Alumni Updates

Find classmates by name, major, or year of graduation

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, Ph.D. University of Washington, BA '67; MA '74; MFA '79

Submitted: January 4, 2012

After knocking around the U S Army for some 30 odd years, a few teaching gigs, a couple of academic administrator runs, I closed out my working career in Tucson, AZ with IATSE Locals 415 & 485, returned to California, remarried, and now reside in Erie, PA along the shore of Lake Erie...ain't that eerie?

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, Politics, 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.

John Triska, Elementary Education (Liberal Studies), Master's in Education 2007

Submitted: November 29, 2011

Since 2008-9, I have been Principal at Brittan Acres School, a K-4 public school of 477 students in San Carlos, California, here on the San Francisco Peninsula. My wife Christine and I live inside my school's attendance area, allowing me to ride my bike to work each day, and making it easy for us participate in all the events of our community. It's a especially satisfying to be leading the school that my oldest daughter attended for Kindergarten, just before we moved to Humboldt County for my teaching job at Pacific Union in 1988. I'm proud of my HSU connection, and whenever it comes up, speak enthusiastically about the quality education I gained there earning my master's degree.

Laurie Brown, Psychology, 1983

Submitted: November 29, 2011

My True Crime book, Stand-Up Guy, is available in ebook format on amazon.com.

Stories of sex, drugs and violence are told by a guy who did it all -- except rat on his friends. Nostalgic, blunt, touching and brutal, it's a fast-paced journey into and out of the days and nights of a street level gangster. From jacking the pumps at the local Texaco to disappearing owing the mob money, this is a true story of twenty years on the streets of Brooklyn and Long Island selling drinks, women and drugs along the way.

The story is a fast drive that starts with recruitment by Tommy Toupee and speeds straight into the dark nights and early morning hours of hardcore gangster life.

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