Happy Friday and welcome to this year’s additions and updates to Friday Faces! This blog series introduces you to our new-this-year Team SLOCA members. We did this last year and it was a great way to get to know a little about the friendly people working here at our school.
We asked each participant for a photo and gave them a few questions to answer. Next time you see one of these faces on campus, you’ll know who they are and can greet them. Links to returning teachers/staff will be posted at the end of each week’s group when applicable, for new families or for those who just want to read them again.
We will begin with the ladies you see when you walk through our doors into the main office – our NOLs, or Nice Office Ladies. This year we have a couple of wonderful women filling in for us temporarily while we search for a full-time person to fill this position, so for a little while at least, here’s who will greet you when you come into the office:
Geri Smith
NOL on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
Q: What is your degree in?
A: I have a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from Cal Poly SLO. I planned on transferring to Veterinary School at U.C Davis but having a family and living in SLO became more important.
Q: What was your last job before your SLOCA life?
A: I have loved being a stay at home mom for 12 years. It has been the best decision of my life. Before that, I worked for high producing stock brokers in town. I also designed websites when we had to hand code everything before software was available to design it all for us.
Q: What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
A: Brush my teeth and wash my face.
Q: What is your favorite local restaurant?
A: Novo in San Luis Obispo
Q: What was your favorite book when you were a child?
A: Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski, however, I could never get enough of Winnie the Pooh by Milne. Also, I am a product of Schultz's Charlie Brown cartoons, SchoolHouse Rock and Dr. Seuss's earlier books… So, books I loved, but TV programs were my mainstay unfortunately. Looney tunes and Bugs Bunny were daily activities after school. Disney was a favorite with living so close to their studios.
Q: What is your favorite piece of literature that we've read at SLOCA?
A: By far my favorite was Unbroken from the High School reading list. To be honest, every single piece of literature has been special over the last seven plus years. Even the ones that are not so well liked by someone in our family has lead our family to wonderful discussions. As a result, we have learned to respect literature choices and views. Not everyone likes the same genre or subject or opinion. Within reason, every point of view is kindly received.
Debbie Lee
NOL on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Q: What is your degree in?
A: I have a BA in Psychology from Pepperdine University.
Q: What was your last job before your SLOCA life?
A: I had a medical billing business, which I was able to do from home. I designed my own business cards and brochures and people started asking me who designed my marketing materials. When I told them I did the designing, they would ask me to do their marketing materials as well. I soon discovered that I enjoyed doing graphic design, took some classes, bought Adobe Creative Suite, and over the course of about 5 years, DML Medical Billing transitioned into DML Graphic Design.
Q: What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
A: Feed my chickens and my goats because they start hollering for food about 6:00am! And coffee… I must have coffee.
Q: What is your favorite local restaurant?
A: The Range in Santa Margarita… it's a little gem on the Central Coast. And they're always very good about accommodating Jake's allergies!
Q: What was your favorite book when you were a child?
A: The Black Stallion by Walter Farley… I read this story over and over and over again as a young girl. The story of a young boy marooned on an island with a wild stallion, and the courage and friendship he developed with the horse always pulled at my heartstrings!
Q: What is your favorite piece of literature that we've read at SLOCA?
A: Hmmmm….so hard to choose…I'm going to have to go with Brave Cloelia by Jane Curry and Jeff Crosby. I love stories of heroism and bravery. These are qualities that are important for me to teach my son. I think my favorite part of the story is when Cloelia gains the respect of the king who was holding her hostage, and he invites her to a feast!
Thanks for sharing, ladies! And thank you for stepping in to fill this oh-so-important job until we find the right NOL for us.
Come visit Down Home for the next few Fridays to meet more Friday Faces!
