Gartner uses Nebraskan experiences in Kazahkstan

Sara Mettlen
Staff Writer
Mar. 11, 2004, Page 3

For a kid from Nebraska, it’s hard to find a place more remote than home.
Travis Gartner, a native of Tecumseh, has found a place to fit the bill. He is currently living in Atbasar, Kazahkstan, doing work in connection with the Peace Corps to earn his masters degree in non-governmental organization (NGO) management from Rutgers University.
Gartner was never the traditional student. After graduating from high school, he joined the Marines and was involved in the first Gulf War. His lieutenant encouraged him to further his schooling, and he eventually ended up at Doane College, graduating in 2001.
Gartner’s job is to get groups of people in his region together and organize them to do what needs to be done to help their society. He has coordinated several different local organizations including a theater club and a center for women. His current project is building a library.
Gartner, who still regularly emails some of his old Doane professors, asked for help in gathering books for his library about a year ago. Associate Greman professor H. Peter Reinkordt took the lead and began asking around for books to send over to Kazahkstan.
Collecting books from colleagues in the English department, donated books from the library, old textbooks from his wife who teaches at Lincoln Southeast High School and also donated books from a UNL graduate student who is student-teaching at Southeast, as well as taking from his own personal collection, Reinkordt has gathered and sent over 120 pounds of books to Gartner.
It costs approximately one dollar per pound of books to ship to Atbasar. Doane is paying the shipping costs for the books, which will take about two months to get to Kazahkstan.
“What we hope will happen is that we establish a link,” Reinkordt said. “If we can set that up so that we have contacts in Kazahkstan, we can continue helping by sending books over.”
Reinkordt is still looking for around 100 more pounds of books to send over.
“To me, it’s tremendously interesting what a Doane graduate is doing,” Reinkordt said. “His [Gartner’s] experience will be something that he carries with him his entire life. If a student is open, it’s amazing what they can do.”