A Difference Maker

Walking into the lunchroom at South Middle School in Grand Forks early in the afternoon on Wednesday, March 12, 27-year paraeducator Laurie Holcomb said she had no idea what was about to happen. 

“My principal had called me on Friday night and told me that I needed to be to a mandatory meeting on RTI (Response to Intervention),” Holcomb said, “and since I am part of the team leaders for the support staff, I said, ‘Sure, I'll make sure I'm there.’ I didn't have anything else going on because this was an early out for us today.”

And so, she didn’t notice that there was a cake, decorations, a few friends from the Grand Forks Education Association executive team and staff from North Dakota United, Grand Forks Superintendent Terry Brenner, and multiple family members present for a surprise award ceremony, in honor of Holcomb being named a finalist for the 2025-26 NDU Education Support Professional award.

“I actually didn't suspect anything until my name was called,” Holcomb said. “I didn't see my family come in. I was busy talking to people at the table with me, and I had just pulled up my computer to the RTI information stuff that we were supposed to be talking about at our 1:15 meeting. … And then, I'm looking out and I spot my mom, and then the table of my family, and then my husband and then my older son, and the exec board for GFEA. And it's like, oh my gosh, everybody is here.”

Holcomb was nominated for this year’s award by her friend and former co-worker Jennifer Olson, and her letter was read to the assembled crowd. “Laurie is confident and competent in working with staff members and everyone she comes in contact with,” Olson wrote. “She interacts with her students in a loving and compassionate manner, all the while maintaining high expectations for their success. … Laurie is a difference maker!"

Holcomb first started working as a para 27 years ago at Valley Middle School in Grand Forks because of her role as a parent. “What first got me into the profession is that I'm a mom of seven kids, and so I needed to find something that would fit into their schedules,” she said. 

She first found out about job openings working as a para before her twins started kindergarten and were going to Head Start. “As soon as my kids got into … full-time kindergarten, I’m not a person to just sit at home and do nothing. So, I applied to be a para and got the job right away.”

Coming into the job, she admits that she felt under-qualified to work with kids with learning disabilities at first, but the principal who hired her assured her that all of the experience she had gained from being a mom was what really counted. “We just needs somebody to help and guide them,” Holcomb said she was told that day, and something inside her clicked.

“It was like I found my niche,” Holcomb said. “I love kids, I love working with kids. And that's basically what gets me up every day, the kids, (and) coming back to know that I can maybe make a difference in one or two of their lives.”

Briane Lowe, the associate principal at South, said Holcomb is incredible at her job, and that her colleagues often look to her for guidance. “I've worked with Laurie here, in my six years at South Middle School, pretty closely,” Lowe said. “She's a leader, amongst all of our staff. Anytime we have a new para, we always pair them up with Laura. She knows a lot and is very well-rounded. … You couldn’t have picked a more deserving person for the nomination.”

Principal Travis Neal agreed, saying that Laurie “is a hard-working, wonderful person,” and a great example of all of the important work that ESPs do for their schools and for students. “When thinking about a school, most people right away think about teachers,” Neal said, “which they're very important. But when you get down to it, a lot of the people on the front lines are our paraprofessionals, our administrative assistants up front who greet kids as soon as they come in, and families, when they come in, the paraprofessionals who are working with the kids every single day. Not only academically, but with social-emotional things. So, yeah, they are definitely the heart of the building.”

Holcomb recognizes how invaluable all of our hard-working ESPs are, and she said she’s humbled to be among the finalists for this award. “It's definitely a team effort,” she said, “for me to even get this award. I feel like maybe I'm not as deserving. I think that, I mean, it's I, I it's hard to take no for, applause or positive things when we're used to … I'm used to giving that to somebody else and not necessarily receiving (that) all the time. But it's an amazing feeling.”