It’s All Possible

How is it possible?

A question commonly asked, and a reasonable one at that. There is so much to do in life and not much time to do it, but it is never too late to reach for your dreams. Jamie Page-Hilbert is an instructional paraprofessional at Lakeland High School. She has a full-time job, goes to nursing school full-time, and raises four children. It requires a great work ethic to be successful in all these things, and Hilbert works hard to achieve her goals.

With all that is going on, it is often difficult to find time to do it all and still have time for herself. 

“Managing a good work-life balance is hard,” said Hilbert. “I will work on homework while the kids are at sports practice. Then when they get home, we will have family time, and once they are in bed, I am normally up until midnight to finish homework.”

She does not have much free time because of homework and work, but Hilbert likes to spend extra time with her children by hanging out with them and supporting them at sporting events. She cares for her kids and likes to be able to be a present parent.

Though she is busy, she has a passion for what she does. As an Instructional Paraprofessional, she can go where students might need help and be the support they need to understand the information. One of her favorite things to experience as an instructional paraprofessional is “the moment it clicks.”

“Not all teaching styles fit for all students,” Hilbert said, “and I like to be the bridge that helps the teacher and the student connect on the information.”

“I could not do my job without her,” said Stolken.

Along with her efforts at work, Hilbert’s time is invested in her schooling to become a nurse. Hilbert’s father was a firefighter E.M.T., so when she was young, she witnessed a lot of trauma patients. When she first saw someone airlifted, she studied the nurse in the helicopter and knew that was what she wanted to do. It just took her a while to get to nursing school.

“Different people have different pathways,” says Hilbert, “you just have to find the balance that works for you.”

She plans to finish nursing school while continuing her work at Lakeland. Then she will do her rotations in the E.R., trauma care, and the Pediatric ICU. After this, she hopes to become a flight nurse before returning to trauma care.

“It’s all possible,” she says. “It’s all possible.”