On Oct. 16, 2025, Winona State University’s Elementary and Secondary Education students were invited to attend the Minnesota Education Academy (MEA) conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Students piled onto a bus outside Donna J. Helble Hall at 6 a.m. and began their journey to the cites.
The MEA conference expected to have from 1,000-2,000 attendees, all future or current educators. At the conference, all attendees started their day with a keynote lecture first and then were able to pre-select up to 4 out of 60 workshops to attend. The classes offered to the attendees help them gain special skills and information that is helpful those in, and going into, their education career.
Some of the various workshops available include discussing topic around mental health support, LGBTQ+ support, lessons about Indigenous history and culture and other topics applicable to aiding educators in the classroom.
Eleanor Brezinka, a Communication’s, Arts and Literature Teaching major and third year student, attended a workshop that allowed the listeners to hear from Indigenous authors and illustrators to learn how to properly select literature and artwork that highlights Indigenous life and culture.
On reflecting on the event, Brezinka found that “going to the MEA Conference is so eye-opening to a future educator. It is the one time to be able to hear from so many inspiring and experienced educators and speakers.”
Adam Schneringer, an Earth Science Teaching major and third-year student, who attended the conference found that the most insightful workshop he attended was led by Dayonna Knutson, the Director of the Education Minnesota Foundation. In this workshop, he learned about grant applications and how to apply for them in future.
“Getting to hear from her exactly what they’re wanting with grant applications was really insightful, and it gave me confidence in my ability to secure grants for my classroom or for professional development,” Schneringer said.
Kari Plumely, an Art Education major and fourth-year student, was initially hesitant about the conference, but was grateful for the experience. She was able to learn more about offering students mental health resources, such as how to include accommodations to help them in the classroom. She mentioned that while attending the workshops she found that she learned most from current teachers sharing their experiences in the classroom and with students, although she can’t use this information now, she hopes to use it when her in future classroom.
“I highly recommend new teachers going their first year or two of teaching, as a student a lot of the resources they provided, I cannot use or apply personal situations because I haven’t been able to do so yet,” Plumley said. “So, if you have a teaching job and it’s your first couple of years, this is a great way to learn strategies, gain resources, and collaborate with other educators from other areas of MN.”
Overall, Winona State Education students that attended the 2025 MEA conference found that the various workshops and connections that they made with current educators would be helpful for their future careers as educators.
