Sue Wright has worked for the school district for 31 years; she could have retired last year, when 30 years were up, but she wasn't ready at that time. Now, she is going to be a grandmother for the 7th time in February. She has four grown children, so to be able to hang out with her grandkids whenever she is needed is very enticing for her.
What she will miss most about Mac-Hi is working for the kids, staff, and being able to interact with the community by giving them awareness of the education at the schools and the requirements for graduation. These things are always changing, and she worked to update the community because she believes, as a community member, you should know what the school requirements are, especially when deciding the bond issue that coming up. “What I won't miss is getting up out of bed at 6 in the morning to be at work,” she remarked.
Some of the best moments during work were assisting students and their families outside of school when they were new to the community. Anytime there was a new student, she would help them get acclimated to and involved in the school as well as the community.
One of the people that she will never forget during this experience is Judy Chesnut. Judy was the principal at Freewater school when Sue was hired. They worked together for 17 years when Sue was her secretary. Judy taught her a lot of what she knew, and they became very good friends over the course of time. Another great memory was when fourth graders would have their field trip around Oregon, learning about history and being able to visit places that they wouldn't necessarily go to. Sue loved the fact that the field trip not only allowed students to learn but also to discover the excitement of seeing new places, like the beach, in our wonderful state. Sue has been a fixture at Mac-Hi for many years, students and staff will miss seeing her face in the office.
Replacing Sue will be Theresa Gonzalez, whose face you have probably seen in the office already. She used to be a dental administrator, which means that she kept the office running correctly as she scheduled appointments and handled billing along with coding. She liked her old job quite a bit, but she was looking for a change.
Theresa was born in Walla Walla, and she grew up here. She graduated from McLoughlin High School. A large portion of her family lives here, so she doesn’t feel alone, and she likes to spend time with them. When she came back for her job, she was nervous and scared because it was a new experience, but everyone here was very welcoming and nice she said. It helped that she already knew most of the staff from when she was a student here.
She likes getting to know the students and seeing how each of them have their own personalities. Some of the challenges that she has faced since coming here include learning all of the students’ names, and that the students didn’t know her very well so they walked past her to talk to Sue. She is happy to be here and excited to watch all of the students grow and progress in their lives as she grows in hers. Theresa adds, “I am looking forward to being here a long time and getting to know everyone better.”
No comments:
Post a Comment