My mother-in-law, Pat Durda, has been a teacher for all of her career. She started teaching in El Paso, Texas. She helped start and taught at a school for at-risk youth and she is currently a high school Latin teacher at Heritage Academy Laveen. Although she was never my teacher in the traditional sense, she has taught me many important lessons throughout our relationship. One of the greatest things she ever taught me was the importance of education and working hard to get it. My mother-in-law got her bachelor's degree while raising seven children and got her master's degree while those seven children were still at home and she was working full time as a school teacher. My in-laws were poor, and it cost a lot of time, money, and sacrifice for her to go to school, but she did it because she knew that it would be an example for those who would come after her and help her provide a better life for her children in the end. Pat's example has inspired me to pursue my education. My education was put on hold when I got married and we could only afford to send one person in our family to school at a time. By the time my husband had finished school, I was working and had three kids. I completed my bachelor's degree, and now I'm going onto my master's degree. Not only am I following her example to make my education happen, but Pat has also supported me which physical help and child care as I have worked on my degree. Without that help, I wouldn't be able to spend the time necessary to get my school work done. I only hope that I can be the same kind of example and support to someone who comes after me the way my mother-in-law has. One of the lessons that I find in this example is that to be a teacher to someone, it doesn't have to be limited to an assigned teacher in school, we can be a teacher to anyone. Those who chose to take on the teacher's role in someone's life have an impact far beyond any classroom they teach in. They live their lives in a way that brings out the best in everyone around them, they push people to be the best they can be. That is what a true teacher is, not just someone who is in a classroom, but someone who teaches by all their words and actions.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Glendale Community Action Program (CAP) went from providing an average of two million dollars of support to citizens each fiscal year to providing over nine million dollars of support in nine months. In my role as the Business Intelligence and Analytics Officer for the City of Glendale, Arizona, my team and I were able to support this work because of our ability to collect and analyze a large amount of city-data. I’ve spent most of my career providing data and analysis in various roles within government and I’ve loved it, but this project was especially impactful to me because there was such an obvious and quick change and an increase in benefits to people who really needed help at a critical time. Understanding where CAP was in their delivery of services and what bottlenecks hindered the distribution of support was critical in changing the outcome for those who needed help. This understanding came about because of the data extracts and Tableau dashboards I was able to create. Helping to make program and process improvements, like I was able to make in CAP, and increasing my ability to serve the citizens of our city is important to me. I’m anxious to have more experiences seeing issues resolve and services increase that has a direct and positive effect on people and families like I was able to see in the project with the CAP office. To do that, I need to continue improving my skills and abilities. The Master’s Degree I am pursuing in Data Analytics and Policy can help my continued growth and make possible my expanded contribution to the communities I serve. The need for analytics in government is only growing, and cities, counties, and states are behind where many private companies are in utilizing the vast amounts of data available. Governments need skilled and motivated employees if they are going to provide the services that the citizens need and expect from their government. To provide the support that needs to be given the government needs to be more effective with the resources that they have available to them. I want to be an integral part of that supportive and improvement process in Glendale and in any other government organization, I may work for. I want to see our government become as effective and efficient as it can be. Only through continual improvement will the government be able to fulfill its mission to support those in need in our communities. I want to be a part of that change here in Glendale. If we want things to be better we have to be a part of that improvement. If we need our government to be efficient and effective and be able to reach those who are in the most need, then we need to be a part of making that happen. When you see something that needs to be better, you have to become a part of it and bring what talents and skills that you have to the problem. Sitting on the sidelines won't get the problem solved, it won't make things better. We need to make choices with our lives and careers that will create the change we want.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Glendale Community Action Program (CAP) went from providing an average of two million dollars of support to citizens each fiscal year to providing over nine million dollars of support in nine months. In my role as the Business Intelligence and Analytics Officer for the City of Glendale, Arizona, my team and I were able to support this work because of our ability to collect and analyze a large amount of city-data. I’ve spent most of my career providing data and analysis in various roles within government and I’ve loved it, but this project was especially impactful to me because there was such an obvious and quick change and an increase in benefits to people who really needed help at a critical time. Understanding where CAP was in their delivery of services and what bottlenecks hindered the distribution of support was critical in changing the outcome for those who needed help. This understanding came about because of the data extracts and Tableau dashboards I was able to create. Helping to make program and process improvements, like I was able to make in CAP, and increasing my ability to serve the citizens of our city is important to me. I’m anxious to have more experiences seeing issues resolve and services increase that has a direct and positive effect on people and families like I was able to see in the project with the CAP office. To do that, I need to continue improving my skills and abilities. The need for analytics in government is only growing, and cities, counties, and states are behind where many private companies are in utilizing the vast amounts of data available. Governments need skilled and motivated employees if they are going to provide the services that the citizens need and expect from their government. I want to be an integral part of that supportive process in Glendale and in any other government organization, I may work for. Unfortunately, working for the government as I do, the pay is not as high as it would be if I worked in the private sector. I also have five children and I support my parents financially. My financial resources are dedicated and unless I am able to get scholarships, debt will be the only way I will be able to pursue my educational goals. I want to use my education to help my community but I'll need help myself to get there.