Between the busy ring of the phone or the chime of the security system, new attendance secretaries Ms. Hill and Ms. Merritt are answering phone calls, running various reports and ensuring everyone is signed in and out of the building, all while students pass from class to class.

Though both Ms. Hill and Ms. Merritt are new additions to the LHS staff, they have quickly become student body favorites by making everyone’s day a little bit brighter. Whether being the first friendly face that visitors see or checking that attendance records are accurate, Ms. Hill and Ms. Merritt have helped to make the front office into Liberty’s very own welcoming reception.

“I’m responsible for checking to make sure that the people who are wanting to come into our building are safe and presenting in a professional way,” Ms. Merritt said. “Being the first person that people greet or see, coming into Liberty High School, we want to make sure to present a warm and welcoming atmosphere.”

The day begins with a flood of phone calls and text messages for both attendance secretaries, which begins at 6:30 a.m. for Ms. Hill and 7 a.m. for Ms. Merritt. Then is followed by a series of running the daily attendance reports, checking visitors both in and out of the building and correcting students’ attendances.

However, the front office’s current atmosphere cannot only be attributed to both Ms. Hill’s and Ms. Merritt’s positive attitudes but the experiences that both have gained before accepting their positions at Liberty.

The roads that have brought both ladies to the positions they hold now are starkly different, with Ms. Hill being fresh out of Central Methodist University, and Ms. Merritt retiring from 18 years of being a stay-at-home mom combined with a slew of jobs that include: pediatrician’s assistant, nurse, substitute teacher and private tutor. Despite the differences between the two, they both share what they love the most about their job; the students.

“I love it (the job) because every student I come in contact with at Liberty, is so different from the other, and that is something that I appreciate so much,” Ms. Hill said. “Getting to meet and talk to so many students from so many different walks of life, who have so many different goals and aspirations, I am just super thankful that I get to play even just the smallest part in their lives.”

The students may also very well be the main reason that Ms. Merritt initially accepted her attendance secretary position, despite thinking that the job would have very little interaction with students.

“The connection with the students was of utmost importance to me, so I pre-judged this position as having very little contact with kids and I was super grateful that it was not that case,” Ms. Merritt said. “So I was able to come in and work towards the end of the (last) year and realize I had much more access to students than I had originally thought.”

Both ladies’ connections to the school don’t just run as deep as the door to the lobby as Ms. Hill also coaches JV cheerleading and Ms. Merritt’s two eldest children, senior Grace Merritt and sophomore Grant Merritt, attend Liberty.

“That was one of the perks when Mr. Pryor asked me to fill this position, knowing that this is Grace’s last year as a senior and I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for since Grace was born,” Ms. Merritt said. “It’s just fun to see them in the hall, to get a quick hug from Grace or to make fun of Grant. It’s just that connection of being on the same schedule has been really helpful, to make sure we get the most of our time together.”

In addition to her duties as an attendance secretary, Ms. Hill also coaches the JV cheer team. Having been a cheerleader in high school herself, she has known former Timberland cheer coach and current Liberty counselor, Ms. Wooten, since making the team back in her freshman year.

“When I was in college, she (Wooten) knew I wanted to be a teacher really bad and I cheered in college as well, so when the position of the JV cheerleading coach was open, I talked to her (Wooten) and emailed coach Rosner and I said, ‘Hey, I wanna do this’ and interviewed and I got the job,” Ms. Hill said.

Aside from all the phone calls and attendance reports, both attendance secretaries play a large part in a small portion of Liberty High School.

“Since I deal with attendance, it’s to make sure that students are getting the best possible education that they can,” Ms. Hill said. “When I was going to school to become a teacher, each student is just one positive adult interaction away from succeeding or going down a different path of life. Each person plays a huge part in the picture and it’s awesome to be a positive influence to students because you could be the only adult in their lives to take notice and ask them how their day is going.”

For Ms. Merritt, learning that every staff member plays a large part came early in her career.

“I used to think when I was young and naive the most pivotal job in the school was being the teacher,” Ms. Merritt said. “And I quickly learned that your school really only functions as well as your main office functions. So, seeing both ends of how the teamwork has got to be seamless in order for the school to be run efficiently had been really beneficial to me.”

Ms. Hill has recently moved from the front office to become Liberty’s newest resource room teacher two weeks before the time of this publication. She moves her positive influence from the main office to room 451. And although Ms. Hill and Ms. Merritt’s duties mainly operate within the office, by bringing their kind-hearted spirits to the office, they not only make the office but the whole school, a happier place to be.