From Student to Parent & Employee

Tara Schulz '06

For Tara Lipper, Cardinal Community School District has become more than her alma mater. After graduating in 2006, Lipper eventually returned to her old stomping grounds as a parent and employee. 

Lipper’s two children, Jacob (5th grade) and Cheyenne (kindergarten), both attend Cardinal, making it a perfect place for Lipper to work as a cleaning specialist. 

“I love working in the same place where my kids go,” Lipper says. “I love to see them every day.”

Lipper has a rare opportunity to see her kids making memories in the same halls and classrooms she once did as a student. Though, her kids have quite some time before they reach her favorite years at Cardinal: high school. 

“My senior prom was a good memory because I went with a guy that is now my husband,” Lipper says. “Twelfth grade was a short year — I graduated early in November. It was just more fun.”

As a student, Lipper appreciated that Cardinal’s smaller size allowed her to get to know most of her classmates — a task that can be impossible at larger schools. And today, she is glad to get to know and work with Cardinal’s staff members.

“I love being a janitor at Cardinal Elementary because I love being busy all the time, and I love the staff; they are so nice and helpful,” Lipper explains. “I love to see all the little kids and making sure they have a sanitary school to be in.”

Lipper’s hard work and dedication to Cardinal’s students are traits she herself learned during her time as a young learner. 

“Cardinal taught me the importance of being respectful to others and giving it my all and not giving up,” Lipper says.

It's a lesson she hopes her own children will carry with them after their own years at Cardinal.