ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
On any given day, Michelle Bremenkamp can be found in her classroom teaching her students the concepts of algebra, trigonometry, calculus and beyond.
Recently, however, one of those regular days was interrupted by a very special surprise as Bremenkamp was named the first recipient of the Veteran Teacher Award from the Kansas Association of Veteran Teachers. As Bremenkamp tells it, there was a lot of shock and surprise that day.
“I was honestly just having a normal day. During one of my calculus lab classes, the door opened and in walked a large group of people, which was comprised of Dr. Todd Carter, Liberal High School administrators, teachers, some of my students, and Dr. Mike Bannen from the Kansas Association of Veteran Teachers, who was the only one I didn't know,” Bremenkamp said. “Dr. Bannen introduced himself and told me I was receiving the Association's first ever Veteran Teacher Award, which is to recognize veteran teachers who have dedicated their entire career to working with students. I was presented with a medal from Dr. Bannen and a basket of goodies from LHS. I was absolutely stunned to be receiving this award. I've been a teacher for 32 years, and I do the job every day because of the students who come in and out of my classroom. I enjoy the opportunity to work with students and help them prepare for the next stage of their lives. I never expected to be recognized in this way, and I feel truly blessed. I was also very surprised to learn I'd been nominated for this by Scott Hinkle, who was a teacher, coach and the LHS athletic director several years ago. I'd never heard of the organization, and I never thought I'd be recognized for something like this. But after the initial surprise wore off a bit, I just felt really, really honored.”
Bremenkamp added it is also particularly special being the award’s first honoree.
“Dr. Bannen came all the way from Overland Park to recognize me, and I feel like that says something about the education we provide the students in Southwest Kansas,” Bremenkamp said. “It's so difficult to hire and retain qualified teachers these days. I believe this award should speak to those new in the profession and tell people they can make a difference like I have. I believe it also says we have a lot to offer at Liberal High School for both teachers and students.”
Bremenkamp is certainly no stranger to the education field, having been a teacher since 1991.
“I'm a graduate of Liberal High School and Seward County Community College. I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in 1991 and my Master of Arts degree in teaching in 1995 from Fort Hays State University,” Bremenkamp said. “After finishing my bachelor's degree, I taught for one year at Colby High School in Colby, and then I taught for seven years at Thomas Prep-Marian High School in Hays. During that time, I also taught night classes for both Fort Hays State University and Barton County Community College. After leaving Hays, I taught at Dodge City High School for five years. I moved back to Liberal in 2005 and have been teaching at Liberal High School for 19 years, and I'm also teaching concurrent enrollment classes through Seward County Community College.”
Growing up, Bremenkamp said math always came rather easily to her.
“Math was always easy for me growing up, and I never really had any major difficulties. A lot of my friends, however, had a lot of difficulty in the subject, so all through middle school and high school, I was helping tutor them and helping them with their homework,” Bremenkamp said. “When I got to SCCC, they'd started a tutoring program, and I was hired to be a tutor and did a lot of private tutoring throughout the years. But math was always something that naturally came easy to me, and I also seemed to have a good knack for explaining the concepts in a way that could be understood. When I started in college, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do – I'd started out as a journalism major, but that ultimately didn't fit me, and I kept taking extra math classes because I found them kind of fun. Finally, a friend said to me 'You've done all this tutoring, you're taking all these extra math classes, maybe that should be your career.' And it just made sense, so I went ahead and went for it. The first time I was actually in a classroom and teaching a lesson and seeing the students respond to how I was explaining everything. Seeing that lightbulb moment when they finally understood the lesson and having them tell me 'I get it now!' is what really cemented this as the right decision.”
The best part of the job, Bremenkamp emphasized, is working with her students.
“I have amazing students who come in my classroom every day ready to learn. I tell people all the time how LHS students are really good students and are always good,” Bremenkamp said. “There's always one or two who don't really do well, but you can say that about any school anywhere. I've taught in four different high school, and I've dealt with good students and challenging students in every one of them, and the students I have at LHS are amazing and kind and thoughtful and care about their work. And since they actually want to learn, that makes it easy for me to teach them. The students are very genuine and absolutely want to learn and improve themselves. They're so good to work with, and the staff I work with here at LHS is also amazing. I know a lot of places say 'We're all a family here,' but I can say that's absolutely true about here because when my daughter, Emily, was sick, everyone pitched in and helped and did so much for me and my family, and I can truly say this is home for me. This is where I grew up, this is where I want to be, this is where my family is, and everyone is just so great.”
After all her time in education, however, Bremenkamp said it is hard to choose just one favorite subject.
“I go back and forth between trigonometry and calculus. Calculus is probably winning at the moment, though, because I haven't taught it as long as my other classes,” Bremenkamp said with a chuckle. “I've taught some version of algebra for my entire career, and I've taught trigonometry for about 15 years, but I've only taught calculus for five years, so it's the freshest one in my mind. When I started teaching calculus, I actually hadn't done it for quite a while, so I had to relearn those concepts and review, which was kind of a fun challenge for me. To me, it's really at the secondary level when the students' knowledge really starts growing. At the elementary level, it's practicing the same basic skills so they have a good start, and then middle school is when some of the algebra concepts start getting more of a focus. But to me, the students see the most growth when they get to this secondary level.”
And even with all her experience, Bremenkamp said there is always something new to learn.
“No matter how long you've been a teacher, there's always more to learn, so I'm looking forward to continuing to grow in this profession and continuing to help new teachers,” Bremenkamp said. “We get a lot of younger teachers and/or interim teachers here at LHS, and I would like to continue helping them grow so they can become veteran teachers like myself and instilling that love of the job. The support for teachers throughout the district is so much more detailed than when I started. My first year teaching, I was basically told 'Here's your classroom, here's the textbook(s), here's your roster(s), good luck!' But now, there's a lot more support and training and professional development, and it's so, so much better than before. Like I said earlier, I truly feel like we're a family here. The majority of the LHS upstairs hallway is math and science, so it's almost like math-land. A lot of people have come and gone throughout years, but you grow as a group and help each other, and one of the best things about LHS is how we're all working together to do the job.”
Overall, Bremenkamp said, she is excited to keep going.
“I was also named the LHS Teacher of the Year at the beginning of the year, so I started and ended this school year by being awarded, which I think is amazing. I've taught for 32 years now, and I don't do it for the accolades, but it's absolutely wonderful to have people say 'You're doing a great job,'” Bremenkamp said. “I do this job for the students, they're the ones who inspire me to come in every day, but it's also great to have people tell me I'm going in the right direction and my efforts all this time haven't been in vain. I've gotten all kinds of comments on social media from former students and their parents, current students and their parents, former colleagues, and many others, and it means a lot to hear I've made such a difference.”
