After nearly 15 years as a paraeducator, Rhandi Oelmann has secured her first lead teacher job for the fall. The 40-year-old mom of three will confidently step into her new role thanks to the University of Northern Iowa’s early childhood education online transfer program.

“I would highly recommend the program, because if you want to be a teacher and are somebody like me who couldn’t quit their job to go back to school, it can be done," she said. “It feels challenging at times, but it's going to be so, so worth it.”

Oelmann was among the first graduates of the program, which allows students to build on an associate’s or previous bachelor’s degree to earn a degree in early childhood education almost completely online. The only in-person experiences were the internship and student teaching experiences.

“I think a lot of times we think it's a failure if we don't know what we want to be when we're in our 30s and still trying to figure it out, but it doesn't have to be that way,” she said. “I loved my years as an associate, and I'm so thankful for the experiences and the time with my family it gave me. It also helped prepare me to be a teacher who is ready to be a lead teacher right away in a classroom.”

A native of Wellsburg, Iowa, Oelmann previously studied leisure, youth and human services at UNI after transferring from Kirkwood Community College. 

After a few years in the working world, she and her husband wanted to start a family but decided that her work in sales was not conducive to the lifestyle they wanted. Oelmann was already coaching basketball in the Dike-New Hartford Community School District and saw an open associate position at the preschool. She thought this would be her way to change careers.

During her time as an associate, she looked into multiple programs for going back to school and becoming a teacher. But it wasn’t until UNI’s Jenny Connolly, director of advising for COE Advising and Teacher Education Success, introduced her to the early childhood education online transfer program that she knew she’d found the right fit.

“The biggest factor was the online aspect,” she said. “I could be at home to do classes online, while still having in-person interactions from field experiences. That was huge because at this stage of my life, I couldn't take an unpaid two years off. I could not do that to our family.” 

Oelmann describes the online transfer program as “practical and realistic,” allowing her to take online classes just two nights a week for four hours at a time. She helped herself stay engaged during online classes by walking on a treadmill. She also appreciated the flexibility of her professors who understood the demands of a full-time workload,  family responsibilities and coursework.

Oelmann walked at Commencement, which was special because she got to meet her classmates.

“The best thing I personally took away from the program is all the people I got to meet,” she said. “On the way to graduation I was telling my husband about how I created these amazing relationships with these people, and I'm meeting some of them for the first time. I got to hug them in person, and that was amazing.”

Now she is looking ahead to her new challenge: being a preschool teacher for the Hudson Community School District starting this fall.

“I am most looking forward to impacting the kids I get to meet and getting to know them and their families, while creating a positive school experience for them,” she said. “I really think that if you're having fun at school and if you get the students to love school at a young age, it's only going to have a more positive impact down the road. I want to see how my impact can affect my students, not only while they're in my classroom, but in the years ahead.”

Oelmann is proud to be starting her new career as a UNI-educated teacher.

“When people talk about UNI, the first thing that comes to mind is teaching. So being able to say I graduated with my teaching degree from UNI is huge, and the fact that I did it while working full-time, raising three kids and having a family is even more of an accomplishment. If I did that, I can do this too. I can confidently go into a classroom and be the lead teacher.”