Southeast Spotlights on Students: Southeast Spotlights on Students, Southeast Missouri State University


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Southeast Spotlights on Students

	Kaverman Helps Create a Financially Stable Community – One Person, One Family, One Business at a Time Robert Kaverman, a finance major, recently interned with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network.

	Hannibal Vaivao From the shores of California to Capitol Hill—via Cape Girardeau; that’s the path senior Hannibal Vaivao has traveled. Vaivao came to Southeast as a transfer student, but he quickly made it his home.

	Lanie Haertling Lanie Haertling, of Nashville, Ill., dedicates each day to better herself as a Christian and influence others to do the same. As a member of Campus Outreach and Campus Crusade, two Christian organizations at Southeast Missouri State University, Lanie does not have to look far for support and encouragement in her faith.

	Student Capitalizes on Leadership Opportunities at Southeast Wade McElfresh, of Pleasant Plains, Ill., believes that a person’s college experience can only be as good as he or she wants it to be, and in that case, Wade is having the time of his life.

	Southeast Freshmen Loves to Volunteer Volunteering is something that not all people enjoy. Southeast Missouri State University freshman Kelsey Magee, of Columbia, Ill., thrives on it. Kelsey, an elementary education major, volunteered in many organizations in high school, and she said she looks forward to becoming involved in more volunteer projects at Southeast.

	Southeast Freshman Uses Creativity to Produce Short Films Southeast Missouri State University freshman Hunter Hempen, of Breese, Ill., has been directing and producing short films since he was a freshman in high school and is now a film and television major at Southeast.

	Lauren McNamara For many college students, class time is the busiest part of their day. Class seems like a break, however, to Southeast Missouri State University junior Lauren McNamara.

	Internships Help Southeast Student Prepare for the Future Southeast senior Rita Jo Dirnberger of Cape Girardeau, Mo., says her education at Southeast has prepared her for her future beyond school. Rita Jo, an accounting major, got a taste of the “real world” environment through two different internships.

	Southeast Student Gains Global Perspective With D.C. internship A spring internship with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington D.C. allowed Sara Head to experience many interesting opportunities.

	Southeast Student Completes Psychology Internship Southeast student Paul Veneziano of Cape Girardeau recently completed an internship at the Woodward Resource Center, in Woodward, Iowa. Paul, a senior psychology major, served as a psychologist’s assistant.

	Southeast Student Learns New Dance Technique at Summer Internship Southeast Missouri State University student, Sarah Tochtrop of De Soto, Mo., recently danced her way through a week-long internship at Jump Rhythm Jazz in Chicago, Ill.

	Southeast Student Gains Green Thumb Through Summer Internship Southeast student Hannah Ragsdale, of Imperial, Mo., completed an internship at the Charles L. Hutson Horticulture Greenhouse on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University.

	Southeast Student Interns at Hangar Theatre in New York Katherine Warden of St. Charles, Mo., a student at Southeast Missouri State University, interned this summer at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, N.Y.

	Southeast Student Interns at NASA’s Athletic Training Department Rachael Waddle of Mount Carmel, Ill., a senior at Southeast Missouri State University recently interned over the summer at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

	Southeast Student Interning with Cattle Breeder in South Africa Darrin Lurkins of Vandalia, Ill. is interning with a cattle breeder in South Africa.

	Southeast Student Rocks The House in ‘The Wiz’ at Montana’s Bigfork Summer Playhouse Southeast Missouri State University performing arts major Cody Heuer says two years ago, he had no idea he had the ability to control an entire house with just a song.

	Physics Student interns with the Department of Plasmas and Astrophysics at Princeton University Jonathan Kessler is interning with the Department of Plasmas and Astrophysics and spent a week at Princeton Plasma Physics Lab (PPPL) at Princeton University in Princeton, N.J.

	Southeast Student Interns in Los Angeles to Pursue Acting Thomas Statler of Twentynine Palms, Calif., a senior at Southeast Missouri State University, is interning at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles.

	Global Studies Major Travels South of the Border Aimee Cocran, global studies major and native of Sikeston, Mo., is taking full advantage of opportunities to study abroad. She attended the University of Monterrey for the past two semesters and plans to participate in the student EuroTrip.

	Teresa Koebbe Teresa Koebbe, a senior at Southeast Missouri State University, is interning this summer with the Secret Service at the federal courthouse in St. Louis.

	Doug Kluesner Doug Kluesner, a mass communication major with an emphasis in public relations and a management minor, is interning at SSM St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles, Mo.

	Mahala Harpster Mahala Harpster of St. Peter, Ill., is a sophomore at Southeast Missouri State University working toward a double major in agribusiness and animal science and interning at Southeast's David M. Barton Agriculture Research Center.

	International Business Student Explores Cultures One Country at a Time Everyone has heard of the students who do so much they don’t seem to have time to breathe. Malia Mondy is one of those students.

	Southeast Senior Enjoyed International Teaching Experience For most Southeast students, traveling abroad means participating as a student in a foreign country. Not for Southeast art education major, Brenna Schlader of Columbia, Mo. For Brenna, the role was actually reversed because she was the teacher.

	Biomedical Student Finds Personalized Attention at Southeast Hannah Korte, a biomedical sciences major at Southeast, describes her independent research in the fungal molecular biology lab as rewarding and challenging.

	Nursing Major Hopes To Make A Lasting Impact Southeast junior Spencer Mares of St. Peters, Mo. was diagnosed with leukemia on June 17, 1991, at the very young age of three. He says that his experiences from his childhood have made nursing school slightly easier.

	Southeast Student Completes Internship with Department of State Southeast senior Mallory Simmons of Salem, Ill., recently completed an internship in Washington, D.C., at the Department of State. This was a different experience for this elementary education major who has a concentration in science and would like to earn a master’s degree in school administration someday.

	Nursing Student with Big Heart and Big Plans Those in the health care industry must be compassionate and love what they do. Lindsey Hueter, a senior at Southeast, learned this through her clinical work.

	International Student Receives Degrees from Both Sides of the World For one international student from Beijing, China, choosing to attend Southeast was a decision that she is proud of. As a public relations major, Chen Chen understands the importance of getting involved on campus.

	Southeast Student Becomes Published Through Internship Southeast senior historic preservation major Hallie Fieser completed an internship at the National Park Service Midwest Regional Office in Omaha, Neb., this past summer that could, quite possibly, point her future career path in a new direction.

Southeast Student Grabs Medical School by the Reins
Andrew Valleroy is a biomedical sciences major who plans to attend graduate school at University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine. Originally from Hillsboro, Mo., Valleroy loves the atmosphere of Cape Girardeau. His favorite memories include hiking and fishing at local conservation areas and Trail of Tears State Park. The memory that tops all others is the one in which he and Joe Gholson accepted the charter placard for establishing the Chapter of Alpha Epsilon Delta, the national pre-health professional honor society, at Southeast Missouri State University.

Southeast Student Survives Cancer, Creates Inspirational Clothing Line
Southeast sophomore and St. Louis, Mo., native, Ryan Hollingsworth, says he is grateful to have the opportunity to receive a higher education, after winning a battle with cancer in 2007. A business management major, Ryan already has begun to use the knowledge he acquired from his major to begin his own clothing line, “Living Sacrifice.”

Photo of John Casebolt at CSIS headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Southeast Junior Interning with CSIS
For Scott City native, John Casebolt, a trip to Washington, D.C., last spring break to participate in the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank program, altered the route to graduation a bit for this engineering/physics and applied mathematics major and political science minor. John was offered an internship with the CSIS, which he is currently serving in this spring.

	Jackson Native Explores Europe A Jackson, Mo., native has done anything but stay close to home for college. Matthew Huber traveled over 8,000 miles to attend International Summer School in Schmalkalden, Germany. “My favorite moment at Southeast was my summer in Germany. I was able to meet so many people from across the world.”

	Southeast Senior Interns with Representative Jo Ann Emerson Amon Seabaugh, of Leopold, Mo., had a busy last semester on Capitol Hill. He is interning with U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, who was recently re-elected to her seventh term as the Missouri Eighth District representative to the U.S. Congress.

Southeast Senior Chosen for Prestigious Program through Summer Internship
Matt Taylor, a telecommunications and computer networking major at Southeast Missouri State University, had an excellent opportunity this past summer to complete a prestigious internship with Abbott Laboratories. A native of Cape Girardeau, Mo., Matt traveled to Abbott Park, Ill., about 40 miles north of Chicago, to intern for this pharmaceutical company.

	Distinguished Southeast Student Earns Prestige in ROTC Caleb Daughhetee took the scenic route on his way from Charleston, Mo., to Southeast Missouri State University. After graduating from Kelly High School, he went to Colorado Springs, Colo., to visit the prestigious Air Force Academy.

	Anna Powell Anna Powell, a literature major and historic preservation minor from Risco, Mo., has a passion for travel. As a missionary child, she spent a number of years in the Philippines and Honduras. This summer, however, that passion led her to Europe.

	Ambitious Student Pursues Career in Publications For Meghan Seher, perhaps the biggest factor in choosing Southeast was her visit to the Department of Communication. “I wanted to major in Public Relations. I looked at other colleges but I really like the communication programs at Southeast.”

Photo of Cody Heurer performing on stage.

Southeast Theatre Students Prosper at the Orris Theatre in Ste. Genevieve
Two Southeast theatre majors are working hard to perfect their art this summer. Cody Heuer, a native of Cape Girardeau, Mo., and Charles Davis, a native of St. Charles, Mo., are both working at the Orris Theatre in Ste. Genevieve, Mo., as it presents two major productions: “Cabaret” began June 19 and ran through July 6, and “Fiddler on the Roof” will begin July 17 and run through Aug. 3.

Jennifer and Jessica Miller at Tiger Hill Garden in Suzhou.

Adventurous Twins Travel the Globe Together
International business majors, twins and 4.0 students Jennifer and Jessica Miller go with their gut and don’t let anything interfere with their ambitions. As freshman unsure of their major, they quickly took stock of their interests and what they wanted out of life. Once they both decided on an international business major with minors in Spanish and economics, they started looking for opportunities to enhance their experience and never looked back.

	Communication Major Lands Internship at Caterpillar, Inc. Scott Crean is a Belleville, Ill., native who attended Althoff Catholic High School, and will graduate from Southeast in December 2008. He is majoring in corporate communication and public relations and minoring in integrated marketing communications.

Education Student Finds Fun in Life On and Off Campus
When you ask Billy Garrett what he’s involved in on campus, you will need to pull up a chair because he has a long list. Billy is from Florissant, Mo. but he says enjoys the simple pleasures of Cape Girardeau and says, “My favorite thing to do in Cape Girardeau is go on a late-night trip out to Don’s to pick up a slinger or some bucks and cheese. Also a trip down to the river and mural downtown is always a good journey. I like doing things that are special to the region.”

History Student Relives 18th Century for Internship
Corset, bonnet, scarf, apron and clogs. This was the summer wardrobe for Katherine Warfield during her internship. The smile that topped the outfit, however, was entirely hers. “My favorite part of the internship was getting dressed in 18th century clothes and going out with the public. I like to talk to people about what I do and how much I love it. Getting to play with the kids is great.”

	Business Student Interns in Ghana Last year a bulletin in Dempster Hall caught Nelson Elliott’s eye. As a direct result months later, he would find himself walking a foot bridge suspended 130 feet in the air surrounded by the treetops and wildlife of a rainforest and traveling to slave castles -- the “point of no return” for slaves sold to Europeans by their captors.

	Graphic Design Major Interns with Creative Firm Senior graphic design major Zachary Penrod of St. Charles, Mo., spent a summer as an intern with the Touchwood Creative firm in downtown St. Louis. The firm handles large presentation projections for companies' employee conferences. They use multiple media forms such as animation and video to achieve this end.

	Sundancer Pumps up the Crowd Chances are if you have been to a basketball or football game at Southeast in the last year, you have seen Cara Bigler on the sideline keeping school spirit high. Like so many other Sundancers have done throughout the years, Cara takes pleasure in pumping up crowds by putting her cheer and dance moves on display.

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