The Heart of Hebert

One of Central’s well-liked staff members shares her life experiences and inspires others

- by Liam Faunce staff writer

Room C161 is the Trojan Testing Center at Central. What may seem like a strictly kept room filled with quietness and persistent classwork is led by the positive, energetic Mrs. Laurie Hebert. She is very convenient to the school. “I do my best just to be kind to everybody and to try to meet students where they’re at. I don’t care who they love, what they did, if they’re in trouble or not in trouble, or if they [have a] 4.0 or 0.0 [GPA],” Hebert clarifies. “I like them all the same. As long as they’re kind and polite to me, I’ll be kind and polite to them.”

Prior to her career, Hebert was a stay-at-home mom for nine years. Before that, she had worked for a PGA tour event and for a start-up telephone company. She graduated from Grand Valley in 1998. When out of school, she is fond of walking her dog, cheering for her kids, and supporting her husband, who is a professional golfer. “I’m [also] super tight with my sisters and have an awesome network of girlfriends, and we like to do fun stuff together,” Hebert reflects.

Hebert didn’t originally have plans of working in a school. She has a degree in behavioral science, and she ended up working in event management. But things changed as her kids got older and her husband’s job became more demanding.

“Because of my husband’s job, who works seven days a week, I needed something that was flexible around the school schedule that allowed me to work but also allowed me to be a primary parent for my kids,” Hebert elaborates. “And so I started volunteering first, then [I] got hired at Cherry Knoll and have been with the district for thirteen years.”

After working at Cherry Knoll, Hebert worked at East Middle School, where she was an administrative assistant. She dealt with attendance and discipline and talked to a lot of parents, and she finds her work here at Central to be more charismatic. “I just [get to] work with students and teachers, and that’s my favorite part of my job. So I get to focus on the part I like the most,” she mentions.

Although Hebert has a lot of school experience, back when she was a student, she recalls it as a rather tough time.

“I was a terrible student,” she admits. “I really struggled in school. I didn’t have a really good GPA, and I flunked out of college my freshman year and had to take classes at NMC to get good grades to get back to Grand Valley to graduate, and so for kids who struggle or need some support services, I really get them because I was that student.”

You may ask, What does Mrs. Hebert even do? Well, Hebert finds that she never has the same day twice. “I get here at seven,” she says. “Usually [I roll] in with my venti black coffee from Starbucks. And sometimes, depending what day of the week it is, I have a line, or sometimes, I have no kids at all. Most of the students who come at 7 A.M. are [catching up on tests] or have been absent or athletes and musicians who were gone for their activities.” Hebert wants to make people comfortable with where they’re at. “Every hour, it’s something different,” she explains. “While my classroom is designed to accommodate students who have a 504 [or] IEP, we do have a lot of kids who just come here to do work.”

One message Hebert wants to send out to everyone is, “Own It! Own your stuff! If you lost an assignment, you cheated, just say you did it, you’re sorry, and move on,” she affirms. “So many kids, not even just kids, but adults try to blame their own personal circumstance on somebody else, and I really think it’s just best to own it, apologize, and move on.”

If you need some work to catch up on or just need someone to talk to, Hebert is always available during school hours, in room C161 at the Trojan Testing Center. //