Jenni works for Jasper County, the school system she graduated from in 2003, pointing out that her twenty-year reunion is likely just around the corner. A lifelong resident of Jasper County, Jenni says the only time she’s left the area was when she attended college at Eastern Illinois University, working multiple stints as a long-term substitute teacher and as a teller at First National Bank in Olney before accepting her current position, where she helps serve the district and its one-thousand-plus children.

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When Jenni thinks about her life experience, she recognizes the value of living in a smaller community, suggesting that the residents of Jasper County are more likely to come together to get to know and help one another due to their shared identity. This mentality carries over into the school district, with everyone knowing and standing behind one another. “You always work together to solve a problem or get something done. That’s present in this district,” says Jenni.

 

She adds that the community reflects their spirit through the school: “A lot of people grew up here, and they keep that momentum going. This community loves to support athletics and band and all the extracurricular activities. Everyone comes out to support these kids. You see people in the community for decades who continue to show up, which sets a strong example for the kids.”

 

Jenni shares that she studied elementary education at Eastern Illinois University. Still, teaching positions were few and far between when she graduated. Unable to find a full-time teaching position, Jenni worked as a substitute teacher throughout the area for five years before transitioning into banking. While Jenni shares that she enjoyed working for the bank, her long commutes were filled with the sensation that something was missing.

 

Her periods of reflection led her to return to substitute teaching, a role she says she filled for a second five-year period before accepting the position as district secretary. While she loves working as the district’s secretary, she considers her time spent substitute teaching instrumental to her success.

 

“Being a substitute taught me how to be flexible—teaching various ages and subjects, filling in elementary through junior high and high school students regardless of the class subject. It got me acquainted with the teachers and what they do, as well as everything that’s going on in the district’s schools,” says Jenni.

 

She adds, “At first, the position was overwhelming; there was so much that [previous district secretary, Janet Benefield] did work that people don’t even realize. But I quickly learned to love it.”

 

Jenni considers Janet’s guidance another reason she was able to hit the ground running, adding, “Janet trained me. She is just so knowledgeable and taught me everything. Because of her, I could learn quickly, classifying experience as the best teacher.

 

One role Jenni quickly excelled at was calling and scheduling substitute teachers throughout the district. The relationships she developed with other substitute teachers allowed her to know who they are, what they like, and where they excel. But more so, it allowed her to show a knowing compassion for their service.

 

While Jenni’s ability to build strong relationships with substitute teachers within the district feels natural to her, she shares that this wasn’t always the case. She describes herself as an incredibly shy child who didn’t always feel comfortable opening up to others. As a member of the school administration, Jenni is excited by the concept of being the type of role model she wished she had as a child. “Sometimes the kids just need someone to talk to and support them as they reflect on what’s going on,” says Jenni.

 

For a self-described introvert, the work Jenni engages in on a daily basis might seem a stretch. But then, Jenni has been stretching herself for her entire adult life, after having spent much of her early years observing but not asserting or outwardly expressing herself much. She became interested in an unlikely vehicle for outward expression and a definite inversion of her introspective roots—bodybuilding. Through her efforts as a competitive bodybuilder, she tells me she acquired more than medals, but an expanded comfort zone that has enabled her to connect and communicate with a kind of expressible confidence she lacked in her younger days.

 

As our conversation starts to conclude, Jenni summarizes her professional journey. Looking back, she says she asked herself, ‘What is my career going to be? I felt that I’d been trying at teaching, and a lot of my friends had gotten teaching jobs, but I wanted to stay in Jasper County, of course. “

 

She continues, “I thought maybe I need to branch out and try something different, so I tried the bank. My brain kept telling me, maybe you need to come back. I remember last year, thinking, am I ever going to be a part of something? I was starting to give up hope, but that’s when I was able to go into the district office and help out because Janet had picked me. It was magical. I got along with everybody, and everything she taught me, I understood. I remember telling my husband; I love this. I hope there’s something here.”

 

Jenni says the more she explores her job, the more it makes sense, and she understands how everything interconnects. She confesses that sometimes, as a substitute teacher, she felt like an outsider. While Jenni says she was always supported and treated with respect, the position was temporary by design. Now that she’s a full-time member of the district, Jenni feels she has a place where she belongs and is needed, which motivates her to learn, grow, and be the best she can be.

 

She smiles as she shares that her goal is to ‘be like Janet,’ adding, “Janet knew everything and people loved her, and that’s the goal, to be just like her.”