"It's been awesome," explained Sydnie Stellpflug, the new Second Grade teacher, when I asked her about her experience at F.E. Miley Elementary School. "As a first year teacher, I was super nervous. I feel like I have every question in the world. But everyone's been super helpful. They jump right in and answer. They're checking on me throughout the day. 'Hey, is everything okay?' 'Do you need anything?'"

Sydney was born and raised on a ranch in Wyoming. She graduated from the University of Wyoming in May before moving here with her boyfriend, Shad Hepp. The pair met while he was managing her parents' ranch. "We were looking online and came across an ad saying they're [the IX] hiring a manager, and he applied there. I looked into the town, and they had a second grade job. So I applied here, and we got interviews on the same day. That's how we got here."

The pair love the small town atmosphere in Big Sandy since they came from the small Wyoming Town of Glen Rock, which has a population of 2500 people. Having grown up on a ranch, Sydnie loves the work at the IX and spends most of her free time working there. "I love to help on the ranch. I try to be involved as much as possible. Even at night after school, I feel like I'm working a second job, because I go out there and we're checking pivots or fixing fence. We are always doing something. Our world never really stops, but I do enjoy it." She's also cooked meals for the crew on several occasions.

Sydnie also enjoys hunting. "We like to travel and hunt. We're big hunters. I've hunted bears in Canada. Elk in Wyoming. Deer in Illinois. A little bit of everything everywhere." When I asked about her favorite hunting trip, she quickly replied: "Probably the bear. It was a lot of fun. It was for my 12th birthday. I had just turned 12 the week before, and my dad took me to Canada. We were sitting in a tree stand, and I turned around and looked at him and said, 'There's no bears here.' And he said 'Sit down. There's a bear right behind you.' I said 'No there is not. Shut up.' And he said 'No. Turn around.' And sure enough, there's a bear sitting there in front of me.' That bear is now a rug, which is still at her parents' house in Wyoming.

The pair of Wyomingites (This is the accepted term. I looked it up. -E) love to travel, though not primarily to see cities or major attractions. "I just like to see country. Even here, we'd love to just go up in the mountains. We just like to see new country. Anywhere we can go. Not necessarily a city, we're not city people." Her favorite travel destination involved a family cruise that stopped in Haiti. "That was a lot to see. It was really pretty... We did see parts of the towns, which was humbling to see the people there. And just the difference of how much we have compared to what they had. But it was also pretty. The oceans and the beaches were gorgeous."

So far, the couple has loved their time in the Big Sandy area. "We would like to eventually start a family and raise our kids here. But life always throws curveballs, so you never know. We do love it here. We love that it's such a small community. Everyone we've met has been so nice and generous... They introduce themselves, and then right away they tell me 'Oh, we have room for you to stay in.' (For the coming snowy seasons, when driving to the IX becomes treacherous.) Everyone's super nice here. We would love it here."