Her Story
About Aneta
I oversee the day-by-day operations for multiple high schools, managing 166 union employees and serving about 7,000 students. My expertise covers everything from cleaning to maintenance, ensuring our spaces and schools are clean and operate properly, and that our grounds and fields are in excellent condition for students to play on. A huge part of my job is planning and preparing for construction during the summer, and we also have mechanical construction going on for 12 months when school is in session. This upcoming year, we'll be doing roof replacement, designing and executing brand new student services in one of our schools, and I'll oversee turf replacement on track and fields with new lighting. The big responsibility of my job is managing construction as well as the budget - our operations budget is about $17 million for the year, and my capital planning budget is between $10 to $30 million by the end of the year. Before working in education for the past 11 years, I spent 8 to 9 years in leadership and management, overseeing cleaning crews in hospitals and airports across the state of Illinois. I call this a thankless job - we never look for recognition, and nothing we do is too big or too small. There are a lot of moments we can be proud of and be satisfied with what we do day by day.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Aneta
01What do you attribute your success to?
I'm passionate about what I do, and I think my success comes from being able to help students and staff feel welcome and comfortable in the schools. I can make changes, whether they are small or big, and that's my success - that people see we can make those changes. It's not about treating myself as a successful person, but rather being someone who is really passionate at what I do. For some people, success will be finishing school, for some it will be having a dream job, but I think the thing that I can help the students and the staff feel welcome and do a lot for them to feel comfortable in the schools is what makes me successful.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've received is to dream big and never underestimate yourself. I was not born here, I came from a different country, I didn't speak the language, and I came after high school, not like a little child. People always told me you have to dream big to be able to accomplish, and I do believe that. I do believe that America is the place where you can have your American big dream to accomplish. Especially for my profession, there are not too many female people in the industry where I work, but I think that even pushed me more. You have to dream big, I will say.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell them to be humble and encourage yourself. I think what stands for us as women in this industry is that we are very stubborn, and we know that we can multitask. We can do well in a family, and be a mother, and be a businesswoman, and be an engineer. I think those combinations make us very successful. They should never doubt about that, and this job can bring a lot of satisfaction. I think working with a male-dominated industry is actually changing, and it brings a lot of satisfaction for us as women, that we can be successful.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges, at least from my perspective, are the aging infrastructure and the schools themselves. You have to be able to handle a lot of stress because it's not every day how the day will be looking and what the day will bring. Those are really the struggles and the most difficult things. But the biggest opportunities are that we see a lot of need for positions like mine. A lot of leaders, at least in the state of Illinois where I am, at the level of directors and assistant directors in the education field, are going through a big turnover. Many of them are going into retirement, so I think there's a lot of opportunity to get really good jobs. If you are really passionate, your opportunities are really big here on the market now because people really need those people that will take the challenge as opportunity and work for it.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important values are that you have to be yourself - that's number one. People need to believe that you are who you are every day, that when you come to work, you are exactly the same person. You treat everybody like you would like them to treat you. You have to be very respectful, you have to be very honest with them to the point, of course, when you can be honest. I think you have to be humble and show the people that you have to support them, but you have to work twice more than your people, because that's the way how you will lead and show and encourage people every day for work.
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