ˮ����

When recruiter Micaela Bethke sends an email at 10 p.m., you know it’s important.

On a high school visit to Annandale, Bethke met Wendy Storkamp, the administrative assistant at the school.

“I had such a great interaction with Wendy. This was one of the kindest and most sincere interactions I’ve had with a high school admin,” Bethke wrote in her email.

While they were chatting, Storkamp mentioned that she needed to know what the BookStore hours were so she could get an ˮ���� shirt. Why? So she could wear it during alumni days at Annandale High School.

Even though she attended SCSU for a couple years, she considers ˮ���� the place where she had a college experience, and when the high school kids see her shirt, she hopes they too consider ˮ���� as an option for after high school.

Mass Comm and Making Connections

Storkamp always knew she wanted a career in communication. “I liked communicating; I had a teacher in high school that said I could do this. She even started a little portfolio for me.”

In the early 1980s when she was ready to go to college, the trendy major was mass communication. When she applied for the Advertising program at ˮ����, it was full, and Storkamp was put on the waitlist. She decided to enroll at SCSU.

Two days into the semester, she got a call that there was a spot open in Advertising at ˮ����. She returned her books to SCSU and never looked back.

Class brought with it a lot of English, copywriting, hand-lettered boards, and meeting friends, including her husband.

“I think what we learned was communication on how to work through issues and problems. We had such a tight-knit group – when we graduated, we were all really close.”

From DECA competitions to watching soap operas over lunch, the relationships she built were the college experience she had hoped for (though some of the “shenanigans” she and her classmates got up to are not fit to reprint).  

A Career of Creativity

With the skills she had from ˮ����, Storkamp started her career: first printing t-shirts, then quickly moving to working at the headquarters of a farm store.

While she worked at the store, she had many opportunities, including working alongside brands like Carhartt and collaborating with WCCO and the Twins in 1987 and 1991.

In 1991, Storkamp had her first daughter, and “Back then, it was the choice, right? There was a woman at WCCO who juggled everything, and every now and then, I kind of caught a glimpse of the real her and thought, ‘I don’t know if I want that’ because it was high stress and immense amounts of time,” she recalled. “And I made the choice to be a mom. That was really hard, but I also decided that I’d never not be creative.”

When her daughters were old enough, Storkamp decided to pursue her second passion: healthcare. After getting a certification for medical administration assistant, she worked at the St. Cloud Hospital with shift work. One day, she saw an ad in the newspaper for the administrative assistant at Annandale High School and thought, why not?

Twenty-four years later, Storkamp is just starting to think about retiring from AHS. “It’s been such a ride.”

During those 24 years, she was always able to use the skills she learned at ˮ����: English, photography, creativity. She takes photos at the school, is the assistant speech coach, referees seventh grade volleyball (“It’s like watching cats with balls in a contained area”), runs the clock at wrestling meets, and more. Through it all, she has encouraged students to keep communicating and keep creating.

Which is exactly why she needed an ˮ���� shirt.

Why the Shirt

During alumni days, staff proudly wear their alumni gear and there’s always a wide variety, but Storkamp wants ˮ���� represented. “The school district is trying to recognize more [two-year options] to respond to the climate.”

She knows that if they see her wearing an ˮ���� shirt, kids will ask questions, and she’s more than ready to give them some guidance.

“Any time we can make an opportunity for a kid to connect with somebody who’s in the trades or technical careers and can encourage them to see if traditional college isn’t the way to go, we take it,” she said.

Some of the changes AHS has seen has been during career days, where local folks are invited to chat with students about their career paths and different options. In the past five years, they’ve seen fewer lawyers and more HVAC technicians. Storkamp is at the forefront of ensuring students know that there are many options besides a traditional four-year college route after high school, even if it’s starting college at ˮ���� and transferring after finding a passion. Meeting students where they’re at and encouraging them to do what’s right for them is crucial.

“Look at all your options,” Storkamp advises. “Find someone to talk to about it. If someone says, let me tell you about my experience, take some time and listen. Take every opportunity you can to explore because there’s just no set way to go anymore.”

No one’s life and career ever have a set path—Storkamp is a perfect example, but there is one thing Storkamp does have settled: her ˮ���� shirt is ready to go for alumni day.