Matt Smidt-Media
Greetings from Mr. Smidt! I grew up on a farm south of Kearney, and went to Axtell Community School. After graduating in 1995, I went on to receive my undergraduate degree in elementary education with an emphasis in early childhood from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. At UNK I was a member of the track team, lettering during the two years I participated. Fall of 1999 brought me to Lincoln where I did my student teaching at Eagle elementary school, working in the kindergarten and third grade.
Since graduation, I have worked as a Family Educator with the Head Start Program through Lincoln Public Schools located at Southeast Community College and as a para-educator at Palmyra High School in the library with Mrs. Petersen while assisting with the technology under Mr. Brown. During my time at Palmyra, I continued my schooling receiving a middle school endorsement to teach grades 4-9 in English and Social Studies in the summer of 2005 through the University of Nebraska Lincoln and a Master’s degree in Library Sciences from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in the summer of 2009. After saying goodbye to my mentor, Mrs. Petersen, in 2007, I had the privilege to become the district’s Library Media Specialist. This has given me the amazing opportunity to work with students of all ages. During my eleven years at District OR-1 I have had the opportunity to assist in the following:
*Coached junior high football three years
*Coached junior high track eight years
*Sponsored the Fellowship of Christian Athletes program since 2004
*Current sponsor high school quiz bowl for eleven years
*Current sponsor junior high quiz bowl for nine years.
*Current boys and girls HS track assistant coach for six years.
Family
My wife, Dori, works at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln as the Chief Financial Officer in the College of Education and Human Sciences. My family has lived southeast of Bennet. We have two daughters, Daisa is in 6th grade and Maci is in 3rd grade. I spend my summers running my girls to various events, preparing for the next school year at both libraries, and learning every day from my daughters. In my free time I like to listen to audiobooks, research topics to inform students upon, keep up with current issues in the library science world, and try to keep up in our ever changing world of technology.
