Graduates from each of the college's four schools are honored each year during Homecoming as Outstanding Alumni in their chosen fields.

 

School of Arts and Humanities

Stacy Johnson '03

Stacy Johnson is currently the 9-12 special education teacher at Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca High School in Syracuse, Neb. She is married to Heath Johnson, also a Wayne State graduate, and has three children – Lincoln, Trinity, and Sierra.

At Wayne State College, she earned her degree in Geography and History Education. She was a member of Pi Gamma Mu, a social science honorary, where she was president for two years and received the Outstanding PGM Chapter Member of the Year award. She was also a member of the geography honorary, Gamma Theta Upsilon, and received the GTU Excellence in Geography Award.

Beyond her social science endeavors, Johnson was also part of the Northeast Nebraska Teachers Academy (NENTA), active in intramural sports, and a resident assistant in Neihardt and Berry halls. During her time as a resident assistant, she earned the following awards: two-time resident assistant of the year, two-time most inspirational educational, two-time best community service award, best campus-wide education, most innovative educational, and best female social. In the community, she volunteered at the Wayne Humane Society.

After graduating from WSC, Johnson began teaching social studies at Rock County High School in Bassett, Neb. She also coached junior high volleyball and basketball and was an assistant for the high school volleyball, basketball, and track teams. From there, she moved with her family to Harrisburg, Neb., where she worked at Banner County Schools as a half-time social studies teacher/half-time special education teacher and obtained her Special Education endorsement from Chadron State College.

Johnson’s passion for helping students that struggle was sparked when she worked at VALTS, an alternative school in Scottsbluff, Neb. The students, who had struggled due to difficult family situations, bad decisions, or who just needed a smaller educational environment, were some of the most talented students she had ever worked with, and she realized motivating them, and others like them, to overcome their trauma and disabilities took priority in her career.

From there she took special education positions at Wayne High School and Ashland-Greenwood High School (AGHS). Johnson helped numerous students with disabilities see their potential and helped them realize their dream of going to college and being successful there. In these schools, she started the Wayne County Heroes and Hometown Heroes programs. These were ways for her students to see the world outside of themselves and realize that being part of a successful community goes beyond one’s individual self. At AGHS, she was the recipient of two Hometown Hero awards.

At AGHS, while obtaining her master’s in Educational Leadership from Doane University, she developed a junior and senior curriculum for students with disabilities. These classes helped students really get to know themselves and gave them insight to everything from financial literacy, to living on their own, to job shadows and college visits. These experiences in the community gave them a concrete view of what their potential career and college life would entail, and for some, sent them down a career path they never thought they would be able to achieve.

Johnson’s mission is to inspire, foster, and restore faith and hope in the hearts and minds of those she encounters. She works diligently to help her students realize that everyone struggles, but that through those struggles comes learning, a self-awareness of strengths, grit, empathy, and ultimately, one’s goals are reached. When someone makes a student feel like they cannot do something, that student knows that they have one person in their corner who truly believes they can.

 

School of Business and Technology

Riley Hamilton '10

Riley Hamilton is currently a technology specialist for the Lincoln (Neb.) Police Department. He has been there for more than 10 years, but his tech journey starts back in a small Nebraska high school where they ran out of technology/computer classes for him to take. He chose WSC for his next step in education, as both his brothers attended there, and he knew WSC’s School of Business and Technology would help him expand his passion and knowledge. After four active years on campus in various clubs, groups, and organizations, he graduated in 2010 as cum laude and the Computer Technology and Information Systems top graduate. He became a network engineer for a private company that focused on providing internet access to rural communities in the Midwest and Rocky Mountains regions, which involved programming communication equipment on satellites. Hamilton’s passion found a new high in 2013 when he joined the Lincoln Police Department, becoming a technology specialist.

He quickly became a strong asset to the department, introducing body cameras after helping state committees understand their abilities and limitations before there were laws and regulations. He has shared his skills and knowledge while being a part or alongside of SWAT, State Patrol, sheriff departments, FBI, Homeland Security, Secret Service, and most military branches. Although the dynamics of his job often keep him occupied, he spends what time he can with family and friends, the closest friends being the ones he made while at WSC.

 

School of Education and Behavioral Sciences

Angela (Angie) Hlava ‘96

Angela (Angie) Hlava teaches Spanish at Norris High School, a large Class B consolidated school near Lincoln, Neb., where she has taught for the past 28 years.

Hlava received a B.A. in Education from WSC, with endorsements in English, Spanish, and English as a Second Language. She was a member of Sigma Tau Delta (English Honors Society), Alpha Mu Gamma (Foreign Language Honors Society), and Spanish Club. She was on the dean’s list and honor roll.

During her time at Norris, Hlava earned a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Doane University and continues to take classes in her field. Hlava has served as a mentor and a member of the Principal’s Advisory Committee, Faculty Advisory Committee, and Grading Committee, and she was prom chair for 15 years.

Hlava gave a presentation at a Nebraska International Language Association’s annual conference about how to teach culture through currency. For instance, by studying what is on each country’s money, students can learn about important historical figures, events, locations, and natural resources.

Hlava was the recipient of a STAR award from NILA for exceeding professional expectations above and beyond the classroom and exemplifying superior qualities demonstrated by contributions to world language education in Nebraska.

She received a grant to attend the iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) conference in Brasilia, Brazil, where she attended workshops on global projects and networked with educators from many countries. She helped one presenter by translating his slideshow from Portuguese to Spanish and English so he could share it with a wider audience. As a result of this networking, her students have been able to communicate with foreign students and teachers via video calls.

Hlava is a longtime member and board member of Partners of the Americas, a nonprofit volunteer organization that connects people and organizations across borders to serve and change lives through lasting partnerships and exchanges. She has served as president of the Nebraska Chapter of Partners of the Americas for several years. Nebraska partners with two states in Brazil. Brazil is a country close to her heart since she was a Rotary exchange student during high school for a full year, where she learned Portuguese. She continues to visit periodically. Via Partners, Hlava loves interacting with adults young and old who visit Nebraska to learn about our offerings in their areas of interest and expertise. She also enjoys planning the get-togethers the group puts on to celebrate some Brazilian holidays locally, like a Brazilian Independence Day picnic and a pre-Lent Carnaval party.

Another volunteer activity she has enjoyed since 2001 is rehabilitating and raising orphaned and injured wildlife until they can be released back into the wild through Wildlife Rescue Team. She has held several board positions, served as team leader, and was chosen as Rehabber of the Year.

One of the side jobs Hlava has most enjoyed was a tutor for the UNL Intensive English Program, where she not only helped students from Taiwan and Japan practice their English skills, but also had fun bringing them to see the sites around Eastern Nebraska.

Another favorite was serving as local coordinator for the Au Pair Foundation, where she worked with international au pairs and their host families with young children to fulfill the requirements of the state department program and to handle the variety of situations that arose, mediating as needed.

Some hobbies Hlava enjoys are gardening, hiking, foraging, preserving, and fermenting various foods and beverages, traveling, and enriching her linguistic and cultural knowledge of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries.

 

School of Science, Health, and Criminal Justice

Stephane (Mathis) VanderMeulen ‘07

A native of O’Neill, Neb., Stephane VanderMeulen attended Wayne State College from 1988 to 1992 on a Presidential Scholarship.  After leaving Wayne, she attended the University of Nebraska Medical Center, earning a Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree in 1994. She also earned a Master of Arts in Social Gerontology from the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2020 and will complete a Doctor of PA Studies degree from the University of Pittsburgh in December 2024.  

In her early career as a Physician Assistant (PA), VanderMeulen practiced rural family medicine in Atkinson, Neb., then returned to Omaha where she spent 12 years as a PA in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine. As a first-generation college student, her dedication to the value and importance of education led her to pursue a career in academia. While in clinical practice, VanderMeulen routinely mentored medical and PA students, and in 2005 she formally joined the faculty of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s PA program. She was hired by Creighton University in 2016 to develop and launch PA programs at both of the university’s campuses in Omaha and Phoenix. VanderMeulen is currently the chair of the Department of Health Professions at the Creighton University School of Medicine and program director of the Creighton PA program in Omaha.  

VanderMeulen served on the board of directors and as president of the PA Education Association, the national professional organization representing all 310 accredited PA programs across the US, from 2010 to 2016. She volunteered in many other PA professional organizations at the state and national levels. She is an active advocate for holistic admissions and accessibility of her profession to would-be PAs from all backgrounds and walks of life.  VanderMeulen and her husband are the parents of two grown children, and in her spare time she spends time participating various equestrian disciplines with her three horses.

VanderMeulen officially received her bachelor’s degree from Wayne State in 2007.