By Julie Ann Madden
Akron-Westfield students will see two new faces on the first day of school as well as they will welcome one back to his classroom.
Kati Fang is the new high school English and Psychology teacher; Heather Morehead is the new school nurse; and Randy Kroksh returns as the Ag Education teacher and FFA advisor.
Kati Fang
This Marshfield, Wis., native spent only her first three years in the United States as her father was a church planter and became an overseas missionary.
Fang has lived in eight countries and traveled in many. In 2008, she graduated high school from the International Gateway Academy in Istanbul, Turkey. In December 2011, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a secondary education minor from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.
Fang first taught freshman and sophomore English at Estacado High School in Lubbock, Texas.
She and her husband, Justin Fang, moved to Vermillion, S.D., as he has been accepted into the University of South Dakota’s Clinical Psychology Program.
At Akron-Westfield, Fang will teach 10th Grade English, Business English, Creative Writing, World Literature, British Literature, Advanced English II and Psychology.
Fang enjoys reading, especially C.S. Lewis and Jane Austen books, backpacking, camping, and travelling. She also enjoys movies with her favorite being the six-hour British Broadcasting Corporation’s version of Pride And Prejudice.
Fang is a nondenominational Christian.
Heather Morehead
Many students may know her as a nurse at Akron Mercy Medical Clinic as that was Heather Morehead’s last nursing position.
Now she’ll be taking care of them during the school days.
The former Heather Borchers graduated from Akron-Westfield High School in 2002 and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Nursing from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D. In 2011, she earned her Health Coaching certification.
She worked one year on Mercy Medical Center’s Resource Team, working as a nurse on multiple floors at the Sioux City hospital before joining the Akron clinic staff in 2007.
Morehead and her husband, Jeff, have two children: Trenten, a Discovergarten student; and his sister, Macy, just 4.5 months old.
Morehead enjoys spending time with family, visiting Lake Shetek in Minnesota in summer, and reading, especially Kristin Hannah and Nicholas Sparks novels.
She is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Akron.
“I’m looking forward to a new challenge and chapter in my life,” said Morehead, “and to work with all the kids, which I’m really passionate about.”
Randy Kroksh
Randy Kroksh is returning to the classroom he left just a year ago.
Kroksh, a lifelong Akron resident, graduated from Akron-Westfield High School in 1984, and in 1988 he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Ag Education from South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D.
Kroksh returned to Akron to begin farming.
The Fall semester of 1998, Kroksh taught Ag Education at Akron-Westfield, then Craig Winquist took over the position.
In the Fall of 2003, Kroksh returned to teaching after Winquist resigned. He taught Ag Education through the Spring of 2014, then resigned from teaching to be a full-time farmer.
However, when Ag Education teacher Jayln Havill resigned after one year, Kroksh tossed his John Deere cap back on to the Ag Education teacher’s desk.
He’ll be teaching Animal Science, Applied Ag Science, Plant Soil, Biotechnology, Ag Technology, Horticulture, Ag Business and Middle School Ag Exploratory.
When not teaching and farming, Kroksh enjoys being outdoors, especially boating and hiking. He also enjoys showing livestock and of course, John Deere tractors.
He and his wife, Deb, have four children: Brittany, who is deceased; Melissa and Adam, who attend Iowa State University; and Brendan, an A-W freshman.
They are members of Adaville United Methodist Church in rural Merrill. Randy is a member of the FFA Alumni Association, Plymouth County Farm Bureau, Plymouth County Cattlemen’s Association, Plymouth County Pork Producers Association, and the Plymouth County Fair Board, where he serves on the Swine Committee.