Lea Kiraly

What were you like in middle school?

When I attended elementary school we did not have separate middle schools. I rose through the grade levels until I graduated 8th grade. We even had a formal graduation and I remember it well.

As a 7th grader you were considered to be a role model for those younger students so happily occupying the lower grade level classrooms. What I remember most during this time were all the questions that were filling up my head and how excited I was anticipating high school.

What types of courses or activities did you take in HS?

Math & Science, Fine Arts, Typing, Extra Curricular Clubs, Sports

What was the one course you took that has served you throughout your life? Why?

I will never forget taking my first science/astronomy class taught by Mr. Lenke. This guy had me believing that there was an actual constellation of stars called 'The Lenke Lawn Chair'. Because of his passion for the celestial sciences I found Astronomy very exciting! I joined the science club as a Freshman right then and there. I met my future husband on one of our Science Club adventures. This course helped me to develop my curiosity about our world and beyond. Questions questions. :-)

Was your Information Technology experience attained though on-the-job experiences or through a formal educational path?

On the job training

Where did you get your first exposure to Information Technology and start your training/experience?

While I was a parent volunteer at my daughters elementary school I started to develop technology skills that were noticed by the principal. I was hired to support the Media Specialist goals for the computer labs and student projects. A few years later a job opportunity in our IT Department became available. I became a Network Specialist and have grown steadily from my humble beginnings.

What was your path? How did you get from where you started to where you are today?

I first started working as an employee at the school where my daughters attended. I was the only person in the district that knew how to support and troubleshoot our newly adopted Accelerated Reader program. I learned it from the ground up and found that I truly loved learning how to support networked software programs. When I became a Network Technician I became the 'Expert' to troubleshoot the Accelerated Reader/Math programs. From this point I started to progress into other software programs such as our backup programs, software updates to our student information system and then learning to be a support for our lead programmers. This is where the fun really began, working with the programmers and learning new and exciting skills. I no longer work out in the field, but instead I'm located at our Technology office, working in a flow pertaining to accounts and access permissions. I'm never bored and find it exciting to come to work.

What trait(s) or characteristic(s) do you see in yourself?

I am creative and I love to dig deeper into my work to find answers to my questions. Why why why... I'm always curious and I always want to do more. I want to do more than what may be expected, which is a good trait to have, right? ;-)

Words of wisdom....

When you are searching for your niche in life remember to embrace changes that come your way. Learn how to take constructive criticism well. In fact, seek out constructive criticism, which will help guide you to where your passion intended for you to be. If you don't have lots of questions, you are not growing. If you don't make mistakes you also are not growing. Own up to mistakes; in fact, embrace them because mistakes are little widgets created to help you grow.