By Tiger Zhong, Courier Co-Editor-in-Chief
Students and staff have all settled down for the new semester, and everything seems to be back on track. However, either during lunchtimes or after school, the career center is no longer the same as before. Mrs. Hart, who had worked at James Logan High School for the past thirteen years, retired on December 15. In her last last email, she reminded all Logan students to “take time to laugh at least once everyday.”
Mrs. Hart, as the head of career center, had been part of all Logan students’ lives with her flooding amount of emails and community service forms. However, not many people got to know her personally, sometimes only referring to her as “the lady in the career center.” I was fortunate enough to have her guidance throughout my years, and the honor to interview her on her last day at Logan.
I first started the interview by asking her how she felt about people’s impression of her–the lady in the career center who spams students’ emails everyday. She smiled, and said that she was “aware” and “proud of [the nicknames].” She described her job as a medium to get information and opportunities across. Following her philosophy of making the emails “as transparent as possible” and saving students’ of their time, Mrs. Hart highlighted and underlined the email contents for internship, research, and volunteer opportunities. For years, she kept on providing all students equal and abundant opportunities.
Then Mrs. Hart shared her story about how she got the job. Mrs. Hart first was an active volunteer in the school district, often helping out by organizing events and monitoring students’ activities. When the school district offered the opening, the job description covered everything she already was doing, so she figured she would take the job and get paid while continuing her usual responsibilities. When she went for the interview, she considered herself as the least qualified person in the room. However, as Mrs. Hart said it herself, she “did not choose the job,” but “the job chose her.” Ever since, she had been on the position for thirteen years.
Throughout all the years, Mrs. Hart never considered switching her job, and learned to enjoy the diversity of responsibilities the job brought. Her position covered many aspects of students’ lives, constantly requiring her to interact with various people, giving the job a fast and constantly-changing pace. She also confessed that at the beginning of the job, the responsibilities piled up and soon became almost unbearable. She would constantly feel tired and challenged. However, as time went and as she gained more experience, Mrs. Hart got used to the pressure, and thrived under the busy schedule and environment. The pace and the interactions kept her going for all the years.
When asked about her thoughts on Logan and its students, Mrs. Hart paused for a bit before answering. “Students are blessed with the size of Logan,” she explained, “there is always something interesting for everyone.” Everyone can find something that resonated with their interest, and with the abundant resources, people can find their passion in a hands-off environment. However, she also pointed out that “ because of its size, students get lost, and feel disconnected.” She has seen too many students getting lost in the process of finding their own unique interest. “Union City should have become a two-high-schools town decades ago,” she commented. She further talked about her feeling about Logan’s graduating students. Throughout the years, Mrs. Hart had gradually learned the true value of community colleges as a stepping stone for four year colleges or trade schools. She had learned to appreciate the people who chose to attend community college before switching into a four-year university. Logan, with its humongous size and abundant opportunities, is the place where students find opportunities and interests that can be further explored in community colleges and higher education. At the same time, Logan is also the maze where people get lost and follow mediocrity.
At the end of the interview, Mrs. Hart thanked Logan and the counseling team that she had worked with closely. Mrs. hart never changed in her thirteen years, and will continue to be herself, someone who expresses her opinions and advises in a direct and sincere way.
Some people, when they retire, leave a lasting impact on the community and people around them. I believe what Mrs. Hart has done for Logan is more than a lasting impact. It was truly an opportunity and honor to interview Mrs. Hart upon her departure. We can only wish the best for her, and aim to carry on her messages forward. She, with her sharp blonde hair and direct sincere personality, has helped Logan students throughout her thirteen years here, and the message of her hardworking and passion will continue to inspire Logan, its staff, and us the students.
She will be always remembered as the “Lady in the Career Center.”
She defines Logan.
