With an impressive 26 years working at PRHS, office clerk Carmen Garcia heads out the front door she guarded for decades, stepping into retirement and family connections.
Garcia started in the front office in 2003 after a five year stretch as a paraeducator at Winifred Pifer Elementary School. With over 31 years of service in the district, Garcia finally settled on retiring to spend time with her family. Garcia handles items being dropped off, important visitors – including police officers – or being one of the first people to answer a call for the school. Students who make poor device choices also have their phones dropped off to pick up at the end of the day. More than half her words are expressed in Spanish, assisting hundreds of Spanish speakers each week.
Before coming to Paso Schools, Garcia lived in Mexico, striving for a different career, until she ultimately changed her mind and came to work in Paso. “I was studying architecture in Mexico. I was about three semesters away from finishing that career, but then I decided that I would come here,” Garcia remarked.
In Garcia’s freetime, she enjoys spending time with her family and watching action movies. Some of Garcia’s favorite actors are Harrison Ford, Bruce Willis, Robert Redford, and Kevin Costner.
“I enjoy watching movies. Action movies are my favorite. I don’t like scary movies or superhero movies, but action movies are always nice to watch,” Garcia said.
One student that Garcia has a close bond with is senior Fernando Ochoa Cortez, who enjoys having weekly chats with Garcia in the front office. Ochoa is sad for Garcia’s retirement this year, although he said he’s also happy that after working so long she is getting the break she deserves. Ochoa developed a close bond with her. “Mrs. Garcia is a really nice person. I enjoy having conversations with her inside the front office. It makes me sad that I won’t be able to talk to her anymore, but she was amazing for me to meet,” he said.
Garcia’s final words for PRHS are expressing thanks to everyone. She said that she will definitely miss all of the students and their kindness. “I just want to tell everybody, thank you all for being so nice, and thanks to the teachers for helping the students to keep working hard. I will miss all the wonderful students here across campus,” Garcia said. After 31 years at school, she has earned the respect of hundreds of Bearcats.
