Student Teacher National and State Honoree — again
School of Education (SOE) graduate Ashlyn Bergethon, BSEd ’24, continued Baylor’s impressive string of student teachers being recognized with national and state accolades for their performance in the classroom while a Baylor senior.
Bergethon was named National Student Teacher of the Year by Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society in education, and the Association of Teacher Educators. She was also honored as Clinical Teacher of the Year for the State of Texas from the Texas Directors of Field Experience, an organization of faculty members within university teacher-education programs who supervise field experiences.
Both awards honor senior-level, teacher education students for classroom teaching excellence during the student-teaching experience. Bergethon is the third national recipient for a Baylor SOE student since 2019 and the sixth statewide recipient since 2016.
Now teaching Algebra I and Honors Algebra II at Robinson High School, Bergethon served as a student teacher at RHS. Bergethon said she really loved her student teaching at Robinson High and appreciated her mentors and the administration, so she calculated her decision to stay at Robinson like a mathematician.
“I know that the first year for teachers can be the most stressful, so I eliminated some of the variables by choosing someplace I already loved,” she reflected. Her calculation turned out to be correct, and she will remain there for 2025-26.
Dr. Rachelle Rogers, clinical professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction, taught Bergethon in mathematics methods classes and also served as her faculty field supervisor when she was student teaching.
“Ashlyn’s knowledge in math is tremendous, and the students immediately accepted her as someone they can trust,” Rogers said. Rogers recalled a math lesson that Bergethon designed as a student teacher, based on a gameshow, that circulated all over her campus and to the middle school because of its creativity and ability to engage students.
Bergethon came to Baylor from Virginia Beach, Virginia, drawn by Baylor’s reputation as an excellent school for future educators, D-1 athletics, and Baylor’s status as a Christian Research 1 university.
“My faith is really important to me,” she said. “As I was going through the decision process, the Lord just really told me that Baylor was the place I need to be, so I took a leap of faith and moved across the country. I haven’t regretted it since.”
Bergethon credits Baylor’s early field experiences (in the freshman year) and the yearlong student-teaching experience for her success and preparation for the profession.
As a teacher, Bergethon is committed to “making learning fun,” which she said is “especially important in math, a subject that is not popular among many students.”
History of achievement
Baylor graduates have earned state honors in six of the last eight years the award was given and garnered national awards for three of the last five years.
Baylor University National Student Teacher of the Year Award* Recipients:
Ashlyn Bergethon, BSEd ’24 (secondary mathematics)
Emily Blackwell, BSEd ’22 (elementary education)
Lauren Hornbeak, BSEd ’19 (secondary science)
Baylor University Texas Student Teacher of the Year Award* Recipients:
Ashlyn Bergethon, BSEd ’24 (secondary mathematics)
Debbie Chou, BSEd ’23, MSEd ’24 (elementary education)
Alexandra Ronnenberg, BSEd ’21 (elementary education)
Lauren Hornbeak, BSEd ’19 (secondary science)
Rachel Vaughn, BSEd ’17 (elementary education)
Stephanie Wright, BSEd ’16, MSEd ’17 (all-level special education, educational psychology applied behavior analysis)
*Neither award was given in 2020 due to COVID-19.
WEB EXTRA: Where are they now?
Find out what Baylor’s previous recipients of Student Teacher of the Year award are up to!
2023 Texas Student Teacher of the Year
Debbie Chou, BSEd ’23, MSEd ’24
Debbie teaches first grade at Pattison Elementary School in Katy ISD.
“Despite this being my first year of teaching, I feel well supported by my school, and I recognize now how the education from the Baylor SOE has immensely eased the start of my career!”
2022 National Student Teacher of the Year
Emily Blackwell, BSEd ’22
Emily has been teaching fourth-grade math at Brentfield Elementary in Richardson ISD, after spending her first two years teaching first graders.
2021 Texas Student Teacher of the Year
Alexandra Ronnenberg, BSEd ’21
Alex teaches third-grade math and science at Hillcrest PDS in Waco ISD, the same school where she did her award-winning student teaching!
“This year has been a full-circle moment, because I have two student-teaching interns in my classroom, and I’m so proud of them both!”
2019 National & Texas Student Teacher of the Year 2019
Lauren Hornbeak, BSEd ’19
Lauren is stepping into a new role next school year at Cypress Lakes High School in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, where she will be the Emergent Bilingual Campus Instructional Coach.
For 2024-25, she was named her campus Teacher of the Year at Cypress Creek High School in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD where she taught biology, NAC (New Arrival Center) biology, and NES Science. NES Science is a one-semester NAC class covering the basics of physics, chemistry, and biology.
“I’m forever grateful for the SOE and the way you prepared us for life beyond Baylor. Baylor SOE does it different and it shows!”
2017 Texas Student Teacher of the Year
Rachel Vaughn Hursig, BSEd ’17
Rachel is a first-grade teacher at West University Elementary School in Houston ISD. She has been teaching in the same school for nine years, having started as a second-grade teacher and was the second-grade team lead for several years.
“Each day I step into my classroom and see my sweet kiddos, I am filled with the same joy and love for teaching that I experienced during my first days as a student teacher at Baylor. I entered college wanting to be a teacher because I wanted to help children develop a love for learning. That passion still drives me today. My students make every day a joy. Teaching can be challenging, but the students make this job worthwhile.”
2016 Texas Student Teacher of the Year
Stephanie Wright, BSEd ’16, MSEd ’17
Stephanie teaches life skills in Austin ISD at Rosedale School, which is a specialized campus for special-education students with the highest level of need. In her classroom, she teaches third- to -sixth-grade students with intensive behavior needs.