I had the opportunity to interview Ms. Nielsen for Staff Spotlight. She is an English teacher who has been working at our school for 27 years! She knew when she was younger that she wanted to be a teacher and to help kids. She found it exciting when the kids would listen to her and see the improvement in their skills. She liked the thought of feeling successful and wanted that in her future career. When asked about what keeps her motivated about teaching, her response is positive students, her radio show students, and all of her supportive colleagues. 

Mrs. Nielsen’s favorite thing to do outside of school is to travel. She has been to all 50 states and 11 foreign countries. She has pictures of her when she went to different places in her classroom. She can always tell you about the experiences she had and the different things that she did. I love this about her because if you want to go somewhere, you can just ask her about it, and she will tell you places to go in that area. Some of her dream vacations that she’s been on are New Zealand, Italy, Ireland, and Denmark. A dream vacation that she wants to go to is Greece. She would go on a cruise to see all the different islands and go look at the ruins dedicated to the Olympian goddesses and gods.

One of her favorite memories from school when she was younger was when she was in band. They marched in parades and were very competitive. They often got first place too. She also has a lot of great memories from her elementary and high school teachers. She loves activities like making Valentines Day boxes and even acting out a trial.

If Ms. Nielsen won the lottery, she would spend it on her family, traveling, a vacation home on a lake, and some of her favorite charities. If she could be doing anything she wants right now, she would want to be sitting on a beach in Hawaii. Her favorite food is pizza, and her favorite drink is Diet Coke. A thing that she is looking forward to the rest of this year is her Myths and Legends class. Something she does everyday that she kind of enjoys, but not a lot, is her knee PT. She doesn’t like doing it but knows “I have to do it because I want to keep my joints in good shape to keep up with my fast students.” A couple of things that she couldn’t go a day without would be brushing her stealth and seeing her plants. She has a lot of them, and her classroom is filled with them! 

Something Ms. Nielsen would say to someone who wants to become a teacher is, “Are you crazy? You better know what you’re getting into?”  She would tell them to do job shadowing and to look at the salary. Then she would ask if they have considered a trade that they can learn a skill and have job security. 

I’ve really enjoyed interviewing Ms. Nielsen and getting to know more about her. I can’t believe that she’s been working here for 27 years! I love her teaching techniques, the way she really express her emotions, and how she can get really personal about certain things. I hope you enjoyed getting to know her as much as I did.