Staff Spotlight: Isela Skrumbellos is Navigating Student Security with Relationships

This post is part of the Lynden Schools Staff Spotlight series

The safety-first mentality of Lynden High School campus security coordinator Isela Skrumbellos requires a combination of detail-oriented communication and relationship-first interaction. 

The Role

First and foremost, Skrumbellos focuses on the safety of the students in her role at Lynden High, one she’s held for four years. “Keeping the students in a safe learning environment takes a great deal of detail-oriented work,” she says. “LHS has many safety measures in place that our team uses throughout the day. Our team is in constant communication with one another as we navigate through each situation we encounter. Each day brings different challenges and working alongside great administrators that also take the safety and security of our students seriously helps create a great working environment.” 

Skrumbellos credits Rex Fraser, former assistant principal at LHS and current Bernice Vossbeck principal, with allowing her to have the freedom to approach the position in a way that was true to her. “I use that same philosophy and apply it to building relationships with our students,” she says. “I try to do my best to see them as they are and encourage them to shine.”

She says that building relationships with the students and encouraging them to be who they are—“each one of our students is beautifully unique and I do my best to tell them to embrace it”—is the best part of her role. It also heightens the importance of ensuring their safety. 

Getting to Know Isela

Known on campus as E.C., Skrumbellos dubbed herself a “bit of a squirrel” when she’s not on the job. Her interests range, grow and fluctuate. You can find her diving into a good book, playing a new “Call of Duty” game or getting her hands on a shovel in the garden. “There is not much I won’t try,” she says, adding she’s played on a soccer team, sewn a quilt, binge-watched Netflix, baked bread and crushed puzzles to keep her occupied. “The list goes on. At the center of all my adventures is my family. They are the ones that I have the joy of going on all of life’s adventures with.”