Jennifer Lindsey

Jennifer Lindsey is the new social studies teacher at Southwest Christian Elementary. She will be teaching 6th and 7th grade social studies.

This is her first year working as a teacher. She spent 16 weeks student teaching at Southwest Christian last spring, in both the middle school and at the high school.

Jennifer graduated from South Dakota State University in 2019 with her bachelor’s degree and finished with the Bemidji State University teaching program in 2022.

She and her husband, Michael, farm near Blue Mounds State Park, where Michael raises feeder cattle. They have two children. James (10) and Ethan (7) have been students at Luverne Public School, but will be going to SWC this school year. In addition to the feeder cattle, they have two dogs, two mini cows, chickens, ducks, and a pig on their farm.

When she is not busy teaching or working on class material, she loves being outdoors, walking, hiking, camping, and fishing with her children. She also likes to read, bake, scrapbook, and help take care of the farm animals.

Jennifer grew up in the Hardwick/Luverne area and most of her family lives nearby. “Farming has been in my family for generations,” Jennifer said.
As far back as she can remember, Jennifer has always wanted to be a teacher.

“Playing school was one of my favorite things to do when I was a child,” she said. “I prioritized growing my family first, but once my boys were old enough to be in school, I pursued finishing my degree and getting my teaching license.”

Her favorite part of being a teacher is getting to know the students and seeing all the things they are passionate about and good at shine through in the classroom. But she always enjoys seeing students engaged and enjoying learning new things.

“I want to share with my students a love for learning so that they can always have the rewards of being a lifelong learner,” Jennifer added. “I am so excited to be teaching at Southwest Christian where I can teach social studies from a Christian perspective and in a way that aligns with our family values.”

Shamary Ruiz

Shamary Ruiz is a new teacher at Edgerton Public School. She is teaching English As a Second Language (ESL) to grades six through twelve.

Shamary graduated from the University of Puerto Rico, the Mayagüez Campus. She met her husband Angel Badillo in Puerto Rico, where they both grew up. Angel works for K&M Concrete were he is an operator.

He came to the United States before Shamary, working seasonally in the concrete business. Five years ago, they were making plans for her to join him here in Minnesota when Hurricane Maria struck.

Hurricane Maria was a deadly Category 5 hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the worst natural disaster in recorded history to affect those islands.

Two weeks after the hurricane, Angel traveled back to Puerto Rico so they could travel back to Minnesota together. A month after the hurricane, they were able to finally travel to the United States.

Shamary and Angel have been married for six years. They currently live in Leota and have one daughter, Adella. They are expecting a son in February.

Two of Shamary’s favorite things are spending time in the great outdoors, especially if that also involves spending quality time with her family and friends.
Why did she choose to become an educator?
“I became a teacher to help the individuals who will be the nation’s future,” she said. Shamary added that she enjoys seeing and assisting students as they gain confidence and a sense of pride in their abilities in the area of language acquisition.

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