Jeffrey Hellmers used to live in Lincoln City down in Southern Indiana, hailing from the same region as Abraham Lincoln. He attended Heritage Hills High School. He was part of a play there that helped him understand his liking for working with the younger generations; he also experienced teachers who stood out to him as motivational and inspiring individuals. It wasn’t until college that he’d really come to appreciate educators more deeply, however, setting him up for his own career in education.
Hellmers went to St. Olaf College, a small liberal-arts school in Northfield, Minnesota, where he studied political science, not education. For a while, it was Hellmers’ intention to become a college professor of political science, so he pursued graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison for seven years. However, he realized becoming a college professor wasn't for him.
Hellmers later enrolled in a teaching program at Valparaiso University. A training course required that he teach in Chicago for two years, but following that he made his way back to Valpo, this time as a teacher instead of a student. For 20 years, he has been teaching locally at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School—now a fifth-grade teacher.
Hellmers knows that one must enjoy being around children to succeed and thrive in leading a classroom. He always enjoys spending his day reveling in the presence of young minds, immersing himself in his role in students’ successes. He noted that fifth-graders exist in this neat in-between space where they’re slightly mature yet still growing. In the classroom, he’s seen how they explore the world by trying to get to know it, asking questions spurring discourses.
“What I like about my job is that the fifth-graders are old enough that you can talk about important things with them, but they’re still little kids wanting to have fun,” he said. “You can have lots of great discussions. They want to learn about the world that they're living in.”
In two decades in his position, Hellmers is plenty familiar with the environment and atmosphere of working at an elementary school.
Spotting out the challenges in the workplace isn’t all that tricky because of Hellmers’ vast experience overcoming obstacles. He wants to make sure the kids are comfortably prepared to be educated and always tries his best to make them feel respected and valued.
“I like helping students feel comfortable at school. A lot of kids really enjoy school, but some kids don’t like it very much at all, so you’ve got a lot of kids in the middle,” he said. “There are things you can do to help them feel that they are respected, that somebody cares about them, and that someone wants them to do well.”
Hellmers livens up the classroom by bringing in the outside world. He’s traveled extensively in his life through international trips, so he’ll introduce students to the many countries, cultural traditions, and languages across the globe. They even completed assignments before Christmas requiring them to dig into holiday customs in different lands.
Right now, Hellmers is directing lessons on dividing with decimals, readings about advancements in technology in the community, and mammals. He’ll soon start a unit on Greek mythology. Loving music, he keeps a piano in the classroom. Over the past 10 years, he has composed a song characterizing every day of the week. Monday begins by acknowledging the difficulties of learning, then finishes with expressing that tasks can be accomplished if everyone works together harmoniously. He makes differences in the lives of the area’s local children.
“It’s a privilege to be a teacher who wakes up in the morning knowing that I can make a difference in the community. I try to reinforce the message of being a good citizen. Sometimes the best way you can do that is by reaching those kids who are maybe a little difficult to reach,” he said. “Whenever you feel like you make everybody happy, though, that’s a superb feeling.”
Hellmers sings in the Valparaiso University Bach Choir. It’s one of his more major hobbies. Another is his involvement in a band in which he plays the trombone. The nearby library offers him the chance to expose himself to great books of all kinds.
His family being close by, Hellmers feels it’s wonderful living in Valpo. To him the easy access to areas where he can partake in perhaps his favorite outdoor activity might be the city’s coolest feature.
“I think Valparaiso is a great place to live. There’s a lot you can do, and everything is easy to get to. I enjoy a sport called disc golf, and over at Rogers Lakewood Park, there’s a fantastic disc-golf course. When the weather is appropriate, it’s great to be out there,” he said.