Outlook Magazine - Fall 2016

ALUMNI NEWS

en Pease’s world changed dramatically in 2015, almost as if he were in a dream — or a movie. That spring, he was a typical college student, finishing late-night final class projects in the game design and development program at UW-Stout. That fall, after graduating, he magically found himself working in Glendale, Calif., amidst the palm trees and movie stars of the Los Angeles area. Pease was hired at DreamWorks Animation, which makes some of the highest profile animated movies on the planet, such as “Penguins of Madagascar,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “How to Train Your Dragon,” as well as shows for Netflix. Dream job at DreamWorks 2015 game design graduate enjoying job with major filmmaker B

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t’s safe to say that Doug Revsbeck has been on an exciting learning journey since graduating from UW-Stout in 1979. Revsbeck, with a degree in vocational rehabilitation and special education, began his career as a teacher and worked as a school counselor before moving into administration the last 18 years. Since 2007, he has been principal at St. Paul Harding High School. Harding is a Title One school on the east side of St. Paul with a highly diverse enrollment of 2,000 students. More than 85 percent of students qualify for free and reduced lunch. About 35 languages are spoken, and more than 65 percent of the students come from homes where English is a second language. “There’s no question that working at Harding is by far some of the most exciting and challenging work in my life,” Revsbeck said. A career educator, he savors the rewards. “There’s nothing better than a graduation ceremony and to see the smiles on students’ faces and their proud families. I know they’re all ready for their next big adventure and going off to great places,” Revsbeck said. Harding has a staff of more than 180 who strive to understand the obstacles that face many underserved students, Revsbeck said. The focus is to “accelerate student learning. The work is really about mindsets — we take a strengths-based approach while doing everything possible to address the needs of the ‘whole child,’” he said. Revsbeck calls Harding’s rich culture its greatest asset. The school has about 50 percent southeast Asian students, mostly

Hmong and Korean, 25 percent black, 15 percent Latino, 7 percent white and 2 percent Native American. The graduation rate, 83 percent, has been steadily climbing under Revsbeck’s leadership and is slightly above district and state averages, with students’ reading and math scores also improving the past nine years. “There’s no question that working at Harding is by far some of the most exciting and challenging work in my life.” “I’m really proud of the efforts from all of our staff to lead this important work. Collectively, they bring so much to the table; they share practices and collaborate together to find what works best in their classrooms,” Revsbeck said. “Plus, there’s a lot of leadership among our students. We do a lot in partnership with our students to increase their voice in the school community. Further, I’m humbled by the commitment and dedication of our families.” Revsbeck, who grew up Minneapolis, met his wife, Christy Finch Revsbeck, ’79, when they were freshmen at UW-Stout. He played hockey for the Blue Devils. He credits UW-Stout teachers, including Mary Hopkins-Best and Margaret Wiinamaki, for “pushing me and helping build my confidence. I am extremely grateful to them. That’s where my foundation was built,” he said.

One year into his career, he’s still pinching himself. “I’m definitely liking it. It’s a fantastic work environment created by the company that fosters creativity. Everybody enjoys what they’re doing,” said Pease, who grew up in Rochester, Minn. With a minor in computer science, Pease is using his education as a technical director at DreamWorks. His duties include updating custom tools and software to support other

UP TO THE CHALLENGE Revsbeck working hard to help diverse student population at St. Paul high school.

Ben Pease

staff members who are working on specific films. Eventually, he could be assigned to work directly on film projects, he said. Along with his minor, Pease had a concentration in art within his major. “It does seem to help when you have knowledge in both fields, but I’m definitely a little more focused now on computer science,” he said. During his junior and senior years at UW-Stout, Pease “explored the various options of what I could do with knowledge in game design classes, such as 3D modeling classes. A lot of that knowledge can be used in jobs such as this,” he said. As a junior and senior, Pease also was an academic resource coordinator in the residence halls for University Housing “helping freshmen stay on track with their academics.” He isn’t the only UW-Stout alumnus at DreamWorks. He occasionally sees Chris Grun, ’95, chair of the matte painting department at DreamWorks. Grun returned to UW-Stout in July to present a master class as part of the Summer Cinema Intensive in the entertainment design program.

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