A Teaching Task

To this day, Liz Maxwell ‘11 isn’t exactly sure why she was chosen.

“I’m not sure what they saw, but I’m glad they saw something.”

Maxwell, a 2011 graduate, is the second ever recipient of the Nancy Paul Teaching Scholarship Award, which has been gifted since 2010. It includes $1,000 towards the student’s college education and an additional stipend during the recipient’s time spent as a student teacher.

But money might be the least important aspect of the award. It’s about support. It’s about furthering Lutheran education. And Maxwell is a walking example of just that.

During her time at OLu, Maxwell played softball, went on a few mission trips, sang in jazz choir, worked on the yearbook, and was a member of Ignite. And it was that all-around involvement, plus the pressure of college applications, that pushed Maxwell to apply for the NPTS.

“I remember applying because it was another thing that I could use to get into college,” Maxwell said. “I didn’t have strong feelings about teaching.”

Liz Maxwell '11

However, Maxwell’s mother and father, Susan and Deryl, both teach at St. Paul’s in Orange. Teaching was, essentially, in her blood.

Maxwell said that during the interview process for the scholarship, Sarah Salzberg and other teachers on the committee presented questions that called for her to examine her faith and her future. The doubt she had about teaching prior to applying began to fade away, and she saw it as a career that might fit her personality and passion.

She decided to attend Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska, where she would pursue a Lutheran teacher’s degree in elementary/special education. That’s when the support started to flood in.

“When I first got to college, all the teachers on the NPTS board sent me a letter and each had written an encouraging note. And whenever Sarah Salzberg was in town, she would contact me and we would have lunch. And she always knew the right questions to ask me to gauge how I was doing.”

After three years of studying, Maxwell spent ten weeks in the winter of 2014 as a student teacher with special education students at Milford Elementary in Milford, Nebraska.

And during the entire time, she continued to hear from the Nancy Paul board back home.

“When I started student teaching, they sent me another letter. And they would send me Facebook messages. They were all random, but they all came at the right time. And I’ve always kept those messages and letters.”

Maxwell said that the well wishes from Orange Lutheran helped tremendously as she prepared to face the biggest challenge of her young life with teaching special education students.

“I was super nervous in the beginning. I was concerned about the behavioral management kids. And with those kids, it was difficult, because with special education, you have to form that bond with the kids so they can trust you. But I was able to figure it out.”

In addition to emails and other messages, once she began teaching, Maxwell received an extra $500 from the Nancy Paul Scholarship to help with everyday costs that college students face.

“That money helped me buy groceries. It helped me pay my rent.”

Maxwell said that after graduation, she would love to go into special education, but that she is keeping her options open, considering she has one more student teaching opportunity this fall. She will be instructing first graders at Fredstrom Elementary in Lincoln, Nebraska.

“With special education, flexibility is something I learned quick. You could have an awesome plan and it won’t work because you might not be getting the cooperation you need that day. You have to be able to change plans just like that. You have to be flexible and willing to sacrifice.”

Regardless of her path, Maxwell is confident that she’s made it to this point in her life for a reason.

Now, she’s content with taking a step back and letting God handle the rest, even though she has one small request.

“At Concordia, there is such a strong faith base that it made me look deeper into my faith,” Maxwell said. “And it made my faith stronger. Now, I can sit back and not worry where I’m going. If God took me this far, there has to be something awesome out there for me. I’ll go wherever the Lord wants me to go.

“I just hope it’s not too cold.”