I’ve been an attendance clerk for 2 years now, and I joined Irvington in 2021.

My favorite part of the job is honestly, the students. There’s definitely been times where it gets pretty hectic, but at the end of the day, I’m grateful that everyone gets home safe and that I can help with keeping students at Irvington on track. Being around students keeps me young.

I first worked in a middle school and then transferred to Irvington, and I noticed that high school is really different from middle school. Students are obviously older, but they’re also more independent. Students are able to advocate for themselves and speak for themselves, and having a teenager at home actually helped me have an idea of what high school is like for the job. 

When I first joined, I think one of the most important things I learned was the importance of knowing how to adjust. Time management, something that all students know, is something that I use really frequently in my job. I have to bounce back from checking tardies to attendance slips, and that requires a lot of patience and time management combined. It’s a good exercise mentally and physically, because I get to walk around the office. The environment around the office is great, I’m really grateful I have my job. 

I think one of the most important parts of my job is explaining changes in policy to parents. The 21-22 is different from the 22-23, and that’s also different compared to 23-24. Policy keeps on changing and parents commonly don’t understand them, so it’s really important to be upfront with them and explain the differences in policy.