Show and Tell: Lauri Susi & Bobbi Bear

A Q&A with Two IXL Training Specialists

If you’ve attended an IXL training session recently, there’s a good chance you’ve met Lauri or Bobbi! And, if you liked our recent lesson plan downloads for Black History Month, snow days, and EngageNY, thank these two! Read on to find out more about our Training Specialists—sign language and stage combat, anyone?

The Basics

Name and title: Lauri Susi, Training Specialist

Has been at IXL for: 5 months

Hometown and current city: Grew up in Enfield, Conn. Currently lives in New London, N.C.

Life at IXL

What did you do prior to coming to IXL?

I taught for over 35 years. I taught special education, first grade, and sixth grade mathematics. Then I was a K–12 technology teacher, and then I moved to University of North Carolina, Greensboro, where I taught in their specialized education department and helped with their student teaching program.

What do you do at IXL? Give us a taste of what a typical day at work is like for you.

It’s a combination of preparing for and running training sessions. I typically have at least three a day, and sometimes, as many as five. The hours vary depending on customers—sometimes the trainings are early in the morning or in the evening. We also work with other teams to think about ways that IXL can be implemented in the classroom.

 

Life beyond IXL

Helen Keller and Alexander Graham Bell
(Credit: Wikipedia)

Tell us about your favorite teacher.

My favorite teacher was Miss Furey, my second grade teacher. We read about Helen Keller, and that’s when I became interested in teaching. In fact, my first job was teaching children who are blind. So, she influenced my entire life.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

By fourth or fifth grade, I had decided I wanted to be a teacher. Living in Connecticut, there was the Oakhill School for the Blind, one of the first blind schools in the country, as well as a school for the deaf that Alexander Graham Bell helped found. So, there was a real awareness of people with disabilities, and I learned sign language and a little bit of Braille.

 

Just for Fun

Let’s play “this or that”! Answer as quickly as you can:

  • Coffee or tea? Coffee
  • Cupcakes or regular cake? Neither. I don’t like cake. Ice cream!
  • Sweet or salty? Salty
  • Math or language arts? Math
  • Beach or snow? Beach
  • Early bird or night owl? Early bird

 

The Basics

Name and title: Bobbi Bear, Training Specialist

Has been at IXL for: 6 months

Hometown and current city: Grew up in Lititz, Pa. Currently lives in Lititz, Pa. (I moved away for a while, and now, I’m back!)

 

Life at IXL

What did you do prior to coming to IXL?

I taught eighth grade English for about 10 years.

What skills or qualities does it take to do your job?

I think that there has to be a level of flexibility, a willingness to change the plan or agenda at the drop of a hat, based on what you’re sensing from your audience. The fact of the matter is that every training is different because every group of teachers and what they need is different.

 

Life beyond IXL

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love live theater. My Bachelor’s degree is actually in musical theater, so whenever I have an opportunity, I do a little local theater. Just this fall, I was the crazy mother in the musical version of Stephen King’s Carrie.

Do you have an unusual talent?

I’m certified in stage combat. I could pretend that I was stabbing you with a dagger, but not actually hurt you. I can do sword-fighting, rapier and dagger, and hand-to-hand combat.

 

Just for Fun

The Oscars are coming up! What would be your award for Best Picture of All Time?

Cinema Paradiso. It’s an Italian movie about an old man and a little boy who have this beautiful relationship because of their mutual love of film. It’s just the most beautiful movie I have ever seen. Now, I’m going to watch it! [laughs]

Interested in joining IXL as a Training Specialist? We have openings! Apply here.