New Teachers Galore At AHS

Fresh out of Cornell College, Henry Hallgren teaches American Government and Current Public Issues. Originally planning on going to law school, he decided otherwise after encountering other lawyers. Around his sophomore year of college, Hallgren decided to pursue a teaching career instead. He said that it “went pretty well, I guess, because I’m here now.”   His expectation of students is for them to �...

True crime fan Laura Vogel teaches algebra courses at Atlantic High School. She previously taught with the Riverside and Lonetree school districts. She is beginning her seventh year teaching. Vogel decided to become a math teacher in hopes that students would grow to enjoy the subject. “I wanted it to not be so painful for people,” she said. Some of her hobbies include walks and creating her own reci...

First-year teacher Connor Larson graduated last spring from Grand View University, where he wrestled for the Vikings. He went to high school in Webster City.  At AHS, Larson teaches PE and weights. Often times during class, Larson will jump into the activity that the students are partaking in, helping out the losing squad or evening the numbers between the two competing teams. After the school ...

Recent Wartburg College graduate, Ethan Pruisman, is the new vocal teacher at AHS. This is his first year teaching. Throughout the day, Pruisman has three different class periods for the three different choirs--concert choir, chamber chorale, and the treble singers. When he isn’t teaching a large group, you can find him perfecting the pitch of vocal students during their lesson times.  Pruism...

AHS has welcomed two new guidance counselors this year. One of those guidance counselors is Alyssa Dovenspike. Dovenspike already had experience in this field. She was an intermediate school counselor. "I was an intermediate counselor at AHSTW." Dovensopike lives in Atlantic, and when she saw the job, she took it. "I have always wanted to work with high school kids," Dovenspike said. Dovenspike...

This year at AHS there have been many new additions to the faculty and staff. One of these additions is Sarah Elm, one of two new counselors. This is Elm’s first job as a high school counselor after finishing her Master’s at UNI. Prior to that, Elm went to school at ISU and she went to high school at Northeast Hamilton in Blairsburg, IA.  Elm enjoys doing a wide variety of different things. These inclu...

The halls of AHS are swarming with new faculty, and one of the fresh faces is FCS teacher Rebecca Wallace.  Before Wallace began teaching at AHS, she attended Iowa State University to earn her Family Consumer Science (FCS) degree. While there, she served as vice-president of the FCS club on campus.  Wallace knew she wanted to be an FCS teacher because she liked their seven content areas and would be �...

Susan Wedemeyer didn’t plan on becoming a teacher when she started college. A college professor influenced her to change her path in life. However, her passion for art stemmed from a young age. Graduating from University of Nebraska in Carney, Wedemeyer “enjoys art and being creative,” as it gives her the ability to be hands on. While in high school, Wedemeyer was involved with many extracurr...

“I understand that what I’m saying in the front of the classroom is not always the most important thing to them.” Dexter Dodson, the newest addition to the 500 hallway, said his best quality in reference to teaching is his ability to relate to students on a human level. Dodson taught at Cambridge High School in Cambridge, Nebraska for five years prior to coming to Atlantic, leaving Atlantic a...