I was struggling in my new role as a school secretary when I decided to attend a UFT School Secretaries Chapter meeting, and that changed everything.
Despite my 20 years as an administrative assistant on Wall Street, I found I didn’t know what to do first or how to manage my time and responsibilities in those fast-paced early days as the only secretary in a busy Brooklyn middle school. I was no longer a secretary responsible to one person but the secretary for the whole school. I was the principal’s secretary, the payroll secretary, the purchasing secretary and the pupil accounting secretary.
My decision to reach out for help by attending a meeting of the union’s School Secretaries Chapter just weeks after I was hired six years ago made all the difference. I continue to attend the union’s training sessions, workshops and meetings as well as our chapter’s annual School Secretaries Seminar. I am always learning something new and helpful.
At these gatherings, I also have the opportunity to meet and network with other school secretaries. We share ideas, notes, email addresses and phone numbers so that even though I am the only secretary at my school, I know I have colleagues I can turn to for help.
And now, thanks to my union, I also have a voice. As a UFT member, supported by a contract, I know I can speak up about my working conditions and I have job security.
I lost my job when the Wall Street investment banking firm I was working for went under in the 2008 economic crisis. Following the advice of friends who were school secretaries, I took the test to join their ranks. It was a good decision and now that I’m settled here, I feel extremely appreciated.
I am now a proud committee member of the union’s School Secretaries Chapter. I am paying it forward in appreciation for all those who have assisted me.
Carol Marzano is a school secretary at Mott Hall Bridges Academy MS.
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