‘You are ready, you are valued’
Future teachers celebrate at Teacher Education Pinning Ceremony
May 30, 2025
“I am a teacher. I change the world one student at a time.” – Teacher’s Creed
So begins and ends the Teacher’s Creed created by the Purdue University College of Education faculty and which candidates recited at the Spring 2025 Teacher Education Pinning Ceremony, held prior to the University’s Commencement ceremony.
The College honored 168 future teachers graduating this May from Purdue. Held in Stewart Center’s Loeb Playhouse on Purdue’s West Lafayette campus, the Spring 2025 pinning was the largest such event to date. All “Boilermaker Educator” candidates were invited to attend, whether they were receiving an education degree from the College of Education or from one of its partner colleges such as Agriculture, Health and Human Sciences, Liberal Arts, College of Science, or the Purdue Polytechnic Institute.
Loeb Playhouse was full of family, friends, and College faculty and staff celebrating with these new Boilermaker Educators. Candidates received a Purdue Teacher Education pin and a copy of the Teacher’s Creed, which they recited to conclude the program.
“There is perhaps no job with more consequence than that of being a teacher, so thank you for choosing to be Boilermaker Educators,” said Phillip J. VanFossen, interim dean of the College. “Boilermaker Educators who help their students make giant leaps. Boilermaker Educators who help equip their students with tools to build a better world, and Boilermaker Educators who have an ‘ever true’ commitment to lifelong learning.”
After VanFossen’s welcome, Tara Star Johnson, associate dean for learning, introduced keynote speaker Kathy Nimmer (MA Purdue ’92), 2015 Indiana Teacher of the Year and National Finalist – one of the top four U.S. teachers that year, and a Sagamore of the Wabash awardee, the highest civilian honor in Indiana.
“I was drawn into Kathy’s spheres of influence in my early years at Purdue when she was an English teacher at Harrison High School, mentoring my students during their field experiences in the English Education program,” said Johnson during her introduction of Nimmer. “I marveled then at how well she ‘saw’ students in spite of, or maybe because of, her blindness. She could tell better than any of the mentor teachers I’ve ever worked with – not just what their talents and vulnerabilities were as future teachers – she saw into their souls.”
Nimmer, a nationally recognized educator who is blind, welcomed candidates to “this most exhausting but most meaningful of professions”: teaching. As well as sharing her own story, she described the “patchwork principle” she developed to describe teachers’ impact.
“As you learn, grow, explore, succeed, and fail – the people with whom you intersect sew pieces of themselves on the front of your ‘quilt,’” Nimmer said.
She shared stories of a teacher who greatly impacted her while she was a student at the Indiana School for the Blind, and of a student whom she was later able to encourage.
“A patchwork quilt isn’t passive – we don’t just receive – we give, too,” she said. “That’s our chance to sew into others’ stories. There is no quilt more beautiful than that of a teacher – your quilt is waiting to be shared.”
Nimmer encouraged the candidates to “sew” pieces of themselves on to their future students’ “quilts” as they share, encourage, and teach them.
A presentation of the candidates followed, with slides of each candidate’s picture, hometown, major, and comments projected above the stage while their names and future plans were read as they walked across the stage, received a pin, and posed for a photo with VanFossen.
The presentation culminated with a word cloud picture projected above the stage. Johnson explained that the word cloud displayed the words “grateful,” “thankful,” or “thanks” most prominently because the candidates themselves used those words to refer to those who had impacted their education journey at Purdue.
After Johnson’s message, Rachael Kenney, associate professor of math education, spoke. “You get to be a guiding force,” Kenney charged the candidates. “You are ready, you are valued, and you are about to do something amazing.”
Kenney then led the candidates and other educators in the audience as they stood and recited the Teacher’s Creed together:
I am dedicated to ensuring that every child I teach receives a quality education.
I will create a learning environment that encourages academic, social, and emotional achievement.
I will hold high expectations for all students and myself.
I will respect the hard-won gains of those educators in whose steps I walk and gladly share the very best practices with those who follow.
I am a teacher. I change the world one student at a time.
“‘I change the world, one student at a time,’” VanFossen said. “That last line of the Teacher’s Creed always chokes me up. Keep the Teacher’s Creed card with you – pull it out this year and remember what you committed to – you will indeed change the world one student at a time.”
The event ended with a reception held in the west lobby of Stewart Center for all attendees.
Congratulations, Class of 2025!
Find the official article here: https://education.purdue.edu/news/2025/05/30/you-are-ready-you-are-valued-future-teachers-celebrate-at-teacher-education-pinning-ceremony/
ISBVI Alumni Spotlight: Kathy Nimmer
Working Well Features Kathy Nimmer:
By: Seth Johnson
Note: In celebration of ISBVI’s 175th anniversary, we’re catching up with alumni to learn more about the school’s impact on their life. Kathy’s is the first of several alumni we plan on spotlighting in the coming months.
As an educator of three decades, Kathy Nimmer admits it was the teachers she had at Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ISBVI) that led her down the path she’s on today.
“I took pieces from all of those teachers at the Blind School, and then used them in who I am now,” Nimmer says. “People were not just surface-connected down there. It was a lot of care, compassion, and support that went into the experience at the Blind School.”
A 1987 graduate of ISBVI, Nimmer taught English at Harrison High School in West Lafayette for 29 years before transitioning into her current role as SEEDS program director with the Tippecanoe School Corporation (SEEDS is a mentorship program for new teachers in the district). In addition to being an ISBVI alumni, Nimmer has also served on the IBCF board since 2020.
After starting school in her hometown of West Lafayette, Nimmer eventually transferred to ISBVI in 1980 as her visual impairment continued to worsen due to cone-rod dystrophy. Before attending ISBVI, Nimmer remembers that she and her family were impressed by the student-led tour they received of the school.
“That was impactful because to that point I actually knew nobody who was visually impaired,” Nimmer says. “Having someone with low vision take us around was influential to all of us.”
While attending ISBVI, Nimmer had a few teachers who really made an impact on her. One of those was her piano teacher, Linda Francisco, who helped Nimmer to fully realize her talent as a pianist.
“She was a game-changer for me. We clicked really early teacher-to-student, and we’re still friends now,” Nimmer says. “I just had a lot of grief that I was dealing with, but piano was that oasis for me. And then, once I discovered I was actually good, it became so fulfilling.”
Another teacher that really made a mark on Nimmer was science instructor Becky Heck.
“We dissected frogs, and we did all kinds of interactive things that they would have absolutely waved me from or had me just be passively involved in at public school,” Nimmer says. “I was highly aware that that was unique and impactful.”
Like many students who travel from across the state to attend ISBVI, Nimmer lived in the on-campus dorms from Monday through Friday and would only visit home on weekends. Through living in the dorms, she learned some important life lessons.
“I just remember that whole structure of learning about humans you’re living with,” Nimmer says. “Some of them you like, and some of them you don’t like. It helped me to be more flexible and open-minded about all different kinds of people. Some of the house parents were fantastic too. I loved some of them to the moon and back.”
Ultimately, Nimmer couldn’t be more thankful for the ways that ISBVI staff influenced her life.
“The Blind School wasn’t the first time I had great teachers, but people like Linda Francisco and Becky Heck demonstrated to me what that personal connection was like,” Nimmer says. “Because the classes are so small by default, there’s a lot of one-on-one time and a lot of relationship building. That mattered, and I wanted to be for them what they were for me.”
Find the official article here: https://indianabcf.org/index.php/indiana-blind-children-s-foundation-news/163-isbvi-alumni-spotlight-kathy-nimmer
Kathy Nimmer retires 'but not vanishing'
Former Indiana Teacher of the Year Kathy Nimmer retires 'but not vanishing'
Jillian Ellison - DEC 10 2024
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Mintonye Elementary teachers started their Monday off with misty eyes after Tippecanoe School Corp. educator Kathy Nimmer's moving speech, one of many she's giving on her farewell tour as she prepares to retire at the end of the month.
Nimmer, Indiana Teacher of the Year in 2015 and a finalist for National Teacher of the Year, gave the educators parting advice as they were seated around tables in the Mintonye library.
She also paired the advice with one of her most memorable stories from her time touring Indiana schools after her Teacher of the Year award.
That story wasn't about the standing ovations she received, or the awards and trophies she was presented. It was about an encounter with a young student who was slowly going blind — much as Nimmer did as a young student.
Between sessions with Decatur Township students, Nimmer said a teacher tapped her on the arm and asked whether Nimmer would be able to offer the girl, a fourth grader at the time, some words of encouragement. Nimmer said she asked the girl what her favorite color was, to which she responded "blue, sky blue." She told the girl to look at the sky as much as she could, asking her to burn the image of the sky into her head and her heart so she could never lose it.
Two weeks later, Nimmer said she received an envelope in the mail with a blue-beaded bracelet and a note that said, "Thank you for giving me the sky."
After 32 years of educating both students and teachers at TSC, Nimmer said the moment of saying goodbyes and thank you's to her TSC family was bittersweet. But she doesn't plan to go far. The Journal & Courier sat down with Nimmer, and her guide dog Tate, on one of her final days as she makes her way through the goodbyes.
Read the full interview here: https://www.jconline.com/story/news/education/2024/12/10/an-outgoing-conversation-with-tscs-kathy-nimmer-ahead-of-retirement/76825213007/
TSC receives 2024 Leading and Learning Award
MAY 1 2024 - Sue Scott
The Indiana Department of Education has awarded the 2024 Excellence in Leading and Learning Award to the Tippecanoe School Corporation. The award recognizes a school corporation that provides professional learning support for educators, including efforts that enhance recruitment and retention.
With the award, the TSC will receive a nearly $225,000 grant to enhance its SEEDS (Supporting Educators Entering District Service) program. The program was initiated in 2021 to mentor, nurture and retain new teachers.
“TSC is thrilled to be recognized by the IDOE with the Excellence in Leading and Learning Award for our creation of the SEEDS program,” says TSC Superintendent Dr. Scott Hanback. “The TSC is focused on not only attracting, but retaining the best teachers for our students in our classrooms across the corporation. SEEDS was intentionally developed as a sustainable support system for new hires joining the TSC to influence their start with the corporation in a positive way.”
“This program gives me the privilege of loving our new educators daily, which might take the shape of encouragement for one teacher or practical assistance for another or a guest lesson that provides respite for yet another,” says SEEDS Director Kathy Nimmer. “The funds from this award are simultaneously an affirmation of what we’ve done in SEEDS and also what the teachers joining us will continue to receive as they step into this challenging and beautiful profession.”
The grant money will help fund staffing for SEEDS, including a pilot program to have SEEDS teacher leaders at each of the TSC’s 19 buildings. Other funds will cover the cost of professional development for new teachers and the purchase of supplies and resource materials.
Podcast: A Teacher-Mentor's Perspective on Staff Well-Being
Working Well Features Kathy Nimmer:
In this conversation, NCSSLE Training Specialist Melanie Goodman speaks with Kathy Nimmer, who was a high school English teacher for 29 years at William Henry Harrison High School in Indiana, a public school of approximately 2,200 students. Kathy was Indiana’s Teacher of the Year in 2015 and is now mentoring new teachers full-time, including an emphasis on supportive staff well-being. Kathy is also blind. She discusses the ups and downs of her own classroom experience, how she characterizes her disability, how a windy day led to her first guide dog, her reverence for teachers, and her unique approach to mentoring.
Listen: https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/podcasts/working-well/resources/teacher-kathy-nimmer
Lion Magazine: Super Teacher
"The sleepy-eyed students quietly trudge into English Class. It's 7:30a.m., an ungodly hour for these high schoolers. The May weather outside is warm and inviting, and summer break looms. Today's topic is a pantoum, an obscure form of poetry.
Teacher Kathy Nimmer, 48, plunges ahead at Harrison High School in West Lafayette, Indiana. Don't worry: she's got this..." -- Read on by following the link below.
http://digital.lionmagazine.org/publication/?i=430248&article_id=2851836&view=articleBrowser
