By: Charlene Yang
After working for almost 30 years at MHS, Secretary Jackie Roy retired at the end of November, Roy said. In her time here, Roy has done so much for the school that it feels almost necessary to talk about it all.
Roy has been counselor secretary for 20 years and principal secretary for 10 years, Roy said. In her time in the counseling office, Roy made counseling appointments and calendars, got cards for class-picking ready, and talked to registration during registration time, she said.
However, as the principal secretary, Roy had much more to do. Just some of these duties include processing purchase requisitions, reimbursement claims, field trip paperwork, and anything money-related, Roy said. She would also make appointments for the principals, the calendars, and the online directories.
With all this work, one may wonder how Roy was able to manage all these responsibilities for her job. For that, Roy has this to say:
“It’s confidence in yourself. You have to have that,” Roy said. “And then secondly, the people that I was able to reach out to in the district and different departments that I have to work with. There’s a handful of people out there that were just wonderful and realized I was struggling and helped me,” she added.
It’s for that second reason that Roy agreed to return to train the next principal secretary once he or she has been hired. Roy said that when she had started the job as secretary, the position had been vacant for seventh months, so the work thus piled up. The previous secretary had gone and did not return to train her, and because of this, everything Roy had learned was a struggle. Not wanting anyone else to go through that same struggle, Roy said that she would gladly return to train the next secretary.
As for the reason why she retired from her position, Roy said that it is because of her elderly parents. “Now my mom’s health is failing, so she can’t take care of my dad right now, and doing both has taken a toll on me too, so that’s telling me it’s time.”
There is one thing that Roy said she would miss the most: the people she’s grown close to. “I mean, with almost no exception, like, I feel everybody here, they’re my friends,” Roy said.
Assistant Principal Cheryl Rivera has known Roy ever since she started her job 19 years ago, Rivera said. She connected with Roy several times a day, talking about budget concerns or teacher questions, she said.
As for Rivera’s favorite memory of Roy, she had this to say. “She could read people really well. And I had a death in my family, and she actually reached out to me at home, and I got a really personal card at home,” Rivera said.
As for Roy’s most important impact on the school, Rivera said that that would be Roy’s genuine and profound caring for students and staff.
Teacher Michael Cummins echoed this sentiment. “She’s like the cultural lynchpin of the whole campus. I don’t know how we replace her,” he said. “It’s like she’s the mom of the campus. Like, that’s essentially it, right? And if she retires, we got to find a new mom,” Cummins added.
While she loved her secretary job, Roy’s favorite experience was when she worked in counseling and interacted with students, she said. Her favorite thing was when she would win the Apollo award for the most huggable staff member.
“That meant more to me than getting employee of the year,” Roy said. “That was one of my favorite memories here.”
But with her time here over, it is certain that Roy has done a great deal for this school and made an impact on many people.
“She’s one of the best people I know,” Rivera said.