For third-grade teacher Nichole Sigg, an experience teaching at a summer camp after her freshman year of college persuaded her to change her major to education.
“I never thought about being a teacher,” she said. An avid athlete, Sigg had her sights on exercise science, picturing her love of Crossfit, running and other sports as a natural transition to becoming a personal trainer.
But an experience teaching Bible lessons at a summer Christian camp opened Sigg’s eyes to a new world and when the fall semester began at Pittsburg State University, she changed her major to elementary education.
A spell of student teaching at Galena further narrowed her scope. There, she taught first-graders.
“They were too young to do everything independently,” Sigg said of the experience. “It’s giving direction after direction after direction and I knew I wanted something where the kids were old enough where they could work on their own.”
Third grade has been a perfect match for Sigg, saying she enjoys how her students like learning, but aren’t dependent on her for everything.
Sigg grew up in Pittsburg. Last month she and her husband, Jerrik, were married. Sigg said the move to Iola, where Jerrik works with the family business, Sigg Motors, has been relatively smooth, considering this is the first time she has lived away from Pittsburg and family.
“I love the small town community,” Sigg said of Iola. “It’s like Pittsburg. And while I’m away from my family, at the same time, I’m able to start my own family and have my own co-workers and friends. I couldn’t ask for a better school or better position.”
SIGG SAID she likes being in an attendance center with other third- and fourth-grade teachers.
Sigg said she treats each day with her students as a time of growing and doesn’t see it as work. She looks forward to seeing her students learn.
“I come to school every day looking at my classroom as a challenge,” Sigg said. “I just want to make sure every single one of my kids is learning and becoming a better person every single day. With that in mind it’s a big challenge for me to individualize my instruction where every single kid understands he or she can be the best person they can be.”
