Students and families attend first summer orientation on Waldorf Campus

Students and families listen to Dr. Bob Alsop speak at the 'planning and knowing your academic experience' session in the atrium.

“Who will be my roommate?” “Are the professors friendly?” “What is the average class size?” These were some of the many anxious questions the staff of Waldorf College answered at the summer orientation that was held on campus Friday, June 24. In its fourth year, Waldorf’s summer program drew a total of 28 students from throughout the Midwest. The midsummer morning kicked off with assessment and writing exams, followed by educational and informative sessions about Waldorf and the Forest City community.

“We did an ice breaker, which was fun,” said Lindy Pins of Lake Mills who will join Waldorf this fall and major in biology.

The summer orientation is geared toward the families of incoming students. The program aims to address parents’ concerns, take care of the check-in process and allow students to interact with faculty members and fellow students. “When students arrive in the fall they are so busy settling and checking in, they don’t get a lot of time to sit down and talk to people and no time to attend educational sessions,” said Jason Ramaker, dean of students.

Incoming freshman and transfer students had an opportunity to talk to current students about life on campus and things to do in Forest City. At lunch, they interacted with the professors about the nature of the classes at Waldorf.

“Students really like meeting other students and professors so they don’t arrive not knowing anyone,” said Amy Woods, director of student activities and orientation.

The program included sessions on health insurance, financial aid and discussion about classes with Waldorf faculty. The Warrior Fair Table had valuable information about different academic and staff departments. Ramaker explained one of the aims of the orientation is also to convince parents that their kids will be safe here. “Parents are emotionally dealing with emptiness syndrome, as the kid is leaving the nest and learning to fly,” he said.

This orientation was Greenfield, IA, resident Janelle Meisenheimer’s fourth trip to the Waldorf campus in the last few months. Her daughter, Staci Meisenheimer, wanted to join Waldorf her freshman year but went to a community college instead. “I had a friend who came up here. I liked the smallness here,” said Staci, who will start her junior year at Waldorf and major in elementary education.

The second summer orientation will be held on July 22, with the mandatory two-day fall orientation program following on Aug. 11-12 and Aug. 26-28.

Waldorf hosts IMTA conference after 12 years

Music educators from across the state gathered at Waldorf College June 5-7 for a conference full of learning opportunities, faculty and guest recitals, social time and a variety of musical offerings.

Organized by Dr. Kristín Jónína Taylor, Waldorf College’s associate professor of music and keyboard area coordinator, the Iowa Music Teachers Association event was held at Waldorf for the first time in 12 years.

Dr. Timothy Schmidt engages the audience in the French Double-
Manual Harpsichord as recent graduate Drew Jackson plays
the Bassoon.

Most of the events took place in the Odvin Hagen Music Building, and all the sessions were in the Recital Hall.

The three-day conference was highlighted by the presence of international pianist and recording artist Frederic Chiu and noted piano pedagogue Ingrid Jacobson Clarfield.

While Clarfield engaged the audience in developing basic technical/musical vocabulary to inspire artistry, Chiu examined the benefits of emotional practicing.

“Ingrid’s presentation was informative and fun. She’s just a terrific presenter,” said Laura LaGrange, an Ames-based music teacher and church organist. LaGrange also enjoyed the faculty and artist recitals during the conference. “Some of us only get to see each other once or twice a year, so it is really good to connect with people from across the state.”

Lorrie Martin, a music educator from Cedar Rapids, thought it was nice to hear a variety of instruments throughout the conference.  “As a pianist you need to get those sounds in your head,” she said.

Between educational presentations, the teachers reveled in different social activities, from a casual picnic in the Atrium to a more formal luncheon in Waldorf’s restored Ballroom with Dr. Timothy Schmidt playing the French Double –Manual Harpsichord.

In a faculty presentation, Waldorf’s Dr. Brent Dodson promised to scare away the fear of technology that many educators share: using technology to enhance music learning. Dr. Dodson introduced the tech survivors to Garage Band, a digital audio workstation by Apple.

“It makes things a little more exciting,” he said to a roomful of teachers eager to update their teaching styles and connect more meaningfully with their students.

Dr. Dodson explained the audience how they can record lessons, performances, music examples and podcast episodes that will help students understand better.

The audience also enjoyed Dr. Taylor’s personal account of her musical research in Iceland, which has been ongoing since her teens.

Waldorf psychology and sociology professor Julienne Friday offered a special musical treat from during the picnic on Sunday. Friday played the bowed psaltery, a musical instrument from the renaissance period, which distracted teachers from their burgers, potato chips and cookies.  “It’s my hobby run amok,” said Friday as she explained her audience how to work the instrument. “The denser the wood, brighter the tone is.”

“So many people came up to me and said what a success it was and how well we did,” said Dr. Taylor. “It reminds people that Waldorf has an excellent music department.”

The venue for the next state conference, which is held every year, has not been decided yet.

Waldorf College’s Amnesty International Club supports alternative school book drive

(Left to right) Dr. Suzanne Falck-Yi with club members Alyssa Lee and Janey Rockow

For Dr. Suzanne Falck-Yi, charity begins at home. When she heard about a book drive for the local alternative school being organized by Bookadee, a Forest City bookstore, she joined the effort. She also enlisted the help of the Amnesty International Club on Waldorf’s campus.

“I think it is important to promote a good relationship between the college and the community,” said Falck-Yi, associate professor of English. “A lot of times we think charitable causes being far away and not a few blocks away.”

It was an equally thrilling experience for club member Alyssa Lee, who jumped at the idea of helping the local school. Lee, who graduated this spring in wellness, said education at any level is very important. She has been involved with several volunteering opportunities on campus and also sponsors a child in Peru.

“I really enjoyed doing it from a personal standpoint because of my background,” she said. “This was something I would be interested in.” Lee couldn’t imagine going through her high school years without the amount of books she had at her disposal. 

Waldorf College was successful in collecting more than 80 books through donations from faculty, staff and community members.

The initiative for the book drive stemmed from Bookadee owner Tora Buffington’s visit to the alternative school early this year. Seeing that students only had a handful of books to read, Buffington decided to spearhead a book drive.  

She said Waldorf College’s contribution doubled the amount of books she was expecting.

“I hope we can do the same drive next year. My dream is to have so many books that we will be able to donate to other places as well,” she said.

Waldorf College’s Amnesty International Club has been actively involved with events on campus. They have organized a series of host speakers, film screenings and panel discussions with people involved in issues such as domestic violence.

Previously, Waldorf College has been part of a book drive that contributed to the middle school library in Forest City.