Letters from Friends
Mentors contribute to alumna's award-winning teaching
Krystle Fritsch Nemo
Krystle Fritsch Nemo (BS '07; M.Ed. '08) combined degrees in education and human ecology to train to be a teacher – an important role that guides children who are the future of our world.
On Sat, March 5, 2011, Nemo was honored with the Bonnie Chambers Award for beginning exemplary teaching by the Ohio Council of Teachers for English Language Arts.
She credits those who inspired her in the School of Teaching and Learning, where she earned her Master of Education degree in 2008, and the Department of Human Development and Family Science, where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in 2007.
Now in her third year with Lebanon City School District just north of Cincinnati, Ohio, Nemo co-teaches in a full inclusion, third-grade classroom.
Here are some of the types of projects and activities she contributes that helped earn her the award:
- Developed a podcast for incoming third graders to enrich summer reading comprehension.
- Created an hour-long movie about a fairy tale written by our class. The movie contained more than 300 narrated pictures and more than 43 pages of student-written script.
- Presented at the conference of the Southern Ohio Instructional Technology Association about the class fairy tale movie.
- Initiate a math fact fluency intervention (FASTT math) for third and fourth graders.
- Lead a professional development book group on incorporating grammar and conventions into the writing workshop.
Alumna Nemo's letter to her mentors
Hello everyone!
I want to share a piece of good news with all of you since you were large influences in my teaching career. In January 2011, I learned that I will receive the Bonnie Chambers Award from the Ohio Council of Teachers for English Language Arts. It is awarded to one Ohio teacher each year within his/her first four years of teaching.
I was nominated by a parent in my classroom who is also the assistant principal at one of our other district schools. I was asked to submit two essays with work samples to accompany my nomination.
I want to thank each and every one of you for being such a huge influence on my teaching career. I am so thankful for the education I received from Ohio State and the relationships that were formed amongst my professors/mentors.
- Dr. Dillard, thank you for all of your wisdom on cultural diversity. I have used so much of this in my classroom! Do you remember the poem I wrote about my life for your first assignment on the first day of the MEd program? I use that poem in my class to help teach poetry and diversity. I take similar ideas from your class and infuse them into mine. I appreciate all you have done for me!
[Professor Cynthia Dillard, School of Teaching and Learning]
- Dr. Folden, you were an AMAZING teacher. I love how you always made every lesson relevant to my life. You always spoke with students about things that mattered to them to help build rapport. It was very clear that you enjoy what you do, which in turn made things much easier to learn and even made other students more passionate about their work. Your ability to integrate real life and material from a text book, coupled with your humorous personality, was a clear mark of a gifted professor. I feel very privileged to have taken your course.
[Eugene Folden, director of academic studies, Department of Human Development and Family Science]
- Kelly, thank you so much for showing me all of your amazing talents in the classroom and answering all of my questions when I was student teaching in your room. Your caring and compassionate heart are admirable, and I always think about what you would do whenever I'm in a bind. You are such an amazing role model, and I'm so happy I was able to spend time in your classroom.
[Kelly Hoenie (BS '94, Education), teacher and literacy coach, Hilliard City Schools, Hilliard, Ohio]
- Laura, thank you for providing a home for me during my master's program. I enjoyed watching your children grow, and it taught me so much. I loved "practicing" literacy skills with Addie and watching her shine. I'm sure she is soaring in her class now. I'm so thankful I was able to learn from your children and have our conversations about education. Your insight into language and development was very helpful to me, and I hope you know how grateful I am of the time I spent with you.
[Professor Laura Justice, School of Teaching and Learning]
- Carrie, thank you for your effervescent and uplifting classes! You have been one of the most influential people in my language arts knowledge. I love the way you presented children's books and how to teach literacy. I always speak so highly of you and what I learned in college about literacy. You have a gift, and I'm so glad you're sharing it with so many future teachers.
[Carrie Blosser Scheckelhoff (MA '93, PhD '97, both Education), senior lecturer, School of Teaching and Learning, now assistant professor, Otterbein University]
- Jody, thank you for all of the amazing support you gave to me. Your personality and love for children and the education they receive are remarkable and have impacted me. You are a wonderful role model for aspiring teachers, and I am so lucky to have worked with you.
[Jody Wallace (BS 72, Child Development – Home Economics; MA '83, Education), program manager, Early Childhood MEd Program, School of Teaching and Learning]
I want you all to know how appreciative I am of all you have done for me. Too often, people do not know all of the positive things about themselves or the amazing things they are doing because others do not tell them. I want to make sure you know.
Think of me as "paying it forward" from my award announcement. And truly, I believe my interactions with each of you have brought me to where I am today,
Again, thank you so much for influencing my life and career!
Krystle Fritsch Nemo
View other letters from our friends.
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