Abraham
Mrs. Abraham
has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of California, Irvine. She has trained in many styles since
the age of 4 including Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Hip-hop, Flamenco, & African. She traveled as an undergraduate at UCI
with Donald McKayle's pre-professional modern dance company, The Etude Ensemble. She loves working with kids!
She's been teaching dance for about 15 years at various studios throughout California and Illinois and has also been
very involved with the children's ministry at her church for the past 10 years.
Bouwmeester
Mrs. Bouwmeester attended Judson
College and graduated with a degree in vocal performance. Then she began a master's
program at Northern Illinois Univ. She's taught voice & piano privately at
home, & works as a substitute teacher for U-46. She directs the middle
and high school choir at church, & sings with the Heartland Voices.
Braden
Mrs. Braden homeschooled
her son through high school. She has taught piano lessons, piano and music theory
class and choir classes for GIFT since its beginning in 2001. She has been on the faculty at A & A Music Academy
in Hanover Park teaching piano, voice and trumpet/French horn lessons since 1997.
She is a member of Chicago Musicians Union AFM 10-208 and performs professionally on French horn with area orchestras. “
I believe our talents are gifts of grace from God and enjoy ministering to students in their faith journey by developing their
musical talents and using that talent for God.”
Cowen
Mrs. Cowen
bought her first camera at age 11 and has been taking pictures for nearly three decades. She studied photography and
got her photography certification at the College of DuPage in Glenn Ellyn, IL. She has a home based business and has
photographed everything from food to Bat Mitzvahs, from Anatolian Shephard dogs to Venice, Italy. She mainly photographs
weddings and people, but will tackle anything with the camera with a fresh view and energy. She is commited to her passion
for the camera and hopes to share some hands on experiences with your children. She has coached sports and has
had two Girl Scout troops since 2004 and loves to work with young people. She hopes that she can unleash some of the
creativity in your children while she gets to spend some time with them... She looks forward to her first year
with G.I.F.T. and getting to know everyone. You can view a sampling of her work at: www.kellwoodstudiophotography.com
DeSmet
Born and raised in Venezuela, Mrs. DeSmet’s native language is Spanish. She continues to communicate “en Espanol” with friends and relatives. She worked as a simultaneous interpreter/translator for three years and taught English
as a Second Language for three years. She came to the United States of America
in 1997 where she is currently raising two homeschooled children. By becoming
multi-lingual, Mrs. DeSmet believes many doors can be opened.
Dirnberger
Mrs. Dirnberger
is an attorney admitted to practice in IL & Washington, D.C. Before staying
home with her children, Mrs. Dirnberger was a prosecutor for local villages, handled Federal, civil & criminal cases
with a large Washington D.C. firm & taught paralegal courses for Roosevelt Univ.
She has an extensive background in State and Federal Government as well. Mrs.
Dirnberger is a Christian & will teach her classes from that perspective as is historically accurate. She taught the "E-Congress" portion of the class the spring of '09 at GIFT & has taught
other co-op classes on the Constitution and Government.
Drew
Mr. Drew is a
homeschooled guitar teacher from Elgin. He has played guitar non-stop for 7 yrs., & has studied the instrument
with Michael Brennen at Judson College, and Dan McIntyre at ECC. He has taught private lessons for both guitar &
piano for 3 yrs.
Gibson
Mrs. Gibson is a homeschooling mom of 3 who has always loved music & writing. Carla is trained as a Kindermusik instructor & taught Kindermusik for the
McHenry County Music Center in Crystal Lake. Carla's passions are nutrition, wellness &
homeschooling.
Guge
Mr. Guge has been carving for 21 years & learned to carve from his father who
is a five time world carving champion. He has been teaching carving for 8 yrs. & has enjoyed working with children
for over 9 yrs. Mr. Guge has had the honor of working for the Danburry Mint for the last 7 yrs. He graduated from
Judson College with a degree in graphic design, & has won several national & international carving competitions.
See www.finsinwood.com
Hahn
Mrs. Hahn has been teaching violin, music, band, & orchestra for over 20 years with over 30 years of music
instruction total. She has a Bachelors in Music Education and a Masters in Education. She has been directing Bells and Kinderchoir
at her church for over 10 yrs. She loves to work with students & teach music!
Holmberg
Mrs. Holmberg has really
enjoyed teaching Spanish Stories, Songs, & Games ever since she first taught it at GIFT in 2005 &
is looking forward to teaching it again this year. She studied Spanish for four years
in school & finds it really comes in handy in today's world. She loves
teaching & watching students gain confidence while making learning fun. She
is a homeschooling mom who also directs one of her church's children's choirs, and co-leads a 4-H group. She is grateful
to have been a member of GIFT since 2003.