Learn About UW-Richland

College for Kids Instructors

Cheryl Carlin

Laura's Pioneer Life

I read the Little House books as a child, then again to my kids. I've always been interested in life during pioneer times, and hope to share that with my students. I have taught special education for over 20 years. I have provided the children's activities at Boscobel's Civil War Weekend for the past 15 years. At home I enjoy doing some of the same things that Ma did, such as cooking and gardening.

Clif Cavanaugh

Eyes on the Sky

I have taught Physics for over 30 years and Astronomy for 15 years at the UW-Richland. I have always enjoyed looking at the night sky and wonder what is going on. I use telescopes and like to teach people how to use their telescope. I like to answer questions that all young people have about sky, space, and the universe. I also like to snorkel and scuba dive in Devil's lake and the much warmer waters of the Caribbean.

Marilynn Clauson

Let Me Entertain You

I have taught vocal music at the Kickapoo Area School District for 37 years and have directed the annual fall high school musical for 33 years. I also direct an operetta that involves the Kickapoo elementary students every spring. I love working with students in stage productions. My favorite part of a production is to watch the characters on stage grow through each student's creative talents. There is no feeling that quite equals the applause from an audience when a musical cast has successfully completed a performance. The smiles and joy on the faces of each performer is well worth all the hard work.

Shirley Due

Snack Chef

I've studied food and nutrition for over 30 years including earning a degree in nutrition from UW Green Bay in 1998. I have written two cookbooks. One in 1998 called "Taste of Life" and the second one in 2009 called "Our Food Journey". My belief is you are what you eat, so I experiment with different grains, flours, sweeteners, and spices. Food needs to look good as well as taste good, but it also needs to feed and nourish the body. There are many diseased conditions that can be cured with a proper diet and my goal is to educate people to use food as fuel for the mind and body.

Peg Durkin

Simply Sculpy

I was born in Oregon and moved to the Wisconsin family homestead as a child. I am a graduate of Ithaca High School and am back teaching K-12 art at Ithaca since 1993. I completed my degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, after my initial two years at UW-Richland. I have a farm, a horse and two yellow labs. I love to work on my art, coach basketball and softball, and travel and explore the national parks and abroad.

Amy Forehand

The Court Will Come to Order

I graduated from Hamline Law School in 1998. I have been the Richland Assistant District Attorney since July of 2002. I handle all types of cases from speeding tickets to felonies, such as drug dealing and burglary. Before coming to work at the District Attorney's Office I worked for the Public Defender's Office in Stillwater, Minnesota and was in private practice doing criminal and family law. I have a special affinity for the story of Goldilocks - come to my class and see why!

Bob Frank

Blast Off! Beginning Rocketry

I was born in Milwaukee and moved to Richland Center in the mid 70s. I built my first rocket in the early 70s. We never did find it. Richland Center offered me the opportunity of more space and different rocket designs like the rocket car/plane I helped launch; we never found that one either! I have worked for the Richland County Sheriff's Department since 1987. I also teach an electronics/shop class once a week during the school year at Eagle School. I enjoy seeing students work through a problem and get the "I understand" expression on their faces. I hope to see many of those expressions in my CFK class this year.

Christine Harrington

Blast Off! Beginning Rocketry

I am improvisational actor, poet, and mom. Currently, I play with Raw Milk Improv in Viroqua. We practice every week and perform every ten weeks at the Fortney Cabaret. Raw Milk performs "long form" improv. This means we are given a suggestion from the audience and then perform a 60-70 minute piece based on the suggestion. There are no scripts, costumes, or props. It's just us playing with the audience's suggestion. Improv tends to be considered comedy; however it can be comedic or dramatic. It is a wonderful medium in which to express creative energy in a positive way. I have shared improv with children before and have found children are my favorite people to improv with. I look forward to opening the wonderful world of improvisation to a new generation. I consider improv a gift and am thankful for it every day. Feel free to contact me with any questions at: loverocks@mwt.net.

John Heasley

Making Martians

I connected with the cosmos when the Cub Scouts took me on a field trip to the Fels Planetarium in Philadelphia when I was in fifth grade. I teach English at Richland Center High School including our planet's only summer school course in Martian Literature. I enjoy stargazing, especially under the dark skies of Southwest Wisconsin. I have attended space education workshops at Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and Johnson Space Center in Texas and enjoy sharing the adventures with my students.

Gail Hoffman

Roadrunner 911

I'm an Assistant Professor of Physical Education and Athletics at UW-Richland. I have B.P.E from Purdue University and a M.S. in Pedagogy from UW-LaCrosse. I enjoy coaching, officiating, and being outdoors. I especially enjoy helping others live a healthy, productive, and long-lasting life.

Carl Johnson

Puppet Academy

I am a painter, sculptor and stage designer. My designs have appeared in China, France, Taiwan, Japan, the US and Singapore. Currently I am a member of the faculty in the Department of Art at the University of Wisconsin Colleges. Prior to this appointment I taught multilevel drawing and painting courses at Northwestern University. In 2004 and 2005 I was awarded consecutive Fulbright Awards to lecture and conduct research at National Taiwan University on the subject of cross-disciplinary practice in the arts. I received my Master of Fine Art degree in Painting from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Andrea Kaiser

Southwest Art

I have always enjoyed making things from materials I find in the natural world. When our family lived in New Mexico, I collected examples of many traditional arts and crafts from the Southwest, most of which are made from native materials. It is a pleasure to share these art forms during College for Kids. We connect the materials to the arts and learn how they were used by other people. Then everyone adds their imagination to make something unique. During the school year, I teach art at Reedsburg Area High School. In the summer, I like to garden, visit friends, and take photos.

Jim Korb

Wet In the Wild

I am a graduate of UW-LaCrosse and I have been teaching at the elementary level for 31 years. I am currently at Jefferson Elementary. I love working with kids. I have extended my reach by being part of the instructional staff at UW Richland's College for Kids, Middle School U and PreCollege Programs. My passion is sharing my love of the outdoors - especially monitoring the streams and the microscopic life in them.

Julie Korb

Toyland Physics

I am a graduate of UW-Richland and earned my K-6 teaching degree from UW-Platteville. The UW-Richland tradition will continue when my daughter attends this fall as a Freshman. My first teaching job was at the Open School in Monroe followed by subbing in the Richland Center district until my daughters were getting ready for school. My youngest and I started Kindergarten together! I previously taught College for Kids "Problem Solving for Inventors" and now I am back teaching through play - playing with toys to learn the physics in the world around us.

Jordan Maclay

To Infinity and Beyond

I have always loved to take things apart to see how they work, and maybe to fix them. I have studied and taught physics and engineering for decades, and there are always new experiments to do, and new things to learn. I am especially interested in figuring out how we might travel to the stars, and mine energy from empty space, very challenging goals that I have explored for NASA. Curiosity drives me to explore the world of ideas. I also make welded steel sculptures, do karate, and take piano lessons.

Jen Malphy

Creating with Computers

I received my Bachelor's Degree in English and Journalism from UW-Eau Claire and my Master's in Library and Information Science from UW-Milwaukee. I have been the Library Media Specialist at Kickapoo Area Schools for the past 9 years. I love working with computers and digital cameras to create all sorts of fun things. Scrapbooking has been a hobby of mine for quite a few years now and now that I can do it on a computer, it is even more fun for me! Creating online videos with my pictures is my newest computer adventure. If you'd like to give these fun computer hobbies a try, sign up for Creating with Computers.

Wayne Morgenthaler

Off the Hook

I taught high school for 37 years as a business education instructor and the past five years at UW-Richland and UW-Platteville. However, my true passion is fishing. I am an avid fisherman who wants to pass the sport on to the younger generation. I have been a certified DNR fishing instructor for the past 10 years and have run fishing camps through the local recreational department for 6 years. I use electronics all the time in my fishing trips and also put on the first geocaching tournament in Richland County. There are many uses for GPS units, and I would like to transfer this knowledge on to my students. I also write fishing and hunting articles for mwnews.net. My website is www.littlebobber.yolasite.com.

Dan Nedrelo

Snakes and Lizards and Frogs - Oh My!

I have been a herpetologist since 3rd grade. By the time I was in 9th grade I was doing local programs on reptiles and amphibians and using live specimens in 4-H and Boy Scouts projects. After attending the UW-Stevens Point I worked with the National Wildlife Federation and ever since I've maintained a lecture program in addition to working with the WI-DNR, Bureau of Endangered Resources, The Nature Conservancy and Dept. of the Army (Fort McCoy) doing wildlife work primarily with reptiles and amphibians. Additionally, my work as a wildlife photographer has taken me to most of the states in the USA along with Australia, Hispaniola, and most recently Costa Rica.

Jeffrey Rusk

Club Kayak

I love the outdoors and especially the part of Wisconsin I am fortunate to live in. One benefit of living in this part of the state are the waterways I like to explore by canoe and kayak. I wanted to share my love of paddle sports so I became a Certified Instructor for the American Canoe Association. When I'm not pursuing other outdoor interests I am helping horses as a farrier, trimming and balancing horses' hooves and fitting shoes to their feet.

Jena Sherry

The Chemistry Lab

I received my bachelor's degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Math as well as my Master's of Education, Professional Development (MEPD) degree from UW-LaCrosse. I have taught for fifteen years, the most recent at Kickapoo Area Schools in science and social studies. Chemistry was my favorite class high school and I love Life, Earth, and Space Science too. I'm a member of the Kickapoo-Griffin Land Stewardship Team and help manage the 300+ acres of wetlands, prairie, and school forest at Kickapoo. I enjoy traveling with my family and especially enjoy traveling to places where I can gather knowledge to share with my students.

Ken Thiede

Sports of all Sorts

I have been teaching Social Studies at Richland Center H.S. for the past 28 years and I have taught elementary summer school for the past four years. I have worked at all levels of youth leadership presenting programs for close to 20 years. I enjoy all types of sports and have been an official for over 30 years. In my class, students will get basic knowledge about major sports and each student will select their favorite teams & players to research.

Michael Wunnicke

Hola, Hablas Español?

¡Saludos! Greetings. My name is Michael Wunnicke and I am teaching Spanish at College for Kids. !Vamos a aprender español! Let's learn some Spanish. I am a high school Spanish teacher and have enjoyed teaching Spanish at College for Kids for many years. I originally started while on summer break from my teaching job in New Mexico. I love speaking and teaching Spanish and traveling in the Spanish speaking world, sometimes with some of my students. In my free time I like to swim and ride horses and of course - hablar español!

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