Julie Odegaard is in her second year of teaching pre-kindergarten at Grace Lutheran School. She enjoys being a part of the molding process of little people with such open hearts and minds.

Julie grew up on a farm in Denison, Iowa. She attended Augustana college in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She graduated with a double major in Elementary Education and Special Education. Her teaching experience began in a two-room country school where she and another teacher team taught K-8 grades. Over the past 16 years, she has taught various grades, but thoroughly enjoys the pre-kindergarten experience.

Blessed is how Julie feels about the opportunity to teach in a Christian school such as Grace. She is loving the awesome feeling that she gets every day when she can openly share God's Word and show His love in every aspect of the learning experience with her young, eager learners.

Julie is also very busy outside the classroom. She is married and has three children. Troy, her husband, teaches and coaches at Concordia College. Her children are Aubrie, who is 11, Jacoby, who is 10, and Mercede, who is six. She enjoys attending and being a part of her family's school functions and extracurricular activities, teaching Sunday School, crafting, and baking in her free time.