Central High is composed of over 900 students and more than 50 staff members, many of which have dedicated their lives to the school and the students who grace the halls every day. Many faculty members arrive early and stay until late into the night. Often times they are planning lessons during lunch or grading papers in their homes. One thing I have noticed, however, is that some staff is often ignored, even though their jobs are vital to the school. With that in mind, normally my column tends to lean towards the funny and exciting aspects of Central, but this week I decided to focus on one of Central’s most important, yet ignored staff members.

The first thing one sees when they enter Central High is Mrs. Terry Rogers. You really could not miss her even if you tried. With her bright smile and caring attitude, she really is the light of Central. Mrs. Rogers has worked at Central for over 19 years; she is an alumni and has had four of her own children graduate from the school. She often jokes about how much dedication and spirit she has for Central, which only grows year after year.

“I have a lot of dedication to this school, I just love this place and all the opportunities it has given me,” said Rogers.

While being an alumni and having school spirit is wonderful, it is her job that gives Mrs.Rogers the title of one of Central’s hardest working staff members.

The office is a very busy place; Throughout the day, students and parents flood in and need assistance, with the phone ringing almost every five minutes. Although Rogers has aides, she still is often needed to oversee many aspects of the office. She is expected to handle all attendance records and schedule all substitutes during the day. While she is dealing with all of these duties, she is also the head of the crisis center. This means whenever someone has a problem in the school or a dangerous situation arises, Rogers is the first to call the appropriate people. Although this may seem like a lot, Rogers combats her job with a positive attitude.

“I feel like I’m the first person they see, I set the tone for they how they feel here. I want to make sure everyone is welcome when they walk through the doors and when they leave” stated Rogers.

Honestly, before working in the office, I would have never considered Mrs. Rogers job to be anything too difficult. However, after working as an aide for a little over five months, my mind has changed. Not only is dealing with parents and students for one class period stressful, managing the phones is a whole other monster. It always seems like as soon as I put the phone down, I am picking it back up again to answer more calls. To think one person has done this job almost every day for 19 years is an incredible idea, yet no one really seems to notice. Whenever I talk about working in the office, it seems as if many students can not even recall Mrs.Roger’s name or in the least share an understanding of her job. Many students graduate Central without one thought as to how important her job was to their success. With this in mind, I wanted to write this article in hopes of inspiring students to get to know her and maybe even thank her for the incredible job she does at Central. Without Mrs. Rogers, I imagine Central would shine a little less bright and lack the essence of a wonderful school.

Normally I add two truths and one lie about myself to the end of each column, but considering this week’s topic, I would prefer to leave this article on a reflective note.