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Boreal Community Media

Meet your Oshki Ogimaag Community School staff: Kelsey Knollmueller

May 18, 2024 06:59AM ● By Editor
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A Boreal Community Media exclusive - May 18, 2024

Oshki Ogimaag Community School is thrilled to announce that Kelsey Knollmueller will be joining our teaching team for the 2024-2025 school year! Learn about Kelsey below! 


Tell us a little about yourself: 

I went to college in Minneapolis at Augsburg for Elementary Education. After college,  I worked as a paraprofessional at the school I did my student teaching at for a year. I then became a preschool teacher for two years before moving up to Grand Marais. When I first moved to Grand Marais I was a paraprofessional at GES for a year. I got the opportunity to be a 2nd grade teacher at GES and that was what started my teaching career! I ended up moving to Michigan to teach 2nd grade again when COVID hit and realized Minnesota was my home so I moved back with the hope of moving up to the North Shore sometime in the future. I have been teaching in the Twin Cities for the last three years. This upcoming school year will be my 6th year teaching and I am so looking forward to it!


What drew you to want to teach at Oshki Ogimaag Community School? 

What drew me to want to teach at Oshki Ogimaag, was the close community and how involved everyone is within it.  As well as being surrounded by the wonders of nature and bringing it all into the classroom. 


As a teacher, what part of the job do you find most rewarding?

As a teacher,  I think the most rewarding part of my job is building relationships with students and families. I love getting messages from families of students I taught years prior, giving me updates on their children! 


Did you always know you wanted to work in education/how did you find this path?

I had an amazing 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Graham, who I really looked up to and that's when I started to think about becoming a teacher. For my first job, I started out as a Swim Coach and absolutely loved working with younger ages. It wasn’t until high school that I knew for sure I wanted to become a teacher. I had two amazing teachers, Mr. VanCleave and Ms. Kline, who were also my Swim/Water Polo Coaches, they both pushed me in school and were such big supporters in my life. Having these three main teachers as role models made me want to become that type of role model for my students. 


What would you like to share about your family and/or special interests? 

My household contains my fiancé and our three pets. We have two dogs; Kale and Zane, as well as our cat, Dust. We will be living right outside of Grand Marais. When we aren't home relaxing by a fire or watching a good show, you’ll find us hiking as much as possible or canoeing around up the trail. 


Where is your favorite place to go in Cook County for a day of fun and relaxation? 

Honestly, anywhere in Cook County! I love to hike and see the lake and my absolute favorite place to do that is Oberg Mountain! It is also where my fiancé proposed to me in March, so it is extra special to me! If I wanted to go and relax I would grab a coffee from Java Moose, drive over to Old Shore Road Beach, and find a spot to read a book while watching/listening to the water.


Tell us a fun fact others may not know about you: 

I recently started learning how to weave tapestry. I took a class last year with Emily Wick in Grand Marais at Dappled Fern and found an amazing new hobby! I love reading, anything that has a bit of a mystery to it and I will add it to my never ending list of books. I don't have the biggest sweet tooth but I LOVE to bake. I really enjoy giving cookies or any type of sweets to friends. I would rather have a snowy cold day than a warm summer day. Fall and winter are my favorite seasons! I absolutely love coffee and tea, I am constantly drinking one of the other during the day in my classroom. 



To learn more about the wonderful things happening at Oshki Ogimaag Community School, follow this link to their school website!