May Duhawk Dozen
Nick Satterlee (’12)
Secondary Education & History
Cary, IL
Entering Loras, Nick Satterlee (’12) had a different idea of what his life would look like. A general business degree with the hopes of going to law school was always on his mind and during his first year he quickly learned he did not quite have the passion he desired for this particular career path.
“It was a ‘look in the mirror’ moment thinking about what I wanted to do with my life. A lot of the students I saw who were really happy and seemed excited about their major were education students. I thought and prayed about it, had a conversation with Dr. Scott Scheuerell (’95), and I decided I was going to be a teacher.”
Since then, he has never looked back. He credits much of his success to his different experiences in the classroom through the Loras College Education Program, service trips, as well as his Fulbright-Hays Scholarship program trip to Namibia. These different experiences helped him develop empathy skills that he uses as an administrator today. “Not everyone comes from the same place you do, but everyone has something you can learn from, and everyone has an experience that is valuable.” During his time as a youth minister, he even brought some of his students to the same places Loras took him to, including Appalachia and Chicago.
Loras taught Nick to keep pushing himself and those around him. He truly believes he wouldn’t have the same mindset or drive if he didn’t attend Loras. “If we do not try things that we are scared of, we are never going to grow. I see in education all the time that kids can be very scared of how they are going to do on certain projects, so they just do not try.” This mindset helped Nick apply to be a middle school principal in Waterloo, Iowa, alongside fellow Duhawk and Breitbach Catholic Thinker & Leader, Daniel Thole (’13). “Having a Duhawk and friend in that co-principal role…I think we both pushed each other to become great leaders. It was awesome going from being 21 and 22 together on campus, to actually going out into our field and making a difference.” Nick now serves as the principal at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School in Cary, Illinois.
“I’ve been happy going to my job every day since I have graduated from Loras and in a lot of ways, it doesn’t make it feel like work.” Nick truly embodies the Loras Dispositions in all that he does. His ability to engage with the youth and helping them learn how to be active learners at an early age are what makes him this month’s Duhawk Dozen. Listen to more of Nick’s story in this month’s podcast.
