Adele Benjamin has been driving bus for Sunburst Schools for the past few years.
1. What is your current role(s) at Sunburst Schools?
My current role at Sunburst Schools is bus driver for the 9-mile route east of Sunburst.
2. What previous teaching, coaching, or other extracurricular activities have you been involved with, if any, at previous schools and how many years of experience do you have?
I drove bus for Galata Elementary School for about six and a half years.
3. Give us a brief history to include where you are from, where you were born, where you graduated from high school, and where graduated from college?
When I was born, we lived in the southeast corner of Wyoming. I went to school in Albin, Wyoming, which is smaller than Sunburst. I finished high school in Mitchell, Nebraska, where we had moved halfway through my ninth grade year. I attended the University of Wyoming, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering. I worked for the United States Forest Service for ten years in the engineering department in Colorado and Montana.
4. Tell us about your family, spouse, or significant other.
I am married to Lyle Benjamin and have two sons, Ian Benjamin, who is a junior at NTCHS, and Elonzo Benjamin, who is an eighth grader at NTCHS.
5. Do you have any pets?
We have a dog named Blueberry, who likes to follow us to school events. We have a cat that sort of adopted us this past summer. Hopefully, she keeps the mice population down.
6. What are some of your hobbies and interests?
My hobbies are on hold while we work on our house and get the boys through school. I have finished one full size quilt and have some squares in boxes. When we lived at Devon, I picked up card making from calendars and other scraps. I also took a woodworking class at the Shelby High School after I was married. Reading is a way of life. I also like to bike, hike, fish, and ride the river.
7. Are there any other interesting tidbits you want to share about yourself?
Some of my nieces and nephews call me Aunt Bugs. My dad, as a second generation Japanese American, was drafted into the U.S. Army and fought in Europe during World War II. My mom, as a child during the Depression, did not lack for food because her dad was a bootlegger! (History tells us that the Depression and Prohibition were not at the same time, but he and his brother made and sold liquor illegally, which qualifies them as bootleggers.) I think this is hilarious and interesting because I just recently learned this about him and never dreamed I had a bootlegger in my ancestry.