By TYLER ELLYSON
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – Allysen Gross and Karsyn Vasko have only known each other for a few months, but you’d never guess that based on their interactions.
The future teachers swap stories and share advice like a couple of longtime friends.
“We have a pretty strong relationship,” said Vasko, who just completed her junior year at Kearney High School. “When we first met, I was kind of nervous, but everything feels so natural now.”
Gross and Vasko were introduced on Super Bowl Sunday during the semester kickoff event for the Teachmates program, a collaborative initiative launched last year by Kearney Public Schools and the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
Developed by the Kearney Education Collaborative, a joint leadership team of KPS and the UNK College of Education, the mentorship program pairs UNK seniors pursuing degrees in teacher education with Kearney High students interested in the same career.
This support system allows the students to learn from and encourage each other while creating a professional network that will continue to serve them down the road.
“I want to be the person I wish I had when I was in her position,” said Gross, who graduated from UNK with honors earlier this month, earning a bachelor’s degree in special education with an early childhood minor. “I’m the first person from my family to pursue a four-year university degree and I’m the first from my family to be a teacher, so I didn’t have anyone to go to for that advice about college or teaching. I wanted to be that person for someone else.”
A Seward native, Gross was involved in the UNK Honors Program, Teacher Scholars Academy, Special Olympics and Loper Launch Enrichment Camp, a curriculum-based summer learning program for students in grades 1-8.
Vasko has similar interests, so they made the perfect match. She’s also a highly involved honors student with a passion for education and supporting young children. Vasko works part time at The Spectrum Center for Autism in Kearney – a job she “absolutely loves” – and she assisted in a third grade classroom at Buffalo Hills Elementary through a field experience class this spring.
A drum major, student ambassador and member of the Educators Rising group, Vasko joined the Teachmates program so she could learn more about UNK and her future opportunities from someone with firsthand knowledge.
“Having someone to offer that advice and guidance has been extremely valuable,” she said. “Allysen is there to answer any questions that I have, and she can relate to my current experiences.”
Gross and Vasko communicated regularly throughout the semester, covering everything from day-to-day life to classroom management strategies to college expectations.
“Sometimes even just sharing stories is beneficial, because we’re both working with elementary and middle school kids,” Vasko said.
Gross completed her student teaching last semester at Sunrise Middle School and Northeast Elementary in Kearney. She called the Teachmates program “a really meaningful experience.”
“It really makes you think critically and reflect on your teaching, because then you have to tell someone else about it,” she said. “If you’re not reflecting and you’re not thinking critically about your teaching, you can’t share your experiences in a meaningful way, so it definitely helps build those skills.
“Plus, it’s really fun.”
UNK College of Education Dean Mark Reid saw that joy during an end-of-the-year event.
“It was totally heartwarming during the concluding celebration to hear the Teachmates participants discuss what the program has meant to them,” he said. “In just a short time, the confidence of the high school students had notably increased. They all expressed that they had deepened their understanding of what it means to be a teacher. The students obviously enjoyed their interactions. Hopefully, some of the connections formed in the program will last for many years into the future.”
A total of 20 students – 10 from UNK and 10 from Kearney High – were part of the Teachmates program this year. Two of them definitely plan to remain close.
“We have a really strong relationship, and I hope that continues,” said Gross, who was hired as a special education teacher at Sunrise Middle School.
“If I need anything, I know she’s just a quick text or phone call away,” Vasko added.
