Thursday, March 28, 2024

Kyle Miller awarded LCSD Employee of the Year after 25 years of dedicated service

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CHELAN - Kyle Miller has certainly earned being named the Lake Chelan School District Employee of the Year.

Aside from her daily duties in the food service department and as a janitor, Miller has helped inspire and connect with hundreds of kids over 25 years.

She attributes her ability to connect with a wide range of students to a lesson she learned from her sister one day when she was giving swimming lessons. While in the water Miller noticed the kids would gravitate more toward her sister than herself and when she asked why, her sister advised Miller to get down in the water more to get on their level.

“That was probably a defining moment,” Miller pronounced. “I think you could use that at any age. Just get on their level because it builds trust, so since that day I have been conscious about getting on people’s level.”

One of the ways she used to practice this was by sitting down at the end of students tables during lunch.

“Everyday I would move to a different table, and you think they don’t notice you or they may not like you because you are an authority figure or an adult, but actually all they want is for someone to sit with them,” Miller explained. “There were times I would sit down and say, ‘I’m just sitting, you guys go ahead and talk’ and they would just talk about anything. Of course with elementary school kids, when I would sit down I would get bombarded with ‘hey Kyle’ so the energy is different but the kids all like it when you sit with them.”

Miller said there have been a few occasions students have come up to her and said they really appreciated when she used to sit with them at lunch. This is essentially what Miller loves about working with kids.

“I kind of compare working with kids like being a waitress,” Miller said. “If you give kids a little bit of attention then you get a tip in the form of a hug or some trust. Kids are as easy as trying to please a customer and then you get immediate gratification, so it is not something you wait on like a paycheck. They are so rewarding and very lovable.”

Even in our short time speaking in a small conference room I could tell Miller definitely has an ability to connect with students. This was evident after Miller described a myriad of stories where kids sought out Miller during the day to either work, talk or spend time with her. One girl - who used to help clean the lunchroom continued to visit during her schooling - even invited Miller to her wedding when she got older.

Overall, Miller has earned the trust from the students and support from her colleagues with her smile, positive attitude and constant approach to go above and beyond.

For those of you that don’t know, Miller is the one who shovels the sidewalks from Morgen Owings Elementary to the Lake Chelan School District building.

On any given snowy day, Miller can be found at the school around 3 a.m, completing her typical workload of cleaning the building. After finishing, Miller then zips up her coat and heads outside before firing up the snowblower and clearing the sidewalks. Once those are done, Miller shovels all of the steps and then finally de-ices everything she cleared.

“It takes a lot longer than you would think,” Miller commented. “I love the snow and I love to ski and snow blow, but that is the worst part of my job because I have to get up early.”

Although not her favorite and what can amount to a 12 hour day, Miller is obliged to do the work. She said that she often feels sad when the summer comes.

“I get a little anxiety and a little teary thinking that I now have to talk to my adult peers instead of the kids,” Miller stated. “I love the staff and the people I work with, it feels like a home so I kind of miss it when I’m not here. There is not a day I am not appreciative for this job.”

“The staff is so awesome,” Miller referenced a few times in our interview. “If there is any need they all rally together and help. During my two bouts with colon cancer and chemotherapy they made sure me and my family had meals each night. And when I ran out of sick leave they donated their own leave so I could stay home and recuperate. They also include me in all aspects of their day (with the students) and that is a privilege.

Cleaning was something Miller always found herself doing, even in her past jobs in a office setting.

“I would be the one who was always cleaning our staff rooms or picking up the papers, so no matter what I’m always moving my hands,” Miller said. “When I clean offices, I think about how they sit in small desks for eight hours and they have to sit there and think ‘wow, I’m going to retire here and this is my geographical place,’ for me, I get to walk miles every day so I really like the freedom and moving.”

When I asked Miller how she felt to be awarded the Employee of the Year, she was characteristically modest by  saying it was an honor, but that she felt there were other staff who deserved it more than her.

“I don’t like thinking that I’m better than anyone else, especially in my classification because they all work really hard. So it is nice for us to have that, but they have helped me and they make me look good too, so I don’t want to take anything away from them,” Miller said in reference to the other janitor/food service department workers. “It is an honor, but I don’t want the attention, I want to give attention to others.”
 

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