By Callie Sajdera
Kaurie Jeske works as an official reporter in Balsam Lake, Wisc. She graduated from Anoka Technical College in Anoka, Minn., in 2019, and she has been an official for a year and a half.
JCR | How did you become interested in court reporting?
KJ | I had been a manager in the pet food retail business for seven years, and I was burnt out. I wanted more time with my family; I wanted to work for myself; I wanted so many things that working in retail could never give me. I had been looking into captioning and stumbled upon court reporting.
JCR | What do you love most about being a court reporter so far?
KJ | I love explaining what I do. Explaining the steno language to someone who thinks you just “type fast” is very enjoyable!
JCR | Looking back, if you could give yourself one piece of advice as a student, what would it be?
KJ | You are learning an entirely new language and skill set in a very short amount of time. Give yourself some credit and enjoy the little victories (passed speeds) that come along the way!
JCR | What’s your next goal? What are your long-term goals?
KJ | I’d like to earn as many certifications as I can. My long-term goal would be to provide CART captioning or provide captioning for live television.
JCR | What’s the best and most useful piece of advice you’ve gotten from another reporter?
KJ | Take training occasionally to update your knowledge on what your software can do for you. It can do everything you want it to do and then some.
JCR | Professionally, who do you look up to and why?
KJ | My instructors at Anoka Tech. They did not take it easy on us, and I am so grateful for that. When you passed a test, you earned it. They felt every struggle and every triumph, and there was no better feeling than passing that last 225 and watching them all parading into the room together to announce it. They are true advocates for the profession, and their passion and dedication to court reporting is what pushed me to succeed. I will always be grateful to each of them.
Callie Sajdera, RPR, is an official reporter in Lakewood, Colo. She can be reached at callie.sajdera@judicial.state.co.us.
