Meet Assistant Cross Country Coach Derek Boekelheide!
- Name: Derek Boekelheide
- Where are you from and where did you grow up? I grew up on a farm by Northville
- Describe your high school experience: I was involved in many activities, including cross country, basketball, track, band, robotics, and FLBA.
- From where did you graduate college and with what degree(s)? Agronomy from SDSU
- What do you teach/coach/lead at Northwestern? Assistant cross country coach
- How long have you been here? This is my first year coaching
- When did you realize you wanted to become a teacher? Northwestern’s cross country program is already one of the best in the state, and I would like to pass on what I learned while training under Olympian Rod DeHaven in college.
- What is rewarding about your job? Seeing the kids excited to run.
- If you could have any other job what would it be? Electrician
- Who is your biggest role model? My grandpa
- What are your hobbies? Working in my yard and barn
- Where do you see yourself in ten years? Farming with my family
- If you could live anywhere else, where? A cabin in Alaska accessible only by float plane
- What type of music do you listen to? Rock, country, and metal
- What food is like a guilty pleasure to you? Chocolate chip cookies
- Last book you read? The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic, by Mike Duncan
- Who would play the lead in a movie about your life? Clint Eastwood
- What super power do you wish you had? Super Speed
- Biggest pet peeve? Unclear instructions
- What advice do you have for the students of Northwestern? Regardless of what you pursue, you will get out of it what you put into it.