This week's staff spotlight goes out to Jess Zozts. Jess has worked at our school for four and a half years. She runs the guided study hall and dedicates her time to helping students who may need extra help. In addition to helping students, she provides a kind of support that is very unique. Jess has an inexplicable talent for making people feel seen and listened to. She is truly an advocate for us students. Jess, above all else, policies kindness and respectfulness while maintaining a sense of humor, which is a feat within itself.  Before working at North Union, Jess worked in the medical field as an X-ray tech and radiologist. She attended Rochester Technical College and graduated with an associate's degree in science. From then on she branched into a trade school and worked and learned through the Mayo Health system. Jess grew up in Armstrong and attended North Union High School. One thing that Jess enjoys thoroughly is the fine arts. She loves to sing and, might I add, has a very mellifluous voice. In addition to having an egregious respect for the arts, she cites her family as her biggest inspiration. Jess is a mother to three kids and also has a husband, Mr. Zotz. When Jess was a teenager, she didn't initially see herself staying in her hometown, but she doesn't regret a thing. When interviewing Jess, she kept saying, casually, amazing advice, “Be kind, and if you can't be nice, then don't meddle”, “Go where the wind takes you, sometimes the best-made plans are the ones that go awry”, and “Always keep trying to better yourself and your life”. I see her apply these bits of advice to all situations every day, from the way that she treats her students to the way that she carries herself, and to me, that's what makes her one of the most likable people I have ever met, and probably will ever meet. She's always in your corner and willing to give you a helping hand or the best advice. Thank you Jess for being you. 

By: Allyson Nelson

This week's staff spotlight is Ms. Carstens. Ms. Carstens is the English 9, and English 11* teacher. She teaches Drama/Exploration/ Contemporary Literature, Technical Writing, and Communications. Carstens has been teaching at North Union High School for 5 years now.  Ms. Carstens grew up in a small town in northwest Iowa called Remsen, home to Oktoberfest. Carstens graduated from Morningside University, a private college in Sioux City, Iowa. She graduated with a BA in Secondary English Education. Mrs. Carstens teaches many different classes meaning she has lots of different lessons to teach but overall her favorite is teaching the Freedom of Speech unit for Communications. Mrs Cartsens is a very hard-working and focused person. Her favorite part of teaching is getting to know all of her students and watching them grow in their learning. Ms.  Carstens has coached speech for 3 years at North Union. She is a very loving and sweet teacher. She loves to help others when they need it and never fails to but a smile on someone's face!

By: Sienna Hansen

This week's staff spotlight is Mr. Stevens. Mr. Stevens is the Industrial Technology teacher. His road to teaching was not direct, however. He graduated from Northwest Iowa Community College for Manufacturing Engineering Technology. After working for many years, he got his initial teaching license. His extensive knowledge and work experience allowed him to achieve this license. He later completed the teaching classes required and has his teaching license in Industrial Technology. He worked for the North Union District for seven years but has been teaching Industrial Technology at the high school for three years. He decided to pursue shop because he enjoys woodworking and creating things. Teaching allows him the opportunity to show others how to do what he enjoys. His main goal as a teacher is to get students interested in skilled trades and to show them that they can learn new skills that they may not have thought they ever could.  Mr Stevens grew up in Swea City, Iowa, and currently lives there still. Outside of his usual woodworking at school, having woodworking projects outside of school is one of his hobbies. Mr. Stevens has made an enormous impact on the school. Many students often say the only reason why they come to school each day, is for his classes. He puts a lot of effort into his teaching and always tries to appeal to every student. Mr. Stevens is one of the greatest additions to the North Union high school!

By: Maddison Gates

This week’s staff spotlight goes out to Ms. Lang. Ms Lang is the choir teacher at our high school, and teaches middle school choir as well. In addition to this, she is qualified to teach band and orchestra. Ms. Lang attended Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, and graduated from there in 2019 with a degree in Music Education with an emphasis in voice. Ms. Lang loves music thoroughly and intensely. She finds that music is one of the few things on this planet that brings everyone together no matter their background, ethnicity, religion, and so on and so forth. When it comes to teaching, she loves to bring her students the experience that is music, giving them a chance to love music as deeply as she does. Lang grew up in a small town, that small town being New Hampton, Iowa. While in high school, Ms. Lang threw herself into the arts and participated in choir, band, show choir, jazz band, solo ensemble, large group speech, individual speech, plays, musicals, and trap shooting. Her love and devotion to music followed her to college where she participated in concert choir, chamber choir, madrigal choir, concert band, and jazz band. As well as having a toneful and beautiful voice, Ms. Lang is a multifaceted musician given that she can play the saxophone, the guitar, and the piano. Lang's favorite aspect of teaching is the connections she gets to make with her students and seeing them flourish. Lang's favorite color is sunset orange. She loves the color because as she describes it, it's not overpowering, but still entirely pleasant. Overall, Ms. Lang is a thoughtful and attentive person and teacher with a charming and humorful sensefulness that makes class memorable and a favorite for many. 

By: Allyson Nelson

This weeks staff spotlight will be on the North Union High School principal. Mr. Zotz has been at our school for a total of 22 years! 10 of them he was the Social Studies teacher. Mr. Zotz has been coaching the football team for around 19 years. Mr. Zotz was asked what his favorite thing about being a principle is, "My favorite thing would be watching the kids do the things that they love and growing into young adults". Mr. Zotz was then asked what his least favorite thing was and he had said "freshman".  Mr. Zotz grew up in a town called Afton, Iowa. He spent most of his time playing sports such as football, basketball, baseball and track and field. He had also won homecoming king in highschool! Mr. Zotz went to three colleges and majored in Social Science and got his degree. He then met his wife Jessica Zotz, a fellow teacher at North Union. They then had three kids, Koen, Caden, and Carlynn. He loves cooking meals for them and spendig quality time with them on the weekends. Mr. Zotz was asked what he is most proud of in life, and he said, "my family". He was then asked what he was least proud of and he said, "my golf game". 

By: Hailey Waller 

This week’s staff spotlight goes out to Mrs.Stevens. Mrs.Stevens has taught in the North Union district for 18 years. She graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in 2005 with a bachelor's in English Education and student taught in Emmetsburg. Her hometown is Whittemore, Iowa. Mrs. Stevens is a kind teacher with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, with this, she has read over 250 books since January of this year. Mrs. Stevens’s favorite thing about teaching is the fact that every day is different and brings its own surprises and challenges. She describes herself as a “get what you see” kind of person and has the insight to understand the children she teaches. She’s honest and has an impalpable amount of integrity for her students along with a patient fervor only certain people possess. She values her family above all else and is thankful for every day that she gets to spend with them. At the forefront, Mrs. Stevens feels that her greatest achievement is being a mother. She is a mother to Emmy and Dylan Stevens. Her favorite color is yellow. She loves the color because it radiates happiness, is the color of sunflowers, and was Dylan’s favorite color. She lives by the advice; “Don't take anything for granted.” and “Love the people in your life.” Which is extremely wise, and such a lesson that can only be learned through experience. Overall, Mrs. Stevens is an amiable person and an amazing teacher who is dedicated to her craft and educating students. 

 By: Allyson Nelson

This week's staff spotlight is Mrs. Colegrove, the High School Spanish Teacher. Colegrove has taught for 23 years this is her 12th year teaching at North Union. Mrs. Colegrove grew up in Lone Rock, Iowa, and graduated from Sentral-Burt High School in 1997. Colegrove then went to Cornell College graduating from there in 2001 with a double major in Elementary Education and K-12 Spanish. Colegrove loves to teach her students about the Preterite Tense and the rhymes that go with learning the endings. Another thing she loves to teach is all the different stories in Spanish III and IV. Colegrove is a very upbeat person who loves both her job and the students she teaches. Colegrove's favorite part about teaching is talking and being with the kids. Mrs Colegrove stated, "Yes, I love teaching Spanish and how to conjugate verbs, but building relationships with students is my number one favorite thing about teaching."

By: Sienna Hansen

Wednesday, October 19, 2023

This week's staff spotlight goes out to Mrs. Fothergill. Mrs. Fothergill has been teaching in our district for 23 years. During those 23 years, she has taught through when we were North Kossuth, Armstrong-Ringstead, and what we’re called now; North Union. Mrs. Fothergill is a busy and dedicated teacher. She teaches a plethora of subjects including publications, accounting, advanced accounting, college accounting, multimedia, intro to business, sports marketing, and computer science. She attended Blackhill State UNI and majored in composite business education with a bachelor of science in office management. Mrs. Fothergill is originally from a beautiful small town located in South Dakota named Custer. Her favorite thing about North Union is how close-knit we are, even though everyone in our district is extremely spread out. Mrs. Fothergill loves to work with students and teach in a manner that benefits all, she does an amazing job at getting the material through to every student. The best piece of advice that Mrs. Fothergill has ever received came from her mother. Her mother told her, “God only gives you what you can handle.” Her faith is a major part of her and she applies this advice in her everyday life as much as she can. She feels it helps encourage her through stressful times and situations. As well as her faith, her family is an indubitable part of her life. She has four daughters, three of whom have moved out and married, and one is still in high school, as well as a husband. Mrs. Fothergill has many hobbies, the likes of which include baking, cooking, and hiking. Because of the love she has for hiking, she likes to vacation in the Black Hills for the scenery and experience. Overall, Mrs. Fothergill has an admirable work ethic, perseverance in life, and wholeheartedness for her students.

By: Allyson Nelson 

This week's staff spotlight is Mr. Fisher.  Fisher has been teaching at the North Union School District for 11 years. Fisher grew up in the small town of Swea City, IA spending most of his time with his childhood friends growing up. Fisher graduated from North Kossuth High School in 2007 then went to UNI to major in Physical Education and Health Education. Fisher is a very involved teacher at North Union High School, he has been the assistant football coach for 12 years, the head boys' basketball coach for 10 years, and the athletic director for 9 years. Along with that, Fisher is also the North Union High School P.E. teacher and Health teacher. Fisher has many favorite lessons and activities in the class he teaches. However, If he had to pick one favorite from each class, his favorite activity in P.E. is pickleball and his favorite lesson to teach in health class is the personality and stress unit. Fisher enjoys living life and spending time with his family and is a very easygoing and optimistic type of person. Mr. Fisher's favorite part about teaching is building relationships with others and watching students achieve their goals!

By: Sienna Hansen

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

For this staff Spotlight, we are highlighting Miss Jarr. Jarr is relatively new to our school given that this is her 3rd year teaching here as an art teacher. Miss Jarr is a beacon of positivity, she never fails to make students feel comfortable but also motivates them to make beautiful art. Miss Jarr graduated from Buena Vista in 2021 with a bachelor's degree in art education. Jarr grew up in Fairfield, Iowa. When asked about her favorite part of teaching, she responded: “My favorite thing about teaching has got to be seeing how creative you guys are, and seeing your stories throughout the art that you(as students) create.” Miss Jarr, being an art teacher, is of course an artist herself. Her favorite mediums to use for art include oil pastels, acrylic paint, and watercolor. Her favorite kinds of art that she likes to create are figure drawings and portraits. Throughout her art pieces, you will see that almost all of them are inspired by her personal experiences and her close family and friends. When asked about the transition from college, to student teaching, and then to being a full-time teacher, she said the hardest part was adjusting to the “work-life balance” and the adjustment was like “culture shock” and that the worst part is “all the paperwork”.  Jarr, aside from art, is also a wonderful coach. She coaches colorguard and is also leading a thriving new addition to the other extracurriculars at North Union, the likes of which is Art Club. 

By Allyson Nelson**