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ANKENY, Iowa — A teacher in the Metro overcame a traumatic brain injury and is now in the running for America’s Favorite Teacher.

Megan Kay Shmelzer knew she wanted to be an educator since she was a young student. While she accomplished her dream, everything changed in February 2020.

When she was walking into the school where she taught, she slipped on ice and fell in the parking lot, hitting her head. She was unconscious outside for a while before she woke up and went to the nurse.

Schmelzer later learned that she sustained a traumatic brain injury and was told she would never be able to teach in a traditional way again.

She underwent speech therapy, vision therapy, and occupational therapy for about a year and a half. She also had to teach herself how to read again. While she improved, she would never be the same.

“I had a wonderful neurologist that supported me and a great team, and he told me sometimes the brain goes back and sometimes it doesn’t. And I was one of those where I was never going to be the same. And so, the fight and the journey became still feeling valued and finding a purpose now that I am going to live with some limits,” she said.

Schmelzer couldn’t imagine her life without teaching, so her purpose became a tutoring center in Ankeny. She opened the Little White Schoolhouse two and a half years ago, helping students from pre-school to college.

“I started in a teeny-tiny office, thinking it was just going to be me and maybe 10 kids, and I would’ve been thrilled with that. But, for it to explode so quickly just shows that we kind of have something magical here,” said Schmelzer.

In under three years, she helped over 500 students and employed over 70 educators. Her injury helped her connect with students in a new way.

“After my brain injury, I really struggled with vision and speech, and part of that is, I really struggled reading. My passion has always been reading since I was a little kid, but I never experienced what it was like to struggle to do that,” she said.

Two-thirds of the students who go to the Little White Schoolhouse struggle with reading. Her experience allowed her to see their perspective and help encourage them.

Six weeks ago, someone anonymously nominated her for America’s Favorite Teacher.

Now, she is in the Quarterfinals. People were able to vote for her online through Thursday, and the results will be announced Friday at noon. If she’s in first place, she will move on to the semi-finals. On Thursday, her rank fluctuated between first and second.

“I’m like a contender. I’m shocked. There’s a good chance that I can win America’s Favorite Teacher. And that is so humbling and honoring,” she said.

The winner of the award will receive a free trip to Hawaii and $25,000. Schmelzer said she would put the money towards the Little White Schoolhouse.

Win or lose, Schmelzer is excited about the future of her tutoring center.

“I’ve always had a dream in the back of my mind to do a tutoring center but I never would’ve been brave enough to do it on my own until I was forced to,” she said.

And she can offer advice to all of those around her.

“I like to be able to sit across students and share my story and let them know that life is going to cause you to fall down, sometimes literally, and you might end up doing something beyond anything you could have ever imagined,” she said.

The Little White Schoolhouse will have an end-of-the year celebration on Friday, May 24th from 1 PM-4 PM at 1255 N Ankeny Blvd. STE 101. All community members are welcome to stop by and enjoy ice cream.