On Tuesday night, 21 seniors signed a ceremonial contract announcing their intent to pursue careers in education. The event, now in its third year, was created to celebrate and support students entering the teaching profession and to honor the educators who inspired them.
Senior Charlie Lage, who is one of three students receiving the Next Generation Hoosier Educators Scholarship, was inspired by Eric Howe, her instructor in dual credit history courses.
“Mr. Howe made me want to teach because he effortlessly made a stereotypically boring topic really engaging for an entire classroom of diverse students and that ability is something I really want to emulate,” Lage said.
While Lage was inspired by Howe, she also had to take into account the financial burden of college.
“The scholarship makes it easier for me to go to Butler University,” Lage said. “It’s an expensive school, and receiving the scholarship gives me peace of mind that I have good ideas and goals, and that somebody sees me in that.”
Senior Brody McMahen, whose dad teaches at Middle School North and whose mom is the high school principal, also went through the signing ceremony. While his parents are involved in education at the middle and high school levels, McMahen plans to go the elementary route.
“Going into education has always been on my mind because of my parents’ impact and growing up with them teaching,” Brody said. “I wasn’t sure that I wanted to do elementary education until I started high school. I’ve always loved working with kids, and I work at a daycare right now, so seeing them interact really made me want to work with young kids.”
For high school principal Tracy McMahen, watching her son participate in the ceremony was bittersweet.
“We are so proud of him for who he is and for wanting to be an elementary teacher, but to me, it feels like he was just in elementary school himself,” Mrs. McMahen said. “I have loved being an educator, so to see him wanting to also be a teacher makes me so happy because I know how rewarding this profession is.”
Senior Jared Spohn was inspired to pursue a career in teaching because of the encouragement and unique teaching styles of his high school art teachers, including Nathan Fry, who Spohn asked to stand by him as he signed his contract.
“I want to be able to be the light in other student’s lives the same way my teachers have been in mine,” Spohn said. “If I can just be a catalyst that spurs on a love of creativity and art in our youth, and create a class that might be a highlight of a student’s day, where they too feel loved and invested in, it would all be worth it.”
For Tracy McMahen, watching high school students honor their teachers and declare their interest in joining the teaching profession was a proud moment.
“Honestly, I am just so excited,” Mrs. McMahen said. “Being a teacher takes hard work and a lot of heart, and knowing these students, I have no doubt they will be amazing teachers. It is refreshing to see the impact that so many of our own CG teachers have made on them, and I have no doubt that these young people will one day be standing by the next generation of to-be teachers because of the impact that they have had on a student’s life.”
English teacher Bradford Buskirk, who also teaches the Introduction to Education and Education and Technology courses, was in attendance at the event.
“Each and every astronaut, artist, engineer and athlete was first guided by a teacher. Yet while we cheer for those who cross finish lines and podium stages, we often overlook the ones who built the starting blocks,” Buskirk said. “Teaching isn’t just a career—it’s the quiet, radical act of lighting thousands of fires with a single match.”
Each student who signed the contract with the Center Grove School District is guaranteed an opportunity for student teaching within the district and a priority spot in the first round of job interviews after college.
In all, the ceremony served as a powerful reminder of the impact educators have and highlighted the commitment of 21 seniors who are choosing to pay it forward by becoming teachers themselves.
