Blake, junior
Hometown: Maxwell, Neb.
Campus involvement: Doane Ambassador, resident assistant, Campus Crusade for Christ, Doane Choir, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Directions mentor, Relay for Life fundraiser, drama, teacher's aid, instrumental/vocal accompanist, Cardinal Key inductee (academic honor society)
Major: Secondary English/languge arts education
The alumni factor
It was not one, but two Doane alumni that steered Blake to Doane College's Crete campus to study secondary English/language arts education.
Back in his hometown of Maxwell, Neb., Blake was impressed by the skills of guidance counselor Richard Heessel, a 1976 Doane alumni, and his class sponsor, Marilyn (Patch) Lingbloom (Class of 1977). Both had a certain excellence about them in the way they worked with students that caught Blake's attention.
"So I thought there must be something great about the teaching program at Doane," Blake remembers thinking.
Involvement key
Once he got to Doane, Blake found the best way to get acclimated was to get involved.
"Campus involvement is kind of what I'm all about," said the former Maxwell High School class president. Blake has leadership responsibilities as a resident assistant at Hansen Hall and as a Doane Ambassador. Being an RA has helped him learn how to deal with confrontations, how to address large groups of people and how to take command of emergency situations -- all things he may face in his future vocation, Blake said.
He also is active in drama (he has a part in this year's play "Reeling"), plays trombone in the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, sings tenor in the Doane Choir and has contributed articles to the Doane Owl newspaper.
Blake believes involvement helps students settle into their new environment.
"You can't make it your home without putting your stock into it, without investing yourself into that community."
As a Directions Mentor this year, Blake will help two first-year students learn to invest themselves in the Doane community and reach their potential.
Broadened horizons
Blake said his experiences at Doane have broadened his horizons. Last year he traveled with the Symphonic Wind Ensemble to Washington, D.C., and toured war sites and national memorials.
Through Adventure Zone -- a summer program that brings a group of Japanese students to the Doane campus for a week -- Blake was exposed to a different culture and had the opportunity to work with junior high students.
"That has really stretched me, coming from a small town with little diversity," Blake said.
Next May, Blake will experience additional international cultures as he travels with the Doane Choir to Europe.
Preparing for the future
As a teacher's aid for Linda Kalbach's fall Liberal Arts Seminar "Truth, Power and Action: A Human Rights Journey," Blake is preparing for his future in the education field. He helps lead small group discussions and will head up the capstone project for the seminar -- a play put on by class members that features human rights activists and showcases what students have learned.
Kalbach, assistant professor of education, said she couldn't have found a better TA and that Blake has the qualities it takes to make a great teacher, including humility and an easy-going nature. Also, "he's passionately committed to anything he's involved in," Kalbach said.