Lauren Larsen and Regina Allen
T.C. Williams is a massive operation with many moving parts. There are many dedicated contributors to this day to day operation who do not receive enough appreciation for their hard work. One of these staff members is TC Academy 3 Administrative Assistant Casonja Lee.
Twenty-seven years ago, Lee worked as a secretary for Walker and Dunlop, a commercial real estate firm. However, she left her job and came to TC to work as a Temp (temporary employee); “I didn’t know what I was getting into.”
Lee worked under former Assistant Superintendent Dr. Maxine Wood. Wood’s secretary had to leave temporarily because of a family matter, so Lee filled the position. She answered phones, did correspondence, and arranged meetings. “Just kind of generic secretary stuff,” said Lee.
“Dr. Wood liked me and there was an opening at what was then called the Secondary Training in Education Program (STEP),” said Lee. “It was the dropout prevention program. She [Wood] knew there was an opening there and they had gotten a new principal, [so] she talked to the principal about hiring me.”
“[As an Administrative Assistant], I am in charge of the Math Department budget and the gymnasium budget. I give out detentions and ISS’s [and] if [Dr. Carter] suspends, I am the one who does the correspondence and sometimes contacts the parents. I work with my guidance counselors and whatever they need; it really is a Jane of all trades job.”
Since Lee has been here for a long time, she is a firsthand observer of the evolution of TC. “They got a whole new building,” says Lee, “[It was] smaller, but still full of kids and still loud.” “Kids don’t change,” said Lee, “meaning many years of service but kids are still kids.”
“I have friends that ask me, ‘You never wanted to work in elementary school?’ I said ‘no’, I prefer teenagers because teenagers tell you what’s wrong. Little kids cry and they can’t necessarily tell you what’s wrong; at least if a teenager has a problem, they tell you what’s wrong so you can try to help them.”
“What’s ironic is if you look at the job description for the secretary in the schools, it’s a very business-like description,” said Lee. “It doesn’t say a whole lot about dealing with you all [students at TC], but this job encompasses, of course, a lot about dealing with students.”
Her favorite part about her job is the children. “I always tell students, ‘Ms. Lee does not like children.’ But then they tell me, ‘But you love me.’ So yes, I guess Ms. Lee likes children after all. So you can put that in. Ms. Lee does not like children, but they keep thinking that she loves them, therefore she must actually love them.”
