Haven, and several of his shorter pieces have been produced at Ohio State, where he teaches and directs plays. [11/03/08]

Philip Klapwyk (CAS '89) will be the guest lighting designer for The Government Inspector. February 12-14 and 18-19, 21, 2009. [11/03/08]

Michael Brooks (Theatre '05) will be the guest sound designer/composer for The Tempest. November 6-8 and 13-15, 2008. [11/03/08]

Jayme Mellema (Theatre '00) will be the guest scenic designer for The Tempest. November 6-8 and 13-15, 2008. [11/03/08]

Nate Knapper (Rhetoric/Political Science '08) is currently studying law at Pepperdine University.  In 2006, he helped develop "Curriculum Beyond the Classroom," a program that links volunteers with professionals in Lansing. Last summer Nate was among 100 students chosen nationwide to serve as a White House intern. [10/27/08]

Evangeline Whitlock (Theatre '05) will begin her studies in the MFA-Stage Management program at the University of California, San Diego in the fall of 2008. This is a three year program that will involve work with UCSD, the renowned La Jolla Playhouse, and the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, CA. Previously Evangeline was the Production Stage Manager for the Grand Rapids Ballet Company and a freelance stage manager for many Grand Rapids community theatres. [9/17/08]

Lise Evans (Theatre '01) and Kristi Johnson (Theatre '02) will be performing in The Threepenny Opera. [9/7/08]

Deborah Lew (English/Theatre '00) will be playing Cosette in "Les Mis," for the Theater of the Stars. The company is now rehearsing in NYC, then will open the show at Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, VA from Aug. 29 through Sept. 7, move to the Kansas City Starlight Theatre (Sept. 10-16), and finish at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta (Sept. 19-28). [8/18/08]

Deborah Lew (English/Theatre '00) is in the play "Myth" held as part of the O'Neill Conference at the 2008 National Music Theater Conference running June 29-July 18 in Waterford, CT. [7/01/08]

Megan Thomassen (Film Studies '08) is teaching English at WILS Language School in Seoul, Korea for a year. [6/16/08]

Liz Klynstra (Mass Media '06) has been working at WWMT (West Michigan's CBS Affiliate) as an assignment editor for six months. She's responsible for managing/overseeing the evening newscasts, producing web and radio broadcasts, and running the news desk. Liz reports that commuting from GR to Kalamazoo was becoming too much of a hassle, so a few months ago she relocated to the Kalamazoo area. [3/24/08]

Angenette (Stacer) Spalink (Theatre '06) works at the Grand Rapids Ballet Company as the office administrator and serves as house manager for the ballet company's new Peter Martin Wege Theatre, which opened in September 2007. She also served as co-stage manager on Seven Passages: The Stories of Gay Christians at Actors' Theatre last fall. [2/14/08]

Ryan Terpstra (Mass Media '06) has recently been given the opportunity to host his own sports-talk radio show on 1370 AM WGHN in Grand Haven, Michigan. He will also will continue to work as a Sports Reporter/Photojournalist on a part-time basis with FOX 17 in Grand Rapids, and has been doing freelance reporting for FOX Sports Detroit. Ryan says, "Thanks to Calvin for helping me on my path, and thanks to God and my family as I embark on this exciting opportunity in my home town!" [12/14/07]

Evangeline Whitlock (Theatre '05) is the Production Stage Manager for the Grand Rapids Ballet Company. She also does freelance stage management work at theatres in the Grand Rapids community, including Circle Theatre (Morning's at Seven, Moby Dick! The Musical, and Almost, Maine) and Actors' Theatre (A Lesson Before Dying, Ladies of the Camellias, Elizabeth Rex). Last fall she was the co-stage manager and script supervisor for the ground-breaking work Seven Passages: The Stories of Gay Christians at Actors' Theatre. [2/14/08]

Cathy Bowren (Theatre '01) sends news from the Picolo Theatre in Evanston, Illinois where she has served as the lighting designer for their production of "Lust, Lies and Marriage" which runs from April 4 thru May 10, 2008. [4/15/08]

John Vanderhaagen (Business/Communication A & S '01) has returned to the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Rampage, an arena football team where he worked in ticket sales from 1999-2003 during which attendance records for the team were routinely set. After leaving the Rampage, he worked with Clear Channel Entertainment (now Live Nation) in concert production, served as the group sales manager for Van Andel Arena and the DeVos performance Hall, and was the director of promotions and operations at the historic Orpheoum Theatre in Witchita, Kansas. [The Calvin SPARK Winter 2007 p. 54]

Deborah Lew (English/Theatre '00) is back in theatre news again with her performance as Sujata in Up in the Air, based on the Japanese children's novel Boonah, the Tree-Climbing Frog. Directed by Amon Miyamoto, the first Japanese director to make it on Broadway, with music by Henry Krieger (Dreamgirls) this is not your usual kids' musical. Washington Post reviewer Nelson Pressley calls this "a soaring musical fable for the kids." [2/14/08]

Jayme Mellema (Theatre '00) just landed a position as a faculty scenic designer at Duke University. He will also be back at Calvin this fall as the alumni guest designer for Calvin Theatre Company's production of The Tempest. If you have the chance, check out his amazing portfolio. [3/24/08]

Joel Veenstra (Theatre '00) reports that the University of California, Irvine has offered him a scholarship (including a Teacher Assistantship to cover living expenses) to their MFA program in theatre production and stage management.  While he plans to keep up with his film industry contacts, he believes this MFA will provide some new options and possibilities for the future. [5/15/08]

Nick Rogers (Theatre '99) has been asked to participate in the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Partnerships for Pluralism program and to serve as a coach. the program facilitates and encourages dialogue about all forms of diversity at the school. Nick has also been asked to serve on the senior year initiatives committee which, among other things, provides information about the transition from school to the working world. See also Sharon Vanezande (Theatre '99). [The Calvin SPARK Winter 2007 p. 50]

Sharon Vandezande (Theatre '99) has been elected to serve on the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) staff council as a representative of the department of access services. With husband Nick Rogers she worked on and directed a script titled Delayed which was performed at the Father's House Church live and via the Web eight times between Dec. 22-23. [Calvin SPARK Winter 2007 p. 50]

Brad Van Arragon (Communication A & S/English '96) co-produced Juno, which won Best Screenplay at the Academy Awards on February 24th.  Brad and a couple colleagues fund a developing screenwriters program in Vancouver to locate and cultivate writing talent.  You can see all of Brad's credits at:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0885612/ [2/26/08]

Chris Matthysse (Business/Communication A & S '95) recently joined the law firm of Law, Weathers & Richarson in Grand Rapids, MI as a senior attorney in the estate planning group. [The Calvin SPARK Winter 2007 p. 48]

Tom Laarman (IDIS/Communication A & S '93) graduated with honors in January 2007 from the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. He then passed the national board exam in mortuary science and the mortuary law exams for the states of Michigan and Texas. In June, he and his wife Christa Kasik Laarman ('92), moved to Houston where Tom now works as a director with Klein Funeral Homes and Memorial Parks. [The Calvin SPARK Winter 2007 p. 48]

Kelly Planer (Communication A & S '93) has written a song that Crayola, the crayon company, will use for in-house music video presentations to potential buyers. Kelly works for First Generation Visual Communications, a production company in Allentown, PA that specializes in film/video content, interactive presentations and live-event staging. [The Calvin SPARK Winter 2007 p.48]

Carol Jenkins (Communication A & S '88) has worked for eight years with women who have been abused. This year she has expanded the group curriculum she wrote, Healing the Past God's Way, to include discipleship material titled Practicing the Spiritual Disciplines. Both are available at Epiphany Inc. [The Calvin SPARK Winter 2007 p. 47]

Rich Lodewyk (Communication A & S '88) graduated from North Dakota State University with a Masters Degree in Mass Communications in December 2007. He currently works as Sports Director/ Anchor at KXJB TV CBS in Fargo, North Dakota.[April 7, 2008]

For older news items related to CAS alumni, visit the archives.

NOTE: We do not publish alums' precise email addresses. When you click on a name, the email address that pops up will have a "2" instead of an "@" in the address. Please make the change and then send.

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