NSU Milken Mentorship Program strengthens support for new educators

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Northeastern State University is expanding its efforts to support Oklahoma teachers by adding the Milken Mentorship Program to its student experiences. The program provides essential guidance and support to aspiring educators.

The initiative is led by Dr. Sarah Vann, an NSU alumna and Milken Award recipient, who collaborated with NSU’s College of Education in fall 2023 to establish a free mentoring service. In spring 2024, the first cohort included three NSU students who received free mentorship from the Milken Educators group in Oklahoma, continuing from their full internship into their first semester as teachers.

Serving as the liaison between the NSU College of Education and the mentors, COE Assistant Dean Dr. Kelli Carney emphasized the program’s importance in supporting new teachers.

“Many times, candidates do not realize the need for specific skills or dispositions, or do not even know what to ask, until faced with [a situation that calls for] them when they begin their internship and into their first year of teaching,” Carney said. “The Milken Mentorship Program fills in this gap and provides unique opportunities to be mentored by the top 1 percent of educators [Milken Award Winners] across the state.”

Carney said the program allows mentees to receive individualized guidance in areas of concern while also fostering professional relationships with their mentors.

For Jessica Shrader, an NSU alumna and now a second-grade teacher at Jenks East Elementary, a career in education has been her dream since kindergarten.

“It is such a challenge coming into your first year as a teacher because college prepares you [for] so much, but there’s so much in this career field that they can’t prepare you for,” Shrader said. “Knowing that I would have somebody that is a proven educator mentor me through not only my first year of teaching, but through college and help me get set up for success was inspirational and I wanted to be a part of it. It’s been wonderful to have somebody in your corner at all times.”

Shrader was mentored by Hailey Couch, a district elementary instructional coach who played a key role alongside Vann in launching the program in Oklahoma.

“The desire to guide others emerged from recognizing how sharing knowledge and experience creates ripples of positive change throughout our educational community,” Couch said. “Being a mentor to preservice teachers with fellow Milken Educators has been an extremely rewarding experience.”

Couch has recently been paired with her second mentee from NSU and is excited to continue providing invaluable experiences to future educators.

For more information about NSU’s College of Education and the Milken Mentorship Program, visit coe.nsuok.edu.

About the Milken Educator Award
The Milken Educator Award was created by Lowell Milken in 1987, created to reward and inspire excellence in the world of education by honoring top early-to-mid career education professionals around the world and the country with $25,000 unrestricted awards. Often deemed the “Oscars of Teaching,” this award recognizes exceptional young individuals for their academic achievements, leadership, community service and resilience.

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