Center for Catholic Education at UD

By Victoria Schoen

The next Lalanne teacher we would like for you all to learn more about is Anne Schwieterman! Anne is 23 and she is from Castle Rock, CO with roots in Dayton, OH. She is a graduate of Creighton University in Omaha, NE and she is in her second year as a Lalanne teacher. Anne will be teaching at St. Helen School in Riverside, Ohio as a part of the Dayton community this coming school year. Here are Anne’s responses to our interview questions:

What is your favorite subject to teach? Language Arts or Religion

What is your favorite subject to learn? History

What is the one most important thing that you want your students to learn from you or take away from your teaching? I want students to learn the importance of being leaders guiding their classmates towards Christ and toward loving others in whatever way they can.  I want students to learn the importance of service to those who are less fortunate and to always be of a giving heart.

Who is your role model? Describe them: My role model is my dad. I constantly admire the work he does in his career, helping business professionals to work better together and the dedication he puts into running his own business. He had to wait almost twenty years to start his own business, and put the needs of my family before his career aspirations to help us succeed in our studies and our life goals. He also took the chance to move our entire family from Ohio to Colorado when I was in middle school, which was an incredibly influential and formational experience in my life. He loves being around people and is great at planning events and being the life of the party. I owe my successes, confidence, and so many other things to his support. Though he lives almost 22 hours away in Colorado, I appreciate everything he does for me, and cherish the time we spend together.

How were you inspired to become a teacher? I have a large extended family with many who are teachers. My godfather and godmother are teachers, and they have been very influential and formational in my life. My family did not push me into being a teacher, but I think encouraged all the things I was doing, from playing school to helping my sisters with their homework, to guide me into eventually deciding to become a teacher. My inspiration that pushed me forward was going on a service trip to Punta Gorda, Belize and working with children in a school down there, helping to run a reading and writing camp. I felt that I wouldn’t want to do anything else besides working with students and being an influential role model in their lives as I spent an entire week “in the classroom.” Though it took me till a year later in college to decide to major in Education, this service immersion trip ignited the fire of me wanting to serve through teaching, which might have been there all along anyway.

Why did you decide to become a teacher? I knew that I wanted to get into a field where I could help other people throughout most of my life, but wasn’t sure exactly what path to explore. Through high school, I thought I could help people best in a medical field. However, when I started my undergrad, I realized that serving others through a medical field was not something that I would feel most alive waking up and doing every day. I took an introductory education class, and the reflections we completed on teaching and influential teachers in our lives and the visits we made to schools convinced me to try out education. I felt that education was what I was called to do, and was more than a career path choice; it was a call to a life-long vocation. I have never looked back since my freshman year of college, and have enjoyed every minute of studying education and being a teacher.

Why do you want to teach in Catholic schools? I want to teach in Catholic schools because I believe as a teacher the most important lessons we teach our students are life lessons about being loving people who give to other people and are better citizens of the world. In a Catholic school, I believe these life lessons are even more impactful because the culture of the school supports not only educating students academically and intellectually, but also educating them morally. I wholly believe in teaching the “whole person” of the students I teach, and a Catholic school greatly supports my goals and beliefs in teaching.

What are three fun facts about you?

1. 1.       I might be able to recite the Panera menu by heart.
2. 2.       I have been to each level of schooling in a different state: elementary school in Ohio, middle school and high school in Colorado, college in Nebraska, and graduate school back in Ohio.
3. 3.       My cat’s full name is Sylvester McMonkey Bean, which is the name of a character from the Dr. Seuss book, The Sneetches.

If you could teach anywhere in the world where would you teach? I would love to teach in Europe or somewhere in Central America.

Here are some comments from Anne’s fellow teachers and staff of the Lalanne program:

“Anne’s extravertedness is the perfect match for an introvert.”

“Anne is a goofy and cheerful friend in the program. She shows great dedication to her friends, family, and students in all she does.”

“Anne drove really far to be in Lalanne.”

“Anne is always up for anything! She is very easy to talk to and goes out of her way to help anyone she can.”

“Anne is a friendly, responsible and caring woman of faith.”

“Anne LOVES to talk and Anne loves yoga. Anne can stretch herself to reach the impossible. Nothing will keep her from bending backwards for her students. She likes Omaha but not as much as she likes Omaha steaks. I wish I was at her “meat” the teacher night. Her fourth graders are really going to like her. Namaste!”