Abstract

My name is Judah Burlingame. I am married to my wife, Nessa, and we have one son, Emerson. I have taught high school social studies at the Fergus Falls Area Learning Center and coached varsity football in Fergus Falls, MN, since 2012. When I was hired in Fergus Falls it was a bittersweet moment for me. It was sweet because I was hired for my first full-time teaching job. It was bitter because I graduated high school as a Detroit Lakes Laker, the closest rival of the Fergus Falls Otters. That first year in Fergus Falls I coached 9th grade football against my old team and it was the game that I was most excited to win. There is no doubt that I am fully an Otter today!

After graduating from Detroit Lakes in 2006, I attended Minnesota State University Moorhead and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Social Studies Teacher Education in 2010. My career started as a long-term substitute in Pillager, MN, for one semester. I then worked as a special education paraprofessional in New York Mills, MN, for one year before being hired in Fergus Falls. As an alternative education teacher, I have had the opportunity to teach 14 different classes. It is challenging, but incredibly rewarding to teach at the Fergus Falls ALC. I also have had the privilege of serving as the co-president for our local teacher's union since 2018.

Outside of education I have worked hard to be a community leader in my small town of Ottertail, MN. I have been on the City Council since 2017, and was able to participate in the Blandin Community Leadership Program (BCLP) in March 2020. I had been contemplating pursuing a masters degree for a few years until my time at the BCLP when I realized that it was time for me to make the leap and begin working towards my ultimate career goal of being a high school principal.