Ann Rogge

Ann Rogge

By Rose Bondoe (Whetstone Staff Writer)

Ann Rogge first got into contact with her biological father and two half-sisters only this year.

“I was very excited to learn about my heritage because, as an adoptee, you are always curious about your background,” said Rogge, 54, the director of counseling services at Wesley College.

It was because of her biological mother – to whom she had been writing for several years and who died 15 years ago – that she was able to get in contact with her father and two half-sisters.

In those letters, her mother had mentioned her father’s and half-sisters names, but never acted on it.

“I was adopted when I was four days old,” Rogge said.

Her adoptive parents took her home after she was born in Wellsboro, in north-central Pennsylvania, where she grew up. It had been a “closed” adoption, which means there was no contact between the adoptive parents and the biological parents.

Rogge grew up with an adoptive sister who was eight years older.

“My sister was deaf, so from the age of four she went to a boarding school for the deaf,” Rogge said. “She went to the school unit she graduated high school.”

Rogge and her adoptive parents did not learn sign language because her sister read lips, and only visited on holidays.

Rogge has been married for 27 years, has three children, including a 25-year-old daughter and 22-year-old twins, a boy and a girl.

“My biggest accomplishment, besides raising my family, is graduating from college because it wasn’t something we did in my family,” she said. “I didn’t get any encouragement, or any financial help. I did it by myself.”

She knew college was something that she always wanted to do, but it wasn’t easy.

“I was a first generation student,” she said. “My parents were both blue collar workers. They didn’t have a lot of money.”

Rogge attended Manville State College in Manville, Pa., and earned a bachelor’s degree in Social Work.

“I always knew that I was interested in people and psychology,” she said. “I actually started out as a psychology major.”

In college, she was her Social Worker professor that she should become one.

“He grabbed me one day and said, ‘You should become a social work major,’ and I was, like, OK.”

Rogge attended graduate school for her M.S.W./ Master Degree in Social Working at Marywood College, also in Pennsylvania.

In graduate school, she was did a clinical track, which is a mental health track, it allow her to specialize more in counseling than other types of work.

She started out as an adjunct professor in the psychology department about 26 years.

She became director of counseling services when the former director got promoted to the Dean of students, who brought Rogge in to take in 1999.

Sophomore Kayla Wilson, who took Rogge’s Marriage and Family Life class during her freshman year, said she enjoyed her professor.

“She was very open and honest, she gave insight to her own life, which made her approachable.” Kayla said.

Anumeet Cheema, a registered nurse in the Wellness Center, has worked with Rogge for nearly two years. She said that working with Rogge has been a great learning experience.

“I have really appreciated when she has pushed me to stop stressing about the small things in life and to look ahead at the bigger picture.” Cheema said.