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From a fisheries biologist turned rural middle school science teacher to today a doctoral graduate and teacher educator, Loraine Glidewell’s journey seems to be as winding as a remote river in Colorado’s beautiful backcountry. But with a closer look, a pattern emerges. Glidewell has always been drawn towards people and places others can overlook. 

Glidewell came to the CU �鶹ӰԺ School of Education to pursue her PhD in Teacher Learning, Research and Practice after teaching in the San Luis Valley, a place with a deep history but an expansive area where many Coloradans drive through or pass by.  

In the valley, she saw a community rich with curiosity, resilience and wonder—the perfect place to teach science. When she became a middle school teacher in Monte Vista, Glidewell didn’t just teach students; she felt connected to them in the same way that a scientist understands the interconnectivity of a thriving ecosystem.

As a teacher, Glidewell noticed her students’ strengths before they noticed it in themselves. She watched them grow across grades and time, and they watched her growth too. She has always been focused on supporting people and community. 

Some of her same students later showed up at CU �鶹ӰԺ to support her during her dissertation defense and to cheer her on during her 3‑Minute Thesis competition, where she won the people’s choice award and campuswide award to represent CU �鶹ӰԺ at the regional competition. 

That’s the kind of magic Glidewell brings to her relationships, cultivates in her classrooms and centers in her research. She sees beauty in small towns and in the oft overlooked corners of rural education. Her life’s work includes sharing that beauty with others.

Her faculty describe her “humanizing vision,” her ability to see the full potential of students and teacher candidates and her talent for designing learning experiences that are “powerful, informative and memorable.” All the reasons that helped Glidewell earn the School of Education’s Outstanding Teaching Award. 

Glidewell sees people—really sees them—and that changes everything. She talks glowingly about her supporters: her advisor, her professors, her cohort, her partner, her current and former students and especially her family. She carries their support with her and aims to pay it forward.

“I never saw myself as a science person, as a teacher, as a doctor," she said. "Life has been a wild and unexpected ride. Even though my family did not have the social capital to help me understand and navigate college, they gave me other tools that helped me along the way.”

Through all her many, varied experiences, Glidewell has learned that brilliance doesn’t come packaged in degrees or titles. Her research and teaching are driven by a conviction that rural communities are rich sources of scientific knowledge and possibilities. 

Glidewell wants future teachers to see the potential she sees in rural learning communities and in themselves. She wants to make the invisible more visible. She believes that magic is everywhere and available to everyone willing to take a closer look.

In her own words

Please tell us a bit about yourself

I came to CU �鶹ӰԺ from the beautiful San Luis Valley in southern Colorado. I set out in life to be a biologist and had a pretty amazing life working with Colorado Parks & Wildlife in the fisheries world. But then somehow, I ended up randomly becoming a middle school science teacher in our rural community, and it changed my life. So often we talk about teachers and the impact they can have on students, but my students had the biggest impact on me. I was so lucky to get to be a teacher in Monte Vista, Colorado. In a small town, you get to watch your students grow up over time, across grades, and across town. I even have had the joy of seeing students I taught as middle schoolers here, now as college students, at CU �鶹ӰԺ! One even made it to my dissertation defense. That's the magic of rural education. The relationships are so deep and they don't stop at the end of a school day or the end of a school year. My students actually encouraged me to be here, to work on teacher shortages in rural areas. I chose CU �鶹ӰԺ because it was a rare fully funded program, and as a rural teacher, there are serious pay inequities between folks teaching in more urban and suburban spaces and those of us everywhere else. I would not have been able to afford a PhD on my own, and I got so lucky with the incredible mentorship and friendship I experienced here along the way.

What is one of the most significant lessons from your time at CU �鶹ӰԺ that you’ll carry with you into the next chapter?

The thing that I am going to carry with me wherever I go next is the importance of showing up for one another. I had so many people show up for me during my time here at CU �鶹ӰԺ. The best example was during the 3-Minute Thesis competition, which was something way outside of my comfort zone. I am truly a shy human, and I pushed myself to gain skills and practice in talking about and sharing my work. At the competition, I had so many people show up for me. My advisor, my professors, my friends who are also in this doctoral program, my best friend and love of my life, my family, the pre-service teachers I have been so lucky to get to know and teach, and even my students from Monte Vista School District, one even drove down from CSU Fort Collins to surprise me and be there to support me. The way that people in my life have shown up for me is something I am not just going to carry with me, but something I am deeply motivated to pay forward.

What does graduating from CU �鶹ӰԺ represent for you and/or your community?

My dad was a bartender and a wonderful human being. My mom is the funniest person I know. My big sister is the bossiest person I have ever met in my life. My brother Jojo, who has a rare genetic disorder, is deaf, mute, endlessly curious, and a close observer. Even though no one in my family went to college, bartending is a world of science and mixtures, a sense of humor is a source of strength and optimism, bossiness is just another word for leadership, and there is so much to learn by having a sense of wonder and paying attention to the details of the world around you. I never saw myself as a science person, as a teacher, as a doctor. Life has been a wild and unexpected ride. Even though my family did not have the social capital to help me understand and navigate college, they gave me other tools that helped me along the way. What this PhD means is that my nieces, my nephew, my students I got to teach out in Monte Vista, and someday, my kids, will know that something like this is possible for all of us. 

What is your best piece of advice for incoming students?

My best piece of advice for incoming students is to be just as invested in the people around you as you are in yourself. Care just as much about their work and their happiness as you care about yours. This is a really tough journey, and it’s tough for everyone. Everyone is trying to figure it out, navigate life, do something meaningful, and it’s a lot easier (and so much more enjoyable) when you engage in that process together. My cohort and other doctoral students along the way made me feel like I could do this. They helped make me feel like my work mattered, and the things I care about are worthy of exploration. They even embraced all of my weird bug references and metaphors! In return, I am their biggest cheerleader, and so proud to know them and see how their work unfolds. The people around you are your best resource!

What are your next steps after graduation?

Looking to the future, my goal is to put my experience and passion for science education, teacher preparation, and rural education to work! In my dream world, this is as a future professor at a university in Colorado or nearby. I hope to continue to engage in teaching and research that supports beautiful science instruction, especially in rural areas that are often excluded by mainstream education research, policy, and curriculum. I believe that rural areas are incredibly rich for science teaching and I hope to be able to do work that makes that visible to pre-service teachers and beyond.