grandchildren, and they were making an announcement at the end of the day,” Taft said. “I had no idea… I was shocked.”

     Taft feels honored to be noticed by many of the staff at Rose.

     “It is such an honor that they think that I do something well,” Taft said. “It’s very humbling, and to get it a second time, there are so many people in this school that deserve it.”

     Front Desk Receptionist Dara Wilkins is one of the many staff members at Rose who notices Taft’s outstanding work in the office. 

     “We wouldn’t have students without Ms. Pam; she’s the registrar,” Wilkins said. “She gets them in, like especially with the kids that are coming from other countries and might not have the documentation, she’s gonna find a way to get them in.”

     Taft has been a member of the Rose community for many years and feels that Rose is a place where everyone is family.

     “Rose High has always been a family school,” Taft said. “This staff up here, young and old, think of you students as a child that they are responsible for, and they take care of the kids up here.”

     Taft has had many great memories as a staff member at Rose and among many wonderful moments, one of her favorites was on her birthday.

     “My favorite part of being a staff member here [is] everything,” Taft said. “[On] my 70th birthday the [cafeteria] ladies baked me a cake, balloons, happy birthday, everything for me.”

     Most people know Taft as “Ms. Pam” and she has brought her warm, caring and enthusiastic personality to Rose.

     “The reason I go by Ms. Pam, [is] I worked in the pediatric office and I always had the children call me Ms. Pam,” Taft said. “Once I moved here, I got many of the parents and children from that pediatric practice and everyone knows me as Ms. Pam.”

     Taft has a number of catchphrases that she consistently uses that signals her presence when she enters the building, which is well known to many of the staff members.

     “I come in every morning and I call everyone my dear,” Taft said. “I do walk in every morning and the first thing I say [is] ‘hello’ or ‘good morning, welcome to Rose’, of course it sounds like I say ‘welcome to Moes.’” 

     Wilkins was one of the staff members who nominated Taft as Clerical Employee of the Year.  

     “She’s full of wisdom; I get a lot of wisdom from her,” Wilkins said.

     Taft works at Rose as a 12-month employee; therefore she works during the summer. She is outgoing and misses interacting with the other staff members because there aren't as many employees working at Rose daily during the summer.

     “In the summer, I play Michael Bublé and I sing and dance all day long,” Taft said. “I do miss the staff; it’s lonely.”

     Guidance counselor Chynna Grady remembers a time in 2013 when she was sitting in Taft’s chair, where all of her stuffed animal bunnies sit. Grady accidentally sat on the bunny and crushed it completely.

     ”Everybody came together; construction made a casket, I think adobe made a plaque with a card on it with the bunny’s picture up there, and there was a book that people signed,” Grady said.

     Taft believes that everyone should stay strong during their four years of high school and end strong.

     “Start like you want to finish; that’s very important,” Taft said.