For Immediate Release
Contact: Daniel Wackershauser, Marketing and PR Specialist
Phone: 608.822.2303
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: August 19, 2022
Timmerman marks 35 years of memories at Child Care Center
Fennimore -
Paula Timmerman, lab assistant at the Southwest Tech Child Care Center, works with children at the facility.
Being around children keeps people young. That seems to be the case for Paula Timmerman, lab assistant in the Southwest Wisconsin Technical College Child Care Center. She was recently recognized for her 35-year work anniversary at the college and she has no plans of slowing down. She began part-time in 1987 and moved into a full-time role in 1988. “I don’t even feel like I’m 35 and to think that I’ve been here 35 years is bizarre,” she said. “I want to keep doing this as long as I mentally and physically can. I have a heart and a passion for the little ones.”
Paula Timmerman and the children pose for a Halloween photo.
Timmerman grew up in Hazel Green, Wisconsin and currently lives in Dickeyville, Wisconsin. She graduated from Southwestern High School before enrolling in the Childcare Service program at Southwest Tech. She graduated from the one-year program in 1983. Over time she took correspondence courses, earning her associate degree in Early Childhood Education from Southwest Tech.
Her professional career began in Dubuque, Iowa, where Timmerman worked at a child care center, before coming to work at Southwest Tech.
She enjoys every day that she gets to be around the children, as she is a two-year-old teacher. “Do you know how many hugs I get a day?” she said with a smile. “To see them respond when they conquer a task, like ‘I put my shoe on all by myself.’ It’s all those little things that are so rewarding to me. They are ‘terrific’ and not ‘terrible.’”
“I really love my job,” added Timmerman. “I am really honored to be part of the Southwest Tech family.”
Being at the Child Care Center for 35 years has allowed Timmerman to see children grow up and now she is teaching the second generation. “It’s neat to see them as a two-year-old and then see them as a parent,” she said. “And there’s a lot of resemblance, I think, in their children, compared to when I had their parents.”
The daily routine with the children includes breakfast, “potty,” outside play time, art projects, story time, play time with the water and sand tables, various other activities, lunch and nap times.
When Timmerman began, the Child Care Center was located in the 200 area on campus, which is now home to the Graphic and Web Design program. The current Child Care Center was built in 2010. “This (building) is my dream come true,” she Timmerman.
As for the future, Timmerman said she may help the elderly at nursing homes once her time at Southwest Tech ends. “There’s a lot of similarities between the young and the old; feed them, change them, help them walk,” she said. “They are lonely. Just to visit with them or take them to the grocery store would be nice.”
| Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, a finalist for the 2023 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, is one of 16 institutions that comprise the Wisconsin Technical College System. Southwest Tech offers more than 60 programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Courses are offered on campus, online, HyFlex and in a blended format. The college provides apprenticeship, certificate, technical diploma, and associate degree programs that respond to district workforce needs and prepare student for family-sustaining jobs and career advancement. |