printer-friendly
Alumni
Karenza Kroeker, '03
Karenza Kroeker graduated from Bethel College with degrees in music education and German. After working as a nanny in Quirnbach, Germany, and an elementary school teacher in inner-city Chicago, she now teaches music at Iowa Mennonite School (IMS), a high school in Kalona, Iowa.
Coming to Bethel was not an especially surprising decision, since her father and brother were Bethel graduates. What was more surprising was her decision to compound her music and German majors with teaching certification. Despite her initial “half-interested attitude” in music education, her professors persistently challenged her to stick with it.
After graduating, Karenza spent a year in Germany as a nanny for the family of a Bethel graduate. The cross-cultural experience allowed her to put her German language skills to the test. It also prepared her for an even bigger cross-cultural experience the next year. While she was in Germany, a friend told her about a position opening up at the Chicago Mennonite Learning Center, a K-8 school on the south side of Chicago.
Karenza believes her time in Chicago helped her discover where her true interests lay. “I think one thing I’ve learned is that you don’t always figure out what you want to do until you figure out what you don’t want to do,” she says. “And instead of sitting fearful in the sidelines, jumping in headfirst will get you somewhere and you’ll be a stronger person for taking on a challenge that you might not think you are cut out for.”
After a year teaching in Chicago, Karenza became aware of a music faculty position opening up at IMS. She remembered singing there as a member of the Bethel College Concert Choir and being impressed by the school. She applied for the job and, to her surprise, was hired. Now that she is teaching music at IMS, Karenza is grateful to her Bethel College professors for their attention and encouragement.
“People like [professors] Bill Eash, Kathryn Kasper, Karen Schlabaugh, Don Kehrberg and Merle Schlabaugh all impacted me by counsel and model,” says Karenza. “I still contact them occasionally with questions, and I still feel like they care about my well-being and future.”
Susan Gaeddert, '00
Susan Gaeddert graduated from Bethel in 2000 with a degree in music. She is now pursuing her doctorate in collaborative piano at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her graduate school experience has shown that even though she is moving into a specialized field, a broad-based liberal arts education has been critical to her success.
At Bethel, Susan was a student of piano instructor Karen Schlabaugh, professor of music. She was provided numerous opportunities to refine her skills as both an accompanist and a soloist. In 1998, she applied for and received a research grant to write a paper on the Op. 87 preludes and fugues of Dmitri Shostakovich. She also gave a solo recital every year starting her sophomore year, and accompanied many other instrumentalists and vocalists in their recitals.
After graduating, Susan was accepted into the University of Wisconsin School of Music. She completed her first M.M. in piano performance and pedagogy in 2002, and a second M.M. in collaborative piano in 2004. She is on track to receive her D.M.A. in collaborative piano in December 2007. Susan recalls that when she began graduate school she was intimidated by the size and bureaucratic nature of the program. After a few weeks, though, she was confident that her liberal arts education at Bethel had “more than prepared” her.
“I had more experience in writing, critical thinking and teaching than the other UW students who had come from larger music schools and conservatories,” Susan said. “I had to write a thesis for my pedagogy degree, and since starting the doctorate, I’ve had to do a significant amount of research and writing. As a music major at Bethel, I had to do a variety of music-related things apart from solo piano music, like teaching, accompanying, conducting, singing in ensembles, and chamber music. I’m sure that my broad musical background is largely responsible for the graduate assistantships I was awarded at UW (without which I could not have afforded grad school), and for my broad interests as a musician.”
Arthur Marks, '93
In the professional theater arena, Bethel alumnus Arthur Marks has sung with orchestras throughout the United States and in numerous international venues, and he is in great demand as a choreographer. In addition, he performed in Off Broadway productions of SIDD, The Screams of Kitty Genovese, and Backstage at the Funky B. His work in regional musical theater is substantial. He was featured as the "Ugly Duckling" in HONK! and his vocal work in that production resulted in the first American cast recording of that musical with Music Theater of Wichita. To read more click here.
Rachel de Benedet
Rachel de Benedet is currently in the Broadway company of The Adams Family. She created the role of "Paula Abagnale" in the world premiere of Catch Me If You Can, played at the Chicago Goodman Theater in the world premiere of Turn of the Century and spent the last nine months playing "Guenevere" in the National Tour of Camelot. She has played on Broadway in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Muriel), Nine (Diana) and in The Sound of Music in which she also toured as "Elsa," winning the JUDY award. Her recordings include the newly released Adrift in Macao, 3hree Musketeers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Nine, and Carols for a Cure 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2011. Visit Rachel's website for more information.