‘You are ready, you are valued’: Future teachers celebrate at Teacher Education Pinning Ceremony

“I am a teacher. I change the world one student at a time.” – Teacher’s Creed

So begins and ends the Teacher’s Creed created by the Purdue University College of Education faculty and which candidates recited at the Spring 2025 Teacher Education Pinning Ceremony, held prior to the University’s Commencement ceremony.

The College honored 168 future teachers graduating this May from Purdue. Held in Stewart Center’s Loeb Playhouse on Purdue’s West Lafayette campus, the Spring 2025 pinning was the largest such event to date. All “Boilermaker Educator” candidates were invited to attend, whether they were receiving an education degree from the College of Education or from one of its partner colleges such as Agriculture, Health and Human Sciences, Liberal Arts, College of Science, or the Purdue Polytechnic Institute.

Loeb Playhouse was full of family, friends, and College faculty and staff celebrating with these new Boilermaker Educators. Candidates received a Purdue Teacher Education pin and a copy of the Teacher’s Creed, which they recited to conclude the program.

“There is perhaps no job with more consequence than that of being a teacher, so thank you for choosing to be Boilermaker Educators,” said Phillip J. VanFossen, interim dean of the College. “Boilermaker Educators who help their students make giant leaps. Boilermaker Educators who help equip their students with tools to build a better world, and Boilermaker Educators who have an ‘ever true’ commitment to lifelong learning.”

After VanFossen’s welcome, Tara Star Johnson, associate dean for learning, introduced keynote speaker Kathy Nimmer (MA Purdue ’92), 2015 Indiana Teacher of the Year and National Finalist – one of the top four U.S. teachers that year, and a Sagamore of the Wabash awardee, the highest civilian honor in Indiana.

“I was drawn into Kathy’s spheres of influence in my early years at Purdue when she was an English teacher at Harrison High School, mentoring my students during their field experiences in the English Education program,” said Johnson during her introduction of Nimmer. “I marveled then at how well she ‘saw’ students in spite of, or maybe because of, her blindness. She could tell better than any of the mentor teachers I’ve ever worked with – not just what their talents and vulnerabilities were as future teachers – she saw into their souls.”

Nimmer, a nationally recognized educator who is blind, welcomed candidates to “this most exhausting but most meaningful of professions”: teaching. As well as sharing her own story, she described the “patchwork principle” she developed to describe teachers’ impact.

“As you learn, grow, explore, succeed, and fail – the people with whom you intersect sew pieces of themselves on the front of your ‘quilt,’” Nimmer said.

She shared stories of a teacher who greatly impacted her while she was a student at the Indiana School for the Blind, and of a student whom she was later able to encourage.

“A patchwork quilt isn’t passive – we don’t just receive – we give, too,” she said. “That’s our chance to sew into others’ stories. There is no quilt more beautiful than that of a teacher – your quilt is waiting to be shared.”

Nimmer encouraged the candidates to “sew” pieces of themselves on to their future students’ “quilts” as they share, encourage, and teach them.

A presentation of the candidates followed, with slides of each candidate’s picture, hometown, major, and comments projected above the stage while their names and future plans were read as they walked across the stage, received a pin, and posed for a photo with VanFossen.

The presentation culminated with a word cloud picture projected above the stage. Johnson explained that the word cloud displayed the words “grateful,” “thankful,” or “thanks” most prominently because the candidates themselves used those words to refer to those who had impacted their education journey at Purdue.

After Johnson’s message, Rachael Kenney, associate professor of math education, spoke. “You get to be a guiding force,” Kenney charged the candidates. “You are ready, you are valued, and you are about to do something amazing.”

Kenney then led the candidates and other educators in the audience as they stood and recited the Teacher’s Creed together:

I am dedicated to ensuring that every child I teach receives a quality education.

I will create a learning environment that encourages academic, social, and emotional achievement.

I will hold high expectations for all students and myself.

I will respect the hard-won gains of those educators in whose steps I walk and gladly share the very best practices with those who follow.

I am a teacher. I change the world one student at a time.

“‘I change the world, one student at a time,’” VanFossen said. “That last line of the Teacher’s Creed always chokes me up. Keep the Teacher’s Creed card with you – pull it out this year and remember what you committed to – you will indeed change the world one student at a time.”

The event ended with a reception held in the west lobby of Stewart Center for all attendees.

Congratulations, Class of 2025!

New teachers, their families and friends enjoyed the pinning reception.

Purdue’s College of Education meets the challenges of educating 21st Century learners by discovering what works in education. The College prepares highly qualified educators and conducts research that informs how teachers teach and students learn, and uses an innovative approach to teacher preparation, including a focus on integrated P-12 STEM education and a commitment to prepare all graduates to be leaders in education, business, and society.