Wayne State College professor Sean Ahern won the 2025 Teaching Excellence Award (TEA), and will be celebrated at WSC’s 2025 spring commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 10.
According to a press release by the Nebraska State College System (NSCS), “Each year, the System recognizes a faculty member from one of the three State Colleges with the NSCS Teaching Excellence Award. After being selected as the college-level Teaching Excellence Award recipient, a nominee from each College is submitted for consideration. The award recognizes superior teaching and advising, innovative instructional practices, high educational standards, and engaging learning environments that inspire and motivate students.”
Ahern is a communication arts professor at WSC, and he runs the campus radio station, KWSC. He earned his bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Colby-Sawyer College in New London, New Hampshire, his master’s in popular culture from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio and his PhD in American studies from the University of Buffalo in Buffalo, New York.
He found out about this award back in March when the WSC vice president of academic affairs, John Miller, personally congratulated him.
Ahern said he loves running the radio station and playing new music every day. He also loves his colleagues, and how they’re “here for students first.” In the past five years of working in WSC broadcasting, he has seen numerous students improve their skills with casual radio and sports broadcasting.
Ahern was the only WSC professor to be nominated for this award. Allyn Lueders, the chair of the Communication Arts department, was one of the people who nominated him.
“He’s a great teacher, and he’s had so much involvement with the students, and helps them do so many events and achieve success,” Lueders said.
Pat Janssen, a fellow communication arts teacher who runs the campus TV station, had a lot to say as well.
“He’s got a lot of energy,” Janssen said. “I think there’s a passion for what he does. I’m happy and proud of Sean, winning that award, but I think it represents something for all of us, and that we can take a little bit of pride in in it for all of us.”
“He’s very helpful,” Tori Olguin, general manager of the radio station, said. “I want to say he’s the professor that got me out of my comfort zone the most. When I started as a freshman, I was terrified to do it, but he was the one to, like, just try some things out, experiment, and he showed me a lot of different ways, and it just made me super comfortable.”
