Staff Spotlight: Steven Nevarez - social studies teacher at LNE

August 23, 2024

Every week, we’ll shine a spotlight on one Lincoln Public Schools staff member! Get to know the wonderful people making a positive impact across various areas within LPS. This week, meet Steven Nevarez, social studies teacher at Lincoln Northeast High School.

“Mr. Nevarez gets along with students so well. He helps each student learn in the way that works best for them and figures out how to incorporate that teaching style into the quizzes and tests. He is my favorite teacher.” - Emma, Lincoln Northeast High School student. 

In a few sentences, briefly describe your role at LPS.
I am a social studies teacher at Lincoln Northeast High School. I teach AP World History as well as on-track World History, both of which are sophomore-level classes.

How long have you worked for LPS?
This school year marks my fourth year teaching, all of which have been at Northeast!

What inspired you to become part of the education field at LPS?
Ironically, going into my freshman year of college I had no intention whatsoever of being a teacher. I was actually a biochemistry major on a pre-med track that first semester, but all it took was about two weeks of "Calculus 3" for me to realize it was time to re-evaluate my life choices. The one thing I knew for sure was that I wanted a career that would allow me to have a direct and positive impact on my community. So, after a conversation with my parents, they told me to take a week to reflect on the adults in my life that had a positive impact on me growing up. 

While chewing on that advice over the course of a few days, I found myself thinking back to my high school social studies teachers. One of my favorite quotes is by the great Maya Angelou, "People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel." The thing I remember most about my high school social studies teachers is that they made each and every student in their rooms feel like they belonged in their classrooms. These were the teachers I thought did the best forming meaningful relationships with their students and in turn, created a truly great environment for learning to occur. It was after this realization that I decided to start down the path of becoming a social studies teacher.

What has been your favorite part of working here? What aspect of your job do you find most rewarding?
My favorite part about my job is when I am actually in the middle of a lesson with students in my room, this part never feels like work. The beautiful thing about history is that it’s the story of the present. Telling this story and being able to showcase my personality with my students while doing so is what I cherish most about my job.

Did you attend LPS as a student? If so, which school(s)? If not, where are you from?
I actually grew up just a short drive away in Omaha. I graduated from Burke High School in 2017, GO BULLDOGS!

What path did you take after completing your formal education?
After graduating from Burke, I attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and graduated in the spring of 2021. During that final spring semester, I student taught at Lincoln Northeast, and apparently, I did a decent job as I've been a part of the LNE family ever since!

What do you enjoy most about the Lincoln community?
I would say how friendly and welcoming everyone can be! I enjoy both riding my bike and going on walks on the different bike trails all through town and people are always smiling, waving or saying hello!

What is your favorite childhood book or a book that has influenced your life positively?
My favorite book as a child was "Ferdinand the Bull." Despite the fact that I am a teacher, I am actually quite the introvert, so I often sympathized with Ferdinand in the story. I mean come on, they couldn't just let Ferdinand chill under the tree and smell the flowers!

When I (reluctantly) put the children's books down, most of what I read is history-related or biographies/autobiographies. A book that I would say has influenced my life positively would be “The Autobiography of Malcolm X.” I cannot think of another autobiography that does a better job describing how an individual felt in each specific moment of their life, while also exemplifying growth through those individual lived experiences. I think that everyone should take the time to read it.

Share a shout out to a teacher who impacted your life.

1. Mr. William Deardoff was my AP Human Geography teacher during my sophomore year at Burke. I was lucky enough to be in Mr. Deardoff's final class of sophomores before retiring from OPS and moving to Bennington High School. The lessons I learned in his classroom went well beyond geography and he exemplified everything that it means to be a great educator in my eyes.

2. Mr. Hakan Armagan was my AP Physics teacher during my junior year and my Nuclear Science teacher during my senior at Burke. Mr. Armagan was the real deal, a legit scientist. Before I took his AP Physics class my junior year he had spent an entire year on a fellowship in a New Zealand nuclear laboratory and had worked previous stints at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Truth is, Mr. Armagan had no business being a high school teacher. He could have made much more money in his life working in labs, but he loved working with students. His kindness and selfless dedication to education is something I will never forget.

3. Mr. Jeff Brooks was my cooperating teacher during my student teaching at Northeast and is our current social studies department chair. I'm not going to blow his head up too big here though, otherwise, I'll never hear the end of it. You know how I feel about you, JB!

Do you know a LPS staff member we should feature for Staff Spotlight? Fill out this form to nominate them!

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