Five teachers receive Excellence in Education Awards

September 16, 2004

The Eighth Annual Bishop's Dinner for Catholic Education will celebrate Catholic schools and recognize excellent teachers. Once again five teachers will receive the Bishop Lawrence D. Soens Excellence in Education Awards.

This year's recipients are Ryan Berg, St. Mary's School in Storm Lake; Karen Fry, Mater Dei School in Sioux City; Nancy Geisinger, Sacred Heart School in Spencer; Dee Nelson, St.Edmond Elementary in Fort Dodge; and Carol Sundquist, Holy Cross School in Sioux City.

The award was established in order to recognize teachers who dedicated educators in the diocesan Catholic schools.

Recipients of this award must have been a teacher in the Diocese of Sioux City for at least five years. They are to have expressed a clear, integrated philosophy of Catholic education and be held in high regard by their peers, students and/or parents.

Ryan Berg is a teacher at St. Mary's High School in Storm Lake. He was educated in Catholic schools, attending Holy Cross Grade School in Arcadia and Kuemper High School in Carroll. He earned a bachelor's degree in English at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake.

He said that he was honored to receive the award.

"I have always enjoyed being a part of Catholic schools, being a student and this being the only school I have taught in," said Berg. "It is a tribute to what Catholic schools have to offer as a student and as a teacher. Catholic schools are great experience in general."

He is married to Courtney Berg and attends St. Mary's Church in Storm Lake.

Karen Fry teaches the fifth grade at Mater Dei's Immaculate Conception Center. She was educated at Blessed Sacrament School, Bishop Heelan High School and Briar Cliff College (University), all in Sioux City. At BCU, Fry earned her bachelor's with a major in elementary education and minor in English.

"I am truly honored and humbled to be selected to represent the fine teaching in Catholic schools," she said. "Especially for something that I love to do. Teaching in the Catholic schools is an extension of the many different ministries I am involved with in my parish and the cluster."

She has taught 14 years at Mater Dei and two-and-one-half years at Blessed Sacrament.

Fry and her husband, David, have three children: Jennifer, Joseph and Julie. The Frys are parishioners of Nativity of Our Lord Parish in Sioux City.

Nancy Geisinger teaches the fifth grade at Sacred Heart School in Spencer. She attended Sanborn Elementary and High School. She earned a bachelor's degree from UNI, majoring in elementary education as well as reading and language.

"This is quite an honor to receive the award," she said. "I wish my mother were here to share it. She was proud of the education that she gave to each of the children. She was proud of the commitment I had to being a teacher."

Geisinger, who has taught at Sacred Heart for 14 years, and her husband, Larry, are parishioners at Sacred Heart Church in Spencer. They have four grown children: Michelle, Donnie, Stephanie and Matthew.

Dee Nelson is a first grade teacher at St. Edmond's Elementary. She was educated at the country school in Calhoun County until the sixth grade, and at Immanual Lutheran in Rockwell City for seventh and eighth grade. She then attended Manson High School, Fort Dodge Junior College (now Iowa Central Community College) and earned her bachelor's in elementary education from Mankato College (University.) She also completed graduate work at Mankato State and the University of Northern Iowa.

She said she was extremely shocked and honored to receive the award.

"I really appreciate being able to teach in the Catholic schools for 23 years," she noted. "I have taught many grades and in several different schools in Fort Dodge. I look forward to getting up in the morning to go to work because I enjoy my job so much."

In addition to regular classroom work, she works after school with children who are having reading difficulties.

Nelson and her husband, Curtis, have two sons - Jeff and Ryan - and two grandchildren.

Carol Sundquist teaches seventh and eighth grade literature at Holy Cross School's Blessed Sacrament Center in Sioux City. She was educated at Immaculate Conception School, Bishop Heelan High School and Briar Cliff University, earning a bachelor's degree with major in English and minors in journalism and secondary education.

"I was honored and humbled by being selected from a large group of teachers of whom all are excellent," she said. "I hope to live up to the nomination and award to which I will receive."

Sundquist and her husband, Ramon, have two daughters - Deborah and Megan.

She has taught at Blessed Sacrament for 22 years.

These teachers will receive the awards at the bishop's dinner that is slated for Oct. 17.