MOVING UP, IN, AND ON
CATHEDRAL SCHOOL FACULTY AND STAFF ON THE MOVE
Q&A WITH JACKIE JUNG Cathedral School’s Front Desk Manager has retired after 25 years at the School.
Red&Gold: Where did you go to college? Jackie Jung: I graduated in 1980 from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Psychology. R&G: How many years did you work at CSB? JJ: I’ve worked at CSB for over 25 years. I started working here in an attempt to improve my computer skills and thought I would look for other work later. Here I am 25 years, later. It’s been a whirlwind of activity. I’ve worked here long enough to work with people who were not yet born when I started at CSB. I’ve also worked here long enough to see alum children as current students. I currently work with someone I knew as a kindergarten student. I could not imagine that this would happen when I first came to work at CSB. I never thought I’d spend so many years here. R&G: What roles did you have at CSB? JJ: Early morning day care, Front Desk, elective teacher. R&G: What was your first day like? JJ: My first day at CSB was hectic. Everything was new. I even got lost walking to Gresham Hall. I did not know anyone, but I was determined to learn every boy’s name one by one. Twenty-five years ago, the front door and Jones Street doors were unlocked. Students had to check in if they were late. They stopped at the Front Desk to get a tardy slip so that they could proceed to class. The phones rang off the hook, and every call came through the Front Desk phone. Messages were written out by hand. They had to be walked down the hall to the recipient. There was no internet and no voicemail. There was a rotary dial phone booth in the Lower School hall that required a dime to make a phone call. Homework sheets were left on the Front Desk by teachers for sick students. Parents came in to pick them up, or siblings came by to stuff them in their backpacks to take them home. There was a parking lot where the Cathedral Plaza now exists. Tuition was a mere $5,300. R&G: What did you like best about working at CSB? JJ: I enjoyed interacting with the students. They were always the priority. The frenetic pace throughout the day made time pass by quickly. I was never bored.
What I enjoyed the most was seeing alums come to visit their grammar school long after they had graduated. I especially enjoyed visiting with them after college to see who they’d become and chat with them about what might come next in their lives. I’ve met fiancés, wives, children, and parents. I can’t believe twenty-five years have passed by so quickly. R&G: Who made the most significant impact on you? JJ: Throughout my life, my father has been my biggest inspira- tion. He had a solid work ethic and impeccable integrity. I strive to demonstrate dedication and integrity throughout my life and teach that to my children and their children through my actions. R&G: Whom do you consider your CSB best friend? JJ: Unquestionably, Jane Logan, former Assistant to the Headmaster, Cathy Madison, former Admission Director, and Sylvia Chow, former Business Office Administrator, were my CSB best friends as we worked very closely together. Jane Logan and I were work sister wives for twelve and a half years. We worked together at the Front Desk with her working on confidential matters for the Headmaster while I dealt with visitors to the front desk. If there were things I needed concentrated time and attention to work on, we would switch off on who attended to the boys. We had a shorthand that did not require complete sentences, let alone words. We worked very well together. Cathy Madison and Sylvia Chow were parents before they worked at CSB. All four of us shared snippets of our lives recapping our weekends at the beginning of the week. R&G: What was your favorite lunch menu item? JJ: If I had to choose one, it would be Indian Spiced Chicken. R&G: What was your favorite CSB activity or event? JJ: Lessons & Carols because Christmas vacation is immediately afterward! R&G: What is next? JJ: I’m looking forward to some long-awaited time off to unwind. I plan to cook and bake tasty, healthy recipes for family and friends, work out, and practice yoga, as well as garden, sew, and get back to quilting in my free time. It’s time to enjoy life!
FALL 2018 • RED & GOLD | 105
104 | CATHEDRAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator