Cale Kerschen has a lot of irons in the fire.
He works on two of his family’s farms in west Sedgwick County, plays the organ and piano at his church’s weekend Mass services, is an avid supporter of his siblings’ sporting events and serves as an ASC Service Award Scholar at Newman University.
The Newman senior who’s pursuing a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics is also in the midst of student teaching.
“I am about to wrap up my first eight weeks at Goddard Eisenhower High School, and then I will be heading to Cheney Middle School,” Kerschen said. “In this first placement experience, I have had to deal with things you can’t be taught in the classroom, like adapting instruction due to snow days, how to deal with multiple absences and how to ensure one class stays on schedule with the other, just to name a few.”
Called to teach
Kerschen chose to become a teacher in part because both of his parents are educators.
“Teaching has always fascinated me,” he said. “I love the thought of inspiring students to learn new things, and I love the feeling of accomplishment when you can help students. It is a challenging profession to get into these days, but there are so many opportunities for rewards and satisfaction that it is hard to pass up.”
As an ASC Scholar at Newman, Kerschen feels that the experience will aid him as he enters the workforce.
“I will admit that it was challenging to maintain service hour requirements, take the required classes and complete a capstone service project, but it was very rewarding,” Kerschen said. “It’s one of those things where you look back and ask yourself, ‘How did I keep all of that up with everything else I had to do?’, but then you realize just how much it made you grow, adapt and change as a person.”
He continued, “The ASC Scholar program helps you explore the core concepts of being a servant leader and how it should look like in the real world. It was a great program to complete as it relates well to my future profession.”
After he graduates this spring, Kerschen plans to find a teaching job close to home. Wherever his journey takes him, he’ll look back on his time at Newman with gratitude.
“I think the best thing I have experienced at Newman was the supportive teaching staff,” Kerschen said. “The math and education professors have gotten me to where I am today, and I am truly appreciative of them. I also loved the small school atmosphere. It offered me the abilities to achieve academically while still focusing on other priorities in my life.”
The ASC Scholar program helps you explore the core concepts of being a servant leader and how it should look in the real world.”
Cale Kerschen
