When Barbara Tholen came to the classroom in 2010, she brought a decade of experience as a newspaper reporter. She works hard to share that passion for journalism with her students. She regularly shares advice as a speaker, including at the Jayhawk Media Workshop, KSPA fall conference and National Scholastic Press Association conferences. During her first year teaching, she worked with a small group of Kansas teachers to ensure the state would continue to support journalism programs with career and technical education funding. Tholen previously served on the KSPA board of directors as well as the board for the Journalism Educators of Metropolitan Kansas City.