GOSHEN COUNTY – If there is one word to summarize the career thus far of Goshen County School District music educator Erin Jespersen, it would most certainly be passionate.

It could be argued that that one simple term truly represents what it means to be an educator. A true teacher does not care about what their salary is, how long and hard they have to work, or where they will be going on their valued summer vacation.

They care about one thing and one thing only; that is the success of their students and they will ethically do whatever they must to ensure they have it. The very best teachers are more than willing to sacrifice their personal time with their own families to make sure a struggling student makes it through with a passing grade.

They want to teach them all the right things they must know. They vehemently attempt to give their students all the tools they will need to succeed in their future. They want nothing more than to pass on all the knowledge they have acquired through all their own years of experience. 

Above all, they care very deeply about their students. Some teachers would go so far to say they see their students as their own children of sorts.

Goshen County’s own Erin Jespersen no doubt possesses exactly this kind of passion, and has be recognized as such with the coveted North Platte Music Educator of the Year Award.

The award is presented on behalf of the Wyoming Music Educators Association (WMEA).

According to Jespersen as wonderful and flattering as this is, her focus still remains purely on the wellbeing of her students.

“I wasn’t really expecting it,” Jespersen said. “I’m a K-12 teacher, and it’s amazing to feel that your peers recognize that the work you are doing is important. Even if you are not in a big school, it’s humbling because we have fantastic music educators in our whole district; both Casper schools, Douglas, Glenrock, Wheatland, Glendo, Chugwater, Guernsey, Lusk, Torrington and Southeast. The music educator of the year can be given to anybody; elementary, middle school, high school band or choir it doesn’t matter.”

Jespersen spoke of the hard work on behalf of all her colleagues throughout the district, while mentioning that as rewarding as being an educator can be it does not go without its own challenges.

Jespersen further noted however that it truly is the students themselves that make things so much more easy and enjoyable in the most subtle ways.

“It’s awesome, and it’s a wonderful honor,” Jespersen continued. “The job is tough, but just getting little awards here and there keeps you going. There is a thing at Christmas where students write letters to all of the staff, not just teachers. They write to custodial staff, para-educators, administration and secretaries. I keep those in my drawer. If it’s from the kids, that almost means even more. When you are in a K-12 school being a music teacher, you do feel a bit of invisibility. You don’t always have someone to collaborate with in your field. With other music educators, we don’t get to see each other than just a few times a year.”

While Jespersen will be finishing up her 23rd year as a Goshen County School District educator, she advocated for herself that her journey is not even halfway done as a music teacher.

“When I was completing my Master’s Degree, I was doing my research paper on burnout with teachers. I couldn’t do that research because most K-12 teachers burn out in five to seven years. I took this job thinking I would give it five years, and apparently I still haven’t figured that out. I just like them all. I’m never bored because I get to switch what I teach whether it’s band or elementary. In the future I’m looking forward to learning more, and keeping up with trends in music education because music changes. We have to keep up with what’s popular and what’s not. The kids want to make sure that we keep up with what’s popular, and I’m looking forward to see what my future students can do and how far they can go.”

Jespersen feels her rewarding position in a peaceful, under-populated area is her true life calling, and has no intention of going anywhere soon. For this proprietor of music inspiration, there are thousands of future students that she cannot wait to meet.

“When I first started in 2001, we didn’t really have much of a program at Lingle,” Jespersen remembered. “We had four kids in band, and three kids in choir at the high school. Now I have two choirs and a band at the high school, three groups at the middle school, and right here at the elementary school. I also have the added benefit of doing theater, so I get to be with kids from all three schools. I feel very privileged to work not only with my kids, but also kids from the other schools. It’s so fun, and you get to be around all these kids who love to create and perform. I want to be there, and I’m very fortunate to be a music teacher.

“They choose to be in your room, which can be a blessing and a curse,” Jespersen kidded. “If my program is not successful, I will always look at myself and say, ‘What am I doing wrong?’ Music can conflict with other things, but I think the kids do keep me going. A lot of times its nice because if they are having a down day or a bad day, then I get the opportunity to try and turn that around a bit. If I’m having a bad day they will say, ‘We got you Mrs. J!’ And it’s not just the high school kids. There are times when those elementary kids can really lift you up. I’ve watched them grow up, and that’s really fun. You can watch kids mature, grow and their personalities develop. I’ve very protective of my students, and they are definitely my inspiration.”

With the kids always being a top priority for any educator, Jespersen was finally sure to mention the constant hard work of all her colleagues within Goshen County School District.

“I hope people know what a special group of people our educators truly are, and I hope they understand and appreciate the expertise and dedication of our school teachers in this county. I do feel like Goshen County has been far more supportive than in some other places. It’s been very difficult to be an educator the last few years, but we’ve had some wonderful support from our parents and community. I know that’s going to continue because our parents are supportive of our teachers and the arts, and Wyoming is very lucky because this state is very supportive of the arts.”

After all, as Jespersen knows only too well, if every teacher has the same goal in mind for the betterment of every student, the sky is the limit for the next generation.