Top teacher

By Matt Hawkins

With few ties to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, English secondary education alumna Nicole Hume ’13 relocated 800 miles from the Hilltop in search of a job. That risk reaped an unexpected reward, as she quickly found a teaching job and was named the Lewisville Independent School District’s Secondary New Teacher of the Year in the spring of 2014.

Hume, a St. Charles, Missouri, native, was the top rookie educator in a school district comprising five high schools and 15 junior highs. The Lewisville district enrolls more than 52,000 K-12 students.

“Most teachers reflect back on their first year of teaching and remember attempting to stay above water and just getting by,” Hume said. “I'm sure most new teachers, myself included, don't leave their first year feeling worthy of an award.”

Hume secured the LISD job a mere week after moving south to be closer to her older brother and role model, Matt, who settled in the Dallas area.

Despite the whirlwind of transition in 2013, the freshman English teacher quickly gained respect with high expectations of herself and students. She impressed staff with her ability to build relationships with students and creativity in classes, with activities like a Shakespearean Sonnet Slam. She also finished with a perfect score in her principal’s formal evaluation.

“The award made me feel like what I did last year was successful, which is not a bad place to start my teaching career,” Hume said. “Winning the award sets a high standard, but I know there is room for improvement. I’ll always strive to learn as much as I can to better serve my students.”

Hume credited her Texas success to Bradley’s well-rounded teacher education program, which prepared her for everything from student needs to parent-teacher interactions. She also relied on knowledge of literature and grammar acquired in English courses.

The Bradley education showed its value even before the school year began, as she discovered new teacher orientation covered topics she already learned on the Hilltop.

“I knew Bradley was special, but I didn’t realize how unique and extensive my education was until orientation, where I knew everything they covered,” Hume said. “Others were frantically taking notes because information was covered in a couple hours, but I was comfortable. I was prepared. I knew I could handle this first year, and I was right!”