KANSAS - The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) is proud to bring you the "KCAC Alumni Spotlight" series. Every two weeks, the conference will aim to highlight an alumnus of one of our KCAC full member institutions. We hope in this series to highlight successes that KCAC alumni had not only on the field, court, etc., but also in the classroom and now in their chosen professional field.
KCAC ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT — TABOR COLLEGE
Alumnus: Tena (Loewen) Roehrich
Degree(s) Earned at Tabor: Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, Minor in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) (2017); Master of Education in Neuroscience and Trauma (2022)
Career Alumnus Currently Holds: Elementary School Teacher, Hillsboro (Kan.) Elementary School
How did your time at Tabor help to prepare you for life after college/entering the workforce?
ROEHRICH: "I'm thankful for the way Tabor not only prepared me to teach students, but to also care for their deeper needs. The community of professors, coaches, classmates, and teammates at Tabor set great examples that challenged me to grow."
Were there any pre-professional experiences (internships/job shadows/etc.) during your college years that prepared you for entering your chosen field?
ROEHRICH: "In the Education Program at Tabor, we spent time observing, tutoring, and teaching in area classrooms every year of my college experience. By my senior year, I spent my final semester student-teaching. By graduation, I felt well equipped to have a classroom of my own, and then later returned for my masters in order to help people on a deeper level."
What lessons did you learn competing in collegiate athletics that helped prepare you for life after your playing days were over?
ROEHRICH: "College athletics taught me that people are the most important aspect of any team. Taking care of the people you play with or work with is the best gift you can give in order to create a successful team. College sports also taught me that there is freedom in playing (or working) for Someone bigger than ourselves."
ABOUT THE KANSAS COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and sponsors 29 varsity sports. Founded in 1890, the KCAC is the second oldest intercollegiate athletic conference in the country. As the conference home to 14 member institutions, the KCAC emphasizes commitment, cooperation, high achievement, and working towards a common goal in the act of competition. To keep up with the latest conference news, follow the KCAC on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram using the handle @kcacsports.
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