WEYBURN – One of the first staff members of the Mini-Go class at the Family Place, Jeff Bohnert, has been reunited with a former student, Hunter Dugan, who is currently interning with him in Arcola to be a teacher.
Bohnert sent a message and photo to Linda Rudachyk, who was the executive director of the Family Place at the time, and she told the Weyburn Review and SaskToday about this connection.
“Today I received a picture of our first Mini-Go class at The Family Place. One of our male educational assistants, Jeff Bohnert sent it to me. He has been a teacher at Arcola for several years. In our first class was a two-year-old, Hunter Dugan, and he stayed with us for three years until he went to school,” she began, with a copy of the photo of class taken in the 2002-03 year when Family Place was still located in the former Souris Valley building.
“He always told us that he was going to become a teacher and he was going to come back some day and teach Mini-Go School. Every year he would decorate a tree for Festival of Trees and repeated his dream goal yearly,” said Rudachyk.
“I am thrilled to tell you that Hunter is now doing his final internship with Jeff Bohnert. Despite obstacles, Hunter has realized his dream and will graduate with his Degree in education, finishing his training with Jeff who impacted him as a tiny boy in Mini-Go,” she explained.
In a note with the photo from Bohnert, he said to Rudachyk, “Thank you. And thank you for your vision and the opportunity. I don’t know if I would have ever gotten involved in human services if it wasn’t for the Family Place.”
