Its anniversary month at Western Nevada College.
One-hundred fifty-eight employees are celebrating employment anniversaries with the Nevada System of Higher Education in August. Yes, you read that right: 158!
Of course, August is the month we start a new school year and people are needed to fill vacancies and new positions at this critical time.
Eight of the anniversary employees have served 21 or more years with NSHE.

Geology Professor Dr. Winnie Kortemeier reached her 35^th anniversary on Aug. 31. She has actually dedicated all 35 of those years to WNC.I cant believe it has been 35 years! Dr. Kortemeier said. When I started at WNC-Fallon, I was 28 years old and looked pretty young. Some of the older students would ask me if I was old enough to teach college. I would answer that I had a note from my mother that said it was OK.I have loved every year that I have taught at the college, even the COVID years. Julie King and I were hired the same year at the Fallon campus, and we would go to lunch and comment how lucky we were to be community college professors and what a dream come true our positions were, and 35 years later, I feel exactly the same way.The turnover of students plays an important part in why Dr. Kortemeier continues to teach.What keeps me interested and excited about this career is the fact that every semester I have the opportunity to teach new students about the Earth, she said. While the material doesnt change very much, the students do; so, each class, each semester is a new and unique experience.Colleagues and friends believed that when Dr. Kortemeier earned her PhD in 2012 that shed leave WNC. They werent aware how much the college means to her and her teaching style.I love teaching at WNC and plan on retiring from here in the future. I figure that as long as I can keep ahead of students on field trips I will continue to teach! Dr. Kortemeier joked. WNC has allowed me to be in control of my classes and my teaching and has valued my input as a professor and a colleague. I am very grateful for my 35 years here and would do it all again.

Not far behind Dr. Kortemeier in service time are Dr. Gary Evett, 29 years, and Dr. Brigitte Dillet and Jim Strange at 27 years. Others celebrating long-serving anniversaries are Georgina Davis, 24 years; Jayna Conkey, 22; Kathryn Whitaker, 22; and Jeffrey Downs, 21.
Many thanks go out to all of employees celebrating anniversaries this month and for making a difference in the success and experiences of students at WNC!
WNC wishes to thank you for your continued dedication to the college and all that you do in your roles at Western.

Employee Years of Service
Dr. Winnie Kortemeier 35
Dr. Gary Evett 29
Dr. Brigitte Dillet 27
Jim Strange 27
Georgina Davis 24
Jayna Conkey 22
Kathryn Whitaker 22
Jeffrey Downs 21
Connie Peng 19
Joshua Fleming 18
Deborah Ingraffia-Strong 17
Dr. Amy Ghilieri 17
Flor Villatoro 17
Seena Drapala 17
Hallie Murphy 16
Ronald Belbin 15
Alex Quintero 14
Brenda Yenkole 13
Teresa Foglesong 13
Dr. Gary Schwartz 12
Aaron Glass 12
Dr. Robert Whitcomb 10
Shawna Cortner 10
Christian Copley-Salem 10
Lisa Dunkelberg 10
Gursharan Gill 10
Laurel Brock 10
Angeline Vogl 10
Ronald Beller 9
Geraldine Pope 9
Mary Gillespie 9
Jessica Rowe 8
Todd Ross 8
Eric York 7
Tara Burke 7
Ben McDermott 7
Cassandra Luster 7
Georgia White 7
Austin Long 7
Jeffery Clark 7
Jennifer Smith 7
Heather Reardon 6
Terry Mendez 6
Ali Banister 6
Steven Saylor 6
Jeremiah Bauer 6
Emil Stoica 6
Juan Ramirez 6
Rachelle Bassen 5
Cynara Medina 5
Claudette Dutra 5
Teresa Gehman 5
Mark Johnson 5
Asyah Williams 5
Melissa Scranton 5
Jennifer Strickland 5
Tiffany Wilson 5
Mariah Jeremiah 5
Rachel Stiff 4
Timothy Mayo 4
Martin Schmidt 4
Andy Lenon 4
Hugh Welden 4
Abner Perez 4
Sharon Morgan 4
Patrick Bell 4
Alix Betancourt 4
Deborah Case 4
Kara DeSouza 4
Henry Wohle 4
Theresa Harrowa-Mauwee 4
Cesar Vega 4
Marie Nygen 4
Matthew Anderson 3
Margaret Craig 3
Shelley Ferguson-Kelly 3
Robert Ash 3
Margaret Scott 3
Juanita Sanchez 3
Geoff Rivera 3
Scott Jones 3
George Taylor 3
Matthew Wallace 3
Gregory Sly 2
Hailey Benson 2
Karen Heine 2
Adam Dye 2
Leah Davey 2
Lillian Reaves 2
Jordan Anderson 2
Ronald Schreckengost 2
Natalie Matley-Keeney 2
Isaac Humphreys 2
KT Greene 2
Kendra Tuttle 2
Allison Cooper 2
Kendra Talavera 2
Max Kimbro 2
Kylie Swenson 2
Jeremiah Meshberger 2
Adrienne Turner 2
Marty Swisher 2
Chassity Mills 1
Windi Altemeyer 1
Kendall Valdez 1
Julie Machado 1
Tony Savage 1
Larry Machado 1
Dean Carter 1
Wei Deng 1
Ethan Spier 1
Anil Ratti 1
Carrie Brown 1
Brian Underwood 1
Kevin Murphy 1
Kile Porter 1
Richard Arrigotti 1
Mohammad Shahzad 1
Gary Guberman 1
Paula Davies 1
Dan Dickerman 1
Michele Lynn 1
Gwaylon Leaf 1
Tara Carolan 1
Shelby McAuliffe 1
Carin Duriez 1
Linda Martin 1
Randy Miller 1
Erika Craft 1
Jasey Moore 1
Cristal Gonzalez-Cruz 1
Maria Tavera 1
Fredrick Russo 1
Donald Burke 1
Jeff Whitt 1
Daniel Echebarria 1
John Newman 1
Diane Belbin 1
Mark Crowder 1
Marla Moore 1
Danielle Morse 1
Jody Coxon 1
Shannon Montez 1
Robert Petersen 1
Leslie Arambula 1
Jonathon Josten 1
Robin Eppard 1
Suzanne Armstrong 1
Monique Peden 1
Allie Metoyer 1
Kim Kammann 1
Lee Tisdale 1
Callie Adair 1
Vicky Vickye 1
Lauren Standerfer 1
Shanti Johnson 1
Dave Coward 1
Kristy Bekiares 1