Helping students behind the scenes
Office aide Mingie Han started working in registration in May 2016.
April 26, 2017
Every morning, as teachers head to classrooms in preparation for a day of teaching, Mingie Han heads in a different direction: the office. Rather than teaching in front of a classroom of students, Han’s job at Diamond Bar High School is behind the scenes, in her office corner surrounded by computer screens and stacks of papers.
From the moment Han arrives at school, she’s with transcripts, report cards, phone calls, communication with parents and students and providing GLCs with necessary documents— all as part of her hectic everyday schedule.
“I get bored very easily so I like that [my work at DBHS] is different,” Han said. “Every day is something new. I like [that] challenge; the challenge is what keeps me going”
Since starting in Registration in May last year, Han has been settling into her chaotic routine. After serving several temporary positions around the Walnut Valley School District, she brought her longtime experience with office work and dealing with people to DBHS, where she had her first experience working in registration.
“There were times when I thought maybe I wasn’t doing good enough of a job as I was supposed to or maybe even failing so maybe during my probation [I thought] they would let me go,” Han said.
When she turned in her application and received the phone call asking for an interview for the position, she was convinced that it was a prank call or that someone had called the wrong number. Even after she went through the interview and landed the job, she was still in disbelief, but was ecstatic about how the permanence of the job could potentially stabilize her life.
She faced her first challenge four days into the job when she had to do coordinate the report card process with little knowledge or experience on how to do it. Then, the machine for printing the report cards froze, and on top of that, Han wasn’t sure if she even had enough report cards.
“I don’t know when there’s a deadline, and with the admins being new and everybody being new… it sometimes comes to me last minute [and] I have to provide something for 3,000 plus students in two days. That could be frustrating sometimes,” Han said.
In the months after she began her job in registration, she appreciated the camaraderie of the staff and their willingness to help her on any difficulties she faced. Now, having gained more work experience, she looks forward to facing the challenges every day brings.
“As crazy as it sounds, my job is very crazy and demanding, but I can’t think of anything that I don’t like about it,” Han said. “It’s crazy, but I love it.”
