As part of Mr. Long's photojournalism class, students completed a short interview with different staff members of the district. Over the next few weeks, we will highlight some of the staff that help make a difference in our student’s lives.
Jenifer Aldrich, ACHS Assistant Principal and Athletic Director (Interviewed by Cooper Pals)
“Where did you grow up?”
I grew up in Jerseyville, Illinois and I lived there for 22 years.
“What was your first job?”
My very first job was a lifeguard in the summer. I also worked as a car hop at Sonic. (Although, I didn’t pass the test so I couldn’t use the roller skates.)
“Did these jobs help prepare you for your job in education in any way?”
I feel like every job does prepare you for whatever you might do in the future. Almost every job requires you to work with other people, so just learning to work with different people and deal with different personalities of people you will work with is what I learned.
“What 3 words would you use to describe yourself in high school?”
In high school, I was probably pretty passive, fun, and a hard-worker.
“What 3 words would you use to describe high schoolers today?”
Many high school students are very pleasant, easy to talk to, easy to work with, and want to do well. For the vast majority of high school students, I would say determined (whether that is school or in their own individual passions), dedicated, and kind.
“Was there anyone specifically that inspired you to work in education?”
I did have a high school history teacher. I wasn’t going to do history originally. I almost went into math and that would have been crazy. My high school history teacher was always very excited about the subject. She would do all sorts of things to try and keep the kids engaged and paying attention.
“If you could go back, do you think you would change what you do now?”
Probably not. Originally, I was going to go into psychology because I was going to be a therapist of some sort. I realized that wasn’t for me and I switched over to education. It is very practical and it allows me time with my family.
“Did you see yourself taking on more of a leadership role, like an athletic director or assistant principal, or did you just want to teach?”
I wanted to be a teacher, and then as I got into the teaching profession and worked for a few years, I wanted to do what they do in the main office. As many people do, I wanted to move up on the pay scale because more education gets you more pay, but also I wanted to try to do more classes so I could take on a leadership role.
“When you are outside of school or when you have free time, what is your favorite thing to do?”
I like sports a lot. I watch a lot of live sports at home. If we’re not watching a football or baseball or basketball game, then we find college volleyball to watch or soccer or golf or really any sport that we can really enjoy. I’m also a big Cardinals fan so we go to watch the Cardinals games in St. Louis.
“What do you find most enjoyable about working in education or working in the schools?”
What I find most enjoyable is when you don’t even realize that you have an impact on someone, and then later they come back and they are happy to see you. They make comments like, I didn’t like the subject until you taught it or I appreciate the things that you did to make sure that either I made it through or passed or started in my sport or whatever the case may be. Those are the rewarding things. Or even just the small things, such as when a kid is not a studious student and you’re trying to get them there and they finally have a good grade or a good test and they’re wanting to come tell you about it.
“What do you think it took you the longest to learn when becoming a teacher?”
I like to put my blinders on and do my job, and hope that I’m doing a good job, and not pay attention to outside noise. But not paying attention to noise, means that I might misinterpret or misunderstand or not know people’s feelings about me or something else. I needed to realize that everything I do has a ripple effect and people do tend to talk about things. I need to try and not be affected by it.
“What brought you to Altamont specifically?”
Teaching brought me here. I student taught at the grade school and I was going to work there. Some things got shuffled around, so I called to set up an interview at the high school and I got the job. I had to move from Hampton, Virginia to Altamont, Illinois in 10 days and be ready to teach high school. I was terrified but I did just fine.
“What character traits do you think that you bring to Altamont schools?”
I try to be very organized and make sure that all my ducks are in a row. It was easier to do when teaching, this job makes me feel very unorganized and it pulls you in 70 different directions sometimes but I’m working on it. So I hope that I’m organized. I also think the way I operate, I tend to be more of an old school type parenting manner, more authoritative, which can be a detriment sometimes but other times I feel like it is needed. So I think to kind of balance others’ personalities that might be more soft and cuddly than I bring the more authoritative type of personality.
“What advice would you give to students or anybody interested in entering the education field?”
Students in general first, I would say don’t be afraid of hard work. Don’t rot your brain with your devices. For people going into education, I feel like you do have to have a little bit of that authoritative disposition and you have to be able to manage a classroom really well. You have to figure out the best path for you to be able to command a classroom and then also impart the knowledge you want upon the kids. So find your niche, you have to find the way that you want to be able to manage the classroom and then try to find a way to impart the knowledge.