Thomas uses Educator Interview Fair as springboard to fulfilling LPS career

October 21, 2024

Northeast High School social studies teacher Tori Thomas has mapped out a fulfilling career path during her first few months at Lincoln Public Schools.
 
The Lincoln native is sharing her love of geography and history with students every day as a first-year teacher. Room 151 has become a place to learn about everything from topographical features of Europe to the social ramifications of World War I. Thomas uses her background as an award-winning speaker to help her students connect with those topics in fun and engaging ways.
 
“It’s been a really good experience here at Northeast,” Thomas said. “I’ve learned so much in these first couple of months. It’s been fun to see the students engage with the lessons and watch the learning process happen for them. Teaching has been something I’ve wanted to do my entire life, so to be able to start this job has really been a dream come true.”

 
Thomas began rowing on her LPS teaching river after attending an Educator Interview Fair during her senior year at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The East High School graduate said it was encouraging to know she would have a chance to lead students in her hometown.
 
“I’d always heard how fulfilling it was to teach for LPS, and I saw firsthand how much of a difference teachers can make when I was a student, so I knew I wanted to interview here,” Thomas said. “Now that I’m working here, I can say that everything I’ve heard is true. I work with great people here at Northeast and I have all of the support I need to learn and grow in my role.”

  
LPS Director of Recruitment and Supervisor of Secondary Personnel Ryan Escamilla said previous interview fairs have been essential for the school district. He felt the instructional and behavioral supports, quality school buildings and wide array of benefits found at LPS have made it attractive for people.
 
“Many high-quality candidates attend our interview fairs because of the strong reputation LPS has in support for both students and staff,” Escamilla said. “New-to-LPS teachers often share the satisfaction they feel belonging to a school district that supports them in the classroom, which allows them the freedom to place all students first and foremost.”
 
Escamilla said the fairs also allow candidates to discover how LPS practices its “All Means All” philosophy. They can learn how the school district approaches education and how they can reinforce those student-first bonds.
 
“We want our candidates to know what LPS stands for and how they will fit within our district,” Escamilla said.

 
Erik Witt directed LPS recruiting efforts last year and is now program supervisor at the LPS Pathfinder Program. He interviewed Thomas at the fair and was impressed with her passion for helping students reach their full potential.
 
“Tori had great references and experiences that spoke to her abilities to build strong relationships with students and have high academic expectations,” Witt said.
 
Witt said he was “absolutely thrilled” when Thomas accepted an offer to teach at Northeast. He felt her academic and professional credentials would allow her to have a strong start to her educational journey.

 
“Tori’s decision to return to LPS to make the same impact her educators had on her speaks volumes about the meaningful connections she experienced as a student,” Witt said. “There’s nothing quite like seeing former students come full circle and inspire the next generation of students!”
 
Thomas was an Honor Roll student at East and earned academic pins for compiling 4.0 grade point averages in consecutive semesters. She excelled in both band and speech and continued those activities in college. She played piccolo in the Cornhusker Marching Band and received the Jack R. Snider/Band Alumni Scholarship for her leadership, volunteerism and integrity.
 
Thomas also won multiple awards for her skills on the UNL speech team. She placed sixth in the program oral interpretation category at the American Forensic Association National Speech Tournament as a senior. She also secured collegiate medals in poetry interpretation, duo interpretation and after-dinner speaking as a Husker.
 
Thomas said having a solid background in both band and speech has paid off in the classroom.
 
“When you’re teaching, you’re in front of people for an extended period of time, so being comfortable with public speaking has definitely been helpful,” Thomas said. “Band gave me a place where I could work on leadership skills, and that has been something I’ve used in teaching too.”
 
Thomas said one of her main goals is to give students the knowledge they will need to map out their own successful futures at Northeast.
 
“I want to help students learn why this matters and how they can connect the material I’m teaching to their lives,” Thomas said. “It’s definitely something I want to continue to work on as the year moves along.”

Lincoln Public Schools is looking for more talented educators to join our team.

Our next Educator Interview Fair is Wednesday, Oct. 30. All teachers, counselors, school psychologists, speech-language pathologists, social workers and school nurses are encouraged to apply.

You can register now for our fall 2024 Educator Interview Fair at https://bit.ly/educator24. The deadline to register is Oct. 28. 

You can also check out more LPS career opportunities on our website at https://home.lps.org/hr/careers.

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