College for Kids 2014 Faculty Bios
Rhonda Aspensonis a Business Education teacher at Winona Senior High School where she has been employed for the past 22 years. She teaches computer programs including Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. She also teaches law, accounting, and keyboarding. She attended Winona State University receiving both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
Nancy Bachlorgrew up in Winona. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY, and then a master's degree from Middlebury College in Vermont. Three of her college years were spent studying in Paris. She has been teaching French and French literature at St. Mary's University since 1976. She has been with the WSU College For Kids program as a faculty member since its beginning.
Lindsey Berger isa senior at Winona State University with an elementary education with early childhood major and a child advocacy minor. I really like animals, crafts, and spending time with people. In my free time I enjoy hiking, going to the beach, camping, reading, and traveling. I have volunteered for two years in various CFK courses. This will be my first time teaching a course at College for Kids, and I am very excited to participate in this program!
Jody Berhowis the Art teacher/Public Relations representative for the Winona Area Catholic Schools. A Winona State graduate, Jody has an extensive background in art and art teaching. A Winona native, she has taught art classes to all ages from 5 years to 75 years old. A founding member of the College for Kids staff of educators, she looks forward each year to meeting her students and instilling in them her love of the arts and watching them explore their own ways of expression.
Andrea Church is a special education teacher at the Winona Senior High School where she teaches replacement Physical Science, Health, and Keyboarding classes. She has taught at CFK for the past few years and has a special interest in using technology in education.
Olga Dedkovais anadjunct Spanish Instructor at WSU. She also teaches ELL and Spanish at Arcadia High School. Olga has been with Arcadia for 10 years and enjoys working with the students of all ages. Olga has a son named Jon and he is a Junior at WSHS. She also has a cat; her name is Sonya. Olga loves languages and travel.
Robbie Deering and Katrina Flaschare senior biology education majors at Winona State. They spend a lot of time studying biology and chemistry and are excited to finally have the opportunity to teach it! They developed this class as a fun way to gain some teaching experience as well as investigate effective science teaching strategies. They believe that they best way to learn about science is to have students working hands-on in an environment that supports their curiosity. Robbie enjoys dancing, drinking coffee, and watching scary movies. Katrina loves to travel, drink more coffee, and spend time outside. We are excited to do some fun experiments this summer!
Becky Donlin has been teaching English at Eisenhower Middle/High School in New Berlin, Wisconsin, for the past seven years. She currently teaches World and American Literature, in addition to serving as the high school forensics speech coach. Her education includes an undergraduate degree in Mass Communications from UW-La Crosse, Secondary English Education certification and Master of Arts in Education from Mount Mary University in Milwaukee. She enjoys reading, traveling, and especially looks forward to visiting Winona every summer for the Great River Shakespeare Festival. She is excited to be a part of College for Kids for the first time this year!
Phyllis Frisch creates unusual arts and craft projects from common, familiar objects such as toothpicks, straws, Legos, and eggs. She has thirteen years experience serving as Gifted and Talented Educator in various school districts in southeastern Minnesota. Creative thinking activities and math enrichments are just two of the ways she has encouraged students to stretch beyond the boundaries of learning and to take their thinking to the next level.
Ross Greedyis an outdoor educator who has traveled all over the U.S. following his career. Ross is currently back in school himself working on his masters in Education Leadership here at Winona State University. When Ross isn’t working or buried in a school project you can find him running around exploring the bluffs with his better half Lisa and his dog Hank.
Richard Harding learned chess at young age and continues to enjoy the game today. Chess is exciting because it teaches players to plan for and understand the results of their actions. Wow! Richard is married and the father of his daughter – a healthy College for Kids alum. He works and lives just blocks from WSU, and his major interests are chess, technical writing, skiing, and home improvement.
Connie Johnson, C.J., is the founder of the Lady Mav Steppers (MSU Step Team) 2006-2010. She started stepping in the Midwest in elementary school. Known for choreography created for cultural events, she is an instructor for local communities interested in cultural enrichment. She is currently an Admissions Counselor and Inclusion & Diversity Liaison at Winona State University.
Debby Klages has taught College for Kids classes for more than 20 years. She has a degree in Music Performance and Art from St. Olaf College plus a degree in Art Education and Studio Art from the University of Minnesota. Exploring and playing with creative ideas have been essential throughout her life and fed her hungry soul! No matter how experienced Debby is an as artist, every year, she continues to learn new approaches and explorations from her students, who are the greatest, fearless leaders!
Mandy Knoxis a teacher in the Starmont Community School District in Iowa. She teaches 7-12th grade art and loves every minute of it. Her specialty is working with 3-dimensional non-traditional materials to create works of art. Her husband is an art professor at Winona State and together they have an adorable three-year-old little girl named Memphis.
Bill Kuhlhas worked with computers for the past 20 years but has been building and flying model airplanes for 40 years. He has taught model airplane classes for several groups including College for Kids in the past. In the last couple of years he has introduced kites, model solar cars, mousetrap cars, and water rockets in to classes. This past summer he had a booth at the Minnesota State Fair for STEM Day.
Kay Pedrettiis a Biology Lab Specialist at WSU and has taught for several years in this program. She has taught middle school, high school and college classes in Biology. In her spare time she loves to read, garden and attend her kids events.
Melanie Reap taught middle school science and currently teaches university students how to teach science in elementary schools. She is a licensed amateur radio operator, call sign KD0NTM.
Halley Sobeckis a 16-year participant in College for Kids! She took classes, volunteered, and is now teaching. Halley attends WSU studying art and English. Her hobbies include traveling, reading, ceramics, hanging out with her dogs, and yoga. She is very excited to be a part of the CFK faculty this year!
Karen Whitney-Thrunetaught in the Family and Consumer Science Program (FACS) at the Winona Middle School for 11 years. She is currently a counselor at Winona Senior High School.
Christopher Vondracekis a faculty member in the English Department at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. He has taught composition, rhetoric, literature, and most recently a semester-long independent study on short fiction. His fiction has appeared in Future Cities and Mosaic, and he is a regular contributor to The Tangential, a creative writing blog. His creative nonfiction novel, Dances with Welk, started as a novella for his graduate thesis at the University of South Dakota, is nearing completion.