So, I’ve wanted to start a blog for a number of years, and after experiencing my first Apple Distinguished Educators Academy event, now seems like the perfect time.

I always wondered how I would start my blog… What to talk about and who would care about what I was thinking… but after attending the Apple Academy, I realized none of that really matters. Its not about who reads it…if anyone reads it….What matters most is getting your story out there; using your words to make a difference, small or large

it doesn’t matter that it’s perfect, it matters that it’s real.

So….where to begin? I guess….me…..who am I? How did I get to be the woman sitting at her computer, exhausted, with her puppy snuggled at her toes as she writes her first babbling blog. Well, here goes nothing.

Who am I, where I am right now?

I am a LaDue, a Day, a Riley and a Nugent; and all have shaped me into who I am. My sister and I grew up in a home surrounded by love and support from all of my many families, all of whom continue to support us as we navigate adulting. My sister has the sweetest son, Noah, who makes me laugh uncontrollably with his silly giggles, and he is the center of attention at nearly all of our family gatherings.

My father. who put the “LaDue” in me and gave me my outgoing personality, passed away when I was six years old; an experience that drastically altered my childhood. I remain close with his family, and all of my many cousins on that side of my family.

I was raised by my mom, a Day, and a single parent who is the most inspirational person I could ever know. After breaking her neck in middle school, my mom was told she would never walk again. Low and behold, she proved them wrong and would become only the third person to walk out of that hospital after suffering a broken neck. She then raised my sister and I after the death of my father and gave us every opportunity that any other kid had….and more. She did it all, from driving between states on the same day for dance competitions and student council camps to getting us to meetings and practices so we wouldn’t ever miss an opportunity. It is from her that I get my adventurous side, although I’m not certain that she’d describe herself that way. She also gave me a heart for service and a love of giving back, through her work with those with disabilities and her servant heart, constantly giving back to our community.

In 2006 I gained a new family, the Rileys, which not only my stepdad, but also his five sisters and all of their kids, many of whom I had gone to school with in our small Wisconsin town.

In 2011, I married my best friend Colin and became a Nugent, gaining a family of in-laws, where I fit in like one of their own. We’re the kind of family that believes in the power of laughter, with memes and gag gifts making frequent appearances at family events. Colin is my best friend, and it is with him by my side that many of my goals—including homeownership, achieving an undergraduate and masters degree, raising a puppy, and checking many items off my bucket list—- have been achieved. 

I am a Wisconsinite. A Wisconsin native, born and raised in the small Americana town of Sparta; the kind of town where you’re favorite place to hang out is the old-fashioned ice cream and coffee shop downtown (Ginny’s is the best!), and, much like Cheers, “everyone knows your name.”  My hometown is known as the Bicycling Capital of America, and connects miles of bike trails. Summertime in this small town brings our ironically-named festival, Butterfest, which, aside from a cow-milking contest (which I may have won on a few occasions), has little to do with butter. Fall brings falling leaves, haunted houses, corn mazes, and chili nights at football games. In winter, lights decorate our small community park, snow covers the ground, and everyone can be found bundled up inside with a warm drink, and warmer conversation. Spring in Wisconsin brings road construction season, rain, and of course, flowers, in a state where 50 degrees in the fall means sweatshirt weather, and 50 degrees in spring means it’s time for shorts (Wisconsinites are so flexible!).

I am an adventurer, and I mean that in every sense of the word. I love to travel, and had wanderlust long before I knew what that word actually meant. I live my bucket list every day, seizing opportunities to try new things. I’ve watched a monsoon, fed a giraffe, swam with a dolphin, held a baby kangaroo, visited Korea and Europe, lived through a hurricane and a tornado, slept in a haunted house (for $50 nonetheless), slept on a porch swing, raised a puppy, watched fireworks with Scrooge McDuck, trick or treated in the Happiest Place on Earth, seen the Mona Lisa, designed a mural (complete with a Where’s Waldo), learned to blow glass, met my favorite singer (Gavin Degraw <3 <3 <3) and more. I seize opportunities to explore the world, even when that means it is on a shoestring budget. Growing up I did tons of activities, from figure skating, to baton twirling, color guard, dance, bowling, Girl Scout, Student Council, and more; all of which shaped me to embrace every moment, try new things, and continue to adventure every day.

I’m an art teacher in Wisconsin, about to enter my seventh year teaching. I teach in a school that is unique in many ways, like any other school. I teach in the upper corner of a two-story building in La Crosse, Wisconsin; a school that embraces diversity in unique ways. That two-story building contains two different schools; two different schools on two different calendars with two different philosophies.

The first floor of my school houses Hamilton Early Learning Center, a diverse school, especially for Wisconsin standards. Hamilton’s population consists of less than 53% white students, with 14% Asian/Pacific Islander ethnicity (primarily Hmong), 12% Black, 7% Hispanic and 13% of students with two or more ethnicities. As of last November, over 70% of our students were considered economically disadvantaged; a number that is the second-most disadvantaged in our district and continually fluctuates with our highly transient population. We recently excitedly, had our first day of school, and for the first time are offering free breakfast and lunch all of our Hamilton students. The teachers at the school are a family, better known as the Hamily, where each member of our staff works to improve the lives of the students that attend our school, far beyond academics. We’re the kind of school Where you can find family night frequently, a social worker helping families with services, anti-teachers to constantly bend over backwards to improve their students lives outside of school, ensuring they have what they need to succeed.  

The second floor of my school houses the School of Technology and the Arts, a school that is home to the most affluent students in our area, with only a little over 30% economically disadvantaged students. This charter school features for constructs, with an emphasis on integrating the arts in the classroom. In the school are the only students to have drama class in our district, and can begin learning strings instruments in just first grade. The students have extra art time during Hamilton intercessions, and spend 30 minutes per week in a multi-age classroom known as community room. They frequently have artist-in-residence visits, and and their year with a special performance called the informance.

I have a desire to teach art and a love of technology, which come together to create crazy adventures in my classroom. In 2017, I was beyond honored to become a part of the Apple Distinguished Educator’s Class of 2017, (best class ever!). After seeing the stories of other Apple Distinguished Educators and the way they share their stories of the world, I was inspired to continue to share my own.

I am an artist. I have an undergraduate degree in Art and Education from the University of Wisconsin La-Crosse (although I’m truly a UW-Green Bay Phoenix at heart) and as part of my education, took courses in everything from painting, which I absolutely loved, to metalsmithing, which I quickly realized wasn’t really my style. My favorite mediums are photography and graphic design, as well as glassblowing, which I learned through an undergraduate research grant.

I am a volunteer. I volunteer as a member of the board of both the La Crosse Public Education Foundation and Sparta Public Education Foundation, both of which provide grants to teachers to further innovation in the classroom. I also volunteer with Sparta Butterfest as a webmaster, social media contributor and designer. I also co-direct the Miss Sparta Pageant - no judging - where I have helped young women give back hundreds of hours of service and thousands of dollars to our local community. Yes, it’s a pageant (for one night out of 365 in the year) but the organization and the girls that I work with are so much more than “beauty queens.” For starters, we are the only Miss Wisconsin affiliated pageant in Wisconsin that does NOT require that our girls compete in swimsuit. Instead, they give a two minute speech on how they will give back to their community. Empowering, right? Our community helps hold our girls accountable. I love working with them and giving back, but often get judgy faces when I tell people I help with a pageant. I don’t help because of the giltz and glam (although…what art teacher doesn’t love a little sparkle ;)), I help because of the profound difference that this organization makes in the lives of not only the winners, but all of the contestants, and all of the community organizations that we’re a part of.

I am a friend. I feel so incredibly grateful for the friends that have been by my side along my adventure. From Sam (my bff from 3rd grade who just-so-happened to become an art teacher too) to the “Supper 6″ (a group of ADEs I met at a conference less than a week ago and already feel an incredible bond with) and all along the path between, my friends have given me new perspectives, inspiration, and too many laughs and memories to count. 

I am unapologetically Bethany, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. You see, all of these parts of me have shaped who I am. I am surrounded by a network of friends, family, teachers, students, and people whose lives and experiences have intertwined with mine to root me firmly in my beliefs with a strong foundation from which to continue to build on. I look to each day with optimism, creativity, and a smile, believing wholeheartedly that I will make a difference.