Zuege named Nebraska Art Teacher Association Prism Award

Community support can go a long way in any profession.
Chase County School’s art teacher Chelsea Zuege has felt the support throughout her career.
Now, overwhelmed is the most appropriate word for how Zuege feels following the announcement from the Nebraska Art Teachers Association that she is its 2022-24 Art Prism Award winner.
Zuege wasn’t a member of the association, but last year took the hints friends and family were dropping to join NATA.
“I had a feeling something was up,” Zuege said.
Carissa Hill, a former student of Zuege’s CCS and now an art education student at Chadron State College, formally nominated Zuege for the award that honors a person or organization from outside the field of art education that has made significant contributions to the development/advancement of art education in Nebraska.
Nomination letters came from people from all walks of life, past teachers and students, as well as friends.
After learning she was named the teacher of the year, Zuege was able to read the nomination letters submitted by Hill, Dik Haneline, Adam Lambert, Crystal Peterson and Nicole Long.
Reading the letters and hearing from friends has been overwhelming, she added.
“I’m not one to be in the spotlight. This is a good lesson,” Zuege said, adding it’s been very humbling.
Haneline, an art instructor at Mid-Plains Community College, said Zuege is an exemplary professional educator, extremely talented and creative artisan and a genuinely wonderful, hardworking individual.
Zuege’s artwork can be seen across Imperial thanks to the paintings on business windows in support of the Chase County Fair. Hill pointed out that when Zuege’s painting of Hill’s grandfather, Ansel, was destroyed, Zuege painted a new one for the Hill family.
Peterson also addressed the personal side of Zuege’s talent, highlighting the work she’s done at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church and her mentorship to students.
“Chelsea deserves the Prism Award because she is a cheerleader for every student she has ever had, has or will have,” Peterson said.
The City of Imperial’s Art Park has benefited from Zuege’s talent, as have several paintings around town.
Imperial has always been supportive of the arts, Zuege said.
“This community really embraces the arts,” she added.
No other entity shows off her talent quite like the various projects around CCS.
Zuege helped arrange the kindergarten through 12th grade bottle cap project outside the Auxiliary gym and the mosaic mural at the track’s concession stand, a project she worked on with Nicole Long who also wrote a nominating letter.
She’s also responsible for the school logo’s redesign seen throughout the school.
The project she’s most proud of is the longhorn mural in the Longhorn gym’s east wall.
It took a lot of time and students were invested in the project, Zuege said.
Zuege had a list of current and past administrators who have supported the art program, including current Superintendent Adam Lambert, who contributed a nomination letter.
“Chelsea is a tremendous and undeniable influence to not only this community but also to the profession of arts education,” Lambert said.
“She has built a program that students crave,” Lambert added.
Zuege said it’s fun to show administrators what an art program can be at a smaller school.