Pictured: (from left) Ryan and Russ Steinkamp
There have been a lot of changes at Kuemper over this past year. John Steffes took over as President after the retirement of Vern Henkenius and long-time high school principal, Penny Miller announced her retirement just last month. As these changes take place, there is one statistic that stood out—that the faculty and staff of the Catholic school are largely drawn from a pool of alumni. Alayna Hansen, who took over as the Annual Giving and Alumni Director at Kuemper after Sharon Olerich was named Steffes’ replacement as Development Director, is one of the over 43 percent of staff members who graduated from Kuemper High School. Hansen says for many, there is a strong draw to return back to their alma mater.
Though it is not at all unusual to see staff members with shared names, it is unusual to see a father and son who not only work in the same school district, but also share the same working role. Russ Steinkamp, who graduate from Kuemper in 1970, has been an educator for nearly 40 years, working for 30 years at Carroll High School and coming to Kuemper seven years ago. He had a degree in physical education, then went on to study special education in graduate school. He said being drawn back to Kuemper was like coming home.
His son, Ryan, who graduated in 2008, followed very closely in his father’s footsteps, obtaining a physical education degree and a focus in special education which brought him right back to Kuemper to work at St. Lawrence in the middle school learning center and as a physical education instructor. He said he knew he wanted to come back to the Carroll area to raise a family, and it is a bonus to be able to work with his dad on helping the students transition from middle to high school.
All three of these alumni members said it is the community as a whole and their support of Kuemper that keep bringing people home; from Karen Heim of the class of 1967, to Jessica (Jess) Kennebeck, the newest alumni staff member who graduated in 2010.
