Lynette Dickerson

I attribute my success to having a good support system, and the support system being a good, strong base with family at home. I do travel pretty often for what I do, and we have a good village behind us. We recognize that we can't do it all on our own. Whether it's having support for carpool or support for helping with different aspects, we make sure we're open with communication when things get stressful. We have parameters in place that you don't let life get overwhelming and take you over, that you keep those parameters in place with your village first.

The best career advice I ever received was don't put yourself in a box. I look at the degrees that I have earned, and none of them are all in the same space. I made sure to diversify from early on, and when I think of professional development that I take on, it doesn't follow the same path. I used to say that to my teachers, and I still say that when I hire teams: Don't follow the same path. Just because you get a degree in something doesn't mean you have to continue down that same path. Make yourself marketable, learn new things, and just continue to grow. You never want to be the smartest person in the room, because where do you go from there? Just be a lifelong learner, and that's the most value you can have.

Just be open, and be open to ask questions. I recently had the honor to do a project with the federal side with Indian Affairs, and I didn't go in thinking I knew everything by any means, but I did go in thinking that I knew a few things. I did research, but my research only could go so far, because I quickly learned that tribes are as different as having the last name of Smith or Johnson. There's so many different things to learn just from being able to say, I don't know, ask questions, and not just say I assume that because you read an article. I've been able to share a lot of knowledge with a lot of younger people who would say they want to be called by a certain name, or a certain group of people all want this. And I said, that's definitely not true, and you can't get all of your knowledge from reading a meme or one article. You definitely need to ask different people or different groups specifically, and you can learn more knowledge that way, even if you've done a lot of your research going in.

Challenges right now are there's a lot of unknowns in the space right now with educational technology, whether that's through funding or how the pendulum is swinging with a lot of things, with argument of too much technology in classes or too much screen time. I go back to finding the balance with screen time. That's always going to be where I stand. It's blending and using technology most adequately, instead of just kids in front of screens all day. You always want to get the most bang for your buck with whatever tool you're using. You don't just want to put a stack of books in front of a child and say read them if they're too hard for the child. That's not going to work either. Same thing if you put a piece of technology in front of a child they can't use. An opportunity would be the same, to be able to explain how you get the bang for your buck when it comes to using technology adequately. Something else we're seeing in the space is with AI, and explaining that it didn't just start last week. It's been around since the 1950s. It's just something like any other parts of technology. Once it reaches a certain point, the gas is hit, so to speak. It's teaching everyone, including children, students, and teachers, how to use it ethically and in a way that can be integrated where it's used for good.

Family, faith, and fun. I always say I take what I do very seriously, but I don't take myself seriously. I can laugh when I make a mistake, but I also learn from every mistake that I make. I go to my family, and we keep faith in what we do every day, because where else can you go but to grow from all of that?