Have you ever heard of the African proverb that “it takes a village to raise a child?” When it comes to helping and educating a school full of children, it takes several hard-working individuals that put in time day in and out to keep things functioning. Without these people, running the school smoothly would be impossible. 

“Our support staff employees often labor behind the scenes, but their dedication and hard work do not go unnoticed. We appreciate all they do to support students and staff and their contributions every day are part of what makes the WSD special,” Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Dr. Jennifer Hecktor said.

Every year, each building in the district selects their own Support Staff Employee of the Year, and the building winners are eligible for the District Support Staff Employee of the Year Award, announced typically during the annual district awards banquet in May. This year’s Liberty winner of the Support Staff Employee of the Year is nurse Bridget Thomason. Thomason is one of many LHS staff members who loves coming to work and impacting students’ lives.

We caught up with Ms. Thomason recently and talked about her job experience.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

“I enjoy the fact that my job as a nurse at LHS is ever changing. I never see the same people or the same things day after day. Sure, some things are the same, such as daily medications, and some student’s routines in the clinic. I enjoy the ‘What’s going to walk through my door today?’ challenge of my job. What I also enjoy is the relationships I build with the students who frequent my office the most.” 

What kind of impact do you think you, or school nurses have?

“School nurses can have so much impact on a student. From building those relationships I mentioned previously, to assisting the student and family in so many other ways. School nurses (myself included) are able to give families and students resources for community services to help them in many ways.  Something as simple as being a kind person when a student walks into my clinic, while I try to do my best to help the student accomplish why it was that they came to see me. I try to be compassionate and understanding, and know that the reason they came into the clinic might  really have nothing to do with them being ‘sick’, but rather they may just need a safe place to sit and de-stress.”

What is one thing you wish people knew about your job?

“I wish people that really have no idea what I do during the school year could really take a look and see all of the things that school nurses do and accomplish. There is such a stereotype amongst so many people that ‘all school nurses do is give out ice packs and bandaids.’ I have heard peers and professionals say many times, ‘You have got such an easy job! All you do is give some Advil, ice packs, and band aids.’ These people don’t realize that I have created a system of emergency preparedness in their building to try my best to make sure they have supplies to keep them safe. They also don’t see the student that is barely coherent that is brought through my door because they decided they were going to overdose on prescription pills while at school. They don’t see the student’s with chronic health conditions who I help educate on ways to properly care for their health. I could go on and on about what school nurses do and how it is not just bandaids and ice packs. School nursing is such a unique and challenging field of nursing and I absolutely love it.”

How do you feel about being recognized? 

“This is actually hard for me to accept as there are so many awesome support staff in our building. I am so proud I get the opportunity to work with so many amazing people.”