Teachers feeling first-year spirit

Published 10:33 am Wednesday, September 24, 2008

“You’re awesome, Mr. Z!” a boy said in passing to Dan Zielke Friday after school.

Being cool is just an added benefit to the satisfaction three Austin Catholic Schools teachers get from their first year on the job.

Zielke, 23, Kelsey Korfhage, 23, and Nancy Erickson, 42, saw something special when they landed their first full-time teaching gigs in Austin.

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“I grew up in a private school,” said Zielke, a Minneapolis native and Bemidji State University graduate. “I kind of feel like I’m coming back home here.”

After student teaching in Laporte, Minn., he was hired to teach junior high religion, American history, geography and pre-algebra at ACS, as well as coach girls tennis.

“These kids are great,” Zielke said. “This is the best group of kids I’ve seen.”

Korfhage, a Lyle native and recent Luther College grad, lives in Austin with her husband, Jarrett. She said when the position opened for a K-12 music teacher, she jumped at the opportunity.

She knew some of the faculty from attending high school in Lyle, and loved the idea of being able to combine her faith in God and love for music to teach others.

“It’s awesome to be able to do,” she said. “It’s been great. I think the demeanor of the kids changes a lot when you can talk about that.”

Korfhage has a heavy load, with K-6 general music, 9-12 choir and leading the Shamrock Singers, Women’s Quartet, Pacelli Singers, Lyrix and Clover Choir, among others.

Erickson, a stay-at-home mom and former substitute teacher, believes that teaching is what she was meant to do — she just didn’t discover it until later in life.

“That’s what God wanted me to do,” she said. “My faith is very much who I am, and being able to freely and openly talk about that is wonderful.

“I’m just so fulfilled, what I’m doing right now,” Erickson said.

The Blooming Prairie resident, already having a degree is social work, went back to school at Crown College to pursue her K-8 certification. She has also taught organ, piano and voice lessons for 24 years.

“You’ve been a teacher your whole life,” Korfhage pointed out to her.

Erickson believes her path in life leads to much more than academic education.

“I’m also teaching the kids how to care about themselves and each other … I want to make a difference in their lives,” she said.