Anaconda native to be inducted into Education Hall of Fame at UM Western

The University of Montana Western Education Department and Alumni Office, in partnership with Stockman Bank, are proud to present the 13th Annual Night of Stars Education Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, April 25 and an Anaconda native is among this year’s inductees.

The Night of Stars celebration honors Montana Western alumni who have demonstrated outstanding dedication and service to the field of education. During the ceremony, five alumni will be inducted into the Education Hall of Fame and 10 current education students will be recognized as Outstanding Teacher Candidates.

“Night of Stars is always a meaningful evening for our campus,” said Jolene Robbins, Special Events and Alumni Coordinator at the University of Montana Western. “It’s an opportunity to celebrate alumni who have dedicated their lives to education, while also recognizing the next generation of teachers who are preparing to make a difference in classrooms across Montana and beyond.”

Among the 2026 Education Hall of Fame inductees is Tricia Schumann, who is originally from Anaconda. Schumann graduated from Montana Western in 1994 with a B.S. in Elementary Education and later earned an M.S. in Teacher Leadership in 2010. 

She said of the experiences she is most proud of from her time at Western was serving as an ambassador for the Admissions Office, where she learned firsthand how to connect with prospective students and their families. She also worked in the Alumni Foundation Office alongside Tom Yahres, Arlene Williams, Henry Stish, Dona Wallace, and Wally Felt, an opportunity that gave her early practice in building relationships and representing the university.

Schumann said she remembers Montana Western as a place with a strong feeling of family and shared purpose, especially among students preparing to become educators. A few standout memories include representing Western on recruiting trips and serving as a Spur under the guidance of Dona Wallace, whose leadership left a lasting impression.

Schumann recently retired after a long and meaningful career in education, most recently serving as the Alternative Education Teacher and Director at Mineral County High School in Nevada. Throughout her career, she held roles such as District Literacy and Learning Specialist, served on the UniServ Council of Nevada and the NSEA Board of Directors, and earned the NSEA Bernard J. Anderson Dedicated Educator Award in both 2018 and 2024. She continues to stay involved through the NSEA-Retired group and the Elizabeth Brown Scholarship Committee. Beyond the classroom, she started a community mobile bike parade for Armed Forces Day and created a third-grade bike program through a partnership with the local Sheriff’s Office. She and her husband, Rick, live in Hawthorne, Nevada.

In addition to Schumann, this year’s inductees also include Tim Love, Katherine Sunwall, Jamie Courville and Quinn Kelly, while the 2026 Outstanding Teacher Candidates are Mariah Humble, Theo Harris-Kaczmarek, Hailey Pike, Ryleigh Pitcher, Angela Anderson, Taylor Lovaas, Kira Crete, Karmen Ward, Thomas Zak and Isabella Lund.

This year’s event will take place in the Lewis & Clark Room in Mathews Hall on the University of Montana Western campus. The evening will begin with no-host cocktails at 5:30 p.m., followed by an Italian buffet dinner at 6 p.m. The induction ceremony will begin at 7 p.m.

Tickets for the dinner and ceremony may be purchased by contacting Kelly Allen at 406-683-7306 or online at https://tinyurl.com/UMWNOS26.

For additional information, please contact Jolene Robbins, Alumni Coordinator at the University of Montana Western, at 406-683-7303 or jjolene.robbins@umwestern.edu.