"Don't you know that it's worth every treasure on Earth to be young at heart?"
Frank Sinatra's famous tune "Young at Heart" tune comes to mind when Dan Reisen is the subject. Reisen is this week's Portage Life in the Spotlight and he is a multi-faceted man with talents in teaching, leadership, and music.
Reisen was born and raised in Portage, IN. He Came into this world at Porter Memorial Hospital and spent his childhood and adolescence in one town over.
"As a child my parents would describe me as wild and crazy," Reisen said with a laugh. "I was always hyper and athletic. I was into playing outside and doing guy stuff. I loved having friends over and playing outside."
After graduating from Portage High School, Reisen furthered his education at IU Bloomington where he received his degree in Elementary Education.
"I had a passion for teaching kids," Reisen said. "At first I wanted to go into youth ministry but then I decided that this is the route that I wanted to take and this is where I wanted to be."
After college, Reisen moved to Nashville, TN to pursue music as an independent artist. He then back to NWI to use his teaching degree. He has been part of the Portage School system for the past five years, teaching first at Crisman Elementary School for three years, then coming to South Haven Elementary where he is a running coach and a 4th grade teacher.
"4th graders are pretty sweet," he said.
So why does Reisen dig teaching so much?
"The biggest reason why I like teaching is that I really feel like I can relate to the kids," Reisen explained. "I feel like I'm a positive influence in their lives. I really focus on getting to know my students and being able to find common ground and teach them to the best of my abilities. Just because a student isn't the best academically doesn't mean they don't shine in other areas. It's my job to reach out to them and mentor them."
Outside of teaching, Reisen is a busy guy. He is the Worship Leader at GracePoint Church in Valparaiso, he is an independent acoustic an vocal artist, and he is a professional DJ for 27 Entertainment.
His involvement with GracePoint began about five years ago. He helped out by playing his guitar and then became more and more involved. He now leads worship there on Sundays. He said that his wife and Pastor Ben Lamb really helped to push and support him in this endeavor.
"[GracePoint] is culturally relevant. It's a different kind of church; the church for the unchurched- people who have been hurt by other churches. It breaks things down for everyone," Reisen said. "Leading worship is something I always wanted to do this but didn't think I was good enough but then I found grace when I went to GracePoint."
Wade Breitzke, owner of 27 Entertainment, hired Reisen as a DJ a few years ago. Ever since he has been playing live music or playing DJ at hundreds of weddings and other events. Reisen has known Breitzke since he was 17.
"It's awesome working for him. He's a Christian; an honest dude," Reisen said of Breitzke.
You can find out more about Reisen and his music at www.danreisen.com.
Currently, Reisen lives in Valparaiso with his wife Natalie. In his free time he likes to record and play music, go to movies, run, and he and Natalie love to go out to eat.
And the advice that he would like to leave to you, readers, on living a happy and successful life its this:
"I fought to get to where I'm at. I developed a work ethic to where I have 3 or 4 jobs and I love them all. You have to do something that makes you happy. Don't limit yourself and surround yourself with good people that will support you. Who I surrounded myself with helped me a lot and I have to credit my parents quite a bit for being there for me when I needed them," Reisen said in closing.