Ashlie Crosson is spending this academic year traveling around the country as an ambassador for her profession, talking to schools, teachers, educational organizations, and college students who are studying to become teachers. “There’s an opportunity to bring in some of that encouragement and share some of my stories, whether it’s joys or struggles,” says Crosson ’15 MEd Edu, who last May was named the 2025 National Teacher of the Year by the Council of Chief State School Officers. “I give them a dose of reality, but also motivation.”

An English teacher at Mifflin County High School in Lewistown, Pa., Crosson—Pennsylvania’s 2024 Teacher of the Year—is a 16-year veteran of the classroom. She teaches English 10 and Advanced Placement language and composition. She also created an elective called “Survival Stories,” a nonfiction memoir-based class inspired by her time as a Fulbright teacher for the Global Classrooms program, which looks at global humanitarian crises through the eyes of children. She advises Mifflin County High School’s newspaper, The Tyrian, and district magazine, The PawPrint. 

Crosson was inspired to become a teacher by the many teachers who showed her kindness when she was a child, including her kindergarten and fifth grade teachers and her graduate adviser at Penn State, the late Nona Prestine. “She pushed me hard, she brought out the best in me,” Crosson says. “I look forward to sharing and celebrating all of the effort and joy teachers are bringing into their classrooms every day while also advocating for the resources and opportunities we need to improve our schools and strengthen the profession. Education is the foundation of our nation’s success, and it is a constant endeavor to reflect, improve, and evolve just as our society does.” —Cristina Rouvalis