Contributed TOP FINISHER — Recent Steubenville High School graduate Lorraine Kellermier earned seventh place in her category during the 2024 National Educators Rising Conference in Washington, D.C.

STEUBENVILLE — Newly minted Steubenville High School grad Lorraine Kellermier shined at the 2024 National Educators Rising Conference in Washington, D.C., this summer, earning a Top 10 spot at competition.

Kellermier was among more than 3,300 people attending the event at the Marriott Marquis on June 27-July 1 in the nation’s capital and earned seventh place among 33 contenders within her category. According to its website, Educators Rising is a community-based movement from PDK International in which school chapters feed teacher preparation programs at institutes of higher education with the support of state Departments of Education and local fundraisers and foundations. The goal is “to provide a clear pathway to increase teacher diversity and teacher quality.”

“Educators Rising is an organization that is supportive to students who want to one day become teachers,” Kellermier explained. “There is a club in my school that provides opportunities such as teaching experience, education about teaching and competitions and conferences. I had a lot of fun with this conference and competition.”

Kellermier, who resides in Wintersville with guardian Linda Schoppe, served as president of the Educators Rising Club and was active in drama club and the principal’s advisory council during her time at SHS. She qualified for the nationals after placing within the Top 10 at the state event and was happy with the results at nationals.

“I actually just graduated from Steubenville High School, but I participated in the conference and competition as a senior,” she said. “I received a certificate for seventh place in the category of lesson planning and delivery for humanities. For the competition, I made a lesson plan on nonsense poetry, recorded myself teaching this lesson to a real class and sent them into the judges ahead of time, then I was asked many questions about the lesson and delivery of the lesson during the conference. I was very excited about placing.”

She attended with teacher leader M.J. Burkett and teacher Whitney Boni and took part in breakout sessions when not in competition, plus she did some sightseeing in her free time. Kellermier received her certificate after returning home and is already preparing for the next chapter of her life.

“I am heading off to college at Ohio University to study integrated language arts education,” she said.

Burkett was pleased to see his pupil succeed and said she shows plenty of promise leading a classroom of her own.

“I am very proud of Lorraine’s accomplishments, particularly placing seventh in the national Educators Rising competition. Lorraine has persevered through many challenges in her young life and I’m confident that she will use those experiences to make a deep connection with her future students,” Burkett commented. “I look forward to seeing her realize her dreams of becoming a teacher and making a difference in the lives of her students.”