Chilo Ketterling is already working in the Early Childhood Education career field and wants to continue to advance.
So you are just about ready to graduate?
In December 2025.
You were already working in childcare. What made you decide you wanted to pursue this associate’s degree?
With it being a new program at the college, I thought it was a great opportunity to stay in town and keep the job that I have now (at St. Thomas Child and Family Center for eight years), to continue my education.
What kind of benefits do you see to getting the education?
We need the people. So, me having the education I have, I can show others that this is a great opportunity and a great career path to take.
Will it open up any advancement opportunities for you?
I believe it will. Right now, I have my Child Development Associate credential, and that’s the first part of the degree that we go for. So that bumped me up in money. Early childhood, it isn’t a field that you get into to have the money. It’s for the joy of the kids.
What about the career excites you?
For me, it is being able to see the kids achieve their goals that we have for them or their parents have for them. Being able to be there for those first steps that they take all the way through, getting them ready for kindergarten and onward after that. I have a lot of families that I have had go through St. Thomas that I have continued a relationship with well past them being here. So just having that opportunity to spend time with their kids and be trusted by the parents.
It must be fascinating to watch the development?
Right, because we have all the way from zero all the way up to age 6, and then we offer a summer camp program. So, I get to see kids that have gone like kindergarten, first grade, come back and see how much they’ve grown even in those two years. That’s cool.
Did you go straight into working here after high school?
I worked at a previous facility, and then the job arose here, and I took the opportunity. And I haven’t looked back. I love it here. And I love the kids and the families and the staff. It just brings me a lot of joy.
Is there a particular age group that you enjoy working with?
I love the 3- and 4-year-olds. They have my heart. They’re fully potty trained, almost. And so being able to see them come leaps and bounds in their education, coming from not really knowing a lot of like their shapes or colors and being able to help them with all those.
What can you tell us about your experience at Great Falls College?
It’s been fabulous. Everybody is so welcoming and loving, and they’re wanting you to achieve. My professors are awesome. They help me when I ask questions, and I’m not getting something. They’re there to help me. Same with not just the early childhood part of it, but my core classes all the teachers have been great with helping me achieve my goals.
Are you taking classes mostly online? Exclusively online?
So, the early childhood classes are offered in the evenings, so that’s great for me. So I can still work a full-time job (and go to face-to-face classes online). But my core classes I am having to take online.
Has anything really stood out to you?
I would have to say, Deb Huestis, is fabulous at what she does. And she’s always like driving you to meet that next goal and achieve what you want to achieve and be the best you can be.
In your time at the college, have you used any of our academic supports like the tutoring center?
I’ve used the tutoring center for math. I had math online this last semester, and it was kind of hard going from not doing math 12 years ago to now doing math here in my 30s. So I’m like, man, I need that extra support. And they were great support to have to meet those goals of passing that class.
I’ve worked with financial aid and then my advisor. The financial aid office is great. They showed me how to get my financial aid when I was first starting.
How did you discover the Great Falls College’s Early Childhood Education program?
I was not looking to go to college. I had like I said, I had my Childhood Development Associate credential at the time. And so Deb Huestis had brought it to my attention saying that you guys were starting this pilot program and saying how it was going to take off. And from there I was hooked, and wanted to get my degree, and having my daughter, Zella, it made me even more want my degree to show her that no matter what age you are, you can go to college and continue your education.
And do your classmates feel like a team or a family?
I believe so. Some of them are from Head Start, so we can bounce ideas off them because they have a whole different set of requirements that they have to meet with the program that they’re working for, and then we can show them ideas from us being a center base compared to a federally funded aspect.
Why is this program important?
In my opinion, I feel like this is very important because if it wasn’t for the early childhood profession, we aren’t setting kids up for success in elementary school, middle school, high school and into adulthood. You can see just the leaps and bounds that they take. And if we’re not taking care of our education, we won’t be able to provide that education for these kids.
For me, it is gaining that knowledge to better assist the parents that I work with, the teachers I work with, my leadership at my facility. It also is showing me that I can better myself and showing my daughter that I can better myself, even though I’m not right out of high school. I’m in my thirties. I went back to school. I stuck with it and got my degree and that she can do it no matter what.
How is it applying what you’re learning in the classrooms to here day-to-day?
It’s very hands on. A lot of our projects are hands-on that we can bring back to the classroom. Right now, I’m taking an environmental class so it’s helping me look at my environment, my classroom, and saying, I need to change some aspects over here in my block center. I need to change some stuff over here in my quiet cozy corner. So it’s giving me the opportunity to see what I need to grow in my class.
So, was your reaction when you heard about this program?
I thought it was fantastic. I feel that there’s not a lot of programs like this out there. So focusing on that early childhood is so awesome to me. Being able to focus on these little minds and shape them and show them just the vastness of anything they want to learn is what really is important, I think.
What do you think your favorite part of the program has been?
Being able to get close with other cohorts, like the Headstart community and seeing what they do. Or in-home facilities, just so that we can see where they’re learning and maybe we can bounce ideas off them and say, ‘This is what’s working in our classroom over here. This could work in your classroom’ or ‘What’s working over there that could work over here?’”
Have you thought about continuing to on to a bachelor’s at University of Montana Western or elsewhere?
I think so, but it just depends on her schedule. I guess I’m getting her ready for kindergarten and so forth. So probably down the line. But as of right now, I feel like I’m on the steady path with my associates degree, and then I can continue when I’m ready. Yeah.
What are some of your hobbies and passions?
When it’s summertime, I like to go to the stock car races. I have family that races up there, so going and cheering them on and then spending time with my daughter, going swimming, being outdoors, camping, that kind of stuff.
What is your favorite movie?
My favorite movie. I don’t know if I can just pick one movie…Well, I would have to say any kind of like comedic Tim Burton movie-ish. Tim Burton is probably my all-time favorite director, so probably “Beetlejuice” or the new “Beetlejuice”. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”
What is your favorite TV show?
The Golden Girls. I just love the sense of humor all of them bring to the table. And Sophia is my all-time favorite character. Just she speaks what she thinks and she doesn’t care what people say or do. And she’s going to be just that nice old lady.
What is your favorite food?
I would have to say steak or pasta or buffalo wings.
And your favorite place to eat?
Mackenzie River.
What is a life highlight or best accomplishment, so far?
That would be my daughter Zella. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. It was really her. She’s driven me to do a lot with my life and better myself to show her that no matter what you do, you’re going to achieve great things.
What are your short-term and long-term goals?
My short-term goal I’m looking to buy a house here soon. And then my long-term goals, possibly going back for my bachelor’s and just moving up in the early childhood education field.
What are things that can be improved in the childcare in Great Falls?
I feel like there needs to be more childcare in Great Falls. There is a need for it. It doesn’t matter if it’s an in-home or a center or a family group. There is definitely a need for childcare and licensed childcare. In the state of Montana, you don’t have to be licensed.
So having that backing of a license and knowing that we have our CPR, First Aid, we have the training, you know your children are going to a safe spot.