Principal Mike Sorensen remembered for his encouragement of kids

    Mike Sorensen, 54, died at his home in Wauneta last Thursday, saddening those who knew the 7-12 Principal at Chase County Schools, and who had just begun a position at Wauneta-Palisade.
    Services are set for this Saturday at 2 p.m. at Imperial Berean Church, with visitation Friday from 3-6 p.m. at Liewer Funeral Home in Imperial.
    Sorensen’s wife, Nancy, said he passed away at their home, and was taken to the hospital in Imperial, where he was pronounced deceased.
    The Sorensens had just moved from Grant to Wauneta the first of July, she said, after they found a home just behind the WP school. The track was right behind them, she said.
    Nancy serves as pre K-6 Principal at Perkins County Schools in Grant, where 2022-23 classes will start Aug. 18.
    Mike Sorensen resigned from CCS earlier this year after he was hired in 2020 as 7-12 CCS principal, returning to the position he held for nine previous years from 2006-15.
    The official contracted start for his WP administrative duties was Aug. 1. He had begun serving as 6-12 principal there, Activities Director, Transportation Director and head boys’ basketball coach.
    However, WP Supt. Randy Geier said he had been in the school a lot during June and July, helping out in the weight room and meeting staff.
    “He went above and beyond. That’s Mike,” Geier said.
    Sorensen and Geier had known each other 20 years,  earning their Masters in Education degrees from Doane together.
    Coincidentally, both of them accepted their first administrative jobs in Chase County in 2006, Sorensen at CCS and Geier at WP.

    “We leaned on each other a lot in our first principal jobs,” Geier said.
    He said he was looking forward to working with Sorensen at WP.
    “I know he had already bonded with a lot of the teachers and with some of the kids he’d gotten to know this summer,” he added.
    “He will definitely be missed.”
    WP officials announced this week they have hired Ron Bauer as 6-12 Principal, Activities Director and Transportation Director.
    Troy Hauxwell, CCS Activities Director, said he was on his phone all morning Friday with calls from people concerned, wondering if it was true.
    Hauxwell has fond memories of Sorensen, who was the 7-12 principal at CCS involved in Hauxwell’s hiring as AD in 2012.
    “The first thing for me is he was a big part for us coming to Imperial,” he said.
    Hauxwell said after he interviewed at CCS, Sorensen called him later to see if he had any other questions.
    “I appreciated that he took the time to call me on a one-on-one basis and get to know me,” Hauxwell said.
    He recalled Sorensen’s enthusiasm for the students, meeting them before school, connecting with them at lunch and after school, too.
    “He was always encouraging kids and motivating them,” Hauxwell said.
    He said Sorensen was just “one of those people” who did what needed to be done beyond his principal duties, whether it be subbing in a classroom or covering the lunchroom.
    “He was a team player,” Hauxwell added, “and definitely made a positive impact with a lot of people.”
    Hauxwell said he had just visited with Sorensen at the state coaching clinic in Lincoln a week or so earlier, and said Sorensen was attending the basketball sessions.
    “He was getting excited for that season” at WP, he said.
    Hauxwell said Sorensen’s impact on people was obvious with the number of calls he fielded last week.
    Nancy said her husband was  “an amazing husband, father, grandfather and person.”
    The couple had just celebrated their 29th anniversary on July 31.
    “He wanted the best for everyone. He tried to instill confidence in kids,” she said.
    See this week’s milestones pages for more on Sorensen’s services.