A Passion for Education
Sue Shibley 

North Idaho College has long been part of Sue Shibley’s life. She fondly remembers attending Cardinal sporting events in her elementary school years and playing on campus with her close friend Heidi, daughter of former NIC president Barry Schuler. NIC was such a familiar place to her, Sue was sure she wouldn’t attend herself.

“When the time came, I didn’t want to leave the area,” Sue says. Sue not only became a student of North Idaho College, she graduated in 1981, returned first as a part-time instructor in 1992, and then became a full-time faculty member in 1996. Now, 25 years later, Sue is retiring from NIC as Chair of the Business and Professional
Programs Division.

Sue began her academic journey with a different career path in mind, graduating from Eastern Washington University with degrees in Home Economics and Secondary Education. In her youth and as a student, Sue worked in her dad’s surgical office, which provided her with a strong background in the administrative side of healthcare. After college, Sue accepted a position as a bookkeeper for Runge Furniture before returning to healthcare administration support at North Idaho Day Surgery. Her work in medical transcription, billing, and scheduling dovetailed perfectly into accepting a teaching position at North Idaho College for medical secretary courses.

As a faculty member, Sue helped transform the division as existing courses were combined into multiple certificate and degree program options to prepare students for careers in healthcare support. She attended Curriculum Council for many years, working to update curriculum to stay current with changing technology.

In 2015, Sue transitioned to serving as the Chair for the Business and Professional Programs Division. Sue says she was reluctant to leave the classroom because she loved working directly with students, but her love of NIC, the division, faculty, and programs encouraged her to take this new step. Sue has worked with program faculty to strengthen programs during her time as Division Chair, including restructuring and updating the Law Enforcement, Culinary Arts, Graphic and Web Design, and Computer Information Technology programs. “Business and Professional Programs is a diverse division and it has been exciting to be part of it. It has expanded my world exponentially!”

Sue says she will miss working at North Idaho College, but is looking forward to retirement. She and her husband of 41 years, Rusty, plan to travel. Their two sons, Brandon and Kyle, are also proud alumni of North Idaho College. “Both of our sons were enrolled in NIC dual credit classes and went on to top tier colleges,” Sue explains. “NIC has benefited my family. My advice to students is to come to NIC. You will get a great education and it prepares you well to compete in the workforce and succeed in the world.”

To hear a message from students about the positive impact of scholarship support in their lives, watch this video, "Thank you for Investing in Dreams!" To learn more about the ways you can give, click here.