Alumna recruits other BGSU artists
Falcon teachers excel in Texas classrooms Raul Fonseca ’92 was recruited for his first teaching position by the Aldine Independent School District at a BGSU job fair. Now he’s human resource director for the same district in Texas, and has hired more than three dozen Falcons to teach hundreds of miles away. The key: he doesn’t wait until the job fair in April to get to know potential recruits. Aldine counts BGSU as a partner university. Fonseca makes several visits and formal presentations, and has casual conversations with students in teaching methods courses in the months before the annual event. The district hires a steady stream of student teachers from the University. In fact, a group from BGSU just traveled during spring break to meet with Fonseca and tour his urban system in the greater Houston area. It doesn’t hurt that Aldine schools were recognized in 2009 with the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education. Selection is based on complex data, including student improvement and minimal achievement gaps between students of varied income and ethnicity. The prize offers $1 million in scholarships to graduates of the district. So, Fonseca doesn’t woo prospective teachers — the right candidates find him. “We’re not like other districts, hoping that we can convince you to come to our district,” he said. “We’re looking for a special person who knows what they’re getting into, who knows what it takes to work with kids that need teachers to go the extra mile.”
Katie Christensen ’11 expected years to pass before she achieved her goal of leading an artist-in-residence program. Her unexpected success came early and with a bonus — her alma mater was represented in her inaugural group of creative-types at the Brush Creek Ranch, located about four hours northwest of Denver. Christensen’s dream job in her native Wyoming came just weeks after earning her master of fine arts at BGSU. As director of the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, she works with a jury to identify finalists in music, writing and visual arts for the residency program at the ranch. She has the final word on all selections. The first group included Distinguished Artist Professor and professional composer Marilyn Shrude, who finished a commissioned piece, and Distinguished Artist Professor and accomplished saxophonist John Sampen, who spent the time perfecting his performance technique, bringing that back to benefit his students as well. Months later, Christensen welcomed an Ohio artist who has visited the BGSU School of Art, Stanka Kordic. The artist was inspired by the Wyoming landscape to change the color palette of some of her ethereal paintings, adding blues to beiges, Christensen said. Christensen, a printmaker, is delighted with her opportunity to help artists transform their craft and gain a new perspective in the wide-open spaces of her home state. The residency program is not yet a year old, and already Christensen has selected more than 100 artists. “It’s amazing what happens when you have the focus time to dig a little deeper,” she said. “You don’t have the distractions of daily life, like walking the dog or picking the kids up from school. You can focus on art.”
BGSU MAGAZINE 19