St. Cecilia teacher, coach to receive St. John Cantius Award
Southern Nebraska Register
For Kelan Schumacher, teaching math is about far more than numbers and equations, it is an opportunity to help students recognize their God-given worth, challenge them to reach their potential, and ensure they feel known and loved.
Schumacher, a middle school math teacher and coach at St. Cecilia Middle and High School in Hastings, will receive the Diocese of Lincoln’s 2026 St. John Cantius Award for Secondary Educator of the Year at the Oct. 11 Saints & Scholars dinner.
Schumacher begins each morning early, using the quiet time to prepare and reset before students arrive. Once the school day begins, however, the pace rarely slows.
“The day is just packed full of go, go, go,” he said.
At the end of each busy day, Schumacher takes time to reflect on everything that happened as he moved from one responsibility to the next.
“You’re just going from start to finish,” he said.
The 2026-27 academic year marks Schumacher’s 13th year serving in Catholic education. He spent his first five years at North Platte Catholic Schools before joining St. Cecilia in Hastings.
Schumacher cannot remember ever wanting to pursue another profession. He credits his parents, both Catholic educators, with inspiring his vocation.
“I think I’ve always wanted to be a teacher,” he said. “I never really remember desiring to be anything else, and I think it’s probably because my dad was a teacher.”
His father taught at the Catholic school Schumacher attended, providing an early example of the vocation. Although Schumacher’s ideas about what he might teach changed over the years – from elementary education to high school English or science – he eventually found his calling in mathematics.
“That was just the path that God put in my mind,” he said. “I ended up doing math, and that’s what I really love to teach.”
While math may be his subject, Schumacher said the students are the greatest part of his work.
“The best part of my job is the students, for sure,” he said. “Just getting to interact with them. They’re very fun. They make me laugh. And just working with them on a daily basis. That’s the best part of my job by far.”
Schumacher was raised in a Catholic family in a community that, at the time, had only a Catholic school. Surrounded by the faith from an early age, he began developing a more personal relationship with God during high school retreats.
His faith continued to deepen while attending the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where he became involved with the Newman Center.
That foundation ultimately led him to a career devoted entirely to Catholic education.
“I think Catholic schools are awesome,” he said. “I’ve always felt drawn to serve in a Catholic school.... [It’s] a way to serve the Lord every day, putting Him first in the classroom or in the activities that I help out with as well at the schools.”
For Schumacher, teaching in a Catholic school is one way he can give back and offer himself to God to the best of his ability.
“I think the best thing that I can say that I’ve impacted in Catholic education is students’ lives,” he said. “[It’s] allowing them to know their worth, their worth as a son or daughter of God.”
That impact is often found in small, personal moments, especially when a student is struggling or questioning whether he or she is worthy of help.
One experience from his first teaching position continues to hold a special place in his heart. Schumacher worked closely with a young man who needed additional encouragement and support.
“I was blessed to work with him and challenge him and hold him to high standards,” Schumacher said. “We spent a lot of time out in the hallway chatting, going back and forth. I was just making sure he was okay.”
Schumacher later taught the student’s younger brother, who also benefited from added guidance and encouragement.
“They were gifted young men who needed a little direction, and I was so lucky to work with them,” he said.
When Schumacher announced he was leaving the school, the older brother came to his classroom on his final day. Although the student brought him a gift card, the most meaningful gift was the embrace and message that accompanied it.
“He just gave me the biggest hug and said, ‘Thank you so much for everything you did,’” Schumacher recalled. “His mom had written a little note with the gift card and said, ‘Thank you for taking care of my boys.’”
Schumacher still thinks about the brothers and the influence they had on his life.
“That story means the world to me,” he said. “They really are more than just students.”
Schumacher’s work in Catholic education extends beyond the math classroom. As a volleyball coach, he has the opportunity to connect with students in a different environment.
“Being a Catholic educator and coach is really cool,” he said. “I love that I get to interact with kids in math, in a place that they don’t necessarily love, and try to build up that love or that knowledge or even understanding of something that they don’t have a good grasp on. And then you flip the page and you go to volleyball.”
Students typically arrive at volleyball practice already excited to participate, which allows Schumacher to see another side of their personalities – and show more of his own.
“I get to see them in a different light, interact with them in a different light, and they also get to see me a little differently too,” he said. “We have a lot of fun. And that’s one of the best parts about coaching in sports, is it’s fun.”
Schumacher’s vocation also has become a family commitment. He is grateful for the sacrifices his wife and children make during a school year filled with classes, coaching responsibilities, and long hours away from home.
“They’re involved in the school with me, and I’m so grateful for them,” he said. “A lot of sacrifices coming from being a teacher and a coach, and I spend a lot of time away from my family during the school year, so they fully dive in with me.”
His children occasionally visit him at school, where students enthusiastically welcome them in the hallways.
“All the kids are so excited, and they feel so loved in this school, too,” Schumacher said. “What a blessing it is that my family knows that this place isn’t only a place that I love, but also a place that loves them.”
For families considering a Catholic education, Schumacher emphasized the importance of a school community that places God at the center of everything it does.
“Putting God first and foremost is so important,” he said.
His advice to new Catholic educators and students reflects that same belief.
“Know your worth as a son or daughter of God, and also know the students’ worth, and that they deserve your best, because that’s what God made us for,” Schumacher said. “He made us for goodness. He made us for greatness.
“Students deserve our best as teachers, and the teachers in the school deserve the best out of our students,” he added. “Give your best, because God made you good.”
Receiving the St. John Cantius Award is both an honor and a call to continue growing, Schumacher said.
“I’m super blessed and honored to receive this award,” he said. “It really speaks as a challenge and an inspiration to continue to do good work and to inspire each and every student that comes into my classroom.”
