Mrs. Howard got her undergraduate degree in English education from Illinois State University in December of 2014. Then in 2019, she got her masters in education from the University of Illinois, but that was not the last time Mrs. Howard graduated as she got a certificate in language and literature, at the college level, from University of Indiana over the summer of 2025.
She originally went to Illinois State University to become a nurse as she has always dreamed of helping people. When she was younger she had that dream of becoming a teacher, but the calling to be a nurse overthrew that dream. Although two years into college, that passion slowly faded which was her realization that becoming a nurse wasn’t her calling; she still wanted to help people. This fade happened during clinicals as she witnessed her first death. This proved to her that she couldn’t watch people die on a daily basis. At this point in her life, she was truly unsure what to do, so she set up a meeting with the teachers who impacted her the most. Her AP anatomy teacher, senior Honors English teacher, and her former volleyball coach/English teacher, where she asked them, “what do you guys think I should do with my life?” They all answered with, “we think you should be a teacher.” These teachers had more than just a career switch impact on her as they gave her observation hours over breaks, where she could just sit and watch them teach.
Howard was born in Litchfield, Illinois and graduated from Litchfield High School in 2010. After graduating from ISU in 2014, she began her teaching career at Monticello High School. She taught at Monticello for 6 and a half years, starting in January 2015. “Monticello was a really good fit for me because it was a small town, so the culture of the school was really high and the community really supported the school,” Howard said. The community rallied around making sports and activities a huge deal. She said, “it was just fun to teach kids who really wanted to be at school.”
Moving to Iowa in 2021 for her husband Nathan’s job, she found herself teaching at Norwalk High School. Norwalk was a change from Illinois and a challenge for her as a teacher. “They use a standards-based grading system.” A standards-based grading system means using a 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 as grades instead of A’s, B’s, C’s, etc, which made her rethink her teaching strategies. She left Norwalk in 2024, being swayed toward Dowling Catholic by Mrs. Raymond, a former colleague at Norwalk. She decided to take a tour of the school. On that tour, she got to feel the vibe of Dowling and really feel our community. Howard said, “that we have a really great culture.” Community was the a big part that brought her to Dowling as she looked for those closer relationships with her coworkers, students, and ways to grow in her faith.
Howard truly loves her family and you can tell when she talks about them because a big smile beams across her face. She married her husband, Nathan Schmitz, in 2022 after meeting him in 2015. She had her first child in 2023, named Carter, and is expecting her second child in the spring of 2026. Her husband challenges her in the best way by being polar opposites. He gives her a good perceptive saying, “people aren’t concerned with what you think they are.” She loves spending time with her family saying, “before we had Carter we would try a different food spot in Des Moines to get acclimated to the city, but with Carter we have started to get to know all the local parks.” Howard is very close with her parents stating, “I talk with my parents daily and they normally face-time with Carter each day.” She also tries to keep herself informed on her younger brother Ryan’s life. She grew up Southern Baptist, but she started to explore Catholicism after going to mass a few times with Nathan allowing her to see the level of depth. These experiences gave her the realization that she was lacking this in her personal faith journey swaying her decision to become a Catholic.
She hopes her students remember this from her: “wherever you are in life, know that I am cheering you on and to wear your seatbelt.” A phrase you will constantly hear from Mrs. Howard at the end of every class is, “have a good day and wear your seatbelt.” The story behind “wear your seatbelt” came from when she was teaching at Monticello, where she had a student pass away in a car crash due to not wearing her seatbelt, but her passenger was wearing a seatbelt and survived the crash.
Mrs. Howard was a teacher I had last year and she truly taught me more than just English things. Her classes gave me a chance to learn more about myself as a person, but also to live my life with purpose. She really showed that welcoming atmosphere, by either standing outside her classroom or greeting every student with a smile behind her desk. But she also had an impact on my post-high school career, as I am planning on going to Illinois State University in the fall to major in sports media and education. I am so grateful for the influence and impact Mrs. Howard has on me as a person, an educator, and now all the small little college conversations we get to have. To me, she truly represents what it means to be a respectful, impactful, influential, and caring teacher. For me, those are the types of teachers that I hold close to my heart and I will always remember her impact on me.
The title of this article is more complex than you think. When I was thinking about my title, I immediately knew I wanted it to mention Iowa and Illinois, the places she calls home. I asked Mrs. Howard for a song title that starts with the letter I to create an alliteration title. She gave me the song, “I and Love and You,” by the Avett Brothers that I changed into “I and Illinois and Iowa,” by Megan Howard and Nathan Schmitz. They used this lyric at their wedding, “always remember there was nothing worth sharing like the love that let us share our name,” as a way to remind guests about the power of love, which came from the song “I and Love and You.”
Howard wants her students to remember, “life is tough at times so it is really important that you follow your passions, dreams, you work on being happy, and try to stay positive.”
