Foundation Focus

Overseas teaching leaves lifelong impact 

Linda Nemitz's teaching career took her far and wide.

After graduating from University of Northern Iowa with an elementary education degree in 1978, she taught in Iowa for seven years. Then, in the mid-1980s, the economy shifted during the farm crisis and teachers began getting laid off. Nemitz remembers thinking teaching was supposed to be a reliable profession and wondering what she would do next.

That's when she came across the Overseas Recruitment Fair at UNI. Her former counselor at the university encouraged Nemitz to check it out, initially just to gain interview experience and explore options outside Iowa and the Midwest.

But for her, the experience was much more than that.

"It changed everything for me," she says.

Nemitz ultimately spent more than 25 years teaching primarily preschool and kindergarten overseas in Colombia, Egypt, Italy and Japan, typically moving every four years. She loved learning about different cultures and ways of life while also bringing those experiences back into her classroom.

Inspiration for a legacy

Nemitz credits the Overseas Recruitment Fair with altering the course of her life, which recently inspired her to make an estate gift to the UNI Overseas Teacher Recruitment Program and Study Abroad.

After retiring, Nemitz had started thinking about the legacy she wanted to leave behind. Since she doesn't have children of her own, she decided to create a planned gift for UNI's College of Education to support future teachers through scholarships. She especially likes the idea of helping students pursue teaching experiences overseas, something she didn't even realize was possible when she was a student.

"I hope my impact will be for any of those who need a boost or some help financially or even just the encouragement of, ‘Look what's out there. See what you can do with this opportunity,’" Nemitz says.

Teaching overseas opened up opportunities Nemitz had never imagined. While UNI prepared her well academically, international teaching gave her more freedom to develop programs, try new ideas and pursue professional development in ways she hadn't previously experienced.

"It made me realize how important lifelong learning is, especially in professions like teaching," she says. Over the years, Nemitz stayed connected to UNI, especially through the overseas placement services program. At one point, she returned to campus to serve on a panel about international teaching opportunities and enjoyed sharing her experiences with students.

In many ways, UNI has been a grounding force in Nemitz's life. It not only gave her an education, but it also changed her life in ways she never could have imagined.

It's exactly what she hopes her gift to the College of Education will do for others.