Six New Faces at AHS

Taking on Debate, Drama, and coaching cheerleading on top of four sections of Freshman English 1 class would be a lot for most people, but new teacher Katie Hedegaard says it’s a way to challenge herself and her skills. Hedegaard was previously a 7th-grade teacher. She loved teaching middle school, but the transfer to the high school was a blessing in disguise. Now she’s able to work with kids ...

Even if money didn’t matter, Mary Jensen’s dream job would still be a teacher. “I have something to share with all my students.” She said, “I would say that I’m a really caring person.” Jensen said. “I put all my effort into everything I do.”  Jensen grew up in Hayes Center, Nebraska, and moved to Lincoln her sophomore year of high school. She has two Bachelors’ degrees from C...

Terri Theilen is the new English and Creative Writing teacher at Atlantic High School. The substitute teacher is here temporarily because she was needed due to the teacher shortage. “I am here for the year, but I have to take December, January, and February off because I’ve already committed to teaching for Mrs. Christianson in fifth grade while she has her baby,” she said. Former AHS teacher De...

In room 400, Megan Anderson thrives on teaching students. Anderson is the new math teacher at Atlantic High School. Before teaching here, she was a substitute teacher that taught in grades preschool to high school for about four years. ¨I love substitute teaching, so when they asked me to come in here (the highschool) because they couldn’t find anybody, I jumped at it,” Anderson said. Before su...

At the age of 34, Anna Pauley made a career change. After working with the elderly as a physical therapist assistant, Pauley said, “It just wasn’t working." Between difficulties during holidays, unpredictable scheduling, and the job just overall not fitting the needs of her schedule, Pauley made the change to pursue her long-awaited childhood career. “I always wanted to be a teacher growing ...

Kickball, scatter ball, and basketball, Molly O'Hara teaches it all. O'Hara is the new Physical Education and Health teacher after the resignation of Cole Renken last year. She also coaches softball for ACSD. Although she didn’t always want to be a high school teacher, she has been working towards becoming a teacher in recent years. “I love the staff and the students,” O'Hara said, “My family lives...