A school teacher from eastern Nebraska is part of the state’s delegation to the Democratic National Convention, getting underway today in Denver. Jenn Mikkelsen teaches at Arnold Elementary in Lincoln and is thrilled to be a part of the throng. “I’m just excited for the whole event,” Mikkelsen says. “I just think it’s such an honor to get to go and to be a part of history.”
She’s confident the party has picked the right man for the job — to lead the country and to help better education. “I really, truly believe Barack Obama will be our next president and he’s going to do an amazing job at that position,” Mikkelsen says. “I’m just excited for an opportunity to be a part of that and be out there working with people from all across the nation to make changes to our government and better our nation as a whole.”
About to enter her 14th year of teaching, she says it’s her career in education that’s pushed her into becoming active in the Democratic party. Mikkelsen says, “Definitely so, that is what’s driving me to be politically involved because everything that happens in my classroom is really determined by government, the funding that’s available to us and our resources.”
She’s convinced that more spending on children when they’re young brings bigger benefits down the road, saying, “If we really focus our resources and funding on early childhood education, birth to age eight, it makes a tremendous difference in the long-term of a child’s life, in their schooling and their productivity as a citizen.”
Mikkelsen is attending the convention as a representative of the Nebraska State Education Association.