KNOW SELF KNOW VALUES
Photo: RMC staff
Standing in front of Alden Hall where she spent many hours over the past four years assisting the Institute for Peace Studies, Anudari Batjargal stands with Cindy Kunz, executive director of the Institute.
P R E S I DENT ’ S CUP W INNE R
UNSTOPPABLE ANUDARI BATJARGAL “Unstoppable” is a word that Anudari Batjargal employs to discuss the work of the Institute for Peace Studies at Rocky Mountain College, where, for four years, she served as a work-study student. The 2013 President’s Cup winner, fresh from winning three academic department awards and graduating summa cum laude, barely had time to celebrate her achievements before she was focused on this year’s Festival of Cultures, the annual June event that welcomes thousands of visitors to the RMC campus. “We’ve built an unstoppable team,” the native of Mongolia said of the Institute. The Institute for Peace Studies is one segment of her college career – community service – that helped her earn the President’s Cup. Her 3.98 cumulative GPA, her service as a senator for the Associated Students of RMC (ASRMC), and her double major in aviation management and managerial accounting, with a math minor, added to her impressive credentials. Anudari, called Anu (pronounced Ah-no), won the outstanding student awards in three departments: aviation, business, and math. “She earned it all the old fashioned way. Hard work and discipline,” said Dan Hargrove, RMC director of aviation. “She simply is an exceptional
person.” Anu credited her successes to her belief in “Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs.” “Each individual strives for selfactualization. With the support of friends, family, and my ‘family away from home,’ and in being committed and tenacious, I feel I’ve truly been the best I can be,” she stated. Her mission – to earn her degree with an aviation and business concentration – began before she turned 16 years old, when she was looking for the right college. She chose RMC because it had the courses she wanted and was similar in geography to her home country. Mongolia has only three million people so she was accustomed to less crowded, expansive locations. She was the youngest RMC student when she arrived, and one of her first honors as the youngest student was to light the Yule log at RMC’s annual Yule Log Dinner. She dismissed the importance of being so young. “I don’t even feel 16 because I am not treated like I am 16,” she said. “That’s another great thing about Rocky. I am treated like an adult as long as I behave like one.” She said at the time her goal was to obtain
SENIOR SAMPLER
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MAKE DECISIONS WITH BOTH IN ALIGNMENT her aviation management degree so she could return to Mongolia to manage the new airport under construction near the capital of Ulan Bator. That is still one of her goals, after she has pursued other professional Continued on page 2
PR E S I DENT ’ S CUP W INNER The personal growth Johnathan Diem experienced at Rocky Mountain College is mirrored by the growth he observed in the institution. “RMC is not the same place it was five years ago, and I cannot wait to see where it is five years from now. I witnessed faculty and staff development, campus renovations, a restatement of the school’s mission, and a change in leadership,” Diem said. Indeed, Diem was closely involved in the leadership change, serving as the student representative on the RMC Presidential Search Committee. As the president of Associated Students of Rocky Mountain College (ASRMC), he was the logical choice for the role, but it was not a token appointment. Nor was his contribution simply to provide a student’s perspective. “Johnathan’s insights and his participation were instrumental in the process,” noted Barb Skelton, who chaired the committee. “His consideration of the candidates was important not just from a student’s view, but for overall.” Diem was one of the committee members who reported to the full Board of Trustees during its deliberations, which resulted in the selection of Robert Wilmouth as the 10th president of the College. Serving on the search committee confirmed for Diem what he learned during much of his time at RMC. “Take advantage of every opportunity. Don’t sell yourself short. Find what it is you love and pursue it wholeheartedly,” he said. Making the most of opportunities, developing talents, and serving others were reasons Diem was selected for the President’s Cup. Diem excelled academically – he was three-time Academic All-American – as
UNFLAPPABLE JOHNATHAN DIEM
Excelling on the slopes and scholastically, Johnathan Diem well represented the RMC scholar-athlete tradition.
well as athletically. He was a member of the RMC 2011 national championship ski team and an All-American in the Skier-X. He knew during his first time on campus that this would become his home. “After a visit to campus, I felt welcomed,” he said. He knew two other skiers who had attended RMC – Pete Petry and Michael Tichy – and spoke highly of their experiences. “Inspired, I wanted what they found at Rocky.” Diem found his own way, encouraged and enlightened by faculty and staff. He credits Katie Carpenter, associate dean of student life, for guiding him to ways he could be involved in the community; James
UNSTOPPABLE ANUDARI opportunities in this country, she explained. “In the long-term, contributing toward an exciting growth in aviation in Mongolia is important,” she said. “Aviation connects us to the world.” But, in the short term, she wants to do she can to help one of her chief mentors – Cindy Kunz, executive director for the Institute – with outreach to area schools where they teach conflict resolution, while they also prepare for the summer festival and Peace Village Camp. “It is not only her person that has had an impact, but everything she represents,” said Anu. “She demonstrates through her work that a community will be at its best only when our differences – in talents, in experience, in 2
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cultures – come together to create synergy.” She hopes other students will also discover the lessons she learned while at RMC. “Remember learning does not only happen in the classroom. Everyone you meet, every task you complete (or not complete), every mistake, and every achievement brings lessons you can absorb. Be the best you can be. Don’t lose perspective. Be reflective inside.” It will all add up to being unstoppable, like Anu. “I know, with the strong foundation of education, the College, the Institute for Peace Studies, and my close friends helped me build, there will hardly be any obstacle I cannot learn to overcome,” she said.
Smith, professor of business, for sage advice about happiness, delivered while helping him repair a roof; Anthony Piltz, academic vice president and professor of business administration and economics, for teaching him the difference between being educated and trained, and for his wonderful wit; and Jerry Wolf, ski coach, “a friend and a legend of the mountains.” So what was the advice from Professor Smith? “Know yourself. Know your values. Make decisions aligned with both.” That was the message he and Anudari Batjargal, the other President’s Cup winner and student of Smith, delivered at commencement. Blending Professor Smith’s advice about how to be happy with Academic Vice President Piltz’ advice about the importance of a liberal arts education is a potent combination, Diem believed. “My experience at Rocky has been a tremendously positive one. Today, I find much joy in looking at myself five years ago and comparing that person to the person I am today. I am the same person, no doubt, but Rocky has provided me with an environment conducive to maturity,” Diem noted. RMC helped him hone his expertise on the ski slopes with his education in business and accounting. “RMC is the ultimate résumé builder,” Diem said. Now, after an internship with the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, he’ll see if his résumé lands him his dream job: “In a perfect world, I would work my way into the ski industry,” he said.
D E A N ’ S C UP W INNE R
DOWNS CREDITS GREAT TEACHERS Earning the Dean’s Cup at Rocky Mountain College means achieving the highest cumulative grade point average, in itself a tough job, but add to it winning the top academic honors in mathematics, philosophy, and computer science, and you’ve won the trifecta for academic accomplishment. That is what Jacob Downs achieved when he was one of the 2013 Dean’s Cup winners. Humbly, Downs credits a line-up of professors who helped him. In the computer science department: Andy WIldenberg (RMC professor, computer science), Kim Smith (former professor, computer science), and Aaron Benner (computer science instructor) were all instrumental, he said. “Kim got me hooked on computer science and taught me how to ‘program’ rather than ‘code.’ Aaron offers invaluable practical experience from his years in the industry. Andy is absurdly intelligent, yet still down-to-earth. He has a gift for presenting complicated ideas in a way that makes them understandable,” he said. In the mathematics department, Downs credits Professors Deb Wiens, Ulrich Hoensch, and Sam Gross with his success.
Siobhan Flynn and Jacob Downs won the 2013 Dean’s Cup for having the highest cumulative grade point averages.
“I had about four semesters packed with classes from Deb. Between her proofs class and two semesters of abstract algebra, she helped me to begin thinking like a mathematician. Ulrich is a master of analysis. He has taught me a lot of concepts and ideas that I didn’t fully appreciate until I had to use them later. Sam fueled my interest in math and encouraged me to attempt problems on my own,” he said. In the biology department Dr. Mark Osterlund had a positive impact. “I had the opportunity to work with Mark on a bioinformatics project (computational biology). He is extremely knowledgeable
and a pleasure to work with,” he said. In fact, the entire bioinformational research project was transformational for Jacob. “It was simply a great experience, and I hope that Rocky will continue to do this kind of interdisciplinary research in the future,” he added. Jacob will continue to pursue his interest in computer science, in graduate school. The quiet academic award winner does not offer advice for other students at RMC. “I am not sure that I am either old enough or wise enough to begin dispensing advice,” he laughed.
D E A N ’ S C UP W INNE R
FLYNN HOPES FOR FUTURE IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION Ask Siobhan Flynn – the second Dean’s Cup winner – what one of her greatest achievements was while earning the highest cumulative grade point average and she’ll say it was Finn. “That’s my colt that I bought and trained step by step,” she smiled. “Now I get to watch how Finn does with my boyfriend, Hayden Hadley, who will continue to train him and show him in the professional world.” Siobhan (an Irish name, pronounced She-von) double majored in psychology and equine therapeutic riding, “with the intent of using my knowledge to assist those with psychological and behavioral disorders,” she said. Unexpectedly, her choice follows a family pattern. Her dad is an outfitter and rancher; her mom is a 3
school counselor. “It’s funny how that happens,” she said. “I always knew I would wind up in a career similar to my dad’s because I love being around horses, but I never expected to venture into my mother’s field.” Siobhan hopes to earn a master’s in school counseling at MSU Billings. “I really hope to work with elementary kids and incorporate a new curriculum about preventing bullying that includes equine therapy,” she said. “On the side, I hope to develop a private practice of my own, utilizing my knowledge in equine to facilitate psychotherapy and learning. “ Her years at RMC have taught Siobhan one important lesson: Don’t be surprised that some things won’t be what you expected, but be sure to take advantage of
that when it happens. “I wasn’t sure coming to a small college, after being in a small school, was a good idea, but it turned out that the small class size and closeness of faculty was a pleasure. I wasn’t sure how my focus on therapeutic riding would branch out into other fields, but I’m glad it did. I only played volleyball for two years, but Coach Laurie Kelley proved she cared about what was important to me. To this day I know that I can always find her in her office if I need a laugh and a smile,” she noted. Siobhan also discovered other opportunities she never imagined she would have. “I had the opportunity to develop my skills by working with three different groups of students from Youth Dynamics. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching these students Continued on page 5
R E T I RI NG P RO FE SSORS
DR. VAN DYK: PLENTY LEFT TO DO Jane Van Dyk will leave Rocky Mountain College singing. And swinging. And kicking. She will have no regrets, many great memories, an impressive résumé of accomplishments, a song in her heart, and an exercise regimen, including kickboxing, that would make any pugilist proud. “Music has always been my avocation,” said RMC’s associate vice president and director of Services for Academic Success (SAS). She served 15 years on the board of the Billings Symphony Orchestra and Chorale, including two terms as president. On the national level, she served ten years on the Volunteer Council of the League of American Orchestras, with one term as president. ‘I’m delighted that the Council has invited me back again next year,” she noted. An amateur musician, she plays the French horn and the piano and has recently discovered a passion for singing. A role in Rimrock Opera’s La Boheme – a non-singing part – awakened her interest in seeing if she might graduate to a singing
role. She consulted Doug Nagel – Rimrock Opera’s recently retired artistic director and professor of voice at MSU-B – to see if he might take her on as a student. After several months of lessons, Nagel encouraged her to audition for the opera. She got into the chorus for both The Crucible and Aida. “I was thrilled,” she said. “I absolutely loved it. I really want to do more.” The fit 70-year-old will also pursue another passion. “I am a true believer in the value of exercise for Photo: James Woodcock, Billings Gazette Jane Van Dyk looks forward to more time singing, exercising, visiting family and “new the mind, body, and chapters” in her life. the soul,” she said. She adheres to a schedule of kickboxing, Zumba, and Nia. two- to three-mile weekend runs and durRetirement for Jane will be more joy ing the weekdays does aerobics, yoga, Continued on page 6
DR. LEAF: TIME TO WRITE POEMS
Dr. Linaya Leaf enjoyed watching students receive awards at the annual “Voices” celebration. 4
The role Dr. Linaya Leaf performed at Linfield College years ago, as Dolly Levi, the matchmaker, in the play of the same name, may have presaged a role she was toplay all her life. During decades of teaching, Dr. Leaf has served as a matchmaker for students to the fine arts, connecting them to Shakespeare and modern drama,acquainting them with Native American literature and creative writing, and, most frequently, introducing them to their own creativity where they discovered their own voices. In fact, ‘Voices’, became the fitting name for the annual culmination of that matchmaking, a celebration at Rocky Mountain College held every spring, when students read their poetry and stories, showed their art work
and photography, were recognized by faculty judges with awards and by student editors for inclusion in the college literary journal, Soliloquy. Dr. Leaf will divide her retirement time between Lopez Island in Northern Washington, and her home in Billings, Montana. She anticipates building new memories with her mother on Lopez and spending more time with her son, an attorney, her daughter, a physician, and her twin grandsons. She will also do more matchmaking with her writing, finding time to respond to nature and communicate with God through her own verse. “I really do look forward to feeling inspired and feeding that creative outlet, my poetry,” she said. It will be a new footprint, a metaphor she likes to employ for many aspects of her life. In her farewell address to the College community at baccalaureate, she spoke of many footprints on her life, from the trust she has had from her students to their creativity; from the courage to face new challenges to the generosity she has felt during her years as an English and Theatre Arts professor. Her regard for footprints originated with Continued on page 6
RETIR IN G S TA F F
KEHLER: ‘THE GREEN GUY’ Bill Kehler is a modern man who respects vintage values. RMC’s librarian for the past 18 years, Kehler steered Rocky Mountain College’s library services in digital directions, but he also spearheaded efforts on campus to preserve and enhance the Ivy League-look of the campus. “Bill was a leader in getting the campus community on board with recycling,” said Terry Steiner, facility services director. “He and I sat down years ago to try to figure out the best ways to get Rocky to go ‘green.’” Thus, RMC’s Green Group was born. Kehler’s commitment became the College’s commitment. Behind the scenes, RMC converted to green cleaning products, getting rid of toxic chemical agents. More visibly, RMC began an aggressive tree planting campaign. Kehler convinced Gainan’s Flowers and Garden Center and Jerry Anderberg & Associates Landscaping to donate trees. Steiner mobilized his crews to do the planting, frequently as a memorial, but also annually for Earth Day events, something Kehler organized. Kehler also recruited Bethany Dopp, library associate, to help and, later, she donned the mantle of managing the Green Group. Dopp, who has a degree in environmental science, had an interest in Green Group’s efforts, and wanted to continue Kehler’s legacy. “He really put the Green Group together. Initially, the library funded the work study students who worked on recycling. To help Bill, I took over supervising them,” she said. “It’s a tribute to him that there is so much student awareness and participation. He’s ‘the green guy’.” A typical Earth Day week serves as an ex-
ample of how much Kehler orchestrated: a recycling booth, organic vegan cookies, outdoor classes, a bike/bus/walk/carpool day, a bicycle tuning day, tree planting, and a campuswide cleanup were all part of the week-long activities. This year’s Green Group event included the showing of “Chasing Ice,” a National Geographic documentary that followed photographer James Balog, Longtime friends and colleagues, Professor Mark Moak and Librarian Bill Kehler, visited chronicling the vanishing of at a retirement reception for Kehler and Professors Linaya Leaf and Jane Van Dyk. the world’s largest glaciers. “We were actively involved original Paul M. Adams Memorial Library in recycling, composting, and other energywas augmented by the addition of the saving efforts throughout the year, but this is DeRosier Educational Resource Center, a time to really raise awareness,” Kehler said. which doubled the size of the facility to creIt seemed fitting that Kehler would be devoted to a green RMC. He knew something ate more computer labs, a distance learning about agriculture, having been raised on a center, and other offices. ranch near Hardin, where he graduated from Electronic books, magazines, and journals became readily accessible to students high school. He then earned a degree in with consortiums of users sharing online elementary education at MSU-Billings, then connections, Kehler noted. Eastern Montana College (EMC), but one Kehler also turned his attention to digiyear of teaching convinced him he was not tizing College publications, like the College cut out for it. Instead, he sought his master’s yearbooks. That project began several in library science, a degree he earned from years ago, according to Bobbi Otte, RMC the University of Arizona. acting librarian. Library science was a much better fit. He Under Kehler, the library obtained grants liked the challenges of a new era in library for the library’s archives, and spearheaded services. While working at the EMC library, a campus-wide record retention program, Kehler told the Billings Gazette recently, he which involved the safeguarding of confihelped automate the card catalogue system. He continued his efforts to modernize dential records and sensitive materials. library services when he came to RMC. The “Bill really brought all the parties on campus together to try to get that done,” Otte said. “It was a major project.” Electronic resources and digitized arContinued from page 3 chives will never eliminate books. “There will still be a need for books in the courses strictly designed into the plan of hands of students,” Kehler said. “But, on the study or even taking just as many classes good side, the digital age saves trees.” as I needed to get by. I learned so much Kehler’s retirement this spring was about myself, my family, society, and my prompted by medical issues, he said. “I need some rest,” he said. future by branching out,” she said. According to longtime friend and colBranching out is a key to success, she league, Professor Jim Baken, no one has believes. earned a rest as much as Kehler. “Branch out and take a course you might “I served with him on the Faculty Evalunever envision yourself taking. I myself ation Committee, which is the toughest took many classes not required for my committee, in my opinion, and no one degrees and found them to be some of the worked as hard on that committee as Bill most helpful. There are so many people Kehler,” Baken said. “He was such a dynahere with knowledge to share and I am mo. He’s really going to be missed around grateful that I allowed myself to know some here.” of them.”
FUTURE IN ELEMENTARY ED. and watching them grow emotionally and develop riding skills. My summer internship helped immensely with my skills in developing lesson plans specifically for those with emotional and behavioral issues,” she said. And, while she was teaching them, the students taught her an important lesson: Patience, lots of patience. Youth Dynamics helps youth who have been diagnosed with severe emotional disturbance (SED), and, in some instances, have suffered from neglect, physical abuse, and trauma. Taking time to understand them is critical to helping them. “I am so proud for not limiting myself to 5
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DR. VAN DYK: PLENTY LEFT TO DO and jubilee than retreat. That’s where retirement counseling helped her ease into the idea of ending her 22-year career at RMC. Those were years when she built a successful program to help disadvantaged students, one where she helped secure $6 million in funding from federal, foundation, and individual sources. Every spring her TRiO Day event was a celebration of student successes thanks to scholarships, tutoring, and mentoring. Hundreds of students might not have graduated without the program. Many were able to explore cultural and international study opportunities – theatre, symphony, and opera at Alberta Bair – and faculty-led study trips – to Israel, Tanzania, Ireland, China, the Galapagos, Mexico, Costa Rica, Italy, New York City, and Whidbey Island – that were life-changing experiences. Jane is also proud that she, with Cynthia Hutchinson, RMC counselor, helped students found the Gay-Straight Alliance, which became a
chartered club at RMC. “One of our most noteworthy events was participating in the 2007 Montana Gay Pride Parade followed by a rally on the courthouse lawn, a festival in North Park, and an outdoor worship service on Sunday,” she said. It is little wonder that retirement seemed a formidable adversary to her active and fulfilling life at RMC. “I was having a difficult time confronting my ambivalence about retiring, but Evey Lamont helped me work through it,” Van Dyk said, adding that Lamont, a counselor at West High School who specializes in retirement counseling on the side, has helped several RMC professors. “I’d recommend her to anyone who is contemplating retirement. There’s a lot more to it than the financial piece. A lot of people don’t realize that retirement is a grief process, letting go of something you love and worrying about how to transition
into the next chapter, what your identity will be, and how you will fill your time,” she said. Singing will be one of those next chapters. Exercising another. Visiting grandchildren still another. And, most of all, enjoying life with her husband, Dr. Tom Van Dyk, as she has since they met more than 40 years ago when Jane was a clerk-typist for the Central Intelligence Agency. In Berlin she met Tom, a West Point graduate and a commissioned officer posted to Germany. The two earned post-graduate degrees at the University of Wisconsin and raised two sons, Fred, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University International School of Public Health, and Nathan, an RMC alumnus, who is an M.D. specializing in emergency medicine in San Francisco. “I’m ready for the next chapter and hoping it will be full of music and adventures. And I’d love to pitch in and help Rocky whenever needed,” she said.
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DR. LEAF: TIME TO WRITE POEMS hearing Gordon McRae, who starred in Oklahoma, say “I could not have taken a step without God’s help,” she explained. “I knew that to be true for me, too,” she said. “My footprints, others’ footprints, and all in steps guided by God.” “Footprints” became the theme for this year’s Soliloquy, a tribute to taking steps down new paths. Dr. Leaf’s life is testimony to trusting in taking those steps. She grew up on a farm in Oregon, spending summer time on Lopez Island, where her ancestors homesteaded in 1863. She was an average high school student, she said, but began to excel at Linfield College, where she had played a age two while her father studied economics. She earned her bachelor’s of arts degree at Linfield, where her children likewise earned their undergraduate degrees, followed by a master’s degree at Northwestern University and her Ph.D at the University of Oregon. She managed those academic achievements while raising both children after a divorce. “I had amazing opportunities along the way,” she said, talking of teaching and study-
ing in Micronesia, Sweden, and with the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes at Fort Peck. Dr. Leaf, perhaps borrowing from her tribal relations, incorporates her “animal spirit” with her “color spirit” as magical guides to the mystery of imagination and invention. The rhinoceros, “solid, steady, and sturdy, but with a magical nose,” she explained, became her special creature when her parents returned from a trip to Africa with a carved rhino for her, and a carved zebra for her sister. “I started collecting them and then others started adding to my collection,” she smiled. “My final Rocky rhinoceros was given to me by a student on my last official day of teaching, this spring.” Her favorite color – periwinkle – is just one of those colors with a playful name, “a magical quality,” she says. “Small things, maybe, but meaningful, and the kinds of things that help identify what you like and who you are.” They are the kinds of things that harkened to a lesson she got when she was in high school and a teacher suggested she make a magic box, a depository for creative things that might be a color, a line of poetry, a bibli-
cal verse, a pretty pebble or something else which caught her eye and her imagination. Those items could serve as keys to open new doors into her creativity, she believed. The teacher who taught her to make a magic box inspired her, as did a college professor who encouraged her to write poetry by asking her to send her a poem every year, something she did every year until the professor died. As she cleaned out her office in Morledge-Kimball, the realization that she was taking new steps became “a little scary.” But she clings to the conviction she will never lose the multi-generational and multicultural connections that spawned teaching opportunities and nurtured lifelong friendships. She intends to keep one ‘foot’ in Montana to sustain those connections. “I’ll miss teaching. Students make me smile. Teaching makes me smile,” she mused. “But, it’s time. I need to experience new footprints and make some of my own,” she concluded. One can be sure those footprints will eventually be published as her own book of verse.