For Jennifer Hadley, an English teacher at Elkhorn High School and Member of the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s (UNO) dual enrollment program, education isn’t just a career, it’s a family tradition.
“I come from a long line of teachers in my family—including aunts, uncles, cousins, two of my sisters and my dad, who was my high school history and psychology teacher,” the educator said. “My grandma always thought teaching was one of the greatest professions.”
Originally from Colorado, Hadley relocated with her family to Elkhorn as a young girl. She spent her formative years in the west Omaha neighborhood and graduated from Elkhorn High School.
After high school, Hadley attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where she attained her undergraduate degree with endorsements in English as a second language and Spanish; she went on to receive a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction and, later, an endorsement in English education.
Hadley recently completed her twenty-fourth academic year as an educator, a career that has seen her travel across the nation.
“I taught Spanish in a high school in Sacramento, California for two years, and I taught English learners for three years at a middle school in Colorado Springs,” she noted. “I moved to high school after that and taught English for seven years in Colorado Springs, and then English learners again at a high school in Boise, Idaho for two years.”
A decade ago her academic journey came full circle. “I've been at Elkhorn High School since 2015, teaching honors English to freshmen and AP lit to seniors,” she noted. “I got to teach with my dad for eight years before he retired a couple years ago. It was really special.”
Hadley said it was her father—a longtime dual enrollment instructor for UNO’s history department—who encouraged her to get involved with the program. “He loved the opportunity and encouraged me to do it,” she explained.
She began teaching through the program in spring 2024 and finished her first full academic year as a dual enrollment educator in 2024–2025. Through dual enrollment, Hadley’s AP Literature students receive college credit while still in high school, something the mother of five said she has seen the value of firsthand.
“My daughter graduated high school with 24 college credits,” she noted. “So, I saw the value in students graduating from high school with college courses under their belts.
“I think it helps them enter college with more confidence. They know what is expected of them from an entry-level college class.”
Hadley praised UNO’s support of both its educators and students.
“It is surprising how supportive everyone is at UNO,” she said. “I have loved each person I have met at UNO, and I have been granted training, classes and supplies that help me expose my students to as many authors as possible.
“I take classes as often as I can so I can incorporate new elements into my teaching.”
The longtime educator’s continual professional development has exposed her to a wide range of literature, including authors and voices she said she might not have encountered otherwise.
But even as her own education continues to broaden her horizons and bring new material into her classrooms, Hadley said that Frankenstein remains a perennial favorite.
“Mary Shelley is a genius,” she said. “I love how different it is from what students expect.”
What makes teaching most rewarding, Hadley said, is the opportunity it affords for frank discussion and self-discovery. Whether discussing poetry, plays, or novels, it’s the connection students make between the literature and their own lives that sticks with her the most.
“I love the discussions of everything we read,” she said. “I love it when students can make connections to their own lives through the unique perspectives we learn about in class.”
The longtime educator’s passion for the power for storytelling is just as stark outside of the classroom. When she is not spending time with her two granddaughters, biking, traveling, or just “sitting on my back porch with my husband talking with him and listening to music,” Hadley is usually engaging with stories—in one form or another.
“Of course, I love reading, but I can binge TV shows and movies with the best of them!” she said. “I just finished 1923, which I love. And I'm currently watching Andor and Poker Face—also love.
“And I’m pumped for the new Guillermo del Toro [Frankenstein] movie.”
