Kaitlynn Fears ’26 was juggling an online education program at Newman, a job as a high school basketball coach, teaching as a long-term substitute and being a mom of two boys while her husband was deployed.
Fears relied on the support provided by her professors at Newman throughout her journey to earn her bachelor’s degree in elementary education.
She had credits from a previous stint in college but wasn’t sure what to do with them. That’s when she reached out to Jessica Bird, associate vice president of outreach education and dean of the School of Education and Social Work.
Bird put Fears on the right path to finish her degree.
Today, Fears is a seventh-grade English Language Arts teacher at Horace Good Middle School in Garden City, Kansas and still coaches basketball. She envisions a future in athletics.
“I’m a very sporty person and am hoping to get into a master’s program to work toward a leadership role.”
Fears said the Newman education program is amazing, adding that everyone involved is very helpful and authentically wants their students to succeed.
Looking back at the past few years, Fears said strength was the biggest attribute she took away from her time as a Newman student. But she couldn’t have done it without her family and friends who helped her stay motivated.
“My family helped me with my kids, and my study buddies were there to help me keep going when I thought I needed a break,” said Fears. “They said to me, ‘We’re almost there. We gotta keep going.’”
Fears said she’s most proud of herself for sticking with her dream.
“My husband is a veteran now, but during the whole process I was doing the online learning while he was deployed, I was raising a 6- to 12-month-old by myself … and I was capable of doing it in front of my kids while being that role model example. It’s never too late to hit those dreams.”
Learn more about Newman’s elementary education program
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