ASU Family and Air Force vets mentor new Sun Devils
ASU families bring so much to the Sun Devil community and at all stages of their education. For the Dobbertien family of Mesa, their school spirit began when Colleen Dobbertien attended ASU after traveling around the world with her family through the Air Force.
After seeing their kids start at ASU and enduring personal tragedy along the way, the family is still dedicated to mentoring other Sun Devils to help them be successful and encouraged throughout their academic experience.
Colleen Dobbertien shared why she and her husband, Bill, love being an ASU Family and what inspires them to stay involved.
From left: Bill, Jenny, Liam and Colleen Dobbertien
Question: How did your family end up in Arizona?
Answer: Bill was born and raised in Marshall, Michigan. He attended Michigan State University, where he obtained both his undergraduate degree and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. He worked in a large animal practice up in the thumb of Michigan for several years, until he decided to join the Air Force. He served as a public health and epidemiology officer for 23 years. Upon his retirement from the Air Force out of Luke Air Force Base in Arizona in 2005, he returned to veterinary medicine, working in a small animal practice here in Tempe before retiring “for good” in 2019.
I was an “Air Force brat,” born in Georgia, where my parents were briefly stationed. I returned to Scottsdale in 1965 with my mother and two sisters, after the unfortunate death of my father during a fighter airplane training accident in England.
Q: What were your earliest connections to ASU?
A: Both my sisters and I attended and graduated from ASU. I obtained my BS in nursing in 1976. I subsequently joined the Air Force (following the footsteps of both my father and mother) as an Air Force nurse. Bill and I met in the Air Force. I, too, retired after 20 years in the service — also from Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.
Upon my retirement, I obtained my MS in nursing as a family nurse practitioner from University of Phoenix. I then spent the next 20 years working in a variety of family practices. I spent the last five years as a primary care provider at the Phoenix VA Medical Center, caring for combat veterans with PTSD and other injuries as a result of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. I too retired “for good” in 2019.
Q: Can you tell us about your kids who attended ASU?
A: Our daughter, Jenny, and son, Liam, were also “Air Force Brats.” Jenny was born in California and Liam in Germany. We were fortunate enough to be able to settle in Mesa while in our final years in the Air Force, thus affording both children the opportunity to attend junior high and high school in Mesa.
Jenny graduated from ASU in 2014, with two degrees — one in art and the other in accountancy from the W. P. Carey School of Business. She is now, as she puts it, “an accountant by day and an artist at night” here in the Valley, working at the corporate headquarters for a large multinational company. Her husband, also an ASU grad and a pharmacist, works at the corporate level for a large retail pharmacy company.
Liam was enrolled in the Fulton Schools of Engineering, pursuing a degree in electrical and mechanical engineering. Unfortunately, he was killed in a motorcycle accident in his senior year in 2015. The outpouring of support by his professors and fellow students was amazing. As a result of the efforts of one of his professors, Dr. Pavlos Mikellides, ASU awarded Liam his BS in engineering posthumously in 2016. We will always remember with immense gratitude the support shown by the ASU administration and community during that time.
Q: Why did the family decide on ASU?
A: Jenny and Liam chose ASU primarily for the excellence of academics in their career fields. On-campus lifestyle, dorms and activities were also a consideration. Proximity to home was important, as living at home for part of their time at ASU helped reduce costs as well as maintaining connection with family.
Q: How did you get involved mentoring other ASU families?
A: We became mentors through an invitation to join the ASU International Students Mentorship program offered through the Campus Christian Center (C3) on Mill Ave. We both have traveled extensively and continue to enjoy meeting people and experiencing cultures from other countries.
We hoped that perhaps some of our life experiences would be of value to both domestic and international students, while introducing and explaining our “American” culture. Our experience so far has been outstanding. It has been so energizing to meet the students, both domestic and international. The enthusiasm and desire to achieve the goals of the students we have met thus far has been invigorating and just plain fun for us. We find that mentoring helps to keep us young, as well as feeling connected to a larger community.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to do or favorite hangout when visiting ASU?
A: We continue to love to stroll the main campus — and we marvel at all the new construction that is occurring on campus. Mill Avenue remains a favorite for all the shops and eateries. We still pop in at the Chuckbox restaurant on University Drive — still making the same great burgers as when I was at ASU in the ’70s!
Q: What is your best advice for families of new ASU students?
A: To be receptive to your children’s search for their future paths and careers. Don’t be shocked or surprised if there is a change in majors or career path in mid-course.
For example, our daughter Jenny was an art major until her senior year — at that point she realized making a living could be difficult (as she put it, living as a starving artist was not appealing). She changed her major to accounting, thus incurring an additional year of school (and tuition). Our son, Liam, kind of “drifted” for several years, until he discovered his love for engineering.
Reporting by Jim Brophy, EOSS Marketing