I joined The Beacon School in May 2017 as the administrative assistant to the dean of school.
I couldn’t forget my first day of work. When I told Miss Mary, the former dean of school, that I was about to head out, she said “Thank you for your hard work.” I was shocked – no one from my previous job had ever done that. I got emotional because I felt that I mattered. Pwede ka palang makatanggap ng appreciation sa simpleng trabaho, when words like “thank you” or “sorry” are not so common anymore. So on my first day, I had a good first impression of the school.
My interactions with the parents were even more shocking because I never expected them to notice me, the HR person, whose work is behind the scenes by nature. When I pass by them at the campus, they make it a point to say hello, even if they don’t know my name. Magngingitian kayo kahit hindi niyo kilala ang isa’t isa. They acknowledge that I am part of the team, and I could feel their trust.
But the real privilege of being a part of the Beacon community is sitting in at the board meetings. I have seen how the trustees make sure that the school’s activities are aligned with its mission and vision. The decisions they have to arrive at are never easy, and the trustees who attend these meetings do it selflessly. I know because many of them no longer have a stake in the school – their kids have already graduated. They are volunteers. They come to the board meetings always with this commitment to make sure that Beacon continues to provide the quality of education that the school is known for.
I always learn something new at these meetings. Minsan naiisip ko bakit ang talino nila. I’ve learned, just by observing them, that it’s not about the money. Other schools, perhaps in their struggle to stay afloat, may tend to focus on profits. Here at Beacon, quality is the priority. That is hard to sustain when you have a budget to work with to meet the different needs of parents and teachers. But the trustees still try to make it work during those meetings, simply because they care about the school.
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