Charlotte (Meeker) Dornbusch Class of 2004 Role: Biology | Anatomy | Physiology | Physics Charlotte Dornbusch describes herself as a life-long learner. “I am constantly learning through teaching. Every year I find I gain more understanding of concepts or discover new information that I hadn’t known before.”
Charlotte’s route to a teaching career was circuitous. “I never imagined I would be a teacher,’ she says. “I had my sights set on the medical profession.”
She credits her students with being a huge influence. “The students play an integral role in my learning,” says Charlotte “as they teach me things along the way or offer new perspectives I hadn’t considered before.”
Following graduation from Hope College, Charlotte took a gap year to travel and experience a different culture. She became certified to teach English as a second language and got a job in Surakarta, a small city in Indonesia. “Once I began teaching the kids there, I fell in love with it,” says Charlotte. “I loved getting to know the students and being able to help and encourage them during such a critical time in their life.” She also became comfortably fluent in Bahasa, the language of the area in which she taught. On her return to the U.S. a year and a half later, Charlotte returned to the University of Michigan to earn her Masters in Education.
Charlotte came to TC Christian in 7th grade. Like her siblings (and TCCS schoolmates) Mary, Laura, and Walter, Charlotte was active in the TC Christian community and threw herself into both academics and athletics. “As a student I really enjoyed English, Biology and Anatomy/Physiology,” recalls Charlotte. A teacher who stood out to Charlotte was Tom Broderick. “Dr. B was - and still is - one of the most entertaining, intelligent and fun people to be around,” she says. Outside the classroom was filled with many great opportunities, too. “Some of my favorite memories are playing basketball, soccer and tennis at the school. I especially enjoyed my basketball team as most of us played together for all six years at school.”
A young Tom Broderick appears unimpressed with the attempt to render correct military courtesies from Charlotte and her classmate, Koren Buttleman. 16 | The Messenger
In 2014, Charlotte married her best friend, Brandon Dornbusch, a Traverse City attorney, and they soon started a family. Their twin four year-olds, Mary and Maggie, are now preschoolers at TC Christian, a situation Charlotte says is especially comforting since she and Brandon know the life lessons they teach at home are being reinforced at school. “We really enjoy knowing our children are learning in a Christian environment with teachers who not only teach them about Christ’s love, but also demonstrate that love.”
