Over the course of his time in the military, Brandon Irdi learned three major fundamentals of life: discipline, structure, and integrity. Irdi, the district’s Coordinator of Safety and Security, says he regularly uses learned skills from the military in his job in the district. 

“I work in a busy environment. I get like 120 calls a day. I have to be good at multitasking,” said Irdi. “Sometimes you are asked to be the knowledge behind something going on at the school that you might not be aware of, so you’ve got to investigate and organize quickly.” 

Irdi is one of five veterans employed in the district, a list that also includes Brian Stowell, Brandon Kash, Elmer Hollinger, and Clyde Gills. Stowell acts as the district’s Director of Facilities and Transportation, while Kash is the Director of Technology / Cyber School Principal. Gillis serves as a security guard, while Hollinger is a custodian. 

The district extends a thank you to all of them for their past service, and for their current commitment to the district.  

For Stowell — while there were steps in between — the transition from the military to working in a school just made sense. 

“When I left the military, my hardest thing was finding a job that I felt was worth doing and impactful. I didn’t want to do a job just to do a job,” said Stowell.  

“I need to be doing something for a purpose. Being here in a school, it’s awesome to see all of the little wins you can get and how many people you can impact. And now I’m impacting the district. We’re impacting lives here.”  

As people who once dedicated themselves to the safety of the country, the safety of the district’s students and staff takes top priority for Stowell, Irdi, Gillis, Kash, and Hollinger.  

“If kids don’t feel safe in an environment, they’re not going to be able to learn. They have to feel safe and like they’re able to focus on what they need to focus on without there being any external factors affecting that,” said Stowell.  

“Things as simple as being able to come into a clean classroom is a great start for their day, and knowing that staff are here to protect them. Just making sure that they know that everyone is on the same page and the number one goal is to make sure that they have everything they need to learn.”  

For Kash, things he learned about himself in the military have transitioned into his life as an educator.

“When I joined the military and I had sergeants — or role models — it truly helped mold me and mentor me into becoming the best version of myself. So I knew that when I left the military I wanted to be able to be that for as many people as possible,” said Kash.  

“I love being in a position where I can help people, whether that’s me as a teacher helping students or me as a dad helping my kids.”