There are a lot of people who work hard to make Watchung Hills the smoothly running and friendly place that it is. Top among them is surely Pamela Sasso who is the receptionist at the front desk in the Main Office. To tell the truth, receptionist doesn’t really do justice to the job that Pam does because she’s everything from a sympathizing friend to WHRHS students to a helpful presence for parents, not to mention the go-to person for teachers with all sorts of problems to solve.

Pam started working at the Hills in 2006 after previously spending two years in the District Board Office. Before that she was a litigation specialist in insurance where she honed her superb organizational and multi-tasking skills. Although she took a pay cut to work in public education, she has never looked back because she feels like she’s found the workplace that suits her best. We feel lucky that this is so because the positive impact of having a smiling and capable person like Pam as people’s first contact with the school is invaluable.

Pam takes her responsibilities seriously and indeed she handles crises of all sorts: she gets bleeding kids who show up at her desk, hysterical students searching frantically for misplaced items in the Lost and Found she runs, and worried parents dropping off all sorts of forgotten “must-have” items for their kids throughout a typical school day. In addition, she is coping with incoming phone calls, organizing holiday parties for the staff and publishing News Daze, the online daily newsletter which is so appreciated by teachers, parents and the community at large.

Pam is certified in AED (automated external defibrillation), First Aid, and CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). When asked how she manages to juggle everything and remain so unruffled and pleasant, Pam says that being a mom helps her both relate to students, as well as empathize with parents who may need calming down if they’re concerned about their children. She knows what it’s like to worry about a child and so she says that she never takes it personally if someone seems brusque or difficult, she realizes that concern for one’s child may take precedence over other considerations at times and she takes it all in stride.

WHREA recognizes Pam Sasso’s service and value to the Watchung Hills environment – she says that she considers it a privilege to work at WHRHS and she feels like she must endeavor to create an atmosphere of trust in her job – we’re happy to tell her that she succeeds in this goal wonderfully and we consider it a privilege to work with a professional like her.