Each year, four Vanderburgh County educators are recognized for their love of teaching and commitment to local students.

The Outstanding Educators of the Year awards are sponsored by Liberty Federal Credit Union, the Courier & Press and the University of Evansville. In their 33rd year, the awards honor the dedication and contributions of Vanderburgh County K-12 educators at public and nonpublic schools that have at least three years in the profession.

Awards are given in four categories: elementary school, middle school, high school and principal. Winners will be announced in April.

Meet this year's elementary school finalists for Outstanding Educator of the Year.

Melissa Cooney-Mudd, Culver Learning Center

How many years have you been an educator?

I’ve been a teacher for almost 10 years. I’m currently in my 6th year at The Learning Center.

What was your background in education before starting your current role?

Before joining TLC, I taught at Lincoln Elementary School and Castle North Middle School. I also worked with the state's CCR&R, assisting afterschool programs and summer camps in managing behaviors and planning activities. Additionally, I contributed to the educational department at Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden.

What made you decide you wanted to be an educator?

Although many told me I would be great at teaching, I resisted the profession. I wanted to make an impact and worried that teaching was too limited. However, that perspective changed when I substitute taught in Erie, Pennsylvania — I fell in love with the profession. Motivated by this new passion, I pursued a master’s program to obtain my teaching license. I’ve realized that my impact is profound. Instead of changing the world at large, I am changing my individual students’ worlds.

What are the challenges you face in education today? And how do you overcome them?

Teachers frequently serve as the bridge between what society wants for our children and reality. Often without extra resources or guidance, teachers help students with issues beyond classroom boundaries. It can be hard not to get overwhelmed when our education system relies on teachers' sacrifices. Fortunately, I benefit from a strong support system, including fellow teachers and support staff in my program, along with a supportive and understanding family.

What’s your favorite thing about being an educator?

I cherish two aspects of teaching above all. First, I love connecting with my students — learning about them as people, their interests, and what makes them tick. Second, I love when students have an “aha!” moment and they fully understand what you are trying to teach them. Then when they can take what you’ve taught them and apply it to other ideas or situations it’s pure magic!

What makes you unique in your field?

As a special education teacher who specializes in emotional and behavioral disorders, I have the privilege of working with students who previously struggled in school. I’m tasked with devising strategies to help them succeed in a school setting with appropriate accommodations and teaching self-regulation skills they need to succeed. I help students build better neural pathways by supporting them through any disruptive behaviors and keeping them accountable for their school work and learning.

Anna Gergely, Evansville Day School

How many years have you been an educator?

I have been an educator for 12 years.

What was your background in education before starting your current role?

Before joining Evansville Day School, I worked at the University of Evansville’s Institute for Global Enterprise and at the University of Southern Indiana. I taught macroeconomics and global economic issues at college level, while providing language education services to several local companies.

What made you decide you wanted to be an educator?

Early in my childhood I fell in love with learning languages, traveling, and sharing everything I knew about cultures around the world. Learning a third language, English, opened my eyes to the West, a totally different world than what I lived in (Romania). Once I became an exchange student, I realized that I wanted to teach languages. English was not too challenging and later in college I continued learning Spanish and Italian. My study abroad experiences and while working and living in several countries provided me the opportunity to learn about different cultures and languages, which I loved and had the passion to share.

What are the challenges you face in education today? And how do you overcome them?

The importance of learning a global language is crucial in today’s education. However, the lack of resources/funding and commitment to start language learning from early childhood is a challenge in many schools. As a global language teacher, I find it difficult to incorporate authentic language and culture materials that are relevant and up to date with students’ language levels and interest. I continuously work hard on providing projects and opportunities for my students: inviting native and international speakers to my classes and creating collaborations between our school and international schools worldwide. Since I personally experienced that the best way to learn a language is by being immersed in it, I started to organize educational trips abroad, where my students get the opportunity to discover different cultures and at the same time, learn the language.

What’s your favorite thing about being an educator?

My favorite part about being an educator is hearing my students converse in Spanish – I had one of these experiences last year in Costa Rica, where my students made friends at a local school and not only spoke Spanish but also were curious and understanding of the different culture. I believe that to share a new language, a culture, or ideas of diversity, one must compass and share its love for all of these. My goal throughout my Spanish teaching career has been to open my students’ minds to becoming global and to enlighten their hearts to accept differences while learning about their own cultures, values, and language. Inside and outside of the classroom, in my opinion, language learning encompasses the understanding of the culture and sharing these in a fun, educational way. My favorite part of being a teacher is seeing my students embrace the same love of languages as I have.

What makes you unique in your field?

I believe that I am unique in my field of education as I bring a totally different culture, viewpoint, and global mindedness to my environment. I think outside of the box, initiate, and create many new projects, collaborations and connect my students and school to organizations around the world. I bring real life experiences into my classrooms and share cultures that many of my students can’t experience first-hand.

Lindsey Stine, West Terrace Elementary School

How many years have you been an educator?

14 years

What was your background in education before starting your current role?

I started at Evans Middle School and taught math for one year. Then, I taught 6^th Grade Math and Science for four years at Delaware Elementary School. I am in my ninth year of teaching 4^th Grade at West Terrace Elementary School.

What made you decide you wanted to be an educator?

My grandmother, Alma Hougland, was a teacher at Lincoln Elementary School. I was lucky to volunteer in her classroom for many years and learn what it was like to be a teacher from her. I always enjoyed our time in her classroom.

I was also inspired by my teachers Shelly DeWeese, Thad Immel, and Nadine Risley as well as my elementary school principal, Gene Theriac. They stand out to me because they made me feel so special and loved. They also were so passionate about teaching. You could feel a certain energy and excitement in the school and in the classroom. I woke up every day excited to go to school. I was always feeling challenged while having so much fun.

I just wanted to grow up to be like them and hopefully have the same effect on my students.

What are the challenges you face in education today? And how do you overcome them?

Fred Rogers said, “You’ve made this day a special day by just your being you. There’s no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are.” One of the biggest challenges I have as an educator is to make sure that each of my students knows that I feel that way about them every day. Educators try their hardest each day to make sure that each student knows that they care for them as a person when they ask them about their day, listen to their stories, give them compliments, tell them jokes, and give them hugs. Educators try to let each student know that they care for them as a student when they let them explore a new topic, set goals with them, create plans for reaching those goals, cheer them on while they work, and celebrate accomplishments big and small. Educators focus on caring for their students as leaders when they discuss how students can show kindness and make others smile, how it is important for students to do the right thing even when it is difficult, how they can be respectful and responsible in and out of the classroom, and how they should try to find ways to volunteer and serve in your community. My challenge as an educator is to make sure that students understand that they are important to me, to their classmates, to their school, and to their community and that the world wouldn’t be the same without them.

What’s your favorite thing about being an educator?

I love the classroom community that is created every year. I love reading novels with my students and hearing them get excited when I get out our read-aloud book each day. I love seeing each student’s “a-ha” moment when they learn a new math skill. I love the conversations that come from exploring science and social studies. I love seeing them become leaders and helpers of all kinds in their school and community. I love getting to know my students and watching them grow!

What makes you unique in your field?

I think that all educators are unique and have special talents, passions, and gifts that help them to connect with students. Many of my favorite things to do as a teacher start with the ideas of other educators. I have been lucky to have worked with many amazing educators in the EVSC. For example, after one of my evaluations, Mrs. Strawn challenged me to let students explore a math concept before telling them how to do it. While I didn’t like the idea of letting go of some of my control, this led me to begin a new routine in math that I call “Teach Yourself.” This is how I introduce/begin most math lessons. During this routine, I solve a problem (that would meet the day’s learning target) on the board without talking while pausing after each step, and I let the students tell me what I was doing to solve the problem. I think that this helps the students to get engaged in the lesson and have fun. I also hope it helps boost their confidence in math. While this is something unique that happens in my classroom, I would have never come up with it on my own.

Some of the other things that I am passionate about outside the classroom include sponsoring the West Terrace Battle of the Books Team and the Student Leadership Council. The students involved in these programs are amazing, and I have so much fun seeing them shine outside of the classroom.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Outstanding Educator of the Year: Here are the 3 elementary finalists