Distinguished alumni

Beverly (Gaalswyk) '68 & Merlyn De Vries '66 Distinguished Professional Achievement

Beverly De Vries believes teachers can make a difference. She was a schoolteacher in Iowa, Michigan and Oklahoma from 1968 to 1989. She earned a master’s in education from Western Michigan University in 1980 and a doctorate in education from Oklahoma State University in 1992. Today she prepares the next generation of teachers as a professor of education at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma. Bev has written several college education textbooks on children’s literature, early reading literacy and language arts. She also serves as a reviewer for the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.

After attending Northwestern, Merlyn earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting at the University of South Dakota. He was a C.P.A. in Kalamazoo, Michigan, before becoming vice president of finance for the Fife Corporation in Oklahoma City in 1981. In 1989, he was named chief financial officer at Fife’s parent company, Maxcess International. He continues as CFO and senior vice president of finance at Maxcess, where he is responsible for the corporation’s financial, tax and accounting matters worldwide.

Award year: 2006