Wis. Gov. Tony Evers visited the University of Wisconsin-Superior on Nov. 16, to converse with high schoolers and UWS education majors highlighting Wisconsin’s workforce needs. This visit follows Gov. Evers’ visit to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s College of Nursing & Health Sciences.
“This is a really important campus, it’s not the largest in the system, they play a huge role just because of their location,” said Wis. Gov. Tony Evers.
A group of high schoolers here for career experience day were in the middle of eating lunch when Gov. Evers dropped by. The students conversed with the governor about their plan to pursue college, future jobs, and explained what qualities they thought made for the ideal teacher.
Meanwhile upstairs, ten upperclassmen education majors and professors spoke to Gov. Evers in a roundtable discussion. Each student shared what inspired them to pursue teaching and what classroom they hope to one day teach in.
“They’re going to be great teachers. It isn’t always the love of the content, or discipline, things like that, it’s about kids. Caring for kids, understanding where they come from, tender difficulties. That’s what they talked about,” said Gov. Evers in a press conference after the event. “They talked about how they wanted to change kids’ lives. They get good preparation here, they’re doing their jobs, any person would love to have them teach their children.”
Back (Left to Right): Dean Nick Danz, Mitchell Hammer, Seth Gudmundsen, Lucy Landwehr, Emily Dahler. Front (Left to Right): Dillion Krisik, Sami Keller, Assistant Professor Dr. Megan Anderson, UWS Chancellor Renee Wachter, Superior Mayor Jim Paine, Cooperative Educational Program Coordinator Angela Radzak, Wis. Gov. Tony Evers, Becca Rainey, Adalia Ortiz, Alaina Lind.
Photo by Drew Kerner
“With the amount of teachers dropping out of the profession within the first five-years of being in the teaching industry, it’s important for our government officials to come out and show their support,” said UWS Junior and Music Education Major Seth Gudmundsen. “At the bottom line our government is what makes up the basis of our education.”
Gudmundsen explained that he wants his future classroom to be a safe space for students who experience mental health crisis’. Over the course of summer, he had the opportunity to participate in a SURF project. One which research shows a correlation between music and self-regulation during stressful times.
“I am going to be a choir teacher, that is my end goal. I don’t just want to be a choir teacher, because when I’m at a public school I’m not just a teacher in my own separate department. I am a teacher of all of the students,” concluded Gudmundsen.
In August, the governor called for Wisconsin State Legislature into a special session to address the state’s workforce challenges. Gov. Evers proposed investing over $100 million into direct support for higher education, more than $66 million reserved for UW System for general operations. provides for all UW System’s thirteen campuses.
