Dr. Brandon Mowinkel of Milford is passionate about education and representing educators any chance he gets.
He was recognized with the Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Principals Region I Distinguished Service Award April 17.
The Distinguished Service Award as a culmination of the work he’s done for the NSASSP, he said.
He said the hardest part of being involved is taking the first step to get involved.
In 2009, while assistant principal at Milford Public Schools, Mowinkel was elected to the Region I board of the Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Principals and was president from 2013-14.
“Since 2008, I haven’t missed many region meetings,” he said.
In 2011, he was appointed as the representative for assistant principals on the state board. Board members rotate through the offices, and Mowinkel served as president from 2017-18.
He is also a member of the Nebraska Council of School Administrators and served as executive board vice chair from 2018-19. Dr. John Skretta of Educational Service Unit 6 in Milford was the chair that year.
“I learned so much from him,” Mowinkel said.
Mowinkel has been honored with three other awards by the NSASSP – Region I Assistant Principal of the Year in 2010, Nebraska Assistant Principal of the Year in 2010 and Region I High School Principal of the Year in 2016.
He took a short break from the state board in 2019-20 but was back on the NSASSP board in 2020. He currently serves as the state coordinator, which means he is in charge of communicating with federal lawmakers about issues secondary school administrators in Nebraska face.
“I’ve done a lot of speaking engagements,” he said. “I’ve been to Washington, D.C., nine times to advocate for public schools.”
In addition, former First District Rep. Jeff Fortenberry made two trips to Milford.
Mowinkel said the trips to the nation’s capitol were highlights of his time in the different offices.
“It was a different angle each time,” he said. “Each set of talking points was a little different.”
He also got to learn how education works around the country and saw different ways to best serve all the students.
Most of what Mowinkel has done has been behind the scenes, he said. He is currently not on any state boards, but he said he misses the camaraderie.
One area Mowinkel focused on was technical education and Perkins Funding and how that impacts schools. The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act provides over $1.4 billion in funds for career and technical education.
He has made friends across the country, he said, and now has people outside Nebraska he can talk through questions and concerns with.
“I miss the travel and advocacy part,” Mowinkel said. “I miss the people the most. I miss telling our kids’ story.”
He said receiving the service award was “a tremendous honor.”
Mowinkel has been in Milford since being hired as an industrial technology teacher in 2002. Being able to serve on the various state organizations has given him the opportunity to be exposed to more people from whom he can learn.
His experience and connections also helped with his doctoral dissertation, he said. He was able to interview people from around the country.
“They were all advocates for public schools I met at DC,” he said.
While he’s not on state boards currently, Mowinkel said he looks for potential educators and administrators everywhere he goes.
“I look for those qualities to encourage,” he said.
