A school’s secretary is the first person visitors, staff and students see as they come into the building. As the gatekeeper of the school, they make sure the school functions smoothly and organize the work environment so that it serves the teachers, staff, and students.
They are crucial to the smooth running of schools. School secretary roles are difficult to fill, especially when that secretary has been a part of the staff at Clark Magnet High School for over a decade. Mrs. Lockhart had left a lasting impact on Clark and consequently, huge shoes to fill when she retired. However, with new beginnings come new possibilities for communities to grow and strengthen relationships.
Nothing screams a prepared secretary more than a folder in the arm, coffee in hand, and a smile on her face, that’s the way Mrs. Marine Avakyan carries herself as she sits down at her desk and gets ready to tackle another day of work. As an experienced secretary at elementary schools, Mrs. Avakyan is ready to help students with any dilemmas they encounter.
“It’s my first time working in a high school setting, but I enjoy working in an atmosphere with a variety of personalities– including kids and adults,” Mrs. Avakyan said. Being in the secretary position, she doesn’t just deal with phone calls and visitors, but also with memos, letters, and even the Clark website, for which she serves as the editor. Mrs. Avakyan keeps her desk tidy and spotless, proving her dedication and commitment to the school. “I want to organize my desk so it works for me, to organize it in such a way that I can work efficiently and effectively,” she said.
As one of the teachers who had been at Clark since it first opened, Mr Doom is confident that Mrs. Avakyan will be a good fit for Clark. “Even though she has a huge learning curve, her having two daughters in high school and college gives her an advantage to connect with Clark students on another level,” Mr. Doom said.
Coming to America when she was nine years old, Mrs. Avakyan had lived in Hollywood for most of her life. She attended Laconte Middle School and Hollywood High School during her teenage years, later going to UCLA for post-secondary education, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and a specialization degree in business and labor studies. After getting married, she moved to Glendale and started working there as a secretary. Mrs. Avakyan has been married for almost 24 years now, with two daughters and their poodle, Coco.
Working with Glendale Unified for about 8 years, Mrs. Avakyan has had a lot of experience with students, with a main goal to become the go-to person for the students. “I knew almost all the students and staff at the other school I worked at, and I want to be the person students would go to if they needed anything,” she said. She hopes to get to feel the campus as her second home soon enough and is excited to grow accustomed to the Clark community as the days go by.
Mrs. Avakyan has many hobbies and activities she enjoys doing outside of work. She enjoys exercising, as she finds it to be a therapeutic experience. “I do pilates and weights—just a variety, it depends on my mood and what I haven’t done in a while.” Mrs. Avakyan tries to include exercising in her everyday routine, whether it be running, walking on the treadmill, or lifting; this “energizes and changes my mindset and mood, it also gets that adrenaline going.”
A fan of variety and working efficiently, Ms. Avakyan is excited to learn, grow, and adapt to working in a high school environment, while making a name for herself at Clark.
