Far-flung: Door County Alums Branch Out

During the past year, the Peninsula Pulse and Door County Living — in collaboration with Alumni Door County — have profiled more than two dozen alumni of area high schools who have gone on to pursue challenging careers, lead fascinating lives and have plenty of adventures, both nearby and across the globe. Here’s a glimpse at a few of them.

Alumni Door County connects, informs, inspires and engages the alumni of Door County school districts to advance the community, the lives of our graduates, our students and our world. Learn more at alumnidoorcounty.org.

Kat Gebauer

Sturgeon Bay, 1994

A “shy kid” in high school, Kat Gebauer has since traveled the world in search of adventure. She’s run 140 miles through Glacier National Park, climbed volcanoes in Ecuador and hiked to the peak of an Argentinian mountain.  Read more>>

Anders Erickson

Gibraltar, 1998

Anders Erickson has always sought creative outlets, whether through acting, writing or bartending. But when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down service at the Chicago bar where he works, he had time during quarantine to blend them all. With his girlfriend, Azusa Inaba, he launched a YouTube series to make craft cocktails accessible to the home mixologist. Watch his tutorials — including an entire episode on bitters — by searching for Anders Erickson on YouTube.  Read more>>

Jesse Koyen

Washington Island, 1999

During a journey that took him from a remote island, to earning his master’s degree in Massachusetts, to returning home to the Door, Jesse Koyen realized that his favorite life experiences take place outside. That realization led him to his current position as stewardship director for the Door County Land Trust. Like many journeys, Koyen’s trek didn’t take the shortest route between two points. Read more>>

Mark Wagner

Southern Door, 1975

Mark Wagner’s career as director of ticket operations for the Green Bay Packers began with a warning from Bart Starr, the legendary quarterback who was then the team’s head coach. “You’re the face of the organization,” Starr told Wagner when Wagner was hired in 1977. “You’re the one that people call, and it’s important that you know that you represent the Green Bay Packers.” Wagner remembered that lesson every day of his 40-year career with the fabled organization. Read more>>

Jen Zettel-Vandenhouten

Sevastopol, 2007

Former Peninsula Pulse intern Jen Zettel-Vandenhouten caught the journalism bug during high school, when the Pioneer Chips gave her bylines and a love for telling stories. Encouragement from teachers Linda Thompson and Heather Spetz sent her down a path that has taken her from UW-Madison, to Oshkosh, and now to Superior, where she’s the Duluth News Tribune’s regional editor. Read more>>

Alumni in Action

There are so many people who have passed through the doors of all five county schools. We are looking to highlight their stories. If you know someone who has a story to be told, let us know! Email [email protected].