On weekdays, you can find Kristoff Berzins on the third-floor teaching biology classes or coaching the varsity swim team after school. But on the weekends, he transforms into a dynamic wedding planner and bartender.
Berzins spends most of his free time working for his wife’s business, Magnolia Events and Creations, a service that plans, creates and organizes events. Since its establishment in 2016, it has created all kinds of events, but mainly weddings.
Berzins does a variety of tasks for Magnolia, but mostly bartends. He often mentions how stressful the work can be. “You’re the CEO, the CFO, the marketing department and public relations,” he said. “It never ends.” To help ease his workload, Berzins hires students to help him and his wife.
He asks former biology students to see which students are interested. “We get a little help; they get some cash in their pocket.” He said the students help his wife more than he does, as they assist with decoration, loading/unloading equipment and cleaning up.
“It’s a long day’s work, but it’s worth it,” sophomore Katie Besancon said. “I love seeing all the weddings and knowing that I helped make them,” she said. She began working for Berzins this summer after being in Honors Biology her freshman year. Hiring people like Besancon allows Berzins to focus on managing the business.
Running the events and finding people to help isn’t the only stressor, though. Berzins said balancing teaching and Magnolia can become very strenuous. “I make it work, but it wears me out,” he said.
He’s also working on getting his doctorate while teaching Biology, Honors Biology and IB Biology. Alongside bartending, he is an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which means he can officiate weddings.
Members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which was created to protest the Kansas Board of Education’s 2005 decision to allow the teaching of creationism in schools, wear pirate clothing at functions, have a beer volcano in the afterlife and regard Fridays as religious holidays.
He may be busy, but the money is worth it, as being able to save for the future and earn enough to do things he wants to do are huge benefits, Berzins explained. “Everything comes down to money,” he said. “It allows me to be free and have fun.”
Nonetheless, Berzins said if you cannot maintain a healthy work-life balance between your social life and your jobs, the money might not be worth it. “There is no point in earning all the money in the world if you can’t stop to enjoy life as well.”
Berzins enjoys Magnolia just as much as he loves teaching and said getting to help his wife makes him happy. “I love getting to see the weddings and styles,” he said.
“It gives me a lot of satisfaction,” he said when it comes to planning and creating weddings with wide budgets and extravagant venues. He adores the fact that his wife can get more creative and that he can have a fun time making the sets look cool. Those moments make it all worth it. “I look forward to the future, and I am excited to see Magnolia grow,” he said.
