“Beyond With Another”

This blog is about “Beyond” Platteville and I have something that I kind of brought with and from Platteville. I meet my girlfriend Maggie Hoffmann at Platteville as freshman in General Chemistry. Well, this past April we started dating. She graduated in May and then in the summer we were in Platteville doing research in the Chemistry department. After the summer she got a job in Green Bay while I was in Racine this semester student teaching. We continued to visit one another and keep our relationship growing. The picture to the left is a picture from one of those visits.

Now I will leave with this glimpse at a journal entry of mine about her and one of the visits from January 28th 2012 that relate to the “Beyond.”

“Today we were searching the world for a “GeoCache.” Maggie, her family, and I end up at Baird Creek Park in Green Bay, WI. Were we found Nothing. However, I cannot complain since in the process of it all I found out that my shoe was on tied. J So I knelt down on one knee. Before this Maggie and I were walking in beautiful snow covered Park Forest and going to the car. While tying my shoe my mind was furiously thinking of hey I am on one knee. Maggie and I are alone in the woods. The sun is setting. I was thinking about asking Maggie to marry maybe this weekend, but I was unsure the time. I was on my knee for an eternity it seemed and my knee was getting cold so I had to make up m mind quick. Do I ask her or do I not? I decided this a perfect time and the setting was pretty great as well. Being the woods Maggie’s favorite and being in the snow my favorite. SO I ASKED MAGGIE TO MARRY ME. I was kind of unsure with my words and asked her another quick question about her ring and then she said yes to that. I realized that I forgot to give her time to reply to my first quest which she also replied YES!!! To. It was so exciting and my knee was really cold now so we continued to walk to the car. It was so much fun to continue our walk through the woods now with my fiancé. I am so blessed by the Father to have a wonderful and beautiful fiancé. To finish the story we ended up walking down a tube hill to get to the car and right before the car I get a question. Maggie asks so are we then engaged and I say “Yes” with a big smile. Although we found no “GeoCache” I came out of those woods with something much better, a fiancé.”

Now some day I may have another to go “Beyond” with me.

Intro to "Beyond Mongolian Grill"

“Beyond Mongolian Grill,” why did I name this blog this? This first post is going to let you know why I chose the title and what’s next.

The past four and half years I have been attending college at UW-Platteville. At UW-Platteville I have been majoring in Broadfield Science Education. So if that major is confusing, I basically want to be a science teacher in either a middle school or high school. For those of you who do not know on every Friday in the Platteville union there is a Mongolian grill for lunch. It is very popular on Fridays and very expensive. However, I have to admit I never ate the Mongolian Grill on Fridays. So then why is the title called “Beyond Mongolian Grill?” It is what some people associate with UW-Platteville and what I knew about Mongolian food at the time. Now that I am graduating the “Beyond” in the title relates to what I am doing with my life after Platteville.

Before I get to the “Beyond” I want to let you know what has been going on recently with me if you did not know. I have been in Racine, WI this fall semester student teaching. I first student taught at Jerstad Middle School in an 8^th grade class. Then I was student teaching at Case High School teaching Chemistry, Life Science, and Horticulture. At Jerstad I had great time learning what it really meant to be a teacher. I had a challenging time balancing my time with lesson planning, grading, and life in general. I learned so much from that experience and now that it is done I really enjoyed my time at Jerstad. My placement at Case was also very challenging but was much different than the middle school. I enjoyed being at Case and I learned a great deal from my time there. I have now finished my student teaching, but I have much more learning to do. I will continue to strive to teach better and learn from my students.

Now the “Beyond” many college graduates ask the question what am I going to do with my degree after I graduate. My solution to this question took some time as I lifted up the idea about teaching in Asia. I thought maybe I can do that after I graduate to get experience. I also thought maybe I could substitute teach. In my decision making I came to the conclusion that I was going to try to teach in Asia so I applied to go teach in Mongolia. A big reason why I chose this was that in life the things we do are not always about us, but sometimes they are about serving others and our Father above ourselves. With this in mind, I am excited to have the opportunity to go to Mongolia and learn more about the culture, about myself, and about how I can maybe serve the Father.

WOW!! Mongolia some people say. Yes the trip will have its challenges, like the freezing temperatures the different culture and language. However, I am excited to learn something new, see new places and go “Beyond” the small city of Platteville. I will also take with me to Mongolia all I have learned while at Platteville and throughout my life.

I have officially graduated from Platteville and I am excited to go “Beyond Mongolian Grill” to learn much more about Mongolia and about teaching. Keep checking this blog and I will continue to post about the trip to keep you all up to date.