Four to receive Northwestern College alumni awards for 2026

Northwestern College will honor four graduates for their professional achievements and service as part of Raider Nation Celebration, the college’s Homecoming and Family Weekend. The alumni award recipients will be recognized during a banquet Saturday evening, Oct. 3.

Kurt Dykstra of Holland, Michigan, will receive the Distinguished Professional Achievement Award; Amy (Vanden Bosch) Keahi of Sioux Center, Iowa, the Distinguished Service to Humankind Award; Dr. Brad VanKalsbeek of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the Distinguished Service to Northwestern Award; and Dr. Rachael Wittern of Alton, Iowa, the Standout Young Alum Award.

Dykstra, a 1994 Northwestern graduate, is the general counsel at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in Washington, D.C. A lawyer by training, he previously was a partner at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Warner Norcross & Judd in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His career has also included serving as president of Trinity Christian College, executive vice president at Mercantile Bank of Michigan and mayor of Holland, Michigan.

Dykstra earned a law degree from Marquette University and a Master of Laws degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has served on more than a dozen boards, including Northwestern’s board of trustees, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, Providence Bank & Trust and the Netherland-America Foundation.

Since 2002, Keahi has worked for ATLAS of Sioux Center, a nonprofit ministry that helps those who are hurting, equips followers of Jesus and unites the community. Keahi became executive director in 2005 and later, director of ATLAS’ Center for Financial Education. She leads programs providing one-on-one mentoring, personal finance and debt consolidation assistance, and used cars for those in need. She also supports director relations among 12 other ATLAS locations across the country.

A 1997 Northwestern graduate and softball player for the Raiders, Keahi was a two-year team captain and earned NAIA All-American honorable mention in 1997. She now serves as head softball coach at Sioux Center High School. Keahi holds a master’s degree in public administration from Dordt University and is a board member and treasurer for the Alliance of Reformed Churches.

VanKalsbeek has taught at the University of Sioux Falls since 2005 and serves as associate professor of accounting and area chair for the Vucurevich School of Business. He received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the South Dakota CPA Society and National Society of Leadership & Success, as well as the university’s 2012–13 Outstanding Faculty Award.

A 1992 Northwestern graduate, VanKalsbeek holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Colorado Technical University and a doctorate from Nebraska Methodist College. He currently serves on Northwestern’s board of trustees and has supported departments across campus by coordinating band concerts at LifeScape in Sioux Falls, hosting alumni gatherings, and providing accommodations for NWC physician assistant and nursing students during clinical rotations. His community involvement has included service with the Avera McKennan Foundation, Sioux Empire United Way and Sioux Falls Christian Schools.

Wittern joined Northwestern’s psychology faculty after eight years of service with U.S. military members, first as an active-duty Army psychologist and later as a clinical psychologist for a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic. She received two Army Commendation Medals and an Army Achievement Medal.

In 2023, Wittern received a $3,000 Early Career Global Psychology Grant from the American Psychological Association to study the mental health of Ukrainian refugees living in the United States. Her research seeks to give mental health clinicians a greater understanding of refugee treatment needs, and the results are in press with the APA journal “Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.” A 2008 Northwestern graduate, Wittern holds master’s degrees in general psychology and Christian leadership and a doctorate in clinical psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary. She is completing a postdoctoral master’s degree in clinical psychopharmacology from Fairleigh Dickinson University.