Growing through the times

Bee Nordgren has loved swimming since before she could walk. 

“I come from a long line of swimmers and swimming teachers and lifeguards. My mother was a swimming teacher, and (when) I was six months old she dropped me in the water. I just came bubbling up to the top with a big smile on my face. So well before I could walk, I swam,” Nordgren said.

Nordgren continued to strengthen her skills through taking classes with a Red Cross program. She began the process of racing through the program’s levels in elementary school. By the time she was 15, she began lifeguarding at her local pool.

Though her family has a history with water, Nordgren never imagined becoming a swim coach. However, in October 2024, after eight years at Cedar Shoals High School as an ESOL teacher, she reconnected with the love of swimming by coaching the Aqua Jags. Additionally she has become one of Cedar’s Nature Club advisors.

Finding a profession that allows you to pursue your passions can be difficult, yet Nordgren has found multiple roles in the CSHS community that embody what she loves.Taking on the swim coach position allows her to teach what she finds joy in while strengthening the skills of the swimmers on the Aqua Jags team. 

Having the opportunity to work at Cedar and aim her career toward nature and teaching has created a space that consumes her time and fuels her positive mindset. Taking on these responsibilities of leading roles puts weight on Nordgren’s shoulders, but she supports herself and the people around her by delegating it all. 

“They (students) provided so much leadership and in different ways. (Senior) Mercy (Thang) ended up being our manager for the state finals this week, and she was just so immensely helpful. We couldn’t have done it without her,” Nordgren said.

Prioritizing her health has always been important to her and though it can be difficult to include in her everyday life, Nordgren does her best to balance her job and health by connecting with nature. Because Nordgren lives in a wooded area, she has easy access to a space where she is able to wander and enjoy nature.

An important part of being a crucial member at Cedar is how she pours herself into each role. They each require her to contribute different skills due to their different environments. As a swim coach she helps swimmers strengthen their technique and energy within the team. In nature club, she steps back and gives students a voice. 

“Ms. Nordgren does an excellent job of allowing other students to speak. She specifically acknowledges them (the students) and keeps asking for their answers. Rather than listening to the vocal majority she focuses on individual voices that might not be heard against the louder voices,” Nature Club Vice President and senior Luna Patterson said.

Throughout her life Nordgren has always taken part in activities that help people around her. Her path to teaching started with her undergraduate degree with a double major in elementary education and special education. Nordgren began her career at an elementary school on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana. She continued by teaching middle school in Montana to save money for a pickup truck. 

A difficulty with pursuing special education was that the specialty was just beginning education, being one of the reasons she chose this path; to provide equity for all. 

“Can you imagine a life with no special ed for kids? A lot of them stayed home or were put in schools where they never got any exposure to the arts or outdoors,” Nordgren said. 

In the process of beginning her career, she learned about hyperactivity and learning disabilities, which fascinated her because of the number of students she knew who struggled with hyperactivity.

Continuing her journey in Montana, Nordgren taught Elementary SLK on the Koosai Reservation for three years. However due to the poor economy she was laid off. SLK is when children do not meet the state’s age or grade approved standards in systematic skills. Similarly, she has worked with SLD, which stands for Specific Learning Disability, when students have difficulties in specific areas and need additional help.

“I taught SLD, and back then they had a different model. Here we do push-in (inclusive education where extra material is provided for the student), like SLD kids with learning disabilities and specific learning disabilities,” Nordgren said. “Back then we pulled out (where students are placed in a separate setting). So in middle school, you would come for one of your connection classes to get extra help with your reading or whatever you needed help with.”

Norgden did not allow the complication of being let go to get in the way of her passion. She moved to Texas in 1982 to be with her partner, who was then offered a research scholarship for his Ph.D. research in Mexico. 

Moving to Mexico was a major transition in her life, and adapting to a different community and lifestyle was eye-opening. Not knowing Spanish was difficult, but as soon as she moved she began studying and practicing, getting better day by day. 

“The people were really friendly with me, because I was trying (to understand their culture),” Nordgren said. “Poco a poco, little by little, I learned.”

Following the two years spent in Mexico, Nordgren moved back to Texas and continued pursuing teaching jobs across Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri, all while becoming a mother to three. Over this time she substituted in schools, worked retail and became part of the school board.

In 1999, Nordgren moved to Athens, still busy with her family, and began her graduate studies part time. Seven years later she began working on a master’s degree in science education with an ESOL emphasis. 

In 2008, Nordgren faced the recession when it hit Georgia. The economy abruptly declined and caused Georgians to lose their jobs, homes and businesses, which led Nordgren to increase her graduate school enrollment to full time so she could pursue a teaching job in the future.

“(Then) you could not get a teaching job in this district and it was so hard to find, but now, there’s a teacher shortage. So things ebb and flow, right? Just like the tide goes in and out. That’s a message of hope that I bring to our environmental students. Things change, so we think it’s bad, but it’ll get better,” Nordgren said.

The recession caused individuals to grasp  their jobs tightly, which caused difficulty for Nordgren as she was looking for a teaching job. However, she found side hustles and activities to take up her time. When Nordgren graduated in 2013 she began subbing at Clarke Central High School, which paved the way to Coile Middle School and eventually to Cedar in 2017. 

Nordgren discovered a teaching position at Cedar as an ESOL teacher and it provided her with the opportunity to help students adjust to the community around them. Having lived in Mexico and adapted to a different culture, Nordgren feels she has an experience she can utilize to connect with her students. 

“A huge gift is that it gives me great empathy for the students here. They’re so brave. They come here from another country. They don’t even know our customs,” Nordgren said.

As an ESOL teacher Nordgren has taughtin multiple subjects over the years due to her biology degree. When first arriving at Cedar, the ESOL staff had three members, but over the years the team has increased to 13 members in 2025. 

“I couldn’t do this without them. We help each other, it’s like a big happy web,” Nordgren said.

The creation of Nature Club was fueled by science teacher Debbie Mitchell and Nordgren’s appreciation for the outdoors.

“Our goal is that it is student-led. We will never run out of ideas because we’ve got old age and experience behind us, but we wanted students to generate their ideas,” Nordgren said.

Giving individuals the space to learn and grow over time is something that Nordgren prides herself in, because there is so much beauty that comes from the process. After working with the Aqua Jags for months and forming a bond, she witnessed the seniors last competition with their team on senior night.

“It made me really emotional to see them, and in addition to being seniors, most, if not all, of them have been swimming for many years, one since she was four. So it was the culmination of their swimming as well as their high school education,” Nordgren said.