Kaylee Paulsen
Alumni Spotlight: Kristin Higgins and Tricia (Higgins) Hultgren
(Kristin on left, Tricia on right)
(Kristin on left, Tricia on right)
Becoming a medical doctor is already a difficult achievement. Twins becoming successful MDs in different fields; even more impressive! Kristin Higgins and Tricia (Higgins) Hultgren attended Skyline Elementary, Elkhorn Middle School, and graduated from EHS in 1998. From there, they each chose separate but similar paths. Through it all, they remain supportive of one another and travel to be together three or four times a year.
Tricia attended medical school at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She interned at UNMC in Internal Medicine and completed her residency at Loyola University Medical Center, where she was Chief Resident. Tricia is board certified in Dermatology and is the past President and member of Nebraska Dermatology Society. Currently,Tricia lives in Elkhorn with her husband and two sons. Dr. Hultgren is a senior partner and practices Dermatology at Dermatology Specialists of Omaha. Most days she works at the new Elkhorn office. During the Covid Pandemic, it became clear that Dermatology Specialists of Omaha needed more space for their physicians and physicians assistants to provide their best care, and Tricia was integral in the expansion of the practice to west Omaha. Tricia loves interior design and if you check out the office in Elkhorn, you will see her flare for design! In her free time, Tricia enjoys traveling with her family and spending time with her two bernedoodles, Milton and Walter.
Kristin attended Tulane University School of Medicine. She interned in internal medicine at Duke University Medical Center. Following up with a residency in Radiation Oncology at Duke. Kristin lives in Atlanta with her husband and two sons. In January 2024, she accepted the position of Chief Clinical Officer at City of Hope Cancer Center in Atlanta. Dr. Higgins has authored over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts and several book chapters, and she co-chaired the 2021 World Conference on Lung Cancer. Kristin doesn’t have that much spare time, but when she does, she enjoys spending time with her family, dog, and decompressing with yoga.
Q: Who were some of your favorite Teachers?
T: Miss McCoy, Mrs. Bock
K: Mr. Wortman
K&T: Frerichs, going into pre-med that class (AP Chemistry) really helped prepare us for college level classes.
Q: What activities did you participate in in High School?
K&T: Newspaper, gymnastics (outside of school) as freshmen and sophomores, cheerleading
K: Also track
Q: Do you have any favorite memories hanging out at Elkhorn?
K: I liked going to the Dairy Chef. We liked going to the Kwik Shop and Godfather’s Pizza. We cruised around on Highway 31. Football and basketball games were fun too.
Where did you go to college after high school and what was your major?
T: Iowa State, originally I thought I wanted to be a veterinarian, but then switched to pre-med.
K: I went to Vanderbilt majoring in Neuroscience
Q: Did you do any activities in college?
K and T: We were both cheerleaders in college, basketball games were a blast!
Q: What led you to a career in your field?
T: I am visual learner, and Dermatology is the perfect specialty for me in that I can examine a patient’s skin and come to a diagnosis.There is a clinical-pathologic correlation with how skin appears when biopsied and examined under the microscope that is exciting to learn. Additionally, It can be extremely fulfilling to treat a disease process that manifests itself outwardly. Patients are very grateful when their skin disease improves or is cured. I also enjoy the cosmetic side of dermatology, helping people look like a better version of themselves.
K: I chose a career in oncology because I wanted to do something impactful, meaningful, to help people. This is important work.
Q: Do you have a special moment in your career that you’d like to share?
T: When I diagnose melanoma in an early stage and help save someone’s life. Treating stage one early melanoma and other complex medical conditions; your patients are so thankful. I diagnose at least one melanoma a week.
Q: Do you have any wisdom to share for current Elkhorn students?
T: We have a unique gap year program for students after graduating from college before applying to med school or PA school, we employ them and teach them how to use the electronic med system, draw blood, blood pressure, etc. We will also write letters of recommendation to help them get into med school. They’re so much more prepared for medical school after this one year experience. We take 10 gap year students a year. It’s fun and fulfilling to teach these students. They work at both of our offices.
K: Never underestimate yourself, you can do whatever you want. You can move anywhere or compete in any environment-even if you were from a relatively small town.
*Kristin had to leave early for a work meeting and missed a small portion of the interview.
Alumni Spotlight: Jason Lindsay
Elkhorn High School Class of 1994
Q: What activities did you participate in during high school?
A: I was in band, and I ran cross country for a year or two. I think my mom thought that it would keep me focussed and out of trouble, but I mostly just ran and hid behind the toilets at Ta-Ha-Zouka Park until Mr. May blew the whistle. Then I would run in with probably a bit too much energy and enthusiasm for someone who should’ve been running for the past 45 minutes.
Q:Who was your favorite teacher?
A:There were so many great teachers at EHS. I really liked Mr. Bacus, VP Maher, Mr. May and Ms. Studnicka, but Mrs. Helicker (business) was my favorite. She was the most patient, gracious, and encouraging teacher I had. I loved the classes I had with her. We pulled a lot of practical jokes in her classroom that I’m not sure a lot of teachers would’ve put up with, but she often was a good sport about it and had a laugh. She was great.
Q: Where did you study after high school?
A: I went to both UNL and UNO, and studied in England in 1998, before moving to Los Angeles in 1999 to pursue a career in film and television.
Q: How did you end up in New Zealand?
A: When I was studying in England, I met my wife, Kate, who is a Kiwi (New Zealander). We got married about a year and a half later at the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas and had two children in Los Angeles. The idea of raising our daughters in Los Angeles didn’t appeal to us, so we decided to move to New Zealand to be nearer to family. I also love the ocean, so Nebraska was out as an option..
Q: What made you decide to stay?
A: When I met Kate, I wasn’t exactly sure where New Zealand was. I knew it was close to Australia, but I thought it was where Papua New Guinea is (which would’ve been significantly warmer than Dunedin, where I mostly live now). We immediately made some of the best friends in our life, with people we got to know during our school drop offs. We were on open-door status with our friends, never needing to knock, and always welcomed in for a coffee or cup of tea, with our kids all becoming friends. We had a very tight friendship group, and once that happened, there was really no looking back.
Q: Was it always your intention to live somewhere else?
A: I had decided after my first year of University that I would like to pursue a career in film, so that was probably when the reality, that I would eventually need to leave, set in.
Q: What is your day-to-day life like?
A: I mostly left the entertainment industry about 7 years ago. I realized that when my kids were watching someone on YouTube play video games for 4 hours at a time, and it didn’t really cost anything to produce that, my career would most likely be in jeopardy in the near future. So Kate and I bought a large derelict heritage building in Dunedin and started to restore it, eventually converting it into a nice commercial building that houses about 70 businesses, including a few of our own. We started working on the building in 2014, and we opened in 2016. This has, unfortunately, dominated my time and hasn’t left me with a lot of free time, but as we are reaching the end of the project, I am optimistic (perhaps naively) that I will have a lot more time to spend with my family and friends, both in New Zealand and in the States. Seventy business probably makes it sound bigger than it is. There is probably about 250 people in the building, and a lot of the businesses are small 1-3 person businesses. It’s a co-working space called “Petridish” which was meant to be a play on the words “Culture” and “Growth”, but it turned out to be one of the most poorly named businesses during a worldwide pandemic.
Q: Can you compare American life vs New Zealand life?
A: My life in New Zealand is a lot more like how I remember Nebraska, than Los Angeles. I split my time between a town of about 140k population, Dunedin, and a town of about 800 people, Russell. I prefer a small population community to a place like Los Angeles, where it is so big that people don’t always feel the social pressures of being decent to each other. I loved living in Los Angeles, but moving to New Zealand was one of the best decisions that I’ve made in my life. It is full of kind people, some of the best scenery in the world, hiking trails with no natural predators, and some of the best beaches (mostly empty) in the world.
Q: How has your experience growing up in Elkhorn impacted your life so far?
A: I have realized that when comparing Nebraska to other communities that I have lived in, Nebraskans have incredible work ethic, are naturally friendly and likable, and look out for each other. I am still blown away by the philanthropy that I am aware of in Omaha compared to what I have seen anywhere else. I am still a proud Nebraskan at heart.
Q: Is there anything you miss about the US?
A: I miss a lot about the U.S. The first thing that hurts when you move anywhere is the food that you left behind. I haven’t had great Mexican food for 15 years. I probably haven’t had a Runza for 17 years. Kate and I are coming back to visit family in August, this year, so I am fully aware that I will probably eat as much as I can, to excess. I also miss friends and family a lot, but as much as you can get bummed out that you have left these people to live somewhere else, I have found that with family and good friends, you always pick up where you left off and it just fills you up with the best joy you can have in life.
Q: Do you have advice for high schoolers on where their paths will lead them?
A: I think if you are open to experiencing whatever you can manage in life, it will take you to some of the most unexpected and fantastic places. Be kind and give of yourself what you can to help others and life will take on an incredibly rewarding journey.
Class Facebook Groups & Pages
Elkhorn High School
2000’s
1990’s
1980’s
Elkhorn South High School
2000’s
Annual Alumni Banquet 2024
The 66th annual Alumni Banquet was held by a committee of Elkhorn alumni on June 8th to honor Elkhorn High School alumni. Honored class years of 1944, 1949, 1954, 1959, 1964, 1969, and 1974 had members in attendance. It was a great evening of reconnecting, food, and conversations of how much Elkhorn has grown!
Elkhorn North High School
UPCOMING EVENTS
PAST EVENTS
No events yet.
If you are interested in serving as a reunion coordinator or have information regarding an upcoming reunion, please contact the Elkhorn Public Schools Foundation at: alumni@elkhornfoundation.org or call the office at (402)289-1727.
EPS Alumni Scholarship
A message from members of the EPS Alumni Scholarship selection committee. Nicci Clark, class of 1992, and Barry Stark, retired EPS administrator.
Click HERE to donate and select EPS Alumni Scholarship Fund as the allocation. In “Details” put your EPS graduating class year if applicable.
Bloopers from Nicci & Barry’s video!
