Students leaving Saturday to spend three weeks in Germany

Talking Suitcase presentation highlights minority students’ stories

On Thursday April 22 in the PAC the ELL students will be telling their stories through their artwork. The presentation will include talking suitcases that will contain objects to tell their stories of struggles and accomplishments as a minority student.

The students began the Talking Suitcase project towards the end of third quarter. They also began writing papers about their expectations, challenges, opportunities, and achievements. Students’ artwork in the suitcases helped illustrate their experiences.

“I enjoyed doing it.” said Junior Nellya Scheurmann, “It was fun to put my memories on a piece of paper.”

Shana Bregenzer has been a language development teacher for eight years. The first time she had her students do the talking suitcase project was four years ago, and she feels that the challenges facing minority students have changed.

“The experience was very different for minority students eight years ago,” said Bregenzer. “I had a student who had literally walked, by himself, from El Salvador to Buffalo because his parents were already here and had to leave him. But when we would walk the halls here, he was afraid to walk alone. Before I had kids, I was skinnier, and I would walk with him. People thought I was a student, and I could hear the students yell at him, ‘Go back to your own country!’ and ‘Dirty Mexican!’ It was just heartbreaking.”

Since the project started, minority students have begun to feel more comfortable and the level of racism has decreased. Bregenzer sees the project as an opportunity for minority students to become more comfortable with who they are.

“There are a lot of students who hide who they are when they should be proud,” said Bregenzer. “It will be tough for some students. I hope it goes well. I have full faith in our student body. We have had students in the audience crying and saying, ‘I’m so sorry I never talked to you before.’ I don’t expect disrespect to happen.”

“I think it’s a good way to show everybody that we are all more alike than different,” said Junior Ashley Johnson.

All teachers have been informed of the presentations, which will begin at the start of every block. After Thursday, the Talking Suitcases might go on display.

Student teacher gains insight for future career

For over two months, St. Cloud State University student Lauren Rhealt has attended French class as usual: taking notes, asking questions and talking to classmates. But unlike most students, she is not in class to learn a language. She has been observing French teacher Jason Swanson and his classes because she would like to one day teach French, too.

Originally from Fargo, North Dakota, Rheault is majoring in French at St. Cloud State University has visited France three times. Yet she hasn’t always enjoyed studying it.

“I didn’t like French in high school at all,” said Rheault. “I didn’t learn from the way my teacher taught and I ended up really frustrated and wanted to quit. My mom said I could go on the France trip, and if I still didn’t like French after getting back, I could quit it. But when I got there, I literally woke up one morning and was like, ‘It all makes sense!’ It clicked. I love being able to speak a different language and being able to express myself and speak to others in a different language. Being surrounded by something I’ve never been familiar with before opens my eyes and it helps me. I wasn’t able to experience a lot of culture in Fargo, and that experience helped me realize how different it is around the world. Even holding silverware is different. No one way of doing things is right or wrong, but I like to compare.”

She has compared different experiences she’s had as a student as she’s studied to become a teacher. She feels it is also important to be a friend and mentor to students.

“Some of my best teachers have given me different ways of looking at content. Especially by instead of looking at [an idea] the textbook way, opening it up and applying it to me, showing how it’d affect my life – showing an idea to me as a person, not just a body in the classroom. It’s important for teachers to let their students know they are there for them when they can’t talk to their family and friends. I know I’ve talked to some of my teachers about personal things because my family and friends already knew about them and were a little biased. It was nice to know my teachers were there to support me and I’d like to be there for my students, too.”

Rheault will attend her graduation ceremony on May 8 and finish classes on June 4. She has no definite plans for her future career yet but she has a few ideas.

“For next year, I’m trying to get a job in France being a nanny – it’s called an ‘au pair’ – and I’m checking my e-mail every second I can. Next year my plan is to leave the country. I know one day I really want to have a family and kids and now is my opportunity to go out and learn and experience things. I also want to learn Spanish. I’m talking elementary Spanish I this summer and after I have some experience in a French-speaking part of the world I want to go to a Spanish-speaking part of the world and get my [teaching license] in Spanish, too. I’d like to be a French and Spanish teacher. But that would be a long way off.”

Rheault may finish student teaching in mid-April, but she doesn’t believe her learning experiences will end then.

“I consider myself a lifelong learner.”

Pegasus Literary Arts Magazine reviews submissions

The Pegasus Literary Arts Magazine is working towards publication. Staff members met yesterday afternoon to review poetry and art submissions.
The magazine was created over 25 years ago as an outlet for students to publish their creative work and is advised by English teacher David Robinson.
Pegasus has received about 40 submissions total, but would like to receive about 35 more. Students can submit poetry, prose, and artwork for a variety of reasons, but work will not necessarily be published.
“It can give people more confidence to have their work published,” said Senior and Selection Editor Taylor Beck. “When somebody submits their work, it can be seen and enjoyed by hundreds of people.”
In the next month, editors will choose a cover and theme for this year’s issue and finalize its pages. The magazine should be published in late April or early May.

After having a daughter, girls basketball coach plans to return next year

Brianna Eggers. Photo courtesy of Stacy Eggers

Basketball has been a passion of Math teacher Stacy Eggers for over a decade. For the first time, she has taken a season off of coaching girls basketball to have her daughter, Brianna Theresa.

“I totally miss coaching,” said Eggers, “It’s really hard, like, I knew I was going to kind of miss it because I really love coaching. This is my first season off since I was 10. I’ve been playing or coaching basketball for literally my whole life. I played when I was a kid and then I played through high school and college. And then, as soon as I got a job here I started coaching. So my winter is in the gym. That’s how it’s always been. And I love the girls. It’s really hard to not be coaching. Brianna was born the first day of basketball practice – there was no way I could coach this year just because it wouldn’t have worked. But I’ll be back next year.”

Until then, Eggers remains involved with the team. She’s made packets with inspirational quotes to give to the team before some of the home games, and has attended every home game and two at St. Michael high school, now with her daughter alongside her. Although Brianna may have been introduced to basketball before the age most children are introduced to solid food, Eggers is unsure of whether or not her daughter will one day play, too.

Brianna Theresa Eggers, four hours old

“Everybody says she will. My husband and I met playing college basketball, so both of us are pretty big basketball fans, and play a lot. We’re both tall, so everybody says, ‘She’s going to be tall and play basketball.’ I mean, if she decides to, she will. But it’s not like I’m going to make her. If she likes it, she’ll play; if she doesn’t, she won’t. But, she’ll try it, and we’ll see what happens.”

For now, Eggers remains busy with teaching and motherhood, if not coaching.

“It’s a new ‘normal,’ but it’s good.”

By Kristin Jeske, Nicole Banke, and Caroline Persons