“Family and Consumer Science education, specifically, it's probably one of the most rewarding and impactful careers that you can pursue,” Nudell said. “You’re not only influencing students’ soft skills, but you’re influencing their future families and their financial decisions and helping to create a whole person rather than focusing on just one subject. You’re giving students those valuable life skills to thrive in an unknown world and teaching them how to be adaptable.”
“Family and Consumer Science education, specifically, it's probably one of the most rewarding and impactful careers that you can pursue. You’re not only influencing students’ soft skills, but you’re influencing their future families and their financial decisions and helping to create a whole person rather than focusing on just one subject."
Nudell, the 2024 Ransom County Teacher of the Year and a finalist for 2025 North Dakota Teacher of the Year, is truly passionate about the FCS curriculum and courses she teaches, along with her work as the Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) advisor for Lisbon. So, it’s perhaps fitting that a member of her family was one of the first educators in her life to inspire her to one day become an FCS teacher.
“I grew up on a fifth-generation family farm near Ayr,” she said. “My aunt was a preschool teacher, and she had a really profound impact on me. Especially as I got older, and I was able to kind of see from the opposite side of the things that she did in the classroom with her student, and the impact and grace that she was able to show students at such a young age.”
After graduating from Tower City High School, Pudell went on to North Dakota State University and earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Family and Consumer Science Education. She started as the FCS teacher for Lisbon in August 2019, and has worked diligently since then to develop curriculum that promotes student engagement and career readiness, and provide pathways for students to become well-rounded and capable adults.
When asked if there is a program that she started at Lisbon of which she is particularly proud, Nudell cited an entrepreneurship course that she teaches. “Throughout this course, I am able to provide several opportunities where students interact with the community while reinforcing technical skills taught throughout financial literacy and food processing units,” she said. “The goal of this unit is for students to utilize business principles while fostering community engagement and social responsibility.”
Nudell said she is grateful for the wholehearted support she has received from the families and close-knit community within Lisbon for allowing her the freedom to experiment with innovative approaches. “I have amazing parental support at my school, and I also think that I'm very lucky to have an amazing family that supports me in any crazy thing that I want to do within my classroom.”
