Still, Siekmann went on to college to study human resource management, married, had children and started working.
“Teaching is my second career. I have only been teaching for 10 years,” she said. “It wasn’t until I started volunteering and spending a lot of time at my sons’ schools that I realized how much I loved being there with the students. It was then that I decided to go back to school and get my teaching degree. I now know that teaching is what I was meant to do.”
The Today’s Pulse found out more about Siekmann.
Q: What has been your educational journey?
A: I graduated from Turpin High School. I earned my undergraduate degree in Human Resource Management from The Ohio University. I received my Master's degree in Special Education from Georgetown.
Q: What was your favorite subject in school?
A: My favorite subject in school was language arts. I loved reading, because it provided me with entertainment, knowledge and a way to relax.
Q: What do you enjoy most about teaching?
A: There are so many things I love about teaching, but my favorite is being able to make a connection with my students and make them feel good about being at school. I love the smiles on their faces when they finally understand something that was difficult for them or they do well on an assignment.
Q: What is your teaching philosophy?
A: My teaching philosophy is best represented with the quote: "They may forget what you said, but they will not forget how you made them feel."
I want to be known as the teacher who taught from the heart and not from a book; one that made my students feel good about being at school and enjoyed learning.
Q: What do you enjoy about teaching at Lebanon City Schools?
A: I originally wanted to teach in Lebanon, because I live in Mason and Lebanon was a great district close to my home.
However, after being here, I quickly realized how lucky I was to be in a district that cared so much for their students and to be working with such amazing people.
Q: What are some of your hobbies?
A: In my free time, I like to take long walks with my dog Abby, play golf and spend time with my family and friends.
I also try and get to some of the extracurricular activities of the students in the classrooms I support. I love watching them do activities outside of the classroom.
Q: Can you share about your family?
A: I have been married for 29 years to my husband, Rick. We have three wonderful sons. Tyler who is 25, Drew is 22 and Brad is 20.
Contact this contributing writer at lisa.knodel@gmail.com.
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