Photo courtesy of Amber Boylan
Amber Boylan
Amber Boylan is the bookkeeper at Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge.
Q: How long have you worked here?
A: I started in January of 2021, so 4½ years.
Q: Have you been in the school system longer than that?
A: No, I started my career as a CPA [certified public accountant]. We had two young boys, and then my husband went to medical school, and we had to move to Tuscaloosa for his residency, so I stayed home with our boys at that time. And then we had our third son, Daniel, during residency, and then we moved back to Vestavia. My husband got his job here. He works at the Seale Harris Clinic. We knew we wanted our kids in Vestavia, and Caleb, our oldest, was about to start kindergarten. So we moved to Coventry, and he started kindergarten. I stayed home with our boys until my youngest, Luke. When he was in kindergarten, the bookkeeper here, Ginger Golden, was retiring. I was the first PTO treasurer for Dolly Ridge when Dolly Ridge opened, so that’s kind of how I was getting involved with the school. I helped [then Principal] Dr. [Ty] Arendall and [then Assistant Principal] Mrs. [Lorie] Belski get everything organized — assigning the carpool numbers and all the things. And then when Ginger was retiring, I applied for the job, and it worked out. It was the perfect timing. It was a God thing because Luke was in kindergarten, and it was a way for me to use my skills as a CPA and give back to the schools ultimately and invest in the community where my kids are.
Q: So you have four kids. Is that like a zoo at your house then?
A: It really is not a zoo. They are really great boys. When they were young, I knew one day they would be bigger than me, so I really insisted that if they couldn’t love each other, then we weren’t going to do all the fun things. So they really do take care of each other. I’m a 10-month employee, so today my senior just dropped off my son at the high school — the one that can’t drive, so they take care of each other. They’re sweet boys. Caleb is a senior, and he is the starting center for the football team. Noah is a junior, and Daniel is going into eighth grade. And Luke, this is his last year with me here. He’s in fifth grade.
Q: When you have free time, what do you like to do?
A: I like to spend time with my family. I have three boys that play baseball, so right now I am at Wald Park almost every night. In the fall, I’m the grade rep for the juniors and the seniors for the varsity football team, so I help with that. Wherever my boys are involved, I try to help, and in doing that — volunteering and helping — you make friends in the community, other families that you’re surrounding yourself with and that your kids are involved with. I just try to get involved where my kids are in the stage of life they’re in. And we go to Briarwood Presbyterian Church, so I like to help there. I’m a 10-month employee, so in the summer, I try to do some of their drop-in Bible studies when I can.
Q: Do you ever get mom time — down time?
A: Yes, my husband I got married at Lake Martin, so sometimes we try to go there. We don’t have a house there or anything, but we’ve rented a house before and gone with extended family. I love to go to the lake or the pool. My husband has recently gotten into records, so sometimes at night, we’ll just listen to records or read a book. It’s a busy phase of life, but every now and again, I try to go eat dinner with friends to catch up on life. Most of the time it’s catching up at the ballpark though or a game.
Q: What’s your favorite kind of music?
A: Worship music. I listen to a lot of it in the car. My husband has a wide variety, so last night we listened to Patsy Cline. Sometimes we’ll listen to Willie Nelson, but praise and worship music would be my favorite.
Q: Do you have a particular band or singer you like?
A: I like Chris Tomlin. I listen to his praise and worship songs.
Q: What books do you like to read?
A: I like to read Corrie Ten Boom. Last night I was reading a book she has called “In My Father’s House.” Right now, because I have a son that’s about to go to college, I’m also reading this book called “Your Hidden Genius.” It helps people determine their tendencies, their attributes, their gifts and kind of determine careers that best fit you. I was just reading up on this to try to help my senior. I’ve got to give him the synopsis after I read up on this.
Q: Does he know where he wants to go to school yet?
A: He’s not sure. He’s actually going to Samford — a football camp day — to see what that’s like. We’ll just see if there’s opportunity to play, or he might go to Auburn and do engineering. We’re trying to determine if he’s truly wanting to be an engineer. He’s real good at the STEM, like math and science and all that. And what size school is best. We’re Auburn fans. My husband I both went to Auburn, but it’s not the same Auburn it was when I was there. I don’t want him to go just because his parents went there. I want him to go because that’s where he wants to go and that’s the best fit for him. So we’ll see — to be determined.
