I’ve been part of the IDLA team for 14 years and genuinely love what I do. My main duties are arranging travel for IDLA staff, coordinating logistics for conferences, and supporting the Supervision and Instruction team by providing teachers with copies of students’ IEP/504/ELP plans as they are submitted by schools. I’ve always been a people person, and connecting with and helping others is by far my favorite part of the job.
Unmuted: IDLA Q&A
Q: What does a typical day look like in your role?
There is no typical day, but I start and live in my email, making sure things are opened, read, highlighted, uploaded, arranged, and covered as they come up.
Q: What’s one thing about your job that might surprise people?
I am inspired daily by the people I work with, who care deeply about Idaho’s students. Their dedication, compassion, and commitment to making a difference motivate me every day, and it’s incredibly rewarding to be part of a community that puts students first. The surprise might be that IDLA isn’t just a job for our team; we all truly care and want to make a difference.
Q: What’s one project or achievement at IDLA that you’re especially proud of?
I would have to say that I’m most proud of the relationships I’ve built with co-workers, school personnel, and those in the community I work with regularly.
Q: What do you love most about working in online education?
For me personally, I love the flexibility and the lack of commute, but I also appreicate the fact that I can work in-office when I’d like, I love having that option. For the organization in general, I love the fact that we can offer solutions to students that they might not have in their face-to-face school, for whatever reason–accessibility, availability, schedule conflicts, making up missed credits, or the desire to graduate early.
Q: What’s one unique aspect of IDLA that people might not realize?
How innovative IDLA is in searching for ways to assist schools and students. During Covid in 2020, it was nothing less than miraculous to watch the way IDLA came together to provide options for schools as they scrambled to go to a remote format.
Q: If you could swap roles with someone at IDLA for a day, who would it be and why?
Oh, boy! Almost anyone, really. But I think if I had to choose, I’d say one of the Regional Coordinators or Regional Support Specialists. I love connecting with people, and I think it would be amazing to be in the schools, meeting the “faces behind the screen” who I work with regularly. Not to mention being around the students who use our programs!
Q: What’s a favorite memory you’ve had while working at IDLA?
Too many to pick just one! Every time we get together face-to-face, we make fantastic memories. I spent four years at Idaho Falls High School and six years at Timberline High School in Boise before moving to IDLA. I have enjoyed watching teachers I loved in the brick-and-mortar setting come to IDLA as part-time teachers. Education can be a small world!
Q: What’s one fun fact about you that most people don’t know?
I’m a very open book, so it’s doubtful that there’s anything that my friends and co-workers would find surprising. But it recently came to light with my team that I worked as a secretary at a funeral home when I was 18. (Althought that might not sound like a “fun” fact).
Lightning Round!
Q: What’s your go-to coffee (or tea) order?
Sweetener and brown sugar oat creamer.
Q: If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be?
Although very recent history, I would love to have dinner with Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Q: What’s the best book, TV show, or podcast you’ve enjoyed recently?
Life, and Death, and Giants by Ron Rindo (5 stars!).
Q: What’s one piece of technology you couldn’t live without?
My phone – it’s my music, my camera, my audiobooks, my podcasts, my holder of memories, and my link to family, near and far.
Q: If you could work remotely from anywhere in the world, where would it be?
In the valley below the Puente Nuevo bridge in Ronda, Spain.
The greatest blessing in a career is finding work you enjoy with people you genuinely admire – and I have been beyond fortunate to have both.
