My name is Lisa Terrell.
I'm with USD 204 which is Bonner Springs Edwardsville district.
I get up around 5:30 and I typically work out
it's a quick workout because I usually get up a little later than I want.
And I try to make a list of what I have to get done that day before I ever walk out
because I know once I get to school I have no idea what I'm walking into.
I leave the house around 7:05 drive to work.
It's about a 12 minute drive.
As soon as I can I grab my walkie and head up to the hall to do Hall duty.
I think that's probably one of my most important times of the day.
I learn so much about the kids and and what they're going through just by their behaviors
in the hallway.
Once everybody's in class I'll go get an apple and a cup of water
and make it back to my office to get the day started.
I also coordinate all the all the local scholarships for college enrollment scholarship deadlines
helping kids with that letters of rec, financial aid.
Whatever's going on in our building I'm always relaying it to our college instructors that
are coming in as well.
I started as a PE health teacher and I was a coach
and I found that the girls in my PE classes were coming to me often with issues a lot
of counseling types of issues.
Being a health teacher I felt like mental health and physical health really kind of
related to counseling
and so when I chose to do my master's degree I felt like that was a natural fit.
I usually don't eat lunch or have time for lunch or get busy so I'm kind of a snacker.
I'm also helping our registrar set up on the backend to prepare for arena enrollment.
So that's also something daily that I'm working in
pulling reports, checking requests, checking numbers, working on the master schedule as
well as my other duties.
I absolutely love the end of the school year with seniors.
I love watching them at Senior Awards Night
and all of their accolades and all the scholarships they received
and how when I was in their classrooms in August they were still like
'I don't even know where I'm going to school.
I don't know how I'm gonna do this.
I don't know where the financial aid is coming from.'
and then by the time we're through with the process watching where they're going,
watching everything they've got
seeing how excited they are
and then watching them just walk across the stage.
You know you get it you get to be part of their lives for four years and watch them
grow up
and see the changes that they've made throughout high school
and watch them become an adult.
I'm the homeless liaison so I deal with families sometimes in their worst moments.
There's some sad situations that you have to deal with.
I've got kids that are in foster care.
It breaks your heart to think about it but you also know that they're very resilient
and that their education is going to change their life so
I think that's why we're all there as
we want them to be educated and be able to do whatever they want and
choose a life that they're happy with.
Typically right when school lets out I have kids in my office.
A lot of times maybe they couldn't get to me through the day
or I couldn't get to them.
I do bus duty between the buildings which is great because I get to see
junior high kids.. kind of get to know them as well.
Usually make it back in around 3:25 - 3:30.
At that time I kind of clean off my desk, recheck my email
kind of wrap up our day.
I usually converse with the assistant principals, our principal.
Usually I walk out quarter to four - four o'clock something like that.
I've got a senior like I said.
He's an athlete so depending on the season there's a lot of sports.
So I'm rushing off to an event.
Finally usually sit down around nine o'clock try to watch a show
but I usually fall asleep
and then it all starts again the next day.
I've had kids that you know have dropped out and a lot of issues in high school
that will end up back in my office and say 'I got my GED and I wanted to come back and
tell you I did'.
That's what always keeps you going and makes you love your job.