Around the middle of every school year, the stakes are high for Rocky Mountain High School’s staff and teachers. Hundreds of students and teachers alike participate in a poll that picks two staff members as employees of the year. These people are nominated for their outstanding kindness and hard work.

One award is for certified employees, which means teachers, while the second is for classified employees, which is other staff. These people make up the life of the school, so it is challenging to imagine Rocky without them.

The teacher chosen out of the certified pool was Alycia Osterhout, one of Rocky’s speech teachers. Osterhout has been working at Rocky for about 18 years. She didn’t start as a teacher, but was instead a basketball coach.

“I came in as freshman coach, did that for a couple years, moved up to JV for a long time, and then I’ve been the assistant of varsity for the last three years,” Osterhout stated.

A while back, it was required to get a teaching certificate to become a head coach. After earning her certificate, she ended up falling in love with teaching. Osterhout hasn’t only worked in the Speech field, but she had also taught Intro to Newspaper, which she really loved. One of Rocky’s ELA teachers, Dr. Ali Chapman, admired Osterhout for her hard work.

“She’s an integral part of our community, as a teacher, both for freshman and previous students. And then she’s an awesome coach, too, for women’s basketball. And I just think she’s amazing all around,” Chapman said. Chapman and Osterhout had a great deal in common, including their husbands both being in the service field. In fact, Chapman had taught two of Osterhout’s daughters, bringing them closer together over the years.

Who was chosen out of all remarkable classified workers at Rocky? That would be one of Rocky’s best, Quintin Mikell. Mikell is sometimes known as Coach Q or even just Q. He works as defensive coordinator for Rocky’s football team and serves alongside Jake Carr as one of Rocky’s security officers.

“My favorite part is coming in every day and getting to see the young people, or you guys, you know, excited to go to school, excited to go to your activities and sports,” Mikell said. “I also enjoy coaching. That’s one of the main reasons why I do this.”

But he hasn’t always been coaching or working security. As lots of students know, Mikell played in the NFL. He graduated from Boise state and lived in the Philadelphia area. He resided there with his wife and their kids for about 20 years, eventually moving back to Idaho with his family four years ago. He started at Rocky as a paraprofessional and worked his way up to where he is now. As a coach, employee, and dad, Mikell has a lot of roles to balance, but he doesn’t do so alone.

“The balance really, it comes from my wife,” Mikell said. “That really kind of tells me out and gives me an opportunity, an outlet, to still be a part of the game of football but also be able to go home and visit my family and stuff.” Having this balance and his wife around to help out allowed Mikell to enjoy and do the things he loves to do, whether that’s coaching or seeing his loved ones.

Chapman, as mentioned earlier, notices Mikell and how he contributes to the positive environment at Rocky.  “He’s very down to Earth, definitely takes care of our hallways and our security, backs up teachers, someone to count on.” Chapman said. Chapman isn’t the only one that appreciates these workers, but many students at Rocky appreciate them as well. By giving out these awards, we have the chance to show them that appreciation.

When we get background information on both Osterhout and Mikell, we get the opportunity to understand and even appreciate them more. They both create safe places for students to thrive in, displaying kindness, discipline, and hard work. These are all beneficial to create a setting in which students can thrive in. It isn’t just Mikell and Osterhout, but all the other employees, as well. Whether they’re teaching students or cleaning our restrooms, they all contribute to the positive place Rocky is today. We have them to thank. Without them, where would Rocky be?