Senior enjoying fast track to her dream job
The way Lakeland University senior Dani Damrow landed her first teaching job was not part of her five-year plan.
As she approaches graduation in December of 2026 (one semester early) with a double major of secondary education and mathematics, Damrow’s lifelong dream of becoming a math teacher is taking shape much quicker than she expected.
A few weeks ago, a community member encouraged Damrow to apply for a full-time math teacher position at nearby Kiel High School.
“To be honest, it felt like a long shot,” said Damrow, a graduate of Howards Grove High School. “I mean, I don’t have a degree yet.”
She centered her application on the leadership experiences and involvement she’s had during her time at Lakeland, headlined by the connections she has gained through the Sheboygan County Scholars Program, a competitive, full-tuition scholarship opportunity designed to help retain the area's most promising young people and prepare them to assume future leadership positions within the region.
“Because of those opportunities, my application was memorable,” she said. “My interview went better than I could have imagined.”
Signing a contract to become the newest member of the Kiel High School math department was a surreal moment. Kiel is currently working with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to obtain approval to bring Damrow in as a teacher intern to complete her degree and earn certification.
“It will feel more real when I get the curriculum and see my classroom,” Damrow said. “As someone who’s had a five-year plan for, like, forever, this is better than I planned, and I thought the plan was spot on. I think I will understand it when I get older. Right now, it’s hard to believe.”
Attending Lakeland and a career as a math teacher were always on Damrow’s radar. Her mother, Stephanie (Sprenger) Damrow ’97 Med. ’01, is a veteran math teacher at Sheboygan North High School. At Lakeland, Stephanie was a standout athlete, graduating with multiple basketball and softball records and was inducted into the Lakeland Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.
Dani’s love for teaching came from watching her mother interact with her students.
“From a young age, I really enjoyed the creative side of being able to craft my own lessons,” Dani Damrow said. “I would create worksheets for my brother in the summer. I had so many great teachers that it just affirmed my love for education and the impact teachers have on students.”
Damrow came to Lakeland to play basketball, but she had a serious knee injury in the middle of her freshman year, the second of her playing career. That cut her college athletic career short, but it opened the door to other opportunities.
A self-described quiet person, Damrow took on several leadership roles including the Blue & Gold Champions program, where she is now a student lead, and Lakeland’s first Presidential Ambassador, a role which has her working closely with President Beth Borgen and other LU leaders.
Ask Damrow if she feels like a leader, she pauses, noting that she’s found ways to lead like many of her peers.
“I feel like I am a strong peer mentor,” Damrow said. “Being quieter gave me such a passion and desire to decrease social anxiety in other people. My roles on campus gave me an opportunity to put that passion into action. Once I put them into action, it gets easier to talk to students, parents and other people.
“I realize that building connections is a way for all of us to feel safer and more of ourselves. It helped me embrace myself.”
