From answering the switchboard to running buses, receptionist Vandana Kapoor keeps everything running smoothly in the main office. She’s a friendly face that works with anybody and everybody in the school, making her one of the widest reaching staff members at DGS.

“I have phone calls from the department secretaries…I assist their academic field trips so [I] pretty much [work] with everybody,” Kapoor said.

Kapoor takes great pride in how wide reaching her position is.

“I try to do as much as I can to assist everybody like the teachers [and] administrators; you’re the face of [DGS] to everybody coming in,” Kapoor said.

Keeping everyone in school organized on the same schedule isn’t an easy task, but Kapoor has been running things smoothly for eight years and loves how much this job has brought to her life.

“I love helping people. I love helping students, teachers, department chairs, everybody,” Kapoor said.

While many think counseling assistants only help the counselors, administrative assistant Lisa Dinicola also helps students feel as comfortable as they can. Their office holds many opportunities where students can come to feel safe such as the calming corner or spending time with a staff member, something Dinicola helps manage.

“[My team and I] just give them a moment to catch their breath and then meet with somebody on our team that can help get them through their day,” Dinicola said.

The counseling administrative assistants also work with the new students to help them adjust to school. They set new students up with a student leader to show them around the school, give them a lunch ticket for the day, get their ID picture taken and more.

Working with all these students from various backgrounds and personalities gives the administrative assistants the chance to work on their empathy.

“It does us all good when we support each other and have empathy for each other. I’ve learned that for sure,” Dinicola said.

There is more to the College and Career center than what most people assume; it has become an open space for many students looking for a moment of peace from their busy day or needing help with their college future. This is possible due to one of the College and Career administrative assistants, Julie Witt.

Her daily tasks include coordinating college visits, scheduling AP exams, assisting students with college applications, transcripts or even trades. Witt works tirelessly along with her colleagues to create an organized, welcoming environment for everyone.

“I oversee college prep visits. We have up to 100 colleges that come out and visit. The college and career counselors … work with different people in the community to get them to speak and then I coordinate, trying to schedule it, find rooms, get passes out to students and post announcements,” Witt said.

It’s never a quiet day in the College and Career office; emails are constantly coming in while students are requesting for career assistance. Witt works with multiple departments contributing to a cohesive and well-communicated environment that consistently meets the needs of DGS.

“I work with all the counselors on transcripts and scholarships sending them off to colleges. I work with all departments, I have to work with the library, because we host the exams, so the different classrooms, even the field house and the small gym,” Witt said.

Cynthia Andino, the Athletics Administrative Assistant loves working at DGS because it brings her a sense of belonging and community. Andino is a supportive presence stationed in the athletics office, where she deals with vendor relations, accounts payables and receivables, running data and more.

She shares a personal story about her daughter attending the nursing program in Boston College, a Jesuit run school, a Catholic educational institution and how she has learned to apply the teachings at DGS.

“They teach the students during their fours year of tenure there that when they graduate, they should set the world ablaze. I take that to heart here and I want to instill positivity and that drive and ambition into all the students that I have an interaction with. When you leave here you know you can do anything that you want to do…and you change the world for the better,” Andino said.

Beyond the student interaction, Andino values the collaboration amongst other executive administrative assistants and the environment created by all of them. She described their relationship as one built by teamwork, contributing to her job satisfaction.

“We collaborate, we support, we build up and we always have each other’s backs. I love that perk of the job, that I have friends here that we can [also] do social things outside of the workplace,” Andino said.

Some people may overlook the responsibilities that administrative assistants have to do, even though their responsibilities are essential to allow the school to run efficiently, in Andino’s case it allows all the sports to run productively.

“A lot of what I do is finance related, I think people would be surprised how much detail is required to process all the payments that need to go out. DGS has beautiful facilities: the new stadium, large gym and we host a lot of events here. And conversely, we go to a lot of invites away at other schools. So I process the payments for all invite fees,” Andino said.