Laura Holland

November 4, 2015
Although our secretary has numerous responsibilities defined by the Allegany
County Board of Education, I quickly learned that duties expected of her were
insurmountable and went beyond the daily routine of what one would think would
be the duties of a secretary.
When the first bell rang at 7:40, parents were already in line to purchase
tickets for the Homecoming game. Our secretary had a list of assigned seats, a list
how many tickets families had purchased tickets in previous years, and a list of
people who had just begun purchasing tickets this year. I was truly amazed at all of
the people she knew. People from all ages entered the door, and she knew them all.
I quickly began helping her sell tickets and realized that people have no idea the
amount of work that is involved in just selling homecoming tickets.
In addition to selling game tickets to the community, it was also Ms.
Stumbaughs responsibility to sell tickets for the homecoming dance and to take
care of all of the students who were bringing dates from other schools and students
who no longer attending high school. If a student had already graduated from high
school, it was her responsibility to ensure the students age before granting
permission to attend the dance. Furthermore, if a student was bringing a guest
from another school, it was Ms. Stumbaughs responsibility to make sure that the
principal from the guest approved that, that particular student was in good standing
to attend a Fort Hill function.
Ms. Stumbaugh and I sold tickets for over an hour; however, during this time,
she had a parent come in who needed to enroll her daughter, so she had to stop
selling tickets to take care of this new student. Immediately after this, the Pupil
Personnel worker came and requested information for a student who was going to a
hearing; so once again, she had to quit selling tickets while she obtained the

necessary information for the PPW. Although I felt overwhelmed because of all of
the obligations she was adhering to, I was glad that I was there to help with the
tickets.
After interviewing Ms. Stumbaugh informed me that she rarely gets a minute
of downtime and that although her responsibilities are mostly directed to
accommodate teachers and the administration, the turnaround with parents and
student needs supersedes that of most others. In addition, she stated that she
loved her job, but that many times, people are unaware of not only the daily
responsibilities that exist for her but that many times, she has students who are
upset over breakups, sports related situations, and even problems that exists
within the classroom. She noted that although these are responsibilities that
typically are reserved for the guidance department, many times students will
approach her first simply because she is in the main office.