GREAT FALLS — CMR High School has not one ... but TWO teachers that received their own respective awards.
Jessica Goosen was awarded MBEA Outstanding Business Teacher of the Year. Goosen has been teaching at CMR for over a decade and has hosted the Montana BPA Region 3 Leadership Conference. This past school year, 15 students took to the Business Professionals of America 2022 National Leadership Conference with students earning first place in both team and individual events.
Goosen was asked her thoughts on receiving the award.
"It keeps me young," she said. "I enjoy it! They're full of energy and excitement, especially coming off a couple of Covid years, where they couldn't do anything, so then, they just got really excited in the last couple of years in business professionals of America, any clubs here in the school district. I was able to play with that and work with them. They were so easy to work with because they wanted to do better and they’re very competitive even though this isn’t an athletic sport, they were very competitive."
Goosen reflected upon some of the accomplishments her students made in previous years. Goosen said, "Last year, my small business management team had a record of four years in a row of being first place, so this last year, they were really nervous, but they said, "we're going to do it, Goosen, we're going to do it for you, and I said, 'it's about you, it's not about me.' They got second place in regionals, and so we bought in some mentors. It was about a food truck, so we went downtown, and we talked to Nourish, and she really mentored them, and then they ended up getting first place at state for the fifth year in a row this last year, so they were really excited. This year, they said, 'Gossen, I don't think we should have a small business management team,' so it's all about them and what they want to bring to the table."
When speaking with a couple students of hers, they had nothing but positive things to say about Goosen and her way of teaching.
Junior Hayley Hatfield said, "she's a very understanding teacher. She always goes the extra mile, and makes sure that we understand the content thoroughly, and she builds really good relationships with her students."
Senior Becca Sherman stated, "I think she teaches us very well, and makes sure we know everything we're supposed to. I personally am going to college for business and I think a lot of my passion for what I am going to do has been from her and her classes, and I really appreciates that she builds relationships with her students.
Another teacher that made a name for herself is CMR art teacher, Tess Jacobs, who received Montana Art Teacher of the Year Award. Jacobs has taught at CMR for 15 years.
Jacobs described it as "a surprise," adding that The person that nominated her is "a wonderful teacher."
She attributes much of her success to the passion for her students.
“I love working with students," she said. "I love having their creative young minds, active every day in my class. I love to see their growth. I get to have many for four years, so I get to see their growth as a human being and an artist."She added, "This is my second career. I didn't start teaching until I was past the age of 45. It was the best choice I ever made to work with these talented kids ... I would consider this award one of my greatest accomplishments, especially towards the end of my career."
Senior Izzi Rukavina said, "I've had Ms. Jacobs since my freshman year. I think we've grown really close over the years. She's very good at one-on-one teaching people and spreading things out ... The amount of time and effort put into sharing her love of art, she's very deserving of this award."Senior Hana Carlson expanded upon Izzi's point adding, “That one-on-one teaching really helps me grow with my art and make me think of new techniques I haven’t thought about before, so it really helps me prepare for what I normally don't think is going to come next."When speaking with both teachers, they described it as a great accomplishment, but they noted that it couldn't have been possible without the students. The students themselves agreed that the award was deserving, and they believe they have built better relationships with their respective teachers over the years.
“I love working with students," she said. "I love having their creative young minds, active every day in my class. I love to see their growth. I get to have many for four years, so I get to see their growth as a human being and an artist."
She added, "This is my second career. I didn't start teaching until I was past the age of 45. It was the best choice I ever made to work with these talented kids ... I would consider this award one of my greatest accomplishments, especially towards the end of my career."
Senior Izzi Rukavina said, "I've had Ms. Jacobs since my freshman year. I think we've grown really close over the years. She's very good at one-on-one teaching people and spreading things out ... The amount of time and effort put into sharing her love of art, she's very deserving of this award."
Senior Hana Carlson expanded upon Izzi's point adding, “That one-on-one teaching really helps me grow with my art and make me think of new techniques I haven’t thought about before, so it really helps me prepare for what I normally don't think is going to come next."
When speaking with both teachers, they described it as a great accomplishment, but they noted that it couldn't have been possible without the students. The students themselves agreed that the award was deserving, and they believe they have built better relationships with their respective teachers over the years.
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