Sun Journal: You are a social worker here at Big Sky. What made you want to take on this profession and why did you choose the high school environment?

Ms. Robar: I used to actually work at Big Sky and I was in the–there’s a mental health program here and I went to school for social work. And I used to work at a group home that was for teenagers and I used to to come to the school a lot when there was like problem behaviors and stuff like that and I just really like the school environment. And I just like high schoolers the most so it’s more like my passion and just getting to know students who need extra help. And that’s why I chose [the high school environment] It’s just always been what I love doing.

Sun Journal: To become a social worker what subject did you have to study and how long did it take?

Ms. Robar: I have my masters. I did four years for my bachelors degree in social work and that was social working and then system psychology classes. And then I went to grad school for a year and that was for a masters in social work. That’s like it’s own degree.

Sun Journal: What college did you go to?

Ms. Robar: University of Montana and i went to grad school at Walla Walla, Washington.

Sun Journal: I read on the Big Sky website that you can do individual sessions or group sessions. Do you prefer one over the other or find one to be more successful?

Ms. Robar: I would say individual. Because when you’re individual with the kid they’ll tell you more and when you do groups with a bunch of students it’s like they don’t trust each other, so they don’t say everything. But when I’m one on one they’ll tell me pretty much everything. Individual is way better. And when you do groups there’s behavior and you have to manage that.

Sun Journal: What do you love most about your job?

Ms. Robar: Getting to know students really personally and helping them through-I mean there’s some students who have a lot of bad things going on outside of school and I think helping them through that and being a spot where they can come and crash and tell me what’s wrong, that’s the best part.

Sun Journal: What are some things you enjoy doing outside of work?

Ms. Robar: I like to fly fish and camp. I do yoga and I hike with my dog all the time. I have two labs.

Sun Journal: Have you lived in Missoula your whole life?

Ms. Robar: No I was born in California, and went to high school in California and that was a really rough neighborhood and experience. So then I decided to leave state the day after I graduated and I came here for school and I’ve been here ever since.

Sun Journal: Was it hard moving over here?

Ms. Robar: Yeah I didn’t know anybody and it was kinda scary, but it was worth it because I went and lived in the dorms, so i met people right away and then after like two days I was fine. It was a good thing to leave California.

Sun Journal: Would you like to pursue this career until you retire?

Ms. Robar: Totally, yeah. Sometimes in social work you can get burned out because you take on everything. There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t leave school and think about something that happened that day. If I can manage that, yeah I’ll do it until I retire.

  Sun Journal: Do you have anything that helps you manage it?

Ms. Robar: Friends and family and my dogs. And when the weekend comes, doing things for myself. And this is one thing, I don’t get on social media too much because it stresses me out.

Sun Journal: As a kid, did you picture yourself being a social worker?

Ms. Robar: No, not at all. I thought I would never do it, because my brother had a lot of problems, and I was like I don’t want to do that, how do those people do that? I thought I was going to be an English teacher which is kind of funny, which I don’t even like English, I’m just not good at it and then I thought I’d be a vet.