The continuous sound of fingers hitting the keyboard fills the room as the ladies work in comfortable silence. Head of attendance, Candace Jefferies, takes a break for minute and then gets back to work.  

“The most stressful part of my job is when it’s really busy,” Jefferies said. “I don’t have time to get [the attendance] put in my computer.”

The life of a front desk clerk at Argyle High School differs from what most people would think. The staff works diligently behind the scenes on things that most people do not know about but would notice if the job was not finished. 

A common misconception is that the office staff members do the same thing, but that is not the case. Each woman works hard towards what they do and normally do not have much free time.

Receptionist Cari Lowry and administrative assistant to the principal Karen Zembraski work at the front desk next to principal James Hill’s office.

“We try to help the principal and teachers make everything run smoothly,” Lowry said. “We work with the substitutes and do anything that the principal or teachers need us to do.”  

While they help the teachers and Hill with anything that is needed, Jefferies is responsible with accounting for all 750 students in the high school.  In addition, she calls the parents of students who are out of class to make sure that they aren’t skipping. She also makes sure anything that is dropped off for someone to pick up gets to the right person.

Missy DeSpain and Ruth Fryer work with the checkout and sign in of the students in the birdcage. DeSpain is the one who is there most of the day, but if needed, Fryer is there to help.

“I don’t think people understand that I have lots of work to do,” Jefferies said. “[Students] think I just sit down here twiddling my thumbs, waiting until someone shows up. That is far from the truth.” 

Even with the struggle of people not understanding all the work these woman do daily, they have support from each other and love working together.

“I think everybody appreciates everyone around here,” Zembraski said. “We all work well together.”

With the encouragement from each other, these ladies always have a smile on their face and are ready to work hard everyday.

“My favorite part of my job is that it’s always different,” Zembraski said. “You don’t always know what you are going to walk into for the day.”