If asked to share stories about someone you idolize, which would you tell? Some people would speak about a performer who captivates an audience. Others would highlight an athlete who rises to a challenge. Some might discuss a politician who champions legislation that makes life better for their constituents.

Math has been called many things, some of which can’t be printed in this column. Yet, CMN’s faculty of the year awardee Audra Castonia sees the subject as an attractive means to enrich her students’ lives. “I believe in the beauty of mathematics that surrounds us and the power of numbers to shape our everyday lives,” she said.

The message of the 2025 tribal college gathering resonated far beyond America’s northern Great Plains. Last month, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium’s Student Conference was held in Rapid City, South Dakota.

The story ran just inches below the Shawano Evening Leader masthead. On Jan.

Jeremiah Moses Jr. offers Shawano Community High School students the opportunity he wished he’d been given. The first-generation descendant of the Menominee Nation graduated from SCHS in 2020 without having the chance to study his people’s language. This academic year, he is ensuring current high schools will be able to do so. “I attended K-12 in the Shawano School District,” Moses shared.