Staff Spotlight: Joshua Genrich - website specialist in LPS Communications

“Josh is a fantastic hard worker who gets his tasks done quickly and with a smile — ensuring that websites are up to date and video productions run smoothly. We’re lucky to have him!” - Brian Fitzgerald, senior web developer. 

In a few sentences, briefly describe your role at LPS.
I help maintain and update the numerous websites that LPS hosts, which includes simple things like helping post announcements on school websites to making sure that content meets web accessibility standards. In addition to helping with websites, I also stream various LPS events and work with other Lincoln organizations to make sure that our content is getting where it needs to be.

How long have you worked for LPS?
I started working as a mentor for the Highly Gifted program in January of 2012, and began as a website technician in February of 2019.

What inspired you to become part of the education field at LPS?
I was excited to help advance the education of others, and to continue to serve the wonderful community of Lincoln, Nebraska.

What has been your favorite part of working here? What aspect of your job do you find most rewarding?
I have always loved solving problems and relish any opportunity to challenge myself with an odd situation. This job has allowed me to do that, whether I'm figuring out why a certain part of the website is behaving oddly or digging through cables trying to figure out how to properly patch through video at Pinnacle Bank Arena. What makes these challenges even more fulfilling is knowing that I'm doing it in service to the community that I grew up in.

Did you attend LPS as a student? If so, which school(s)? If not, where are you from?
I attended Humann Elementary School starting from early childhood, then Pound Middle School and finally Southwest High School.

What path did you take after completing your formal education?
I attended Nebraska Wesleyan University after graduating high school, while helping to coach Lincoln-Douglas debate at Southwest High School. After getting my bachelor's degree, I started working as a mentor for the Highly Gifted program here at LPS. That job aged me by about a decade, either from hearing middle school students call me "patient and kind" or from them calling the original Pokemon games "ancient.” Following that, I worked as the communications director at my church before applying to my current position here at LPS.

What do you enjoy most about the Lincoln community?
The Lincoln community has always been a place that supports others regardless of their background, and as I have grown older I've seen more and more the impact of that mindset on the vibrancy of the city.

What is your favorite childhood book or a book that has influenced your life positively?
One of my dad's best friends recommended “Slaughterhouse Five” to me as a teenager, and that was the first book I remember that truly challenged me to think about the perspectives of others and how to reevaluate my own beliefs. It also had a nonlinear plot line, which I found fascinating and led to my interest in books with unorthodox structures.

Share a shout out to a teacher who impacted your life.
Mrs. Heimes at Lincoln Southwest. As a debate coach, she has endured hundreds of kids like me who love to argue and/or learn more about the world around them. I still remember conducting a debate round in the LSW auditorium and sitting down after my first speech and realizing that I just talked about political philosophy to a room full of my peers and not freezing in fear. That would have been utterly unthinkable to me as a freshman, and I am hardly the only one who has found their own voice thanks to her patience, wit and dedication.

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