Bluffton University

Learning and doing

03/04/2025

Annie Mendenhall is completing her student teaching at Glandorf Elementary School.

Celebrating connections 

Annie Mendenhall ’25, a middle childhood education major from Van Wert, Ohio, is spending her spring 2025 semester student teaching at Glandorf Elementary in Glandorf, Ohio.

Mendenhall is working in seventh and eighth grade classrooms where she designs lessons plans and implements those lesson plans into the classroom through instruction. She is working in the same classroom, with the same cooperating teacher, that she was placed for her pre-student teaching in the spring of 2024. 

“It is awesome to be with the eighth graders that I had last year when they were in seventh grade,” said Mendenhall. “Even though it has only been a year, they have developed significantly since the last time I saw them.”

Mendenhall says that learning about pedagogy and implementing pedagogy are two completely different things. She appreciates the hands-on experience that Bluffton provides. 

“When it comes to creating relationships, behavior management and making split-second decisions, nothing can truly prepare you until you are actually in the classroom,” said Mendenhall. “Those are things that you learn and adapt along the way.”

Mendenhall said that throughout her time in the classroom, her experiences have been rewarding.

“The most rewarding experience that I have had in the classroom came from my second lesson,” said Mendenhall. “The students were able to make connections and draw on the previous lesson that I had taught them which was a great feeling.”

As a third-generation Bluffton student, Mendenhall is grateful for the connections that she has as well as the connections that Bluffton presents. 

Mendenhall’s grandfather, Gary Clay ’77, mother, Lydia (Clay) Mendenhall ‘02, MAEd ’24, and sister, Claire (Clay ’18, MBA ‘20) Kleman are all Bluffton alumni. Mendenhall and Kleman’s relationship were able to grow due to their connection with Bluffton and the sisters were able to see each other, almost daily. Kleman is the interim vice president of advancement and enrollment management at Bluffton. Kleman’s spouse, Luke Kleman, is the head swimming and diving coach at Bluffton.

Mendenhall’s father, Brad Mendenhall, is the principal of Lincolnview High School in Middle Point, Ohio, and her mother is a kindergarten teacher at Van Wert Elementary. Mendenhall said having both of her parents in education has shaped who she is as an educator.

Mendenhall did not initially want to come to Bluffton because of all her previous connections and wanted to be unique from her family. She quickly found why her family loves the campus so much.

“The reason I came to Bluffton is not the same as the reason I stayed at Bluffton,” said Mendenhall. “Although I originally came to Bluffton to play basketball, I ended up staying for the professors and their ability to connect with the students and instilling a sense of purpose for our lives outside of academics.” 

On campus, Mendenhall has served as a President’s Ambassador, public relations student assistant and a member of the Bluffton Education Organization.