Shelby Aaberg

Before most students arrive at Scottsbluff High School, Shelby Aaberg is already there.

The lights are on. His classroom is ready. Outside, the Nebraska Panhandle is beginning another day. Inside, students gather in a space Shelby’s has spent more than two decades building — an environment where they feel challenged, supported and that they belong.

By the final bell, Shelby will have taught everyone from sixth graders discovering geometry to high schoolers solving advanced mathematics. After school, his classroom transforms into a frenetic practice space where students come together to prepare and practice for math competitions.

For Shelby, teaching math isn’t about being confident in the numbers — it’s about making kids confidence in themselves. The confidence he builds in his students was shaped, in part, by his own experience as a University of Nebraska–Lincoln student.

"Education is really the act of trying to understand the other, trying to learn empathy," he says. "How do you adopt someone else's mindset and think about the life experiences and circumstances they're in?"

That belief has guided him since graduating from UNL, helping Shelby build a culture where students are encouraged to see possibilities beyond what others may expect.

"You don't have to be from a place of significance to be significant," he says. "Our kids have a chip on their shoulder. A lot of people write them off because of where they're from, and we know from all the places we've been and competed in, you can be competitive against anybody from anywhere."

When Shelby first arrived in Lincoln, he was searching for the right path. Engineering seemed like a natural choice. Eventually, he realized the thing he enjoyed most wasn’t simply finding solutions — it was helping others find them.

"I know I'm good at math and I'm good at chemistry," Shelby says. "But I wasn't feeling it in engineering. Instead, what do I enjoy? Well, I like the math. I like solving problems. I like working with people."

That decision changed the direction of his life.

His time at Nebraska became an education that extended beyond the classroom. Shelby experienced campus from many perspectives — as a student, an employee and a future educator. He worked multiple jobs, completed his student teaching at Lincoln High School and interacted with people from many different backgrounds.

"I got a very complete picture of not just student life, but also what's it like to be a professor, what's it like to work in an office, what's it like to be a support staff member on campus. That very complete experience formed a lot of what I do with students."

The lesson that stayed with him most was empathy.

As an educator, Shelby says it’s easy to connect with students who share similar backgrounds or experiences. The greater challenge is understanding students whose lives look completely different.

"Sometimes it's a challenge to identify with kids that maybe come from a very different type of life," he says. "But thinking back on my time as a Husker, one of the things that stands out was just being exposed to so many different types of people."

Those lessons followed him home.

Under Shelby, a small math club at Scottsbluff High School has grown into a program where students from all backgrounds come together to compete nationally, mentor younger learners and create STEM experiences for families throughout the region.

"It started out as, well, let's get this year right, figure out what we can operate on and make sure that we offer the same good opportunity every year. And then, over time, it builds."

One of those opportunities has been UNL Math Day, where Shelby brings students to campus to compete against some of the strongest mathematics programs in the state. The more years they went back, the better the results got.

"Watching those kids who thought this was like this insurmountable hurdle, watching them all of a sudden have the realization that anything's possible — that's pretty neat.”

That realization is one of Shelby's greatest accomplishments: helping students understand that where they come from does not determine how far they can go. It's that type of vision that earned Shelby Nebraska Teacher of the Year and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

Tenth grader Amara Alcidas has experienced this culture firsthand.

"He makes it really fun," Amara says. "He's encouraged me to do things, and he's helped me better as a person."

Through Shelby’s after-school programs, Amara has participated in math trips, engineering activities and mentorship opportunities where students learn from one another. Before joining the program, math was simply a subject she completed. Aaberg helped her see something more.