The Department of Humanities Welcomes Diane Westphall
MBU’s Department of Humanities announces a new faculty member—Diane Westphall. It wasn’t until Diane was sixteen, that her parents realized something was “missing” in their lives and began searching. To her “horror,” they started attending a Baptist church where she and her siblings were certain “weird kids attended, and people rolled in the aisles.” As their first service ended and the pastor gave an invitation, Diane became a “stereotypical, white-knuckled pew gripper.” She withstood conviction for several more years before receiving Christ as Savior.
Diane served in Maranatha’s early years as part-time faculty and women’s volleyball, basketball, and cheerleading coach, and she claims the distinction of being Maranatha’s first Shakespearean “shrew” and Hamlet’s mother.
She returns to Maranatha with a notable resume of experiences. Diane taught classes, coached volleyball, and directed plays at Calvary Baptist Christian School (Watertown) for 30 years. Her next assignment took her to China where teaching English to university students and business personnel, leading the university foreign language team, and working individually with Chinese peers earned her the prestigious Friendship Award.
Summers provided opportunity to explore the world. Diane has worked on a kibbutz in Israel, helped in an orphanage and graded university oral English finals in Mexico, taught oral English and methodology to Chinese English teachers while also sharing American culture through drama, and worked in business administration in Florida. Reversing roles from teacher to student, she became a pilot.
For the past 21 years Diane has served as event/special project coordinator and speaker coach with the Wisconsin Family Action and Wisconsin Family Council in Madison.
In her new role teaching Introduction to Acting, Diane shares, “I love the energy students bring to the classroom and the satisfaction of watching them learn and gain confidence. I enjoy making complex ideas seem simple.”
Humanities Chair Angela Morris expresses delight, saying, “We are thrilled to welcome Miss Westphall back to the faculty of MBU. Her skills in the classroom, her passion for teaching, and her love for students are all readily apparent to those who know her. Our students will gain much knowledge under her wise and experienced instruction.”