Hi! I’m Lew Huskey, the Technical Support Manager at IDLA. I’ve been with the organization for 17 years in a variety of roles within the IT department. I said during my interview in 2008 that I would bring a relentless optimism to my work, and I strive to do that every day. It’s pretty easy to be upbeat when you work at a place as cool as IDLA!
Unmuted: IDLA Q&A
Q: What does a typical day look like in your role?
A: I start the day reviewing feedback from the people we serve, and then sharing that feedback with my team. We meet every morning to discuss important or timely items and to help each other with difficult problems. After that, my day is about helping people in the best way, whether it is my teammates, IDLA employees, students, parents, site coordinators, or tech directors who make IDLA so valuable.
Q: What’s one thing about your job that might surprise people?
A: Many days are much less technical and much more intrapersonal.
Q: What’s one project or achievement at IDLA that you’re especially proud of?
A: Helping guide an LMS implementation was a great learning experience and one that I really grew from.
Q: What do you love most about working in online education?
A: Helping someone move from stuck to making progress fills me with good energy. I think that’s my raison d’être.
Q: What’s one unique aspect of IDLA that people might not realize?
A: We are so focused on service – it drives everything we do. When a system breaks, the first question we ask ourselves is, “Does this affect student learning?”
Q: If you could swap roles with someone at IDLA for a day, who would it be and why?
A: Oh – Dr. Simmons for sure. His love for the Chicago Bears and deep-dish pizza (which is not pizza) is a problem for all of us. Kidding, of course.
Q: What’s a favorite memory you’ve had while working at IDLA?
A: So many times that I saw people helping each other on a personal level. When I’m having a bad day, I think about how lucky I am to work with this group.
Q: What’s one fun fact about you that most people don’t know?
A: I have an almost photographic memory for sports stats, but I have to use Siri to navigate way more than I care to admit.
Lightning Round!
Q: What’s your favorite movie?
A: Depends on the day, but my parenting philosophy is based on the blimp scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The Princess Bride is an almost perfect movie – RIP Rob Reiner.
Q: If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be?
A: John Wooden. Living through times of social upheaval and change, and helping young people navigate between the old and the new, and still perform at an all-world level – that had to be an incredible challenge.
Q: What’s the best book, TV show, or podcast you’ve enjoyed recently?
A: I’m a sucker for the off-beat. Ted Lasso, Shoresy, Only Murders in the Building, The Bear
Q: What’s one piece of technology you couldn’t live without?
A: My Omafiet. Yes, it’s 19th-century technology, but I would really miss it.
Q: If you could work remotely from anywhere in the world, where would it be?
A: It’s [cold] right now, so anywhere warm and tropical would be great.
I planned to stay at IDLA only long enough to get another job in the private sector. Seventeen years later, I realized I had found where I belonged. We have an almost unique opportunity to help people in Idaho through this organization, and as former tech Jenn Tierney once told me, “We do well by doing good.”
