Theresa Saldana (Main Office Manager)

“This will be my 34th year here at Bellaire High School. I have three children who graduated from here. I loved having the same schedule as my children. I didn’t see the need to move anywhere else.

I manage the front office with Ms. Alejandra Contreras. I am also responsible for all field trips submitted, small jobs for Ms. Campbell or Ms. Frank and all incoming mail and deliveries. Sometimes it’s repetitive but never boring. I don’t think there’s anything I would like to change. I love it here. You establish a home setting. I’ve known my friends here for a long time. I still keep up with a few friends that have left or retired. The people I work with, they’ve been amazing. You develop a friendship. You know that they have your back and I have theirs. I get up to come to work every day.

My challenge right now is not knowing whether to retire or not. I’d like to do a little bit of traveling to spend time with family. I will [also] be working in my yard and in my house. It’s a little old house that needs a lot of updates, but I think that’s what I’ll be doing. The highlight of my days is when I’m off on the weekends. I go out in my yard, and I have my cup of coffee in the morning. I’m out there with my tools trying to cut some shrubs because the weeds grow like crazy. That’s one thing that never dies, the weeds.

My years here at Bellaire have been memorable. I’ll take them with me and cherish these moments forever.”

Alejandra Contreras (Main Office Clerk)

“I’ve been working [at Bellaire] for nine years now. I open the doors for everyone. I see students that are late and ask, “Why are you late?” or “Do you have your ID?” I make sure that if a parent comes in needing assistance, I get them the help they need. Working in the main office, you go day by day. Sometimes you may have a busy crazy day, and sometimes it’s slow and calm.

When I graduated [from Bellaire], I was just volunteering. Then, Mr. McDonough gave me the opportunity to work here, so I took it. It was nice knowing that even though I was just a volunteer, he paid attention to the things that I did. He asked me if I wanted to work with Ms. Knotts [who’s since retired] because she needed help in the front, and I went for it. She and I really had a really good bond. [Mr. McDonough] was always making sure that even though we were in the main office, we were okay.

I have three kids, a 10-year-old, a 6-year-old and a 1-year-old. I’m able to help them even more by being in this job. There are a lot of things that I learn. I also learn a lot as a parent. When other parents come and ask me for their opinion, I am able to help them.

From [when I graduated], [there’s been] a big change. [Students today] have more opportunities to expand their growth. The way you communicate with the kids hasn’t changed. If you’re helpful to a student, when you start to get to know them, they’ll start easing up on you. I’m really good with faces. If I see a student, if they tell me their name, I know who it is. After I talk to them, they’ll just come back, and I never say no. I think that’s why they come back. If I can, I’m always willing to help them. I will never turn them away.”