Kathy Andersen

President

My name is Kathryn Andersen, in my fourth year on the Arts Council. Two former colleagues, Thomas F. Kelly and Dennis Scott, are my twin inspirations for wanting to be a part of this council's good work. (Who would have known that my NSU yearbooking days would have fostered an interest in the arts that looks to be a lifelong interest?) Since my NSU education, I have been a language arts teacher for 33 years, 29 of those years at Central High School in Aberdeen, SD. Prior to that, I was a language arts teacher in Ipswich, SD where our current Executive Director, Stacy Braun, was a student of mine. Concurrently, I have worked at Avera St. Luke's Hospital for 33 years in the patient registration and switchboard areas and resigned from work there after September, 2007. I see the influence of art on lives of high school students daily. My classroom is adjacent to the art rooms and art people are inspirational neighbors. I'm on the Arts council, in part, because of these students. I'm a defender of the arts in education. It is as vital in students' lives as oxygen.