Skylar Jilg-Brown didn't always want to go to The Career Academy. She was eager for a classic high school experience, and getting on a bus to leave her home school, Lincoln Southeast, wasn't part of that plan.
During her sophomore year, she took a field trip to TCA, and immediately realized it was for her. She applied for the K-12 Education Pathway and attended during her junior and senior years between 2017 and 2019.
Skylar knows now that she was born to be a teacher, though she didn't always see it growing up. In elementary school, she attended a private school and struggled with feelings of safety, acceptance, and understanding as a minority student. When she transitioned to middle school at LPS and enrolled at Lefler, she met teacher Charlotte Ceballos. Ceballos made her feel safe and cared for, and helped her realize teachers can be great, powerful, impactful people. From there, Skylar knew she wanted to make others feel that same sense of belonging.
TCA further ignited and fostered that spark within her.
She found a sense of belonging and significance she hadn't always felt elsewhere. She felt valued by her peers and adults alike. There were seven students in her pathway, and years later, they're still in touch, a testament to the kind of connections TCA builds.
At TCA, Skylar competed in Educators Rising competitions, writing children's books, giving TED Talks, and building and delivering lesson plans. She traveled to Florida and Texas to compete nationally, an experience that exposed her to new people and cultures and broadened her perspective, something she still carries through her career today. She also served on the leadership team for Educators Rising, gaining valuable skills and experience leading.
For her capstone project, Skylar wrote curriculum for Elliott Elementary CLC Career Club and delivered the content to students, with the support of TCA director Josh Jones.
Jones was a defining part of Skylar's time at TCA. She still looks up to him and stays in touch today. He didn't just invest in her as a student, she says, but as a person.
"He gave me opportunities when he didn't have to. He pushed me to be the best version of myself, and didn't stop when I left TCA. He continues to support me, make me feel important and bring me back to TCA to talk about my experiences," Skylar said.
“Skylar was destined to be a teacher and I am so proud of her for following through on that dream, many don't.” said Jones. “TCA was built for students like Skylar and I am thrilled to have been part of her incredible journey into teaching in LPS, and to now be able to call her a colleague.”
Alongside Josh's support, Skylar credits her professors, Mary Hagemann, Jame Cartwright, and Joe Flores, with shaping her TCA experience. She says they opened her eyes to who she was as a professional and inspired her through the potential they saw in her, more than she saw in herself at the time.
"At TCA our professors were able to get to know us on an individual level, so they were able to support and teach us through a more specific lens than a traditional high school,” said Skylar. “This included helping us with higher education,”
Her professors pointed her toward a new University of Nebraska-Lincoln program and supported her through the entire interview and application process. Skylar attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on a full ride scholarship, studying elementary education, as part of the inaugural cohort of the Teacher Scholars Academy (TSA). She's now working toward her graduate degree in educational leadership at UNL.
Now in her fifth year as an educator, Skylar has spent the last three teaching 4th grade at Huntington Elementary. She also coaches volleyball at her alma mater, Lincoln Southeast. Giving back to the district that raised her, and becoming an LPS teacher, was always the goal.
"I know this district and these people, from teachers to HR to administrators. Everyone and everything in this district has empowered me to be where I am today," Skylar said.
That same drive to give back is what led Skylar to bring her own students to TCA.
She piloted the Ambassador Program during her time at TCA, which included a goal to help every LPS 8th grader visit a college campus, including TCA.
Now as a teacher Skylar thought, why make her 4th graders wait? Working alongside her fellow 4th grade teachers, they helped introduce students to their future options: military, trade school, higher education, and of course, The Career Academy. Then, together, they brought all of Huntington Elementary's 4th graders to see it for themselves.
"I had so much satisfaction seeing students' faces light up when they realized their high school experience could be like this," Skylar said.
Students were in awe, jaws dropped, taking in what a nontraditional high school experience could look like, discovering passions and interests they didn't know they had. They couldn't stop talking about it afterward. Some wrote letters to their future selves. Sixth graders she's kept in touch with tell her they’re counting down the days till they can attend TCA.
Skylar's story is just one of many TCA and its pathways have shaped. The Career Academy partners with Lincoln Public Schools to give high school students hands-on, real-world experience in fields like education, healthcare, construction, criminal justice and more, connecting them directly with local professionals and organizations long before graduation. For students like Skylar, that early exposure did more than build a resume. It gave her a clear picture of who she wanted to become, and provided her the support to get there.
“More than 11 years ago, the Foundation was proud to stand alongside donors and community partners who believed in the vision for The Career Academy and what it could mean for LPS students,” said Natalia Wiita, President of the Foundation for LPS. “To see Skylar come through TCA as a student and now return to lead and inspire the next generation is exactly the kind of full-circle impact we hope for. It’s a powerful reminder that when we invest in our students, that investment reaches far beyond graduation and strengthens our entire community.”
Today, Skylar is doing for her own students what TCA once did for her, showing them that their future can start earlier than they think, and that someone believing in them can change everything. From a reluctant 8th grader who didn't want to get on a bus, to a teacher bringing her entire class through TCA's doors, Skylar's story is proof of what happens when a community invests in its students and continues to invest, long after they've walked across the stage. Read more LPS stories like this in the latest edition of our newsletter.
