Shoes: Faded Glory “most comfortable and economically priced” brown boots
Andrea Woodlief has several different shoes to fill. Not only is she a Technology Specialist, but she is also the co-advisor for Non-Traditional Student Organization, and a single mother. How does she do it? Here’s a day in the shoes of Andrea Woodlief.
6 a.m. – The alarm clock goes off. Getting out of bed, Andrea Woodlief crosses the room to turn it off. She then promptly returns to bed, sleeping until around 6:45.
7-8 a.m. – As a single mother, Woodlief’s mornings are chocked full of blueberry pancakes, teeth brushing, hair management and the daily morning rush to school. Her son Avery, who is “not a morning person,” races to his friend in his kindergarten class while Andrea briefly catches up with his teacher.
8-11:30 a.m. – After arriving in the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas, or as Sam students know it, the Lemit building for work. As a Technology Specialist, she spends her morning on the phone fielding IT and database related questions. She shares an office with co-worker, supervisor, friend, and all-around “good guy” Sam. She also works on special projects here and there. Recently she went to Jasper, Texas to work in the InCoSiT training, giving IT related support to the mobile command vehicle.
11:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. – Even tech support needs to eat lunch. Sometimes Woodlief eats her bagged lunch, and sometimes she picks up a sandwich from Subway (to stay healthy, of course). Despite the menu, she always takes a walk around campus. A graduate of Sam Houston for both her undergraduate studies (in computer science, of course) and recently her Masters degree, she still keeps up with campus happenings in the LSC and surrounding mall area. After spending around a decade on campus, she’s definitely “got a lot of school spirit.”
12:30-5 p.m. – Back in the office, Woodlief’s afternoon is full of IT, meetings, and projects. As she says, it’s pretty much full of “helping people and going to meetings.” Sometimes she goes down the hill to help with the data basing projects at the Constable’s program at the Annex.
5-6:30 p.m. – After picking up her son from school, Woodlief heads to the grocery store to buy dinner. They return home to the new kitten Merlin (“a wonderful addition to the family”) and eat, then work on homework. Right now, Andrea and Avery are going over alphabet cards, addition, and spelling. She makes a snack, sometimes PB&J, sometimes cheese and crackers around 8:30.
9:30 p.m. Hopefully. The day mostly over, she tries to get Avery to bed. Once he’s rocked to sleep, she prepares for the next day. Right now, she has to “forget time for dating, but that’s okay” She would like her favorite music video to come true (the woman ends up marrying the man who fixes her broken down car), but “right now [she’s] focused on [Avery]- there’s plenty of time for dating later.”
Right now, Andrea Woodlief is planning Halloween and figuring out Christmas. Her son is going to be a Power Ranger for Halloween, and she’s tailgating this weekend with NTSO in Bearkat Alley. Soon, Santa needs to start finding Transformer toys for Christmas, before the big shopping rush.
“My whole life is centered around taking care of my son. It’s a joy, and he makes me laugh,” Woodlief said. “He reminds me of myself when I was a child- he’s mischievous!”