Hatter sisters: Lifelong Significance

Sims Kline, daughtersSince joining the library faculty at Stetson University in 1976, Sims Kline has helped thousands of students and members of the university community with research on countless topics. For Kline, associate professor and research librarian at Stetson’s duPont-Ball Library, it is gratifying to know he has helped so many students, faculty and staff on so many varied projects. But on a deeper, more personal level, it is the knowledge that he and his wife Nancy are also the proud parents of two accomplished Hatter graduates that provides the real fuel that keeps Sims Kline going.

Anna Kline Bressler ’00, pictured right, next to her father, Sims Kline, and Caroline Kline Saulino ’05, pictured left, were members of the Stetson community long before they registered for classes as first year college students. As daughters of their multi-talented father—piano player, Hatter Radio host, and raconteur—they began developing their musical talents as young children, participating in Orff-Schulwerk classes in Stetson’s Community School of Music. Both participated in private piano and voice lessons with Stetson music majors and staff throughout middle school and high school.

Older sister, Bressler, studied viola with Routa Kroumovitch, violin professor, which led to participating in the Stetson University Orchestra.

Younger sister Saulino was a member of the Stetson Children’s Choir directed by Ann Small, music education professor. Both sisters were members of Stetson’s Concert Choir, and traveled to Europe with the group representing Stetson University.

“Our daughters had wonderful experiences at Stetson,” said their father. “They really had the best of both worlds: they got both the liberal arts and the music education. We’re very proud of these ladies, of course, and thankful to the university for what it has meant to them.”

Graduating Stetson as an English major with a minor in music, Bressler credits English professors Terri Witek and the late Michael Raymond with being the most influential in her growth as a writer. She also extends her thanks to former teacher education professors like Elizabeth Dershimer and Cindy Lovell, for her entry into the field of teacher education. She enjoyed teaching gifted and talented students at George Marks Elementary in DeLand. She later combined her passions for writing and teaching into a career in textbooks and learning apps.

“Stetson University has been a key factor in a lifetime of learning for me,” said Bressler. “My studies in the English and education departments, as well as my participation in the Concert Choir and the University Orchestra, have helped me shape my career as a learning architect for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, one of the world’s leading learning companies. I get to create pedagogically sound, engaging products that help students across the globe flourish in diverse learning environments,” she said. “The skills I honed as a writer, musician and teacher, and the relationships I formed at Stetson, have helped me pursue a lifetime of learning for myself and now for every student I am able to help through my work in educational publishing.”

Currently Bressler works as a learning architect for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, an educational and trade publisher. She lives with her husband and their two-year-old daughter in Winter Park, Fla.

Saulino is a senior staff health psychologist at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Mich., working with the Mechanical Circulatory Support/Heart Transplant and Structural Heart Disease teams in a consultation/liaison role.

“As soon as I took abnormal psychology with Dr. Rick Medlin (professor of psychology), I was hooked!” said Saulino. “I knew that a career in clinical psychology would always be interesting and challenging. At that point, there was no question that I would choose psychology as my major. My course work in Stetson’s Department of Psychology was truly the strong foundation I needed for my graduate studies. I took every class possible with Dr. Dan Hale (former Stetson professor of psychology) and have gravitated towards a specialization in health psychology ever since,” she said. “Clearly, it was the dedication of my professors at Stetson which set me on the path to success as a clinical health psychologist today.”

by Michael van Oppen