History Student & Alumni News

Annie Sjoholm ('09) Accepted to Teach for America

Recent History/Social Studies Education graduate Annie Sjoholm has been accepted by Teach for America, a national program that places recent college graduates in two-year teaching positions in low-income communities. Teach for America has grown substantially since its inception in 1990, but it remains highly competitive. (In 2007-08 only 3700 of nearly 25,000 applicants were accepted and placed in schools.) Annie, who grew up in Burnsville, MN and went to high school at Minnehaha Academy, explains how she became interested in the program:

"I applied for Teach for America because throughout my college experience I gained awareness of the great inequalities present within America's education system. While volunteering in urban, low-income environments, I kept thinking back to a program I had heard of my freshman year, Teach for America, whose whole mission is to end the inequality in America's education system. By the time Fall 2008 came around, I was determined to apply.

"After summer Institute in NYC, I'm thrilled to say I'm moving to Connecticut to teach secondary social studies! I'm expecting a challenge unlike anything I've experienced before, but I know that my knowledge (thanks to outstanding professors like Cragg, Gehrz, and Kooistra), perseverance, and most importantly trust in God, will allow a lot of good to come from this privilege."

Smolik ('96) Completes Bush Leadership Fellowship

Former Bethel History major Kim Smolik was recently featured in Bethel's Tapestry magazine. Kim was awarded a Bush Leadership Fellowship, which she used to complete her doctoral studies at the University of St. Thomas and study arts-based learning in racial reconciliation. The former high school social studies teacher works with local racial justice initiatives and does consulting for churches, schools, and other organizations.

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Devane ('09) Presents Paper at National Conference

Brian Devane ('09) presenting in the Bethel Library

Two days before joining the rest of the Class of 2009 in graduating from Bethel, History major Brian Devane presented a paper entitled "The Shortcomings in Education of Early American Encounters in High School History Textbooks" at the first meeting of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association, held at the University of Minnesota.

Devane was the only undergraduate presenting on his panel, where he read a paper based on his senior seminar research. Earlier this spring he presented a preliminary version of his paper as part of Bethel's "Ready for Prime Time" series (pictured to the left). High-speed and low-speed downloads of that video are available through Bethel's intranet.